Srila Prabhupada in Teachings of Lord Kapila, the Son of Devahuti, Chapter 14:
"Caitanya Mahaprabhu teaches us that we should only beg God for His service life after life. This is the actual meaning of the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra. When we are chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, we are actually addressing God and His energy, Hara. Hara is Krishna's internal potency, Srimati Radharani or Lakshmi. Jaya Radhe! This is daivi prakrti, and the devotees take shelter of the daivi prakrti, Srimati Radharani. Thus the Vaishnavas worship Radha-Krishna, Lakshmi-Narayana and Sita-Rama. In the beginning of the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra we first address the internal energy of Krishna, Hare. Thus we say, "O Radharani! O Hare! O energy of the Lord!" When we address someone in this way, he usually says, "Yes, what do you want?" The answer is, "Please engage me in Your service." This should be our prayer. We should not say, "O energy of the Lord, O Krishna, please give me money. Please give me a beautiful wife. Please give me many followers. Please give me some prestigious position. Please give me the Presidency." These are all material hankerings, which should be avoided."
Srila Prabhupada in the Science of Self-Realization:
"The chanting is a spiritual call for the Lord and His energy, to give protection to the conditioned soul. This chanting is exactly like the genuine cry of a child for its Mother's presence. Mother Hara helps the devotee achieve the Lord Father's grace, and the Lord reveals Himself to the devotee who chants this mantra sincerely."
"Caitanya Mahaprabhu teaches us that we should only beg God for His service life after life. This is the actual meaning of the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra. When we are chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, we are actually addressing God and His energy, Hara. Hara is Krishna's internal potency, Srimati Radharani or Lakshmi. Jaya Radhe! This is daivi prakrti, and the devotees take shelter of the daivi prakrti, Srimati Radharani. Thus the Vaishnavas worship Radha-Krishna, Lakshmi-Narayana and Sita-Rama. In the beginning of the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra we first address the internal energy of Krishna, Hare. Thus we say, "O Radharani! O Hare! O energy of the Lord!" When we address someone in this way, he usually says, "Yes, what do you want?" The answer is, "Please engage me in Your service." This should be our prayer. We should not say, "O energy of the Lord, O Krishna, please give me money. Please give me a beautiful wife. Please give me many followers. Please give me some prestigious position. Please give me the Presidency." These are all material hankerings, which should be avoided."
Srila Prabhupada in the Science of Self-Realization:
"The chanting is a spiritual call for the Lord and His energy, to give protection to the conditioned soul. This chanting is exactly like the genuine cry of a child for its Mother's presence. Mother Hara helps the devotee achieve the Lord Father's grace, and the Lord reveals Himself to the devotee who chants this mantra sincerely."
| Maha-mantra-vyakhya |
Explanation of the Maha-mantra from Srila Gopala Guru Gosvami's Svarupa-siddhanta-vakyam, etc.
| hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare; hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare |
(1) The meaning of the word 'Hare":
'Hare' is the vocative for both "Hari' and 'Hara".
'Hare' is the vocative for both "Hari' and 'Hara".
| harati tri-vidham tapam janma-koti-satodbhavam papam ca smaratam yasmat tasmad harir iti smrtah |
"The Lord is known as Hari because He takes away the sins and three types of suffering [adhyatmika (bodily or mental), adhibhautika (offered by living creatures), and adhidaivika (due to supernatural disturbances)] accumulated over millions of births, of those who remember Him."
| vijnapya bhagavat-tattvam cid-ghanananda-vigraham haraty avidyam tat-karyam ato harir iti smrtah |
"The Lord is known as Hari because He eradicates the ignorance of His devotees by revealing to them the philosophical truths about Himself and His own personal spiritual form which is full of eternity and condensed bliss."
| harati krsna-manah krsnahlada-svarupini ato harety anenaiva sri-radha parikirtita |
"Because She steals Krishna's mind and because She is the personification of Krishna pleasure potency, Sri Radha is also known by the Name 'Hara'.
(2) The meaning of the word 'Krishna'.
The Mahabharata (Udyoga-parva) 71.4 states:
The Mahabharata (Udyoga-parva) 71.4 states:
| krsir bhu-vacakah sadbo, nas ca nirvrti-vacakah tayor aikyam param brahma, krsna ity abhidhiyate |
"The word 'krs' is the attractive feature of the Lord's existence, and 'na' means spiritual pleasure. When the verb 'krs' is added to the affix 'na', it becomes 'Krishna', which indicates the Supreme Absolute Truth."
| anandaika-sukha-svami syamah kamala-locanah gokulanandano nanda-nandanah krsna iryate |
"The dark, lotus eyed Lord, the only Master of the highest joy, Who brings pleasure to Gokula and is the Son of Nanda, is known as 'Krishna'".
(3) The meaning of the word "Rama".
The Rama-tapaniyopanisad 1.6 states:
The Rama-tapaniyopanisad 1.6 states:
| ramante yogino 'nante, satyanande cid-atmani iti rama-padenasau, param brahmabhidhiyate |
"The yogis take pleasure in the unlimited Supreme Lord Who is existence, knowledge, and bliss absolute. Therefore He is known as the Param Brahman and is also called Rama."
| vaidagdhya-sara-sarvasvam murta-liladhidaivatam sri-radham ramayan nityam rama ity abhidhiyate |
"Krishna is also known as 'Rama' because the bliss of the conjugal mellow of pure love is the very essence of His being, because He is the titularly Deity of loving sports incarnate, and because He brings pleasure to His eternal consort Srimati Radharani."
| ramayaty anisam rupa-lavanyair vraja-yositam manah-pancendriyaniha ramas tasmat parikirtitah |
"Krishna is glorified by the Nama 'Rama' because He constantly causes the Vraja cowherd women's minds and senses to enjoy the charms of His form and beauty."
Thakura Bhaktivinoda in Sri Bhajana-Rahasya:
| adi 'hare krsna'---artha avidya-damana sradddhara sahita krsna-nama-sankirtana |
"The meaning of the first 'Hare Krishna' is that the chanting of the Maha-mantra with faith destroys all ignorance."
| ara 'hare krsna'---nama krsna sarva sakti sadhu-sange namasraye bhajananurakti |
"The meaning of the second 'Hare Krishna' is that all of Krishna's potencies are present in the Maha-mantra. One should develop attachment to the process of accepting full shelter of the Maha-mantra in the association of pure devotees."
| seita bhajana-krame sarvanartha nasa anarthapagame name nisthara vikasa |
"By following this process all the unwanted things in our hearts will be destroyed. Then strong faith will awaken in the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra."
| trtiye visuddha-bhakta caritrera saha 'krsna krsna' name nistha kare aharaha |
"By the third chanting of 'Krishna Krishna', please develop this faith in chanting further by taking shelter of the transcendental qualities of the pure devotees."
| caturthe ahaituki bhakti-uddipana ruci saha 'hare hare' nama-sankirtana |
"By the fourth chanting of 'Hare Hare', please cultivate the taste for chanting. This stage marks the manifestation of unmotivated desire to render devotional service to Lord Krishna."
| pancamete suddha-dasya rucira sahita 'hare rama'---sankirtana smarana vihita |
"By the fifth remembrance of 'Hare Rama' arises the stage of rendering bhakti with the mood of pure servitude and strong attachment."
| sastha bhavankura 'hare rameti' kirtana samsare aruci krsne ruci samarpana |
"By the chanting of the sixth 'Hare Rama', one arouses one's bhava (ecstasy or emotion) for Lord Krishna. He then develops distaste for this material world and strong attraction to surrender everything to Lord Krishna."
| saptama madhurasakti radha padasraya vipralambha 'rama rama'---namera udaya |
"The seventh chanting of 'Rama Rama' arouses strong attachment to the sweetest feature of the Absolute Truth and ultimately the desire to take shelter of the lotus feet of Srimati Radharani in the mood of separation."
| astama vrajete asta-kala gopi-bhava radha-krsna-prema-seva prayojana labha |
"While chanting the final 'Hare Hare', the sadhaka will achieve the ultimate goal (prayojana) of rendering pure loving devotional service in the pastimes of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna in Vrindavana in one's original spiritual body, in the mood of the gopis during the eight periods of the day."
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