Hare Krishna Mantra

This mantra was given to all the people of this world by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Prabhu, who appeared on this planet in Mayapur, India, a little over 500 years ago, so that we can purify our mind and senses from material influences and thus elevate ourselves to the spiritual platform.

"The transcendental vibration established by the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra is the sublime method of reviving our Krishna consciosness, or God consciousness. As living spiritual souls we are all originally Krishna conscious entities, but due to our association with matter from time immemorial, our consciousness is now affected by the material atmosphere, called maya, or illusion.

"The word Hara is the form of addressing the energy of the Lord, and the words Krishna and Rama are forms of addressing the Lord Himself. Both Krishna 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 - maya - is also one of the multi-energies of the Lord. Thie living entities are also the energy - marginal energy - of the Lord, and are superior to material energy. When the superior energy is in contact with the inferior energy, an incompatible sitation arises; but when the superior marginal energy is in contact with the superior ernergy, called Hara, the living entity is established in his happy, normal condition.

"These three words, Hare, Krishna and Rama, are the transcendental seeds of the maha-manra. the chanting is a spiritual call for the Lord and His energy, Hara, to give protection to the conditioned soul. This chanting is exactly like the genine cry of a child for its mother. Mother Hara helps the devotee achieve the grace of the supreme father, Hari, or Krishna, and the Lord reveals Himself to the devotee who chants this mantra sincerely."

Explanation as given by His Divine Grace, Srila Prabhupada.

Marginal energy means that we can be either in the spiritual atmosphere, or the material atmosphere. Now we have been in contact with the material energy for so long that we have forgotten or true spiritual identity. Chanting the maha-mantra and following the process of bhakti-yoga will bring us back to our spiritual consciousness, even while in this material world.