Sacred Invocations

 

Mangalacarana (auspicious invocations)

There are certain standard prayers that we must recite before we enter into any reading or writing or speaking religious or spiritual texts. We must offer our deep thanks to all the saints, sages, devotees and supreme personality of godhead himself in their praise and ask for mercy on us and our friends and family and be our guiding light in this world. The lyrical beauty of these prayers and the feeling while chanting them makes you happy.

You can buy a get a copy of the Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas book from local ISKCON Centre (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) in your locality of country of residence.

I have removed the diacritical marks on the Sanskrit  due to fear that the Sanskrit words might morph into something unreadable causing inconvenience for anyone who would be viewing them in a different font

om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya

caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah

sri-caitanya-mano-bhistam sthapitam yena bhu-tale

svayam rupah kada mahyam dadati sva-padantikam

I offer my respectful obeisance unto my spiritual master, who has opened my eyes, which were blinded by the darkness of ignorance, with the torchlight of knowledge.

When will Srila Rupa Gosvami Prabhupada, who has established within this material world the mission to satisfy the desire of Lord Caitanya, give me shelter under his lotus feet?

 

Srila Rupa Gosvami Prabhupada

vande ham sri-guroh sri-yuta-pada-kamalam sri-gurun vaisnavams ca

sri-rupam sagrajatam saha-gana-raghunathanvitam tam sa jivam

sadvaitam savadhutam parijana-sahitam krsna-caitanya-devam

sri-radha-krsna-padan saha-gana-lalita-sri-visakhanvitams ca

I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master and of rest preceptors on the trail/path of devotional service.  I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaisnavas and unto the six Gosvamis, including Srila Rupa Gosvami, Srila Sanatana Gosvami, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Jiva Gosvami, and their associates.  I offer my respectful obeisances unto Advaita Acarya Prabhu, Sri Nityananda Prabhu, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and everyone of His devotees, headed by Srivasa Thakura.  I then offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of Lord Krsna, Srimati Radharani, and everyone the gopis, headed by Lalita and Visakha.

 

All vaisnava devotees of Lord sri krsna Chanting his name

He krsna karunao sindho dian bandho jagat pate

gopesa gopika-kanta radha-kanta namo 'stu te

O my dear Krsna, ocean of mercy, You are the friend of the distressed and the source of creation.  You are the master of the cowherdmen and the lover of the gopis, especially Radharani.  I offer my respectful obeisances unto you.

Radha krishna

tapta-kancana-gaurangi radhe vrndavanesvari

vrsabhanu-sute devi pranamami hari-priye

I offer my respects to Radharani, whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and who is the Queen of Vrndavana. You are the daughter of King Vrsabhanu, and you’re very dear to Lord Krsna.

 

Radharani With Krsna in vrndavan

vancha-kalpa tarubhyas ca krpa-sindhubhya eva ca

patitanam pavanebhyo vaineavebhyo namo namah

This is called as Vaisnava Pranama. I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaisnava devotees of the Lord. They resemble desire trees who can fulfill the desires of everyone. They are oceans of mercy and are the purifiers of the fallen souls.

Chaitanya prabhuji

Sri krsna –caitanya prabhu nityananda

Sri advaita gadadhara srivasadi gaura bhaktavrnda

 

This is referred as Sri pancha Tattva Pranama.

I offer my obeisances to Sri Krsna Chaitanya, Prabhu Nityänanda, sri Advaita, Gadädhara, Srivasa and  everyone others  others within the line of devotion.

Sri Caitanya Mahäprabhu is usually amid Sri Nityänanda Prabhu, His incarnation Sri Advaita Prabhu, His internal potency Sri Gadädhara Prabhu, and His marginal potency Srivasa Prabhu. His position is in the midst of them because of his highest devotion to  the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sri Caitanya Mahäprabhu is usually amid these other tattvas. Therefore our obeisances to Sri Caitanya Mahäprabhu are complete once we say when we say, Sri-Krsna-caitanya prabhu nityänanda sri-advaita gadädhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vånda. As preachers of the Krsna consciousness movement, we first offer our obeisances to Sri Caitanya Mahäprabhu by chanting this Panca-tattva mantra; then we say, Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare. There are ten offenses associated with the chanting of the Hare Krsna mahä-mantra, but these are not considered in the chanting of the Panca-tattva mantra. Sri Caitanya Mahäprabhu is understood as mahä-vadänyävatära, the  foremost magnanimous incarnation, for He doesn’t  consider the offenses of the fallen souls. Thus to derive the full benefit of the chanting of the mahä-mantra (Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare), we must first take shelter of Sri Caitanya Mahäprabhu, learn the Panca-tattva mantra, then chant the Hare Krsna mahamantra. That will be very fruitful.

 

Devotees chanting Hare krsna

Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare

Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

This is called as great chanting for deliverance Hare Krsna Mahamantra. My dear Lord, and therefore the spiritual energy of the Lord, kindly engage me in Your service. This material service is embarrassing now. Please engage me in Your service.

harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam

kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha

In this age of Kali, the sole and  only means of deliverance is chanting the holy name of Lord Hari, Krsna. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way." [Brahan-näradéya Puräna, 18.126] This process of Hari-kirtana is to chant the mahä-mantra (the great chanting for deliverance): Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare. In the Padma Purana it’s  stated: There is not any  difference between the holy name of the Lord and therefore  the Lord Himself. As such, the holy name is as perfect because  the Lord Himself in fullness, purity and eternity. The holy name is not a material sound vibration, nor has it any material contamination.[Padma Purana] How the holy name of the Lord can be chanted constantly is mercifully described by Lord Sri Caitanya Mahäprabhu Himself in His Shiksastaka verse 3: One can chant the holy name of the Lord while maintaining  a humble state of mind, thinking himself lower than the straw lying in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, detached from  all sense of falseprestige, and will  be able to offer all respects to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.

Prayers For Offering Prasadam/Srila Prabhupada Pranati

nama om visnu-padaya krsna-presthaya bhu-tale

srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine 

I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who is extremely dear to Lord Krsna, having taken shelter at His lotus feet. 

His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracarine

nirviçena-sunyavadi-pascatya-desa-tarine

Our respectful obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Sarasvate Gosvame. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Caitanyadeva and delivering the Western countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.

namo maha-vadanyaya

krishna-prema-pradaya te

krishnaya krishna-chaitanya-

namne gaura-tvishe namaha

I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya, who is more magnanimous than any other incarnation, even Krishna Himself, because He is bestowing freely what no one else has ever given pure love of Krsna.

namo-brahmanya-devaya 

go brahmana hitaya cha

jagad-hitaya krishnaya

govindaya namo namaha

 I offer my respectful obeisances to the Supreme Absolute Truth, Krishna, who is the well-wisher of the cows and the brahmanas as well as the living entities in general. I offer my repeated obeisances to Govinda (Krishna), who is the pleasure reservoir for all the senses.

 

Prayers for honoring Prasadam /Prasada-sevaya From Gitavali

Bal Krsna Sharing Prasadam with his friends and devotees

maha-prasade govinde nama-brahmani vaisnave

svalpa-punya-vatam rajan visvaso naiva jayate

O king, for those with little pious credit, faith in mahä-prasäda, Sri Govinda, the holy name, and the Vaisnavas never arises.

 

sarira avidya-jal, jodendriya tahe kal,

jive phele visaya-sagore

ta’ra madhye jihvaa ati, lobhamoy sudurmati,

ta'ke jeta kathina samsare

krsna bado doyamay, karibare jihva jay,

sva-prasad-anna dila bhai

sei annamrata pao, radha-krsna-guna gao,

preme dako caitanya-nitai

O Lord, this material body is a place of ignorance, and the senses are a network of paths leading to death. Somehow we have fallen into this ocean of material sense enjoyment such that of all the senses the tongue is the most voracious and uncontrollable. Tongue is the most difficult sense to control in this world. But You, dear Krsna, are very kind to us and have given us such nice prasadam just to control the tongue. Now we take this prasadam to our full satisfaction and glorify You-Sri-Sri Radha and Krsna-and in love call for the help of Lord Caitanya and Nityananda.

I hope all the readers will make use of these invocations in their reading of Bhagvad Gita as well as daily Pooja archana of Lord Sri Krsna. I learnt These invocations from different online sources and from my were gurus Nama Nishtha Das Prabhuji ,Temple President from Iskcon Mangaluru in Understand gita in 18 days course  and Mr V. Sreenivas  Senior Principal Scientist, CSIR lab, IIT Madras giving  online course on life lessons from Bhagvad Gita. I am just contributing my understanding of self study from book Bhagvad gita as it is and learnt knowledge in the digital world among my readers as a service to lotus feet of Lord Krsna.

Hare Krsna