From Back to Godhead
A look at Lord Caitanya’s “Eight Instructions” and their relevance to japa, the individual practice of chanting Hare Krishna.
A friend once told me this analogy about spiritual life: a flock of geese share strength by flying in a V formation, but if one goose goes down, the others can’t help. Similarly, though seekers of enlightenment help each other, success ultimately depends on personal effortand the kindness of the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna.
Krishna’s kindness appears i
“For humankind, the mind is the cause of bondage and the mind is the cause of liberation. The mind absorbed in sense objects is the cause of bondage, and the mind detached from sense objects is the cause of liberation.” (Amrta Bindu Upanishad)
Yoga literally means “to connect.” A bhakti-yogi seeks to connect to Krishna, the personal aspect of the Absolute Truth, through a variety of devotional practices. These include chanting Krishna’s names congregationally (kirtana) and serving the
By His Divine Grace ACBS Srila Prabhupada
A conversation about the Hare Krsna mantra between Srila Prabhupada and John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and George Harrison
Montreal Star, June, 1969:
Reporter: Where do you get your strength?
John Lennon: From Hare Krsna.
Yoko: That’s where we get it from, you know. We’re not denying it.
In September 1969. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder-acarya (spiritual master) of the Hare Krsna movement, arrived as a house guest at Tittenhurst Park, the beautifu
By Srila Krishna Das Kaviraja Goswami
(from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, Chapter 8)
Whether he is offensive or inoffensive, anyone who even now chants “sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu-nityananda” is immediately overwhelmed with ecstasy, and tears fill his eyes. Simply by talking of Nityananda Prabhu one awakens his love for Krsna. Thus all his bodily limbs are agitated by ecstasy, and tears flow from his eyes like the waters of the Ganges.
There are offenses to be considered while chanting t
FIRST CONTACT WITH THE HOLY SOUND
My life took an apical turn when I stumbled across the Hare Krishnas. Being born in India I had some knowledge of “Krishna” but I was like most Indians are – conscious of Krishna but not Krishna Conscious. Being just “conscious of Krishna” didn’t mollify my thirst for happiness. When I was introduced to the programs conducted by the Hare Krishnas near our college campus new hope dawned upon me. What mesmerized me the most in these programs was the chanting of t
By Héctor Rosario, PhD
As followers of Srila Prabhupada we all know his prescription to chant a minimum daily quota of 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mahamantra. This is the minimum standard that he set for his followers and which all ISKCON devotees accept. This standard is actually based on the traditional Gaudiya Vaisnava minimum standard set by Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Of course, that standard is 100,000 names of Krishna daily, roughly equivalent to 64 rounds of Hare Krishna japa, acc
Like a beautiful palace with a closed door the dhama also requires a key to grant us entrance. This is chanting the Name. According to Sri Bhaktivinoda Thakura it is chanting the Holy Name with loving affection.
“Dham is Nam”. That is the very first manifestation for the sincere sadhaka.
You remember, Indra was very afraid. He offended Krsna to a very bad degree.
Krsna does not forget such an offense to a devotee – He waits till this person goes to that devotee and gets forgiveness, satisfies t
By Payal Shah
(Adapted from ‘Japa Affirmations’ by His Grace Mahatma Dasa)
Ancient Vedic texts address the notion that no amount of material accomplishments can deeply satisfy us. Our consciousness has been polluted by the material atmosphere, and as we try to exploit resources, we are in fact getting more and more entangled in complexities. Vedic wisdom attributes this condition to a lack of spiritual awareness. These Vedic wisdom texts share with us that we are all spiritual beings and that w
Dance and chant. This is best exercise. We allow them to dance very… Yes. High jump. Actually that is exercise, and at the same time ecstasy. If they dance and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, it is automatically a very big exercise and spiritual advancement. (Śrīla Prabhupāda’s lecture given on Oct. 2, 1968 in Seattle)
The hall is packed with devotees. The kirtaniya, who was gesticulating up and down the harmonium, has just increased the pace of the kirtan. The Mrdanga & Kartal artists are not behind and the
From Back to Godhead
I love chanting japa—some days. Other days, I endure chanting japa. It seems to be bliss or boredom. On the good days I am enthralled. Krishna feels very close, and very dear. Not that I’m seeing visions or hearing voices—nothing dramatic that would excite the tabloid crowd. The experience is closer to returning home after a long, arduous journey. Such a sweet pleasure from the simple fingering of beads, the rhythmic repetition of the maha- mantra:Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna
Mrs. Sally Rawley, merchandiser: “When I’m nervous I find chanting very calming. I don’t get shaken up at little things.”
Bruce Kleinberg, executive secretary: “Chanting helps you see things in perspective. My outlook is a lot brighter.”
June Lahner, jewelry designer, with son Jason: “Chanting makes me more perceptive, more in harmony with everything and everyone around me.”
Dr. Donald R. Tuck, associate professor, Western Kentucky University: “I’ve noticed that as chanted progress from level t
By Chaitanya Mangal
Grammy-nominated Mantra America chants Hare Krishna on the Hollywood red carpet.
After several years of effort, 2023 marked the first time the Grammys officially included chant as a music category. This year the album “Mantra Americana,” by Madi Das & Bhakti Without Borders, was nominated in the “Best New Age, Ambient, & CHANT Album” category. While the album didn’t win the award, a highlight of the experience was the Maha Mantra was chanted on the red carpet, and broadc
So, let us just look at the phone. Because that is the issue of the day. It is the phone that is being used in the name of pushing on this movement, that is destroying this movement. It is a crisis, an addiction. Very addictive thing. Try not to touch it and see how long you can. How long can you not touch it? Do not touch it! There, we can see how it creeps in little by little. We are using all these electronics in the service of Krsna. And then these electronics are taking over our life and gr
Chanting the holy names of the lord is the most profound method in this age of Kali to rise above the influences of Maya. To engage in Harinama Sankirtana is definitely the only viable process of freeing ourselves from this precarious position we have implicated ourselves in within this material world. Inaugurated by Lord Caitanya who then empowered his pure devotee, His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, we have all been exposed to this Yuga Dharma Harinam Sankirtan through
How can we chant in a way that it makes us forget the material world and run to Krsna? When you sit down to chant, there will be moments in which you notice that your mind wandered somewhere else – ‘Uuups, I was thinking about my shopping list, that I have to close this deal to get more money and that Suresh Patel said something bad about me – well, he can just wait – I will show it to him!’ You will notice, ‘Where was I? I am sitting here in saintly company, chanting, but what happened?’ What
The more we hear about Krishna, the more we become purified. We cannot understand Krishna because we are not purified. But if you hear the Krishna name, Hare Krishna—Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare—if you chant and hear, you become purified. So why should we not take this simple method, as it is recommended in the shastra, harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam [“In this Age of Kali there is no other means, no other means, no other means for self-realization than cha
I often have to encourage devotees, especially those not living in the temples, to rise early in the morning and come to the temple for the morning program, or to have one at home. Devotees should generally rise by 4 am, which means that their lives must be organized in such a way that they get sufficient rest, meaning taking rest early.
Certainly there are many considerations for individual cases; however, we will see from the collection of quotes from Srila Prabhupada below (not referenced) t
It was with great satisfaction that I conducted a Kirtan Standards course along with the Bhakti Academy students. The feedback that I received from this three hour interactive workshop/presentation were words like “informative,” “educational” and “clarification on things.” It was felt that before these students develop some habits regarding Kirtan (chanting) that fall in the realm of divergent, why not get it right in the beginning?
It was the founder-acarya of the movement, Prabhupada, who est
Our spiritual practice should nourish us, it should supply us with a taste that is better than the taste that material activities and sense gratification provide us with. When our spiritual practice lacks this taste, the temptation of material life which then allures us with a seemingly greater taste is always close to us. And at that time we are in danger. However, if we can find taste in our spiritual practice we are safe on the spiritual platform.
The chanting of the Holy Names is recommende
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Q. I’m afraid I’m a rather materialistic person. I want a compatible mate, a reasonable amount of money, healthy children, and things like that. Can I still chant Hare Krsna?
A. Definitely. Whoever you are, whatever you do, and whatever it is you want out of life, just chant Hare Krsna, and your life will be sublime.
Q. I get the feeling that if I start chanting Hare Krsna, then sooner or later I’m going to have
