Meaning of 'Hare' Krishna Mantra

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

 

[ Pronounced as:  Hare - ( Ha'ray),  Rama - (Raa'maa)   & 

Krishna - ( Kri-Sh'-Naa) ]

'Hare Krishna' is the mantra which  is known to maximum number of  western seekers thanks to the commendable work done by His Divine Grace A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad (founder of  ISKON - International Society for Krishna Consciousness  www.iskcon.com  in spreading its awareness world wide.  George Harrison, the popular singer of world famous Beatles group also devoted his entire life in spreading the  awareness about this mantra. 

"A mantra is mystical energy encased in a sound structure and each mantra contains within its vibrations a certain power. But of all mantras, the maha-mantra (the Hare Krishna mantra) has been prescribed as the easiest and surest way for attaining God Realization in this present age."  George Harrison (1943-2001), in his autobiography :'I, me and Mine'

This mantra is known as the Maha-mantra of Kailyug (the supreme mantra of Kaliyug - the present era of machine where truth and righteousness are at their lowest level. ) It has been said that by repeating this mantra with faith and devotion, one can attain salvation and peace of mind. 

" harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam          kalau nasty eva nasti eva nasti eva gatir anyatha"               - A Sanskrit verse from Brhan-naradiya Purana which means                 "In this age of Kali, there is no alternative, there is no alternative, there is no alternative for spiritual progress other than the chanting of the holy name, the chanting of the holy name, the chanting of the holy name of the Lord."

  

The meaning of Hare Krishna Mantra 

This mantra is made up of only three words : 'Hare', Krishna and 'Rama'. 'Krishna' and 'Rama' are the name of Lord Vishnu - one of the mythological God in the trinity of Gods Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. It is said that in every yug (era) Vishnu takes incarnation on earth to establish the law of truth and righteousness.

Ram is the name of the incarnation of Vishnu in the Treta yug ( you must have heard the famous story of Ramayana - the popular Indian epic. Rama is the hero of that epic. You can learn more about Ramayana here.

  

Krishna is the name of the incarnation of Vishnu in the 'Dwaper yug'. He is the central character in the Mahabharata (pronounced approximately as Ma-haa-BHAAR-a-ta ) -the another popular epic of India (which incidentally is the longest epic of the world). Krishna is the most popular God of Hindu religion.  

The Bhagawad Gita - the highly spiritual and mesmerizing conversation between Krishna and Arjuna( one of the bravest and famous character of Mahabharata ) on the battle ground of Kurukshetra is one of the most popular and respected religious books of World.

[ you can learn about Mahabharata here and about Bhagawad Gita here]

Both these words  'Rama' and 'Krishna' have become powerful and effective for the simple reason that for thousand of years  millions of Hindus have been praying to God by chanting these two names. The faith, devotion and a pure spiritual  feeling with which these two names have been chanted by all these devotees for so many years have made these words electrifying- charged with energy. Just repeating these names can take anyone into meditation quickly.

The word Hare has come from 'Haran' which means  to take way or to end. So when one says hare Krishna, he  requests  the God (the supreme consciousness)  to take away his sorrows , his shortcomings, his failures and  pains. This Hare Krishna Mantra is actually a little prayer to God for taking away all the sorrows, pains and shortcomings of the chanter and provide him  bliss and joy.

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

Whenever you chant this mantra, always keep its meaning in  mind. Chant this mantra with devotion and faith . While repeating his mantra request the God almighty to take away all your sorrows, pains and failures and give you joy and bliss. 

It is the experience of many that when one repeat this mantra with full faith and with full awareness of its meaning, his/her whole being gets filled with Krishna Consciousness  ( which is a name given to the feeling of bliss and joy one gets in repeating this mantra.)

 

This mantra is a very easy mantra. You can chant it anytime, anywhere. Give at least 15 minutes per day for this mantra repetition. Sit quietly in a comfortable position. Then either chant it silently or loudly. Repeat it with full awareness of its meaning which is " O lord, take away all my sorrows, pains and shortcomings and give me bliss and joy".

This mantra is a simple and effective meditation technique. Slowly you will start enjoying it as its repetition will give you a sense of calm and bliss.

Thanks to meditationeasy.com