When the Hare Krishna mantra is so potent, why do we have second initiation into the Gayatri mantra?

When the holy name is said to be Nama, Chintamani, Krishna, and why do we need to chant the Gayathri Mantra and why do we have a separate initiation for getting the Gayathri Mantra? We can look at it at three levels. At a devotional level, at a cultural level, and at a personal level. At a devotional level, sometimes there is a tendency to reduce the entirety of bhakti to one particular limb of bhakti based on a particular set of verses.

So, while the holy name is extremely important, at the same time, it’s ultimately about developing a relationship with Krishna. Bhagavatam says that, towards the conclusion that, And yet, for the last seven days of Parikshit Maharaj’s life, Shivdev Goswami does not say that we just chant the holy names. They discuss Krishna, which involves a significant level of philosophy and also a number of variated pastimes of various manifestations of the Lord.

Why? Because ultimately it’s a matter of fixing the mind of Krishna and developing a real and a rich relationship with Krishna. The holy name is undoubtedly an extremely important means by which we can develop that relationship. At the same time, it’s about a relationship.

And that relationship with Krishna includes various aspects in the world. If we say the holy name is everything, then why do we need to do deity worship? Why do we need to study Shastra? Why even have other limbs of bhakti at all? So in that sense, the relationship with Krishna can also include elements of the world which we can use in this service. And at an individual level, one person might find a total absorption in Krishna through the chanting of the holy names.

And yet others may not. But when we form a community, we form an institution, we form a tradition, a sampradaya, then many other factors come into play. That tradition also has to be accepted and respected in the broader community within which it belongs.

There needs to be a healthy tension where there are some points of connection and some points of difference. If there is total connection of any particular tradition with the broader culture, then it loses its street identity. If there is complete difference and no points of connection, then that tradition is seen as alien and suspicious and is constantly threatened.

So every tradition tries to create bridges with the broader culture within which it lives. And when the bhakti tradition gains its authority from bhakti texts, those texts themselves are not considered authoritative or not necessarily supremely authoritative by the entire community of Vedic followers. And therefore, every tradition needs to do certain things to gain acceptance and respectability within the broader culture and community and civilization in which it lives.

So one of the things that the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition had to do, for example, was to write a commentary on the Vedanta Sutra although Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said that there is no need for it. Why? Because the very authenticity of our tradition was questioned at the time of Vande Vidya Bhakti. And what was not necessary at one particular time, what was considered a disobedience to Mahaprabhu’s explicit words became necessary to protect and perpetuate the mission that Mahaprabhu came for.

So similarly, within the bhakti tradition, there is always an attempt to differentiate itself from the orthodox brahminical tradition that was there at the time when the Vedanta tradition started gaining prominence. And there is also an attempt to connect with and be respected by, or at least accepted by, the orthodox brahminical tradition. By orthodox, I am talking about not what is orthodox is now, but what was orthodox at that time, what was established in the institute at that time.

So, adopting some of the rituals that were considered important for people who are respected in the Vedic tradition, such as adopting the Gayatri Mantra, was something which the bhakti tradition consistently did to connect with the broader culture. And of course, even by accepting elements of the broader culture, the bhakti tradition often gives certain insights about how we can see even such aspects more devotional. So our tradition may give a more devotional understanding of the Gayatri Mantra.

This understanding may not be accepted by others, but the very fact that we have a process by which we accept people and give them the Gayatri Mantra becomes important. Just like in today’s world, we may equip devotees to answer certain scientific questions about, say, the nature of the soul and the scientific evidence for the existence of the soul or the scientific evidence for the existence of God. This was not done in the tradition and the Hare Krishna Mahamantra is fully coated.

But for one’s own conviction, for one’s capacity to get acceptance and respect, a lot of other things are required. The third point is from a personal perspective, that ultimately, we need as many resources as possible for remembering Krishna and connecting with Krishna. Rather than seeing the Gayatri Mantra as non-devotional, we see it as a part of the various gifts that Krishna has given.

And some devotees can use those gifts. Some may give more emphasis to it, some may give less emphasis to it. That’s okay.

But the idea is that we use those gifts to connect more with Krishna. That’s how we grow in our life. The Gayatri Mantra requires a certain level of Sattva Puna to be chanted in a way that is important.

And the Gayatri Mantra may not take us to Goloka Vrindavan, which is the Guru Gayatri Mantra. But that journey from the beginning of Sattva to the Brahman level, where one becomes free from material craving and anger, that journey can be accelerated by the chanting of the Gayatri Mantra. And thus, it can help us as an aid in achieving the ultimate purpose that the Bhakti tradition considers the highest, which is the real appreciation.