Everything about The Hare Krishna totally explained
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'). It 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. According to
Gaudiya Vaishnava theology, this higher consciousness takes the form of pure love of
God (
Krishna). This mantra is recorded in canonic
Upanishads that some place as
Vedic evidence, and this practice among others in Hinduism, have their roots in the Vedic past;
The 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, and ; roughly pronounced, ['kɹ̩ʂɳɐ], ['ra:mɐ], see
Sanskrit for pronunciation details):
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. "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, a name of
Rādhā, 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". Rama can also refer to
Radha-Raman, another name of Krishna meaning
beloved of Radha, or as a shortened form of
Balarama, Krishna's first expansion.
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 isn't 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."
History
The mantra is first attested in the (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."
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. 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's a common belief that the mantra is equally potent when spoken in either order.
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.
The "Hare Krishna" movement
1960s and
1970s, dancing and chanting with drums and cymbals, wearing saffron
dhotis or colourful
saris, and selling
Bhagavad Gita As It Is and similar literatures. These devotees were members of the
International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), founded by
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. ISKCON was the first organized
Vaishnava group to make a large impression outside of
India. Now a number of such
Vaishnava groups are preaching in the Western world, such as the
Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mission and other lineages of the
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.
Most serious 'Hare Krishna' practitioners live according to strict rules. For example,
initiates take
vows to abstain from all forms of recreational drugs and
intoxicants (including
caffeine), from
eating meat, fish and eggs, from gambling, and from all sexual relations except for purposes of
procreation within
marriage. For beginners and non-initiates, how many of these rules are to be followed is left to one's own discretion, but these four 'regulative principles' remain as a standard.
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.
Hare Krishna Movement was subject to a number of academic researches, it was considered a cult in a number of countries, but despite initial
anti-cult controversies, the Hare Krishna movement today is accepted by the academics as "the most genuinely Hindu of all the many Indian movements in the West".
Hippie culture
In the 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". Elevation and joy were to be derived from chanting
God's holy names.
Hare Krishna in popular culture
The Hare Krishna mantra appears in a number of famous songs, notably those of
The Beatles 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.
Other scriptural references
The practice of
chanting the Hare Krishna mantra is recommended in the
Puranas, the
Pañcaratra, and throughout
Vaishnava literature in general. 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's 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
Footnotes
Further Information
Get more info on 'Hare Krishna'.
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