The Hare-Kṛṣṇa-maha-mantra

 

- the 16 words -
thirty-two syllable mahā-mantra

हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे |
हरे राम हरे राम राम राम हरे हरे ||

hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare
hare rāma hare rāma, rāma rāma hare hare

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna,
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama,
Rama Rama Hare Hare

Mahā means »great« and mantra means »sacred chant for deliverance«. Of all mantras in the Vedas, only one is called the mahā-mantra, or the great mantra. The Hare-Kṛṣṇa-mantra is therefore the greatest of all sound vibrations.

The mahā-mantra is a thirty-two syllable mantra chanted requesting Harā (another name of Hari’s supreme pleasure energy, personified by Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī), and the Supreme Lord (given by two of His names, Kṛṣṇa, the All-Attractive One, and Rāma, the Reservoir of Pleasure) an opportunity to serve Them. When chanted the mahā-mantra is a petition to God: »O energy of the Lord, O Lord Kṛṣṇa, please engage me in Your service«.

The Hare-Kṛṣṇa-mantra, is a sixteen-word Vaiṣṇava mantra which first appeared in the Kali-Saṇṭāraṇa Upaniṣad, and which from the 15th century rose to importance in the Bhakti movement following the teachings of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. It was popularized in the sixteenth century by Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and spread worldwide in the late twentieth century by Śrīla Prabhupāda and his Hare-Kṛṣṇa-Movement.

The Hare-Kṛṣṇa-mantra is composed of 3 Sanskrit names in the vocative case: Hare, Kṛṣṇa and Rāma. According to A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Harā is adressing »the energy of God« while Kṛṣṇa and Rāma are forms of addressing the Lord Himself. Both Kṛṣṇa and Rāma mean »He who is All-Attractive« and »The supreme pleasure«, Hara is the supreme pleasure energy of the Lord, changed to Hare in the vocative. The Supreme Pleasure Energy of the Lord (Hare) helps us to reach the Lord (Kṛṣṇa).

In the hymn Viṣṇu Sahasra-nāma spoken by Bhīṣma in praise of Kṛṣṇa after the Kurukṣetra War, Kṛṣṇa is also called Rāma. Rāma can also be a shortened form of Balarāma, Kṛṣṇa’s first expansion, or of Rādhā-ramaṇa, another name of Kṛṣṇa meaning beloved of Rādhā.

The Hare-Kṛṣṇa-mantra is repeated, either out loud (kīrtan), softly to oneself (japa), or internally within the mind (manasa-japa). A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda describes the process of chanting the Mahā Mantra as follows:

»...This simple method of meditation is recommended for this age. By practical experience also, one can perceive that by chanting this mahā-mantra, or the Great Chanting for Deliverance, one can feel a transcendental ecstasy coming through from the spiritual stratum.... «

»These three words, namely Hare, Kṛṣṇa and Rāma, are the transcendental seeds of the mahā-mantra. The chanting is a spiritual call for the Lord and His Energy, to give protection to the conditioned soul. This chanting is exactly like the genuine cry of a child for its mother's presence. Mother Hara helps the devotee achieve the Lord Father's grace, and the Lord reveals Himself to the devotee who chants this mantra sincerely«.

Of all the mantras found in the Vedic scriptures, the Hare-Krsna-mahā-mantra is the most important, because in this Kali-yuga, the age of hypocrisy and quarrel, there is no other way to attain spiritual liberation and enlightenment, except through the chanting of the lords name. This is confirmed in Bṛhan-nāradīya Purāṇa

harer nāma harer nāma
harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva
nāsty eva gatir anyathā

»In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy the only means of deliverance is chanting the holy name of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way.« Those who are intelligent should take to the chanting of the Lord's holy name and thus quickly cross this material ocean of birth and death.

Chanting the Hare-Krsna-mantra can give peace of mind, happiness, and God realization, freedom from repeated birth and death, and total self-fulfilment.

To chant God’s names is a simple and sublime way to elevate oneself to a fully spiritual life because we can associate with God just by saying His name. Since God is omnipotent, He is actually present in His name, and so when we utter His name, He is immediately with us. This association is extraordinarily beneficial. We naturally pick up the qualities of those with whom we associate. If one associates with drunkards, for example, one may also become a drunkard, and if one associates with thieves, one may also learn to steal. By the same principle, if one associates with God, one can also become godly. In this age, practically everyone is to some extent a victim of bad association, but by the mercy of Lord Caitanya one can immediately come to the platform of the most elevated association, association with the most pure, most exalted person—God Himself—simply by saying His name. Thus one can become free from all impurity and so become fully joyful. The personal lives of the devotees chanting on the streets afford practical evidence of the purity that results from Kṛṣṇa consciousness; because they have intelligently taken up the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, they are no longer bedevilled by the vices of this age.

Hare-Krsna-mahā-mantra is a powerful spiritual sound vibration that purifies the mind and heart and awakens love of God. The transcendental vibration established by the chanting of Hare-Krsna helps us to revive our original pure consciousness. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not an artificial imposition on the mind. This consciousness is the original, natural energy of the living entity. When we hear this transcendental vibration, this pure consciousness is revived.

According to Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (12.3.51), »kirtanad eva kṛṣṇasya«, simply by chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, one is liberated and returns home, back to Godhead. Therefore one must adopt the chanting of the holy name as the principal method of advancing in spiritual life.

In the material concept of life we are busy in the matter of eating, sleeping, mating and defending, as if we were in the lower, animal stage. A little elevated from this bodily concept of life one is engaged in mental speculation for the purpose of getting out of the material clutches. A little elevated from this speculative status, when one is intelligent enough, one tries to find out the supreme cause of all causes, within and without. And when one is factually on the plane of spiritual understanding, surpassing the stages of sense, mind, and intelligence, he is then on the transcendental plane.

This chanting of the Hare-Krishna-mahā-mantra is enacted from the spiritual platform, and thus this sound vibration surpasses all lower strata of consciousness-namely sensual, mental and intellectual. There is no need, therefore, to understand the language of the mantra, nor is there any need for mental speculation, nor any intellectual adjustment for chanting this mahā-mantra; also anyone can take part in the chanting without any previous qualification.

Chanting this mantra reestablishes our lost connection with God and takes one immediately to spiritual platform. The Padma Purāṇa gives the following account:

nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇaś
caitanya-rasa-vigrahaḥ
pūrṇaḥ śuddho nitya-mukto
'bhinnatvān nāma-nāminoḥ

'The holy name of Kṛṣṇa is transcendentally blissful. It bestows all spiritual benedictions, for it is Kṛṣṇa Himself, the reservoir of all pleasure. Kṛṣṇa's name is complete, and it is the form of all transcendental mellows. It is not a material name under any condition, and it is no less powerful than Kṛṣṇa Himself. Since Kṛṣṇa's name is not contaminated by the material qualities, there is no question of its being involved with māyā. Kṛṣṇa's name is always liberated and spiritual; it is never conditioned by the laws of material nature. This is because the name of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa Himself are identical.'

The benefit of chanting the holy name of the Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is mentioned in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.2.14

sāṅketyaṁ pārihāsyaṁ vā
stobhaṁ helanam eva vā
vaikuṇṭha-nāma-grahaṇam
aśeṣāgha-haraṁ viduḥ

One who chants the holy name of the Lord is immediately freed from the reactions of unlimited sins, even if he chants indirectly [to indicate something else], jokingly, for musical entertainment, or even neglectfully. This is accepted by all the learned scholars of the scriptures.

Please also see: the-transcendental-vibration.html