जपन्तो ब्रह्म परमं तेपुस्तत्र महत् तपः ॥२६॥
tad-upasparÅ›anÄd eva
vinirdhÅ«ta-malÄÅ›ayÄḥ
japanto brahma paramaá¹
tepus tatra mahat tapaḥ
tat - of that holy place; upasparÅ›anÄt - by bathing regularly in the water; eva - indeed; vinirdhÅ«ta - completely purified; mala-ÄÅ›ayÄḥ - of all the dirt within the heart; japantaḥ - chanting or murmuring; brahma - mantras beginning with oá¹ (such as oá¹ tad viṣṇoḥ paramaá¹ padaá¹ sadÄ paÅ›yanti sÅ«rayaḥ); paramam - the ultimate goal; tepuḥ - performed; tatra - there; mahat - great; tapaḥ - penances.
At NÄrÄyaṇa-saras, the second group of sons performed penances in the same way as the first. They bathed in the holy water, and by its touch all the dirty material desires in their hearts were cleansed away. They murmured mantras beginning with oá¹kÄra and underwent a severe course of austerities.
Every Vedic mantra is called brahma because each mantra is preceded by the brahmÄká¹£ara (aum or oá¹kÄra). For example, oá¹ namo bhagavate vÄsudevÄya. Lord Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (7.8), praṇavaḥ sarva-vedeá¹£u: “In all the Vedic mantras, I am represented by praṇava, or oá¹kÄra.†Thus chanting of the Vedic mantras beginning with oá¹kÄra is directly chanting of Kṛṣṇa’s name. There is no difference. Whether one chants oá¹kÄra or addresses the Lord as “Kṛṣṇa,†the meaning is the same, but ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu has recommended that in this age one chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra (harer nÄma eva kevalam). Although there is no difference between Hare Kṛṣṇa and the Vedic mantras beginning with oá¹kÄra, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, the leader of the spiritual movement for this age, has recommended that one chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare RÄma, Hare RÄma, RÄma RÄma, Hare Hare.
