Hare Krishna Mahamantra
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna,
Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare,
Hare Rama, Hare Rama,
Rama Rama, Hare Hare
‘Hare Krishna’ revealed to Bhagavan
When Bhagavan was staying in the Guwahati ashram during a visit in 2004, the revelation came to him in samadhi from the Supreme, instructing him, “make yourself mad, and madden others”. With it came this mantra, infused with greater power. He came out of his room, and seeing Swami Premananda in meditation, said, “say ‘Hare Krishna!’” Swamiji leapt up, grabbed his khol and started to chant. It was 10:30 in the morning, so now this mantra is always chanted in IVS ashrams at 10:30am.
On revelations
This mantra became famous when it appeared in a revelation of Chaitanya Deva about 500 years ago. Revelations do not come from the intellect of an individual. When a huge amount of intuitive knowledge passes through the mind, it may manifest in the mind as words. This knowledge comes from the omniscient Ishwara, which is immanent in and pervades everything in the universe. Sometimes mantras come from the Supreme through a saint when the world is in need of spiritualisation. The deeper the realisation of the saint the mantra passes through, the more powerful it is likely to be.
On mantras
A spiritual mantra is a carrier of spiritual power. Whenever the mantra is uttered or merely thought, that power will be invoked into the mind. The power cleans up the impurities in the mind, thereby bringing the aspirant closer to the point where samadhi is entered. The less disturbance there is in the mind from other vibrations, the greater the effect will be.
When chanting a mantra, people try to generate as much devotion as possible for the spiritual ideal, thereby immersing themselves into such a state of spiritual intoxication that all attachments to the material world fall away, all ego is forgotten with one-pointed concentration on the spiritual ideal, and the mind evaporates away, leaving our true, divine nature unsmirched by the mind’s ignorance.
Mantras are normally passed down a spiritual lineage from guru to disciple. In the case of Bhagavan, however, the mantra did not come from his guru, but directly from the Omniscient through revelation. Although the words are the same as in Chaitanya’s mantra, it is new in essence.
The meaning of ‘Hare Krishna’
Krishna and Rama were both avatars. Each avatar tends to manifest more of a different quality. Krishna is considered the stealer of hearts, the embodiment of love. Rama is considered the embodiment of dharma, the way towards Truth, so perfect in every way. 'Hare' comes from the verb root 'to steal,' so 'Hare Krishna' means 'Krishna, steal away the imperfections from my mind,’ or simply, 'steal my heart'. The essence of Krishna is not a man that lived 5000 years ago, neither is it a blue boy with a flute in some picture; it is the love in your own heart, and Rama is the Truth, the Dharma. Many Indian people simply visualise that pure love within themselves in this form as it is easier for most to love a personified object than something abstract which is their own Self.
Some videos of devotees chanting with Bhagavan
In Benares at the Annual Convention on 19th November, 2006