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The Hare Krishna mantra, also referred to reverentially as the Maha Mantra ("Great Mantra"), is a sixteen-word Vaishnava mantra made well known outside of India by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (commonly known as 'the Hare Krishnas').[1] It appears within many traditions of Hinduism and is believed by practitioners to bring about a higher state of consciousness when heard, spoken, meditated upon, or sung out loud.[2] According to Gaudiya Vaishnava theology, this higher consciousness ultimately takes the form of pure love of God (Krishna).[3]

Contents [hide]
1 The mantra
2 History
3 The "Hare Krishna" movement
4 Hippie culture
5 Hare Krishna in popular culture
6 Other scriptural references
7 Footnotes
8 References
9 See also
10 External links



[edit] The mantra
The Hare Krishna mantra is composed of Sanskrit names in the vocative case: Hare, Krishna, and Rama (in Anglicized spelling, the IAST of the three vocatives is hare, kṛṣṇa and rāma; roughly pronounced IPA: ['hɐre:], ['kɹ̩ʂɳɐ], ['ra:mɐ], see Sanskrit for pronunciation details):

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

Rama and Krishna both appear as names of Vishnu in the Vishnu sahasranama and refer primarily to the 7th and 8th Maha Avataras of Vishnu[4]. "Hare" can be interpreted as either the vocative of Hari, another name of Vishnu meaning "he who removes illusion", or as the vocative of Harā[5], a name of Rādhā, Krishna's eternal consort or Shakti. According to A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Harā refers to "the energy of God" while Krishna and Rama refer to God himself, meaning "He who is All-Attractive" and "He who is the Source of All Pleasure".[6] Rama can also...