Philosophy
Chanting Hare
Krishna
 The
transcendental vibration established by the chanting of Hare Krsna,
Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama,
Hare Hare is the sublime method of reviving our Krsna consciousness. As
living spiritual souls we are all originally Krsna conscious entities,
but due to our association with matter from time immemorial, our
consciousness is now polluted by the material atmosphere. The material
atmosphere, in which we are now living, is called Maya, or illusion.
Maya means "that which is not." And what is this illusion? The illusion
is that we are all trying to be lords of material nature, while
actually we are under the grip of her stringent laws. When a servant
artificially tries to imitate the all-powerful master, this is called
illusion. In this polluted concept of life, we are all trying to
exploit the resources of material nature, but actually we are becoming
more and more entangled in her complexities. Therefore, although we are
engaged in a hard struggle to conquer nature, we are ever more
dependent on her. This illusory struggle against material nature can be
stopped at once by the revival of our Krsna consciousness. Krsna
consciousness is not an artificial imposition of the mind; this
consciousness is the original energy of the living entity. When we hear
the transcendental vibration, this consciousness is revived. And this
is the process recommended for this age by authorities. By practical
experience also, one can perceive that by chanting this maha-mantra or
the Great Chanting for Deliverance, one can at once feel a
transcendental ecstasy coming through from the spiritual stratum. And
when one is factually on the plane of spiritual
understanding-surpassing the stages of the senses, mind, and
intelligence-one is situated on the transcendental plane.
This chanting of Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, 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. There
is no need, therefore, to understand the language of the mantra, nor is
there any need for mental speculation or any intellectual adjustment
for chanting this maha-mantra. It springs automatically from the
spiritual platform, and as such, anyone can take part in the chanting
without any previous qualification, and dance in ecstasy.
We have seen this practically. Even a child can take part in the
chanting, or even a dog can take part in it. Of course, for one who is
too entangled in material life, it takes a little more time to come to
the standard point, but even such a materially engrossed man is raised
to the spiritual platform very quickly. When the mantra is chanted by a
pure devotee of the Lord in love, it has the greatest efficacy on the
hearers, and as such, this chanting should be heard from the lips of a
pure devotee of the Lord, so that immediate effects can be achieved. As
far as possible, chanting from the lips of non-devotees should be
avoided. Milk touched by the lips of a serpent has poisonous effects.
The word Hara is the form of addressing the energy of the Lord, and the
words Krsna and Rama are addressing the Lord Himself. Both Krsna and
Rama mean "the supreme pleasure" and Hara is the supreme pleasure
energy of the Lord, changed to hare in the vocative. The supreme
pleasure energy of the Lord helps us to reach the Lord. The material
energy, called Maya, is also one of the multi energies of the Lord. And
we, the living entities, are also the energy-marginal energy-of the
Lord. The living entities are described as superior to material energy.
When the superior energy is in contact with the inferior energy, an
incompatible situation arises; but when the superior marginal energy is
in contact with the superior energy, called Hara, the living entity is
established in his happy, normal condition.
These three words, namely Hare, Krsna, and Rama, are transcendental
seeds of the maha-mantra. The chanting is a spiritual call for the Lord
and His internal energy, Hara, to give protection to the conditioned
soul. This chanting is exactly like the genuine cry of a child for its
mother. Mother Hara helps the devotee achieve the grace of the supreme
Father, Hari, or Krsna, and the Lord reveals Himself to the devotee who
chants this mantra sincerely.
No other means of spiritual realization, therefore, is as effective in
this age as chanting the maha-mantra:
"Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna,
Krsna Krsna, Hare
Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare
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The Bhagavad-gita and the
Srimad-Bhagavatam
The Vedic
scriptures designate these sacred texts as the most important,
essential revelations. They directly describe the nature, energy, and
person of God, who is both the immanent (as Vishnu) and transcendent
(as Krishna) source of everything, the cause of all causes, of both the
impersonal and personal manifestations. Bhagavad-gita("the song of
God") are the words spoken by God, and Srimad-Bhagavatam("Divine
Revelation")are the words about God spoken by His representatives. This
implicit structure of the Vedic scriptures sheds new light on the
entire Vedic tradition and deserves closer examination. But the goal of
these scriptures is to lead us to the Supreme, and it is not sufficient
merely to study them theoretically. They imply practical consequences.
Mere academic study of the Vedic scriptures can be compared to reading
a cookbook or a musical composition. If we don't come to the point of
actually cooking or playing, we will have missed the goal.
The
Bhagavad-gita
As It Is
Bhagavad-gita
means "the song of God." It was spoken by Lord Krishna to His friend
and eternal servant Arjuna, one of the five Pandava brothers, the
heroes of the epic Mahabharata. The 18 chapters of the Bhagavad-gita
are from the middle of the Mahabharata and comprise the core teaching
of that history of India . The 700 verses of the Bhagavad-gita were
spoken in about 45 minutes. They were spoken 3,134 years before the
birth of Christ on a battlefield about 80 km. north of Delhi , India .
That battlefield, called Kuruksetra, still exists today.
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Bhagavad-gita
means "the song of God." It was spoken by Lord Krishna to His friend
and eternal servant Arjuna, one of the five Pandava brothers, the
heroes of the epic Mahabharata. The 18 chapters of the Bhagavad-gita
are from the middle of the Mahabharata and comprise the core teaching
of that history of India. The 700 verses of the Bhagavad-gita were
spoken in about 45 minutes. They were spoken 3,134 years before the
birth of Christ on a battlefield about 80 km. north of Delhi, India.
That battlefield, called Kuruksetra, still exists today.
The external reason for the Bhagavad-gita's being spoken is the refusal
of the great warrior and general Arjuna to fight on the battlefield of
Kuruksetra due to the illusion that had momentarily overcome him.
Krishna therefore gave him perfect instruction, which cleared up his
illusion and ultimately led to the victory of the Pandavas and the
reestablishment of righteousness and purity in the kingdom. The
internal reason is to enable us, the fallen conditioned souls of this
material world, to hear directly from Krishna how to free ourselves
from illusion and return to our original position of eternal, loving
devotional service to the Lord.
Although many editions of the Bhagavad-gita have been published in the
world, most scholars agree that only the Bhagavad-gita As It Is truly
represents the words of Krishna as they are understood by Krishna's
sincere followers. Indeed, although many persons had translated the
text before Srila Prabhupada presented his book, the study of these
other versions had not resulted in anyone becoming a devotee of Lord
Krishna-which is the whole point of the Gita. Since one may judge a
thing by the results it brings, the result that thousands of people
have transformed their lives by devotion to Krishna owing to the
publication and distribution of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is. His Divine
Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada has made the science of Krsna
consciousness available to those outside of India and has shown that
Vedic knowledge is divine revelation to bring us to the supreme goal,
pure loving devotional service of Krishna.
Lord
Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita 15.15:
sarvasya caham hrdi sannivisto
mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca
vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedanta-krd veda-vid eva caham
I am seated in everyone's heart, nd from Me come rememberance,
knowledge
and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known.
Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.
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Srimad Bhagavatam
The
Bhagavata
Purana, is the ripened fruit of the Vedic literature and is the
narration of transcendental pastimes of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Krsna. It is narrated by Sukadeva and has become more sweet
from being spoken from his lips.
"Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially
motivated, this Bhagavata Purana propounds the highest truth, which is
understandable by those devotees who are fully pure in heart. The
highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of
all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful
Bhagavatam, compiled by the great sage Vyasadeva, is sufficient in
itself for God realization. What is the need of any other scripture? As
soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of
Bhagavatam, by this culture of knowledge the Supreme Lord is
established within his heart."
Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 1, Part 1, Verse 2
"O expert and thoughtful men, relish Srimad Bhagavatam, the mature
fruit of desire of Vedic literatures. It emanated from the lips of Sri
Sukadeva Gosvami. Therefore this fruit has become even more tasteful,
although its nectarean juice was already relishable for all, including
liberated souls."
Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 1, Part 1, Verse 3
One should read the Bhagavatam from the beginning to the end and not
skip to the Tenth Canto, as recommended by Srila Prabhupada:
"The Tenth Canto is distinct from the first nine cantos because it
deals directly with the transcendental activities of the Personality of
Godhead, Sri Krsna. One will be unable to capture the effects of the
tenth Canto without going through the first nine cantos. The book is
complete in twelve cantos, eac independent, but it is good for all to
read them in small installments one after another." -Preface
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