Is chanting manthras of other gods with Hare Krishna Manthra Right?
Two Questions from two devotees:
(1)
Hk Prabhu…..prabhu….I just want to ask, when I do mangala arathi,or sandhyadeepam in the evening,I feel to only chant the mahamantra or sing it in different tunes……I feel so relieved when I do it……but or seniors or grandparents say that we have to sing many mantras of srirama,devi…etc….which they all were following from time immemorial…..so what’s your opinion prabhu
(2)
Can we recite all devas mantra and the Maha mantra also during sandhya aaratis….Some tell we should not avoid any devas,we should recite whatever we can,whereas some tell If we recite all mantras,since all mantras are powerful,all together recited shows more different power,so better to choose any one mantra only. May I know your opinion Prabhu. Thanks. Hari bol!!!
REPLY:
I always encourage the devotees to extend honours for all demigods, celestials, acharyas, gurus, fellow devotees, parents, etc.
However, our life time is very short. But, the worshippable deities are innumerable.
Therefore satisfying all the deities/gods by chanting the manthras of all of them is practically impossible. Because, if we like to satisfy a devatha or demigod, we have to follow many rituals in addition to chanting. If we do the rituals for a particular devatha, we may miss many other devathas.
(Two Views on Krishna’s devotee worshiping Other Gods? Which to follow? READ HERE!)
For example, if we need to satisfy Durga devi, we need to recite many manthras like Mahishasura Mardhini Stotra. And, we need to offer food to Durga ma. And, we need to offer regular worship to Her.
Now, we may feel “Oh, our neighbour family regularly worships and chants Ganapathi Manthra Our cousin worships Karthikeya. We are unable to worship Lord Siva, Karthikeya, Ganapathi, Navagrahas, etc. So, those gods may become angry with us. What to do?”
So, you may lose your peace of mind. You may develop guilt. Thus, in due course of time, you may lose your interest in the worship of Durga devi also.
So, it is always better to offer our worship and manthras to the prime deity who is considered as the source for everything. We have Bhagavad Gita as the authoritative guideline and that is the part of ithikas Mahabharatha written by Vyasadeva, the literary avatar of Krishna.
In Gita, Krishna says that he is the source of everything and it is he who has appeared in many vibhoodhis (forms) such as Shiva, Karthikeya, etc.
(Can a Krishna devotee get full mercy of Krishna if he worships other gods? READ HERE!)
And, Krishna is the only God who Himself has claimed Supremacy publicly and authoritatively. And, No other gods we know have refuted this claim of Krishna. This shows that all the demigods, celestials, living beings and creations have the single source as Krishna who is the adhi purusha (Supreme person).
If you take a plant, it may have many roots. There will be a main root that has developed as hundreds of branch roots. So, to keep the plant alive, all the roots must be supplied water. But, we can not supply water to all the hundreds of branch roots. If we supply water to the single main root, the water will automatically go to all the branch roots also. This will be the wise way of water supply.
Similarly, practically, we can not satisfy all the gods by chanting hundreds of manthras. If we try to satisfy one god, we may miss many other gods.
So, better to worship and chant the names of the Supreme Person Krishna who is the source for all. Now, all your worships to Krishna will automatically go to all the other devathas and they too will be satisfied.
(Avoiding guilt of forgetting other gods after joining ISKCON -Tips! READ HERE!)
But, I like to add a serious point here that many other preachers miss to add here:
If you worship krishna, you should never speak ill about any other gods, religions, etc. I tell you, if you speak ill about other deities, you are actually insulting Krishna because all of them have come from Krishna only. So, Krishna will not like if you speak or degrade Shiva, Ganapathi, Karthikeya, etc. Because they are also the “Vibhoothis” of Krishna.
In fact, we can not insult any person because all have the same source – Krishna.
If you follow my above advice, you can peacefully worship Krishna without insulting other deities.
If you need moral satisfaction, you may add the following worship while worshiping Krishna:
“Let all my offerings and worship to Krishna satisfy all gods, acharyas, devotees also as I am unable to take care of everyone individually”
Fine. Finished. Be relieved and continue worshiping Krishna like this by chanting and singing Hare Krishna Maha Manthra.
Hope you are now clear about Chanting manthras of other gods with Krishna.
(Will other gods get angry if one accepts Krishna deserting them? READ HERE!)