The last few weeks have found me thinking more and more about Lord Vishnu, and Lord Sri Krishna, in particular. As we know, Sri Krishna has declared himself to be a complete incarnation or purna-avataar (पूर्णावतार) of Lord Vishnu in the Bhagavad Gita. There are hundreds of mantras and shlokas that can be used to invoke Sri Krishna. The most prevalent among these, and particularly dear to the Vaishnava heart is the ‘Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya’ mantra for Lord Sri Krishna. This mantra first appeared as a part of the Srimad Bhagavatam, which describes the many glories of Krishna.
ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय नम:
Om Namo Bhagavate – Invocation to Lord Krishna
Swami Krishnanda’s intrepretation of this mantra is:
Prostration or Namaskara to Lord Vasudeva. This namaskara, and the joining of the palms are indicative of the feeling of union of oneself with the other. ‘I and you are one’ – that is prostration, that is namaskara. ‘Lord Krishna, I am one with you’ is a spirit of surrender, and here begins meditation on Lord Vasudeva. When this mantra is chanted you have also created the requisite atmosphere in the mind for contemplation on Lord Krishna, to begin meditation and to feel His presence.
One literal translation of the mantra is:
O my Lord, Sri Krishna, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.
Audio version of Vasudevaya mantra for meditation
We present a remixed version of the Vasudevaya mantra sung beautifully by Yogi Hari. Enjoy!
Audio – Yogi Hari sings Krishna Mantra (edited extract)
From the album Garland of Moksha Mantras
References:
- Swami Krishnanada at Divine Life Society
- Srimad Bhagavatam Online
