Should we postpone the chanting of the mahamantra till we are able to follow the regulative principles so as to avoid offenses?

From: Amit

Can the mantra ‘Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram’ provide the same benefits as the Hare Krishna maha mantra? For example, if someone wants to get free from addictions, will this mantra also help? I have a doubt that by chanting the maha mantra I will incur offenses till the point of following the regulative principles perfectly. Till that time, can I chant this other mantra? Please advise.

Transcript

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question from Amit Prabhu can the mantra Shri Ram Jai Ram Ya Jai Ram provide the same benefits as the Hare Krishna Mahamantra for example if someone wants to get help get free from addictions, will this mantra also help? I have a doubt by chanting the Mahamantra I will incur offenses till the point of following the regulative principles perfectly till that time can I chant this other mantra? please advise answer every name of God is potent and Shri Ram Jai Ram Ya Jai Ram will also offer us spiritual and devotional benefits by chanting so in that sense there is no harm and there is only benefit in chanting any name of God whether it is Shri Ram Jai Ram or Hare Krishna Mahamantra at the same time the Kali Santhana Upanishad is a standard book which is recommended for this age of Kali and in that there is a conversation between Narada Muni and Brahmaji and there Brahmaji tells Narada Muni this specific mantra the Hare Krishna Mahamantra and he says that this is the best way to free oneself from impurities so in one sense the different holy names are like medicines and they are all beneficial at the same time the scriptures and the spiritual teachers in the parampara, they are like the doctors who tell us which is the best medicine for us so the Acharyas and the scriptures are recommending the Hare Krishna Mahamantra for us in this age and that is why we recommend chanting this mantra and as far as the concern of committing offenses is concerned that is a unnecessary fear that may hamper us in our spiritual advancement in fact Shrila Prabhupada went to such an extent in explaining the compassionate nature of the lord that is underlying his manifestation as the holy name and as the Hare Krishna Mahamantra that he told in a class that if somebody is a drunkard and that person cannot give up drinking then that person just thinks that the the taste of the drink that is addicting them the taste of drink is actually a manifestation of Krishna Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita in chapter 7 verse 8 that I am the taste of water so now liquidity is a characteristic of all drinks so extending that Shrila Prabhupada said that even the taste of liquor is Krishna so Shrila Prabhupada said even in that situation if one remembers Krishna one will become purified so and Prabhupada said one day a person will become a great devotee if one just remembers Krishna even while drinking so this is of course not a justification for continuing to drink and saying that drinking reminds me of Krishna it is indicative of the facility and even the necessity of remembering Krishna in all situations so just because somebody is drinking that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have the facility to remember Krishna and even when one is drinking still one should remember Krishna because that is the way to get a higher taste and become purified so we needn’t bother about the offenses at this stage of our spiritual life the offenses are only when we are minimizing the glory of the holy name in a conscious and intentional way and if we are not doing that that means if we accept the principle that the regulatory principles have to be followed we accept the principle that we should give them up but we are just not able to execute it right now because of the force of the past conditionings then that is not a reason for us to stop chanting or to stop chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra and not take it up because Krishna sees our heart and for this Kali Yuga the Hare Krishna Mahamantra is the fastest and the best way to get the higher taste that will help us to become free from the lower bases so it’s best for us to get the higher taste as quickly as possible and the Hare Krishna Mahamantra because it comes from the Kali Sandra Vratmashyam because it is recommended by Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu because it is given by so many Acharyas in the Sampradaya therefore that is the recommended way for us to chant and even if we are committing offenses the way to become free from offenses is by chanting the holy names only Padma Purana gives the explanation the example that if a child who is learning to walk slips and falls on the ground how will that child get up by taking shelter of that same ground on which he has fallen similarly if we may fall down in the we may fall down in the we may fail or slip or fall in the practices of devotional service by chanting the holy names but how will we get up it is better to take shelter of the same holy name so as long as one is intending to in principle give up the activities that contradict the four aggregate principles and as long as one is trying according to one’s capacity and circumstance to give it up and there is no reason to hesitate in chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra in fact the more quickly and the more seriously we chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra the more are in quickly our intention will become transformed into a reality