Hare Krishna

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Hare Krishna Mantra in Devanagari
Hare Krishna Mantra in Devanagari

The Hare Krishna mantra, also referred to reverentially as the Maha Mantra ("Great Mantra"), is a sixteen-word Vaishnava mantra made well known outside of India by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (commonly known as 'the Hare Krishnas').[1] This mantra appears within many traditions of Hinduism and is believed by practitioners to bring about a higher state of consciousness when heard, spoken, meditated upon, or sung out loud.[2] According to Gaudiya Vaishnava theology, this higher consciousness takes the form of pure love of God (Krishna).[3] The mantra is contained in the texts of Hinduism known as the Upanishads, which are considered by some scholars to have roots in the Vedic past.[4]

Contents

[edit] Mantra

The Hare Krishna mantra is composed of Sanskrit names in the vocative case: Hare, Krishna, and Rama (in Anglicized spelling, the transliteration of the three vocatives is hare, kṛṣṇa and rāma; roughly pronounced IPA: ['hɐre:], ['kɹ̩ʂɳɐ], ['ra:mɐ], see Sanskrit for pronunciation details):

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare

Rama and Krishna both appear as names of Vishnu in the Vishnu sahasranama and refer primarily to the 7th and 8th Maha Avataras of Vishnu[5]. "Hare" can be interpreted as either the vocative of Hari, another name of Vishnu meaning "he who removes illusion", or as the vocative of Harā[6], a name of Rādhā[7], Krishna's eternal consort or Shakti. According to A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Harā refers to "the energy of God" while Krishna and Rama refer to God himself, meaning "He who is All-Attractive" and "He who is the Source of All Pleasure".[8] Rama can also refer to Radha-Raman, another name of Krishna meaning beloved of Radha[9], or as a shortened form of Balarama, Krishna's first expansion.[10]

The mantra is repeated, either out loud (kirtan), softly to oneself (japa), or internally within the mind. Srila Prabhupada describes the process of chanting the Maha Mantra as follows:

Krishna consciousness is not an artificial imposition on the mind; this consciousness is the original energy of the living entity. When we hear the transcendental vibration, this consciousness is revived ...[]... This chanting of 'Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare' is directly enacted from the spiritual platform, and thus this sound vibration surpasses all lower strata of consciousness - namely sensual, mental, and intellectual ...[]... As such anyone can take part in the chanting without any previous qualification.

—[11]

[edit] History

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1534)
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1534)
The Hare Krishna Tree in Tompkins Square Park under which Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada began the first recorded public chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra outside of India.
The Hare Krishna Tree in Tompkins Square Park under which Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada began the first recorded public chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra outside of India.[12]

The mantra is first attested in the kalisaṇṭāraṇopaniṣad (Kali Santarana Upanishad), a Vaishnava Upanishad associated with the Krishna Yajurveda. In this Upanishad, Narada is instructed by Brahma (in the translation of K. N. Aiyar):

Hearken to that which all Shrutis (the Vedas) keep secret and hidden, through which one may cross the Samsara (mundane existence) of Kali. He shakes off (the evil effects of) Kali through the mere uttering of the name of Lord Narayana, who is the primeval Purusha.

Narada asks to be told this name of Narayana, and Brahma replies:

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare; These sixteen names are destructive of the evil effects of Kali. No better means than this is to be seen in all the Vedas.

—[13]

The mantra was popularized by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu roughly around 1500 CE when he began his mission to spread this mantra publicly to 'every town and village' in the world, travelling throughout India, and especially within the areas of Bengal and Orissa[14]. Some versions of the Kali Santarana Upanishad give the mantra with Hare Rama preceding Hare Krishna, and others with Hare Krishna preceding Hare Rama (as quoted above). The latter format is by far the more common within the Vaishnava traditions, within which it is a common belief that the mantra is equally potent when spoken in either order.[15]

In the 1960's an elderly monk known as A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, on the order of his guru, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, brought the teachings of Sri Chaitanya from India and single-handedly took the responsibility of spreading them around the Western world. Beginning in New York, he encircled the globe fourteen times in the final eleven years of his life, thus making 'Hare Krishna' a well-known phrase in many parts of the world.[16]

[edit] "Hare Krishna" movement

Hare Krishna devotees perform a parade in Florida, USA in 2008
Hare Krishna devotees perform a parade in Florida, USA in 2008
A Gaudiya Vaishnava (Hare Krishna) temple at Tirupathi
A Gaudiya Vaishnava (Hare Krishna) temple at Tirupathi
Devotees singing the Hare Krishna mantra
Devotees singing the Hare Krishna mantra
See also: ISKCON and Gaudiya Math

From a theological perspective Hare Krishna devotees are classified as practitioners of Bhakti Yoga. They are also referred to as Gaudiya Vaishnavas because they follow a line of gurus descending from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who appeared in Bengal (Gauda is an old name of Bengal). Vaishnavism comes under the general banner of being a Hindu religion.[17]

In terms of general diet among Gaudiya Vaishnavas, onions, garlic, and mushrooms are also generally avoided due to their purportedly adverse effects on the consciousness of the eater. [18]

Hare Krishna Movement was subject to a number of academic researches, the Hare Krishna movement today is accepted by the academics as "the most genuinely Hindu of all the many Indian movements in the West".[19] Not only hindu or brahmanas were instrumental in the early appearance and spread of Hare Krishna movement in the 16th century. Haridasa Thakura, for example, was born outside of Hindu tradition but considered to be the most famous convert of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, apart from Rupa Goswami and Sanatana Goswami themselves, and the story of his heroism in the face of torture is told in Chaitanya Charitamrta, Antya lila.[20][21]

[edit] Hippie culture

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Hare Krishnas became confused with the hippie subculture. The 1971 Hindi film Hare Rama, Hare Krishna, written and directed by Dev Anand, was shot with many real-life hippie extras. But in fact the genuine Hare Krishna followers were a far cry from hippies. Although Prabhupada was open to anyone, members had to follow the four regulative principles, one of which is "no intoxicants"[22]. Elevation and joy were to be derived from chanting God's holy names.

[edit] Popular culture

Further information: Hare Krishna in popular culture

The Hare Krishna mantra appears in a number of famous songs, notably those of The Beatles, John Lennon, and George Harrison, and has been at the number-one spot in the UK singles charts on more than one occasion within songs such as My Sweet Lord. One song from 1969 by the Radha Krsna Temple, simply entitled Hare Krsna Mantra reached no. 17 in the UK music chart and appeared on the music show Top of the Pops. It also made the no.1 slot in both German and Czechoslovakian music charts. Less well-known but equally relevant to fans of pop music culture is the recording of Hare Krishna mantras by Nina Hagen.

[23]

[edit] Other scriptural references

The practice of chanting the Hare Krishna mantra is recommended in the Puranas, the Pañcaratra, and throughout Vaishnava literature in general[24]. For example:

  • All the grievous sins are removed for one who worships Lord Sri Hari, the Lord of all lords, and chants the holy name, the Maha-mantra.

– Padma Purana, Svarga Khanda 50.6

  • Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare: Whoever chants this mantra, even neglectfully, will attain the supreme goal of life. Of this there is no doubt.

– Agni Purana

  • This sixteen-name, thirty-two-syllable mantra is the Maha-mantra in the Age of Kali, by which all living beings can be delivered. One should never abandon chanting this maha-mantra.

– Ananta-samhita

  • About this divinely spiritual Maha-mantra, which delivers one from material existence, the original guru, Lord Brahma, has said: 'The srutis have declared this mantra to be the best means of deliverance in the Age of Kali.' Having heard this from Brahma, all the sons and disciples of Brahma, beginning with Narada, accepted the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra and, having meditated on it, attained perfection.

– Ananta-samhita

  • When the sixteen names and thirty-two syllables of the Hare Krishna mantra are loudly vibrated, Krishna dances on one's tongue

– Stava-mala-vidyabhusana-bhasya, Baladeva Vidyabhusana in Bhaktisiddhanta's Gaudiya Kanthahara 17:30

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Religion Encyclopedia - Hare Krishna (ISKCON)
  2. ^ Srimad Bhagavatam 3.14.32 " Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare can be chanted both softly to oneself or loudly"
  3. ^ Caitanya Caritamrta Ml.20.340
  4. ^ Early Krishna-centered traditions are sometimes refered as Bhagavatism or Vasudevism - R D Ranade Mysticism in Maharashtra: Indian Mysticism,p.3: "Vasudevism was indeed no new religion, see: Dr. Bhandarkar, as has been contended sometimes. It was merely a new stress on certain old beliefs which had come down fromt the days of the Vedas."
  5. ^ Vishnu with his 10 incarnations
  6. ^ Meditations on the Hare Krishna Mahamantra "[Hare] = O Hari!...." & "Because she steals Krishna's mind and because she is the embodiment of Krishna's divine joy, Sri Radha is known as Hara. Hare is the vocative form of that name"
  7. ^ Rosen, S. (2006). Essential Hinduism. Praeger Publishers. ISBN 0275990060. P.4: It was preserved in the confidential sampradayas, or esoteric lineages, that were guardian to these truths from the beginning. p.244: In a more esoteric sense, the word "Hare" is a vocative form of "Hara," which refers to Mother Hara, or Sri Radha,
  8. ^ "The word Harā is a form of addressing the energy of the Lord, and the words Krishna and Rama (which mean "the highest pleasure eternal") are forms of addressing the Lord Himself." - A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. See Krishna.com article.
  9. ^ Gaudiya.com - Practice "Rama is another name for Him [Krishna], meaning the one who brings delight to Radha"
  10. ^ Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi-5.132 "if someone says that the "Rama" in "Hare Rama" is Lord Ramacandra and someone else says that the "Rama" in "Hare Rama" is Sri Balarama, both are correct"
  11. ^ For the original text, see this Krishna.com article.
  12. ^ Hare Krishna Tree
  13. ^ Howard Beckman. Mantras, Yantras, and Fabulous Gems: The Healing Secrets of the Ancient Vedas, 2000 , Gyan Books ISBN 8121206685 p. 41: "In the "Kalisantarana Upanishad" it is stated. The sixteen names of the Hare Krishna mantra destroy all the inauspiciousness, this is the conclusion of all the Vedas".
  14. ^ gaudiya.com
  15. ^ No Water in the Desert Bombay, December 12, 1974: "Sometimes they first of all place "Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare." And sometimes they place "Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna..." There is no difference. Sometimes they say, "No, it should be Hare Rama first." Sometimes they..., "No, Hare Krsna." But that is not very important"
  16. ^ Biography of Srila Prabhupada
  17. ^ adherents.com
  18. ^ Culture - Food. www.iskcon.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-06.
  19. ^ Klostermaier 2000, Intro
  20. ^ Dimock, Jr, E.C. (1963). "Doctrine and Practice among the Vaisnavas of Bengal". History of Religions 3 (1): p.106. 
  21. ^ Dr. James A. Beckford. The Mass Media and New Religious Movements ICJ. www.iskcon.com. Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
  22. ^ Hare Krishnas and ISKCON "These physical pleasures, the eating of fish, meat or eggs, the use of intoxicants, illicit sex, and gambling and frivoulous sports, are called the four regulative principles."
  23. ^ Radha Krsna Temple
  24. ^ References to the Maha Mantra (pdf)

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