Srila Prabhupada
Abhaya Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada was a Gaudiya Vaishnavism spiritual teacher and the founder preceptor of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, commonly known as the “Hare Krishna Movement”.
Srila Prabhupada Pranama Mantra
om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah
I was born in the darkest ignorance, and my spiritual master opened my eyes with the torch of knowledge. I offer my respectful obeisances unto him.
Nama om vishnu-padaya krishna-preshthaya bhu-tale
srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine
namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracharine
nirvishesha-shunyavadi-pashchatya-desha-tarine
I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who is very dear to Lord Krishna on this earth, having taken shelter at His lotus feet.
Our respectful obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Sarasvati Gosvami. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Chaitanya deva and delivering the Western countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.
Their Lordships (Sri Sri Nitai-Gauranga)
Gauranga (the golden one) refers to Lord Caitanya, who has a fair complexion. The Lord’s acceptance of the role of a devotee in the eternal form of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is another of the Lord’s wonderful features. A conditioned soul cannot reach the absolute Personality of Godhead by his imperfect endeavor, therefore Lord Sri Krsna, in the form of Lord Gauranga, has made it easy for everyone to approach Him. As Lord Gauranga is the form of a devotee, Nityananda Prabhu (a manifestation of Balarama) appears in the form of a devotee’s spiritual master. Together, they are referred to as Guru and Gauranga, or Nitai-Gauranga.
Śrī Nityananda Praṇāma Mantra
nityānandaṁ ahaṁ naumi sarvānanda-karaṁ param
hari-nāma-pradaṁ devam avadhūta-śiromaṇim
I bow down to the Supreme Lord Nityananda Prabhu, who is the awarder of the highest joy to all, the bestower of the holy name and the crest jewel of all paramahamsa mendicants.
Śrī Gaurāṅga Praṇāma Mantra
namo mahā-vadānyāya kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te
kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ
O most munificent incarnation! You are Krishna Himself appearing as Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. You have assumed the golden color of Srimati Radharani, and You are widely distributing pure love of Krishna. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You.
Their Lordships (Sri Sri Radha Krishnachandra)
Krishna is the original, the source of all that exists. In the revealed scriptures, the ultimate object of knowledge is Sri Krishna, the Personality of Godhead. Religion (dharma) is rendering service unto Him. He is the supreme goal of life. He manifests in this material world from time to time to free His devotees from material existence and to vanquish the wicked. Although the Lord is full with all energies and is thus self-sufficient, He enjoys transcendental pleasure by subordinating Himself to His unalloyed devotees.
Srimati Radharani is the eternal consort of Lord Krishna. She appeared as the daughter of King Vrishabhanu and Queen Kirtida in Vrindavavna. She is the mother of the univers, the spiritual mother of all souls. She is the bestower of devotional service to Krishna. Radha embodies the totality of love for Krishna and thus She is the personification of bhakti or loving devotion to God.
With Krishna, Radha is acknowledged as the Supreme Goddess, for it is said that she controls Krishna. It is believed that Krishna enchants the world, but Radha enchants even Him. Therefore She is the supreme goddess of all.
From the Vaishnava point of view the divine feminine energy (shakti) implies a divine source of energy, God or shaktiman. “Sita relates to Rama; Lakshmi belongs to Narayana; Radha has Her Krishna.” As Krishna is believed to be the source of all manifestations of God, “Shri Radha, His consort, is the original source of all shaktis” or feminine manifestation of divine energy.
According to Sri Brahma Samhita(verse 5.1), Brahma says the following about Krsna:
īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda vigrahaḥ
anādir ādir govindaḥ sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam
“Krishna who is known as Govinda, is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal, blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin, and He is the prime cause of all causes.”
ālola-candraka-lasad-vanamālya-vaṁśī-
ratnāṅgadaṁ praṇaya-keli-kalā-vilāsam
śyāmaṁ tri-bhaṅga-lalitaṁ niyata-prakāśaṁ
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, round whose neck is swinging a garland of flowers beautified with the moon-locket, whose two hands are adorned with the flute and jewelled ornaments, who always revels in pastimes of love, whose graceful threefold-bending form of Śyāmasundara is eternally manifest.”
Śrī Kṛṣṇa Praṇāma Mantra
he kṛṣṇa karuṇā-sindho dīna-bandho jagat-pate
gopeśa gopikā-kānta rādhā-kānta namo’stu te
O my dear Krishna, ocean of mercy, You are the friend of the distressed and the source of creation. You are the master of the cowherd men and the lover of the gopis, especially Radharani. I offer my respectful obeisances unto you.
Śrī Radha Praṇāma Mantra
Tapta-kāṣcana-gaurāṅgi rādhe vṛndāvaneśvari
vṛṣabhānu-sute devi praṇamāmi hari-priye
O Srimati Radharani, I offer my respects to You whose bodily complexion is like molten gold. O Goddess, You are the queen of Vrindava. You are the daughter of King Vrsabhanu, and are very dear to Lord Krishna.
Pancha-Tattva Maha Mantra
The Pancha-tattva are a five-fold manifestation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, featured as five tattvas (truths), namely, isha-tattva (the Supreme Lord), His expansion tattva, His incarnation tattva, His energy tattva and His devotee tattva. These five tattvas incarnate with Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and thus the Lord executes His sankirtana movement with great pleasure. In Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.5.32) there is the following statement regarding Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu:-“In the Age of Kali, people who are endowed with sufficient intelligence will worship the Lord, who is accompanied by His associates, by performance of the sankirtana-yajna.” Lord Chaitanya is always accompanied by His plenary expansion Sri Nityananda Prabhu, His incarnation Sri Advaita Prabhu, His internal potency Sri Gadādhara Prabhu and His marginal potency Srivāsa Prabhu. He is in the midst of them as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One should know that Lord Chaitanya is always accompanied by these other tattvas. Therefore our obeisances to Lord Chaitanya are complete when we chant the Pancha Tattva Mantra:
(Jaya) shri-krishna-caitanya
prabhu nityananda
shri-advaita gadadhara
shrivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda
Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Pranati
namo om vishnu-padaya krishna-preshthaya bhutale
shrimate bhaktisiddhanta-sarasvati namine
I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, who is very dear to Lord Krishna, having taken shelter of His lotus feet.
Srila Gaurakishora Pranati
namo gaura-kishoraya sakshad-vairagya-murtaye
vipralambha-rasambhode padambujaya te namaha
I offer my respectful obeisances unto Gaurakishora dasa Babaji Maharaja [the spiritual master of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, who is renunciation personified. He is always merged in a feeling of separation and intense love of Krishna.
Srila Bhaktivinoda Pranati
namo bhaktivinodaya sac-cid-ananda-namine
gaura-shakti-svarupaya rupanuga-varaya te
I offer my respectful obeisances unto Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda, who is transcendental energy of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He is a strict follower of the Gosvamis, headed by Srila Rupa.
Srila Jagannatha Pranati
gauravirbhava-bhumes tvam nirdeshta saj-jana-priyaha
vaishnava-sarvabhaumah sri-jagannathaya te namaha
I offer my respectful obeisances to Jagannatha dasa Babaji, who is respected by the entire Vaishnava community and who discovered the place where Lord Caitanya appeared.
Shri Shri Shad-goswamy-Pranama Mantra
The Six Goswamis are the principal assistants of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who were instructed by Him to unveil spots of pastimes of Divine Couple in Vrindavan to the world, and also write and preach about the science of devotional life to embark conditioned souls like us on the journey back to home, back to Godhead, Sri Nitya Goloka Vrindavan.
krishnotkirtana-gana-nartana-parau premamritambho-nidhi
dhiradhira-jana-priyau priya-karau nirmatsarau pujitau
sri-caitanya-kripa-bharau bhuvi bhuvo bharavahantarakau
vande rupa-sanatanau raghu-yugau sri-jiva-gopalakau
I offer my respectful obeisances unto the six Gosvamis, namely Sri Rupa Gosvami, Sri Sanatana Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Sri Jiva Gosvami, and Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, who are always engaged in chanting the holy name of Krishna and dancing. They are just like the ocean of love of God, and they are popular both with the gentle and with the ruffians, because they are not envious of anyone. Whatever they do, they are all-pleasing to everyone, and they are fully blessed by Lord Caitanya. Thus they are engaged in missionary activities meant to deliver all the conditioned souls in the material universe.
Tulasi Maharani Pranam Mantra
Tulasi is a plant most sacred to Krishna. Tulasi, also known as ‘holy basil’ is auspicious in all respects. She is a pure and great devotee of the Lord, and most dear to Lord Krishna. It is stated in the Brahma Vaivarta Purana that Tulasi, in Her last birth was Vrinda Devi married to an asura (a person with demonic qualities) named Jalandhar. To gain victory over Jalandhar, Lord Vishnu had persuaded Vrinda Devi to give up devotion towards her husband. After being pleased with her, Lord Vishnu blessed her as Tulasi; One who can be worshipped by people all over the universe.
(om) vrindayai tulasi-devyai priyayai keshavasya ca
vishnu-bhakti-prade devi satyavatyai namo namah
I offer my repeated obeisances unto Vrinda, Srimati Tulasi-devi, who is very dear to Lord Keshava. O goddess, you bestow devotional service to Krishna and you possess the highest truth.
Vrinda devi has thus appeared in this material world as a plant, Tulasi. She was born on the lunar day of the full moon in the month of Karthik. Simply by seeing, simply by touching, simply by praying to, simply by bowing before, simply by sowing, or simply by hearing about the Tulasi plant, auspiciousness is awakened.
Tulasi Maharani is the expansion of Vrinda devi in the form of a tree. Of all trees and plants, Tulasi is the topmost; she is auspicious, the fulfiller of all desires, most dear to Lord Krishna and the topmost devotee. Just as the Ganges river purifies all who bathe in it, Tulasi purifies the three worlds. For the welfare of all conditioned souls, Lord Krishna brought Vrinda devi in her form of a tree (Tulasi) and planted her in the material world. Vrinda devi is a goddess of Vrindavan, who has been given the role of arranging all of Lord Krishna and Srimati Radharani’s Vrindavana lilas (pastimes). Vrinda devi decides which flowers will bloom, which songs will be sung, which food will be served, which musical instruments will be played – she may be likened to a director or choreographer of Lord Krishna and Srimati Radharani’s pastimes.
Sri Vaishnava Pranama
vancha-kalpatarubhyas ca kripa-sindhubhya eva ca
patitanam pavanebhyo vaishnavebhyo namo namah
I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaishnava devotees of the Lord. They are just like desire trees who can fulfill the desires of everyone, and they are full of compassion for the fallen conditioned souls.
then offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Srīmatī Rādhārānī, and all the gopīs, headed by Lalitā and Viśākhā.
Sri Narsimha Pranama Mantra
Lord Narasimha is the half-man half-lion incarnation of Lord Krishna who appeared to protect his young devotee Prahlada from his envious and atheistic demoniac father, Hiranyakashipu.
sri-narasimha, jaya narasimha, jaya jaya narasimha
prahladesa jaya padma-mukha-padma-bhrnga
namas te narasimhaya, prahladahlada-dayine
hiranyakasipor vakshah, sila-tanka-nakhalaye
itonarasimhah parato narasimho,
yatoyato yami tato narasimhah
bahir narasimho hrdaye narasimho,
narasimham adim sharanam prapadye
tava kara-kamala-vare nakham adbhuta-shrngam
dalita-hiranyakashipu-tanu-bhrngam
keshava dhrta-narahari-rupa jaya jagadisa hare
- All glories to Lord Narasimhadeva! All glories to Lord Narasimhadeva, who is the Lord of Prahlada Maharaja and, like the honeybee, is always engaged in beholding the lotus-like face of the goddess of fortune.
- “I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, Lord Narasimhadeva. You are the giver of pleasure to Maharaja Prahlada, and Your nails cut the chest of Hiranyakashipu like a chisel cutting stone.”
- “Lord Narasimhadeva is here, and He is also there on the opposite side. Wherever I go, there I see Lord Narasimhadeva. He is outside and within my heart. Therefore I take shelter of Lord Narasimhadeva, the original Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
- “O my Lord, Your hands are very beautiful, like the lotus flower, but with Your long nails You have ripped apart the wasp Hiranyakashipu. Unto You, Lord of the universe, I offer my humble obeisance.”
Prasadam Honoring Mantra
The remnants of food offered to Lord Krsna are called maha-prasadam. After this same maha-prasadam has been taken by a devotee, the remnants are elevated to maha-maha-prasadam.
maha-prasade govinde nama-brahmani-vaishnava
svalpa-punya-vatam rajan vishvaso naiva jayate
Sharira abidya-jal, jodendriya tahe kal,
jiva phele vishaya-sagore, ta’ra madhye jihwa ati,
lobhamoy sudurmati, ta’ke jeta kathina samsare
krishna baro doyamoy, koribare jihwa jay,
swa-prasad-anna dilo bhai sei annamrita pao,
radha-krishna-guna gao, preme dako chaitanya-nitai
“O King, for those who have amassed very few pious activities, their faith in maha-prasada, in Sri Govinda, in the Holy Name and in the Vaishnava is never born [again].”
- This material body is a network of ignorance, and the senses are one’s deadly enemies, for they throw the soul into this ocean of material sense enjoyment. Among those senses the tongue is the most voracious and uncontrollable; it is very difficult to conquer the tongue in this world.
- Lord Krishna is very merciful and has given us the remnants of His own food just to control the tongue. Now please accept that nectarean Krishna-prasada and sing the glories of Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha and Krishna, and in love call out “Chaitanya Nitai!”
Garuda Pranama Mantra
An ardent devotee and the bird carrier of Lord Vishnu.Garuda is the son of Vinata and Kashyapa Muni and lives on the planet known as Salmalidvipa where he is constantly offering prayers to Lord Vishnu.
Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gita – vainateyash ca pakshinam, “Among the birds, I am Garuda.” Garuda carries Lord Vishnu on his back always and therefore he is considered as the transcendental prince of all carriers.
In the Vedic literature, it is stated that the two wings of the transcendental bird Garuda, are two divisions of the Sama Veda known as brihat and rathantara. When Garuda flaps his wings, one can hear the chanting of the hymns from Sama Veda. Garuda is engaged in eternal service to Lord Vishnu in Vaikuntha. Every temple of Lord Vishnu has a Deity of Sri Garuda sitting in front of the Lord with folded hands.
garudo bhagavan stotra-stobhash chandomayah prabhuh
rakshatv ashesha-kricchrebhyo vishvaksenah sva-namabhih
Lord Garuda, the carrier of Lord Vishnu, is the most worshipable lord, for he is as powerful as the Supreme Lord Himself. He is the personified Vedas and is worshiped by selected verses. May he protect us from all dangerous conditions, and may Lord Vishwaksena, the Personality of Godhead, also protect us from all dangers by His holy names. (SB 6.8.29)