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{{Short description|Vaishnava mantra}}
{{EngvarB|date=March 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{for|the religious organization known as the "Hare Krishna movement"|International Society for Krishna Consciousness}}
[[File:Hare Krishna.jpg|thumb|Hare Krishna (Maha Mantra) in [[Devanagari]] ({{transliteration|sa|devanāgarī}}) script (non-standard rendering)]]
[[File:Mahamantra.png|thumb|Hare Krishna (Maha Mantra) in [[Bengali language]]]]
The '''Hare Krishna''' [[mantra]], also referred to reverentially as the '''{{IAST|Mahā-mantra}}''' ("Great Mantra"), is a 16-word [[Vaishnavism|Vaishnava]] mantra which is mentioned in the [[Kali-Saṇṭāraṇa Upaniṣad|Kali-Santarana Upanishad]]{{sfn|Beck|1993|p=199}} and which from the 15th century rose to importance in the [[Bhakti movement]] following the teachings of [[Chaitanya Mahaprabhu]]. This mantra is composed of three [[Sanskrit]] names – "[[Krishna]]", "Rama", and "Hare".<ref>{{Cite news| url=http://www.krishna.com/info/hare-krishna-mantra|title= Hare Krishna mantra
| work= Krishna }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.iskconhk.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=37&Itemid=115&lang=en| title=Chant and be happy| work=iskcon| access-date=28 July 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020135346/http://www.iskconhk.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=37&Itemid=115&lang=en| archive-date=20 October 2017| url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Rosen2006" />

Since the 1960s, the mantra has been made well known outside India by [[A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada]] and his movement, [[International Society for Krishna Consciousness]] (commonly known as the "Hare Krishnas" or the Hare Krishna movement).<ref>[http://www.religion-encyclopedia.com/H/hare_krishna.htm Religion Encyclopedia – Hare Krishna (ISKCON)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701152023/http://www.religion-encyclopedia.com/H/hare_krishna.htm |date=1 July 2007 }}</ref>

==Mantra==
The Hare Krishna mantra is composed of [[Sanskrit]] names: ''Hare'', ''Krishna,'' and ''Rama'' (in Anglicized spelling). It is a poetic [[stanza]] in {{transliteration|sa|[[anuṣṭubh]]}} meter (a quatrain of four lines ({{transliteration|sa|pāda}}) of eight syllables with certain syllable lengths for some of the syllables).

The mantra as rendered in the oldest extant written source, the [[Kali-Saṇṭāraṇa Upaniṣad]], is as follows:{{sfn|Beck|1993|p=199}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/kali-santarana-upanishad-of-shukla-yajurveda/d/doc217041.html|title=Contents of the Kali-Saṇṭāraṇa Upaniṣad|date=2018-04-16|website=www.wisdomlib.org|access-date=2019-12-31}}</ref>

{{poemquote|
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
|source=Kali-Santarana Upanisad}}

When followers of [[Chaitanya Mahaprabhu|Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu]] teach and practice the Mahamantra, it is rendered with the name Krishna first.

{{poemquote|
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
}}

Pronunciation of mantra in IPA ([[Sanskrit]]):
{{poemquote|
{{transliteration|sa|ɦɐreː kr̩ʂɳɐ ɦɐreː kr̩ʂɳɐ
kr̩ʂɳɐ kr̩ʂɳɐ ɦɐreː ɦɐreː
ɦɐreː raːmɐ ɦɐreː raːmɐ
raːmɐ raːmɐ ɦɐreː ɦɐreː}}}}

This mantra has multiple interpretations, all of which may be considered as correct.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}} "Hare" can be interpreted as the [[Vocative case#Sanskrit|vocative form]] of ''[[Hari]]'', another name of [[Vishnu]] meaning "he who removes illusion". Another interpretation is as the vocative of {{transliteration|sa|Harā}},<ref>[http://www.salagram.net/harernam-page.html 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 Harā. Hare is the vocative form of that name".</ref> a name of [[Radha|Rādhā]],<ref name="Rosen2006">{{cite book
| author = Rosen, S.
| year = 2006
| title = Essential Hinduism
| publisher = Praeger Publishers
| isbn = 0-275-99006-0
}}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 "Harā," which refers to Mother Harā, or Sri Radha.</ref> Krishna's eternal consort or his energy (Krishna's {{transliteration|sa|[[shakti]]}}). According to [[A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada]], {{transliteration|sa|Harā}} refers to "the energy/shakti of Supreme Personality of Godhead" while ''Krishna'' and ''Rama'' refer to Supreme Godhead himself, meaning "He who is All-Attractive" and "He who is the Source of All Pleasure".<ref>"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 [http://www.krishna.com/node/388 ''Krishna.com''] article.</ref><ref>[http://www.gaudiya.com/index.php?topic=practice Gaudiya.com – Practice] "Rama is another name for Him [Krishna], meaning the one who brings delight to Radha".</ref> In the hymn {{transl|sa|[[Vishnu sahasranama|Vishnu Sahasranama]]}} spoken by [[Bhishma]] in praise of Krishna after the [[Kurukshetra War]], Krishna is also called ''Rama''.<ref name="Gopal2000">{{cite book
|author=T. V. Gopal
|title=Hrishikesa: Krishna – A Natural Evolution
|publisher=Universal Publishers
|location=Parkland, Fla
|year=2000
|page=101
|isbn=1-58112-732-4
}}</ref>

It is sometimes believed that "Rama" in "Hare Rama" means "[[Radha Ramana|Radharamana]]" or the beloved of Radha (another name for Kṛṣṇa). The more common interpretation is that Rāma refers to [[Rama]] of the [[Ramayana]], an earlier avatar of Krishna. "Rama can also be a shortened form of [[Balarama]], Krishna's first expansion."<ref>[http://caitanyacaritamrta.com/adi/5/132/en1 Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi-5.132] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927225603/http://caitanyacaritamrta.com/adi/5/132/en1 |date=27 September 2007 }} "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".</ref> The mantra is repeated, either sung out loud ([[bhajan]]), congregationally ([[kirtan]]), or to oneself aloud or mentally on [[Japamala|prayer beads]] made of [[Ocimum tenuiflorum|Tulasi]] ([[japa]]). A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami describes the process of chanting the Maha Mantra as follows:

{{quote|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 [[spirituality|spiritual]] platform, and thus this sound vibration surpasses all lower strata of consciousness – namely [[Sense|sensual]], [[mind|mental]], and intellectual [...] As such anyone can take part in the [[chant]]ing without any previous qualification.<ref>For the original text, see this [http://www.krishna.com/main.php?id=316 ''Krishna.com''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051030230225/http://www.krishna.com/main.php?id=316 |date=30 October 2005 }} article.</ref>}}

==History==
{{Hinduism small}}
{{Vaishnavism}}
The mantra is first attested in the {{IAST|''[[Kali-Saṇṭāraṇa Upaniṣad]]''}} (Kali Santarana [[Upanishads]]), an Upanishad, which is commented on by Raghunandan Bhattacharya in his work {{transliteration|sa|Harinamarthah-ratna-dipika}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Prominence of Hari-Naam in Hinduism: Benefits of Chanting "Hare Krishna" Mahamantra|date=3 June 2020|website=NewsGram |url=https://www.newsgram.com/prominence-hari-naam-hinduism-benefits-hare-krishna-mahamantra/}}</ref> In this [[Upanishads|Upanishad]], [[Narada]] is instructed by [[Brahma]] (in the translation of K. N. Aiyar):

{{quote|Hearken to that which all [[Śruti|Shruti]]s (the [[Vedas]]) keep secret and hidden, through which one may cross the [[Saṃsāra]] (mundane existence) of [[Kali (demon)|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:

{{quote|Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare; these sixteen names are destructive of the evil effects of [[Kali (demon)|Kali]].<ref>[https://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_upanishhat/kalisantarana_upan.html?lang=sa Kalisantarana Upanishat] </ref> No better means than this is to be seen in all the Vedas.}}

Emic tradition claims that the mantra was popularized by [[Chaitanya Mahaprabhu]] roughly around 1500 A.D. when he began his mission to spread Harinam publicly to "every town and village" in the world, traveling throughout India, and especially within the areas of [[Bengal]] and [[Odisha]].<ref>[http://www.gaudiya.com/index.php?topic=history gaudiya.com].</ref> Some versions of the Kali Santarana Upanishad give the mantra with ''Hare Rama'' preceding ''Hare Krishna'' (as quoted above), and others with ''Hare Krishna'' preceding ''Hare Rama'', as in Navadvipa version of the manuscript. The latter format is by far the more common within the Vaishnava traditions.<ref>[[Steven J. Rosen]], ''Vaiṣṇavism: contemporary scholars discuss the Gauḍīya tradition'' {{ISBN|81-208-1235-2}}, p. 274.</ref> It is a common belief that the mantra is equally potent when spoken in either order.<ref>[http://www.prabhupadavani.org/Bhagavatam/text/368.html No Water in the Desert] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927004208/http://www.prabhupadavani.org/Bhagavatam/text/368.html |date=27 September 2007 }} Bombay, 12 December 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".</ref>

[[A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada]], a devotee of Krishna in disciplic succession, on the order of his guru, Srila [[Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati]], brought the teachings of Sri Chaitanya from Bharat (India) and single-handedly took the responsibility of spreading them around the Western world. Beginning in New York City 1965, 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.<ref>[http://www.prabhupada.com/biography.html Biography of Srila Prabhupada] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070316035911/http://www.prabhupada.com/biography.html |date=16 March 2007 }}.</ref>

==Popular culture==
{{further|Hare Krishna in popular culture}}
[[File:Hare Krishna Tree.jpg|thumb|right|The Hare Krishna Tree, an [[Ulmus americana|American Elm]] in [[Tompkins Square Park]], [[New York City]], under which Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada began the first recorded public chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra outside India.<ref>[http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/historical_signs/hs_historical_sign.php?id=10823 Hare Krishna Tree].</ref>]]
The Hare Krishna mantra appears in a number of famous songs, notably those of [[George Harrison]]. His first solo single "[[My Sweet Lord]]" topped charts around the world in 1970–71. Harrison put a Hare Krishna sticker on the back of the headstock of [[Eric Clapton]]'s 1964 [[Gibson ES-335]]; the sticker also appears on Gibson's 2005 reproduction of the guitar.

Produced by Harrison, [[Radha Krishna Temple]]'s recording "Hare Krishna Mantra" was issued as a single on the Beatles' [[Apple Records|Apple]] record label in 1969. The single was a commercial success, peaking at number 12 in the UK, and led to the Temple devotees appearing on the popular British [[UK Singles Chart|music chart]] television programme ''[[Top of the Pops]]''.

The [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] musical [[Hair (musical)|''Hair'']] has a song, "Hare Krishna", containing the mantra, along with some additional lyrics.

The mantra also prominently appears in [[Jesus Loves You (band)|Jesus Loves You]]'s "[[Bow Down Mister]]" (1990) and in [[the Pretenders]]' "Boots of Chinese Plastic" from their 2008 album, ''[[Break Up the Concrete]]''.{{cn|date=December 2021}} Stevie Wonder used the devotees chanting Hare Krishna in his song "Pastime Paradise".{{cn|date=December 2021}}

Less well-known recordings of the Hare Krishna mantra include versions by [[the Fugs]] on their 1968 album [[Tenderness Junction]] (featuring poet [[Allen Ginsberg]]), by [[Nina Hagen]], in multiple songs by English psychedelic rock band [[Quintessence (English band)|Quintessence]] (produced by [[John Barham]], a frequent collaborator of George Harrison) and by [[Hüsker Dü]] on their 1984 album ''[[Zen Arcade]]''.<ref>[http://www.cosmicempire.freeuk.com/radhakrsnatemple.htm Radha Krsna Temple].</ref> [[Kula Shaker]], [[Boy George]], and members of [[the Rubettes]] have recorded music tracks about Krishna Consciousness.

In a 2010 experimental study involving both devotees and non-devotees, singing vowels like "ah" and "eh" was found to be more joyful than singing vowels like "oh" and "uh", possibly due to a [[Facial feedback hypothesis|facial feedback]] effect.<ref>Böttger, D. (2010) ''To say "Krishna" is to smile – emotion psychology and the neurology of mantra singing.'' In "The Varieties of Ritual Experience" (ed. Jan Weinhold & [[Geoffrey Samuel]]) in the series "Ritual Dynamics and the Science of Ritual", Volume II: "Body, performance, agency and experience". Wiesbaden, Germany: Harrassowitz. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZkgFTzlX14 Video summary]</ref>

==Scriptural references==
The practice of [[chant]]ing the Hare Krishna mantra is recommended in the [[Puranas]], the [[Pancharatra]], and throughout Vaishnava literature in general.<ref>[http://www.gaudiya.com/pdf/References_to_the_Hare_Krishna_Maha-Mantra.pdf References to the Maha Mantra (pdf)].</ref> For example:

{{quotation|All the grievous sins are removed for one who worships Lord [[Hari]], the Lord of all lords, and chants the holy name, the Maha-mantra.|[[Padma Purana]]|3.50.6}}

{{quotation|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 Vidyabhushana]] in Bhaktisiddhanta's Gaudiya Kanthahara 17:30}}

{{quotation|… [Anyone] can immediately become eligible to perform Vedic sacrifices if he once utters the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or chants about Him, hears about His pastimes, offers Him obeisances or even remembers Him."| [[Bhagavata Purana]], 3:33 6}}

==See also==
{{portal|religion}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
*[[Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya]]
*[[Haridasa Thakur]]
*[[Kali-Saṇṭāraṇa Upaniṣad]]
*[[Svayam Bhagavan]]
*[[Vaishnavism]]
*[[Vrindavan]]
{{div col end}}

==Footnotes==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book|surname=Beck |given=Guy L. |title=Sonic Theology: Hinduism and Sacred Sound
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cY1Xw1ZlIeQC |place=Columbia, SC |publisher=University of South Carolina Press |year=1993 |series=Studies in Comparative Religion |isbn=0872498557}}
*{{cite web
|url = http://www.celextel.org/108upanishads/kalisantarana.html
|title = English translation of the Kali Santarana Upanishad
|publisher = www.celextel.org
|access-date = 2008-05-06
|last = Translated by K. Narayanasvami Aiyar
|first = Copyright 2002–2008 Celextel Enterprises Pvt. Ltd.- Vedanta Spiritual Library
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080511193912/http://www.celextel.org/108upanishads/kalisantarana.html
|archive-date = 11 May 2008
|df = dmy-all
}}
*{{Cite book
| first = Klaus K.
| last = Klostermaier
| year = 2000
| author-link = Klaus Klostermaier
| title = Hinduism: A Short History
| place = Oxford
| publisher = Oneworld Publications
| isbn = 1-85168-213-9
| url-access = registration
| url = https://archive.org/details/hinduismshorthis0000klos
}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}










{{Vaishnava philosophy}}

[[Category:Hindu denominations]]
[[Category:Hindu mantras]]
[[Category:Krishna]]
[[Category:Meditation]]
[[Category:Vaishnavism]]
[[Category:Kirtan]]

Hare Krishna (mantra) - Revision history

Himalayan Dream Treks: small changes

ImportMaster at 00:25, 17 November 2022