Text 31]
Instructions for Civilized Human Beings
231
brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate
“Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this non-dual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān.” Unless one is fully convinced of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one has the tendency to become an impersonalist  yogī  searching for the Supreme Lord within the core of his heart ( dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yam yoginaḥ ). Here the chanting of  oṁkāra  is recommended because in the beginning of transcendental realization, instead of chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa  mahā-mantra , one may chant  oṁkāra  ( praṇava ). There is no difference between the Hare Kṛṣṇa  mahā-mantra  and  oṁkāra  because both of them are sound representations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.  Praṇavaḥ sarva-vedeṣu . In all Vedic literatures, the sound vibration  oṁkāra  is the beginning.  Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya . The difference between chanting  oṁkāra  and chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa  mantra  is that the Hare Kṛṣṇa  mantra  may be chanted without consideration of the place or the sitting arrangements recommended in  Bhagavad-gītā  (6.11):
śucau deśe pratiṣṭhāpya sthiram āsanam ātmanaḥ nāty-ucchritaṁ nātinīcaṁ cailājina-kuśottaram
“To practice  yoga , one should go to a secluded place and should lay  kuśa  grass on the ground and then cover it with a deerskin and a soft cloth. The seat should neither be too high nor too low and should be situated in a sacred place.” The Hare Kṛṣṇa  mantra  may be chanted by anyone, without consideration of the place or how one sits. Śrī Caitanya Mahā-prabhu has openly declared,  niyamitaḥ smaraṇe na kālaḥ . In chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa  mahā-mantra  there are no particular injunctions regarding one’s sitting place. The injunction  niyamitaḥ smaraṇe na kālaḥ  includes  deśa, kāla  and  pātra —place, time and the individual. Therefore anyone may chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa  mantra , without consideration of the time and place. Especially in this age, Kali-yuga, it is very difficult to find a suitable place according to the recommendations of  Bhagavad-gītā . The Hare Kṛṣṇa  mahā-mantra , however, may be chanted at any place and any time, and this will bring results very quickly. Yet even while