Those who are initiated with the eighteen-syllable mantra do not need to consider the above-mentioned sixteen divisions. As enjoined in the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (1.215, 219, 220):
- na cātra śātravā doṣā narṇasvādi-vicāraṇā
- ṛkṣa-rāśi-vicāro vā na kartavyo manau priye
- nātra cintyo ‘ri-śuddhyādir nāri-mitrādi-lakṣaṇam
- siddha-sādhya-susiddhāri-rūpā nātra vicāraṇā
There is śodhana, or purification of the mantra, but there is no such consideration for the Kṛṣṇa mantra. Balitvāt kṛṣṇa-mantrāṇāṁ saṁskārāpekṣaṇaṁ na hi: “The Kṛṣṇa mantra is so strong that there is no question of śodhana.” (Hari-bhakti-vilāsa 1.235)As far as dīkṣā is concerned, one should consult Madhya-līlā 15.108. On the whole, when a person is initiated according to the pāñcarātrika-vidhi, he has already attained the position of a brāhmaṇa. This is enjoined in the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (2.12):
- yathā kāñcanatāṁ yāti kāṁsyaṁ rasa-vidhānataḥ
- tathā dīkṣā-vidhānena dvijatvaṁ jāyate nṛṇām
“As bell metal can be turned into gold when treated with mercury, a disciple initiated by a bona fide guru immediately attains the position of a brāhmaṇa.”As far as the time of dīkṣā (initiation) is concerned, everything depends on the position of the guru. As soon as a bona fide guru is received by chance or by a program, one should immediately take the opportunity to receive initiation. In the book called Tattva-sāgara, it is stated:
- durlabhe sad-gurūṇāṁ ca sakṛt-saṅga upasthite
- tad-anujñā yadā labdhā sa dīkṣāvasaro mahān
- grāme vā yadi vāraṇye kṣetre vā divase niśi
- āgacchati gurur daivād yathā dīkṣā tad-ājñayā
- yadaivecchā tadā dīkṣā guror ājñānurūpataḥ
- na tīrthaṁ na vrataṁ hemo na snānaṁ na japa-kriyā
- dīkṣāyāḥ karaṇaṁ kintu svecchā-prāpte tu sad-gurau
“If by chance one gets a sad-guru, it doesn’t matter whether one is in the temple or the forest. If the sad-guru, the bona fide spiritual master, agrees, one can be initiated immediately, without waiting for a suitable time or place.”Concerning prātaḥ-smṛti, remembrance of the Lord in the morning, in the early morning hours (known as brāhma-muhūrta) one should get up and immediately chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, or at least “Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa.” In this way, one should remember Kṛṣṇa. Some ślokas or prayers should also be chanted. By chanting, one immediately becomes auspicious and transcendental to the infection of material qualities.