Why You Should Chant the Hare Krishna Mantra

In Vedic scripture we find the first mention of  what is now known as the Hare Krishna mantra.

So, what are the benefits of chanting the Hare Krishna mantra?

Here are some listed as provided by His Divine Grace Swami Prabhupada;

 "We have practical experience that any person who is chanting the holy names of Krishna (Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare) in course of time feels some transcendental pleasure and very quickly becomes purified of all material contamination."

In the Bhagavad-gita Krishna explains, "One who is not in transcendental consciousness can have neither a controlled mind nor steady intelligence, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace?" 

So, by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra  we can control our mind, instead of the mind controlling us.

Also:

 Srila Prabhupada stresses, "The holy name is so spiritually potent that simply by chanting the holy name one can be freed from the reactions to all sinful activity."

Now, read even more reasons why chanting the Mantra is such a great thing to do. The following was written by Jayadvaita Swami for Back To Godhead magazine in 2006.

• Chanting Hare Krishna awakens love of God.
• Chanting Hare Krishna brings liberation as a side benefit along the way.
• When you chant Hare Krishna, you automatically develop knowledge and detachment.
• Chanting Hare Krishna gets you out of the endless cycle of birth and death.
• Chanting Hare Krishna cleanses the heart of all illusions and misunderstandings.
• By chanting Hare Krishna, you become free from all anxieties.
• Chanting Hare Krishna brings you to self-realization—and shows you how to act as a self-realized soul.
• It keeps you ever mindful of Krishna, the reservoir of pleasure.
• There are no hard and fast rules for chanting. You can chant anywhere, any time, under any circumstances.
• Krishna Himself is fully present in the transcendental sound of His name. And the more you chant, the more you realize it.
• Chanting Hare Krishna purifies not only you but every living entity around you. Whoever hears the chanting gets spiritual benefit.
• A person who chants Hare Krishna develops all good qualities.
• You can chant Hare Krishna softly for personal meditation or loudly with your family or friends. Both ways work.
• Chanting Hare Krishna can bring you to the highest states of ecstasy.
• There are no previous qualifications needed for chanting Hare Krishna. Young or old, anyone can chant—from any race, any religion, or any country of the world.
• Even if you don’t understand the language of the mantra, it works anyway.
• Chanting Hare Krishna brings relief from all miseries.
• Chanting Hare Krishna is easy. When the best way is also the easiest, why make life hard for yourself?
• Chanting Hare Krishna invokes spiritual peace—for you and for those around you.
• When you chant Hare Krishna, Krishna Himself becomes pleased.
• By chanting Hare Krishna you can return to Krishna’s world, the eternal abode of full happiness and knowledge.
• Chanting Hare Krishna frees you from the reactions of all past karma. Chanting Krishna’s name even once, purely and sincerely, can free you from the reactions of more karma than you could possibly incur.
• Chanting Hare Krishna counteracts the sinful atmosphere of Kali-yuga, the present Age of Hypocrisy and Quarrel.
• The more you chant Hare Krishna, the better it gets.
• If you look through all the Vedic scriptures, you’ll find nothing higher than the chanting of Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

To close, get yourself some some Japa beads and find true peace and contentment.

My go to source for all things Krishna and related (worship materials, clothes, CD's,books, etc., etc.) is www.krishnastore.com 

The following is a great song by George Harrison, a Krishna devotee, that describes so well why chanting is the way to God. It's called, Awaiting On You All, copy and paste the link below.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgfsYlkMKwU 

Simplify--Simple Living, High Thinking

Ah,to simplify,the new buzz word,the bumper sticker,the popular subject of articles in a variety
of glossy mags. 

To simplify means more than just cleaning off your desk or getting rid of accumulated "stuff".

When you truly simplify it effects every aspect of your life: 

this includes something as seemingly innocuous as what and how much you eat,
how you spend your time,what you buy and don't buy,

where and how you live, what you do with your body.

There are more aspects to simplifying which will be discussed in future posts as well as the ones

I've mentioned above.

Those desiring true peace and contentment must begin the process 

of simplifying.There is no other way to go about it.

Consider the following in regards to simplifying:
At the start of the day do you feel that the majority of your waking hours are already

committed to doing something or being somewhere? I am including your "days off" here also.
Could you take a job tomorrow that was more to your liking but paying 5 or 10,000 dollars less a year?
When was the last time you spent more than two hours in the woods or a park?
When was the last time you were in an area that was quiet,
meaning free from phones,televisions and radios?
Are you overweight,fat?
Do you drink too much alcohol?
Do you eat too much?
Do you eat denatured,unnatural foods?
Do you take what they call recreational drugs,most notable of which is marijuana?
How much time do you spend in front of the television or computer during the course of a day?
Are you preoccupied with watching professional sports?
How often do you read a book.
Do you exercise,if so,how much,how often?
Believe it or not the way to true peace and contentment has a lot to do with the questions

I just asked.

You will see this as the days pass.

If you haven't already, please take a moment and read 'What This Site Is All About' located
at the top right of the title page

What Most Who Follow Krishna Believe

The basic Krishna beliefs can be summarized as follows:

1. By sincerely cultivating true spiritual science, we can be free from anxiety

 and come to a state of pure, unending, blissful consciousness in this lifetime.

2. We are not our bodies but eternal, spirit souls, parts and parcels of God (Krishna).

 As such, we are all brothers, and Krishna is ultimately our common father. 

We accept the process of transmigration of the soul (reincarnation).

3. Krishna is eternal, all-knowing, omnipresent, all-powerful, and all-attractive. 

He is the seed-giving father of all living beings, and
He is the sustaining energy of the entire cosmic creation.

He is the same God as The Father Allah, Buddha and Jehovah.

4. The Absolute Truth is contained in the Vedas, the oldest scriptures in the world. 

The essence of the Vedas is found in the Bhagavad-gita, a literal record of Krishna's words.

5. One can learn the Vedic knowledge from a genuine spiritual master -- 

one who has no selfish motives and whose mind is firmly fixed on Krishna.

6. Before one eats, one offers to the Lord (Krishna) the food that sustains all humans; then Krishna 

becomes the offering and purifies the offered.

7. One performs all actions as offerings to Krishna and does nothing for one's own sense gratification.

8. The recommended means for achieving the mature stage of love of God in this age of Kali,

 or quarrel, is to chant the holy names of the Lord. 

he easiest method for most people is to chant the Hare Krishna mantra: 

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama 

A Way To Live No Matter What Your Faith

The Twenty-Six Qualities of a Devotee

These qualities of a devotee, twenty-six in number, are listed by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu: 1.kind to everyone, 2.does not quarrel with anyone, 3.fixed in the Absolute Truth, 4.equal to everyone, 5.faultless, 6.charitable, 7.mild, 8.clean, 9.simple, without material possession, 10.benevolent, 11.peaceful, 12.completely attached to Krsna, 13.has no material hankering, 14.meek, 15.steady, 16.self-controlled, 17.does not eat more than required, 18.sane, 19.respectful, 20.humble, 21.grave, 22.compassionate, 23.friendly, 24.poetic, 25.silent, 26.expert

Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krsna's incarnation in Kali Yuga in the mood of a perfect devotee  The Lord is satisfied by the development of the transcendental qualities of the living entities and not by artificial performance of sacrifices and mystic yoga. In other words, unless one is fully qualified to become a pure devotee of the Lord, one cannot expect to be liberated from material entanglement. 1. KIND TO EVERYONE
The devotee is merciful because he is the well-wishing friend of all living entities. He is not only favorably inclined to the human society but also to plants and animals. He treats all living entities in such a way that they can ultimately become free from material bondage and go back home, back to Godhead. 2. HUMBLE, DOES NOT QUARREL WITH ANYONE
To be humble means that one is not hankering to be worshiped by others. Humility should not be artificial but honest, deep, and natural. It will develop when the conditioned soul admits its wrong attitude towards Krsna and prays to Him for forgiveness and to be allowed to always engage in His devotional service. 3.TRUTHFUL, FIXED IN THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH
The primary truthfulness for a disciple to keep his vow of following the regulative principles and chanting 16 rounds of japa every day. Also, a devotee should not perform any illegal activities and he should always act in Krsna's interest and not in his own in order to remain fixed in the absolute truth. 4.EQUAL TO EVERYONE
A devotee sees the soul and the Supersoul in everyone's heart and treats every living entity according to its position and in a way that is most beneficial for its spiritual progress. 5.FAULTLESS
A devotee, who in words, deeds, and mind is always surrendered to Krsna and who executes Krsna's desire to the best of his ability is considered to be faultless. 6.CHARITABLE
A devotee is charitable because he knows that love for Krsna is the best, and he distributes it without selfish motives. His charity has no limits, just like the happiness someone experiences who got the gift of Krsna consciousness. 7.MILD
A devotee avoids illusory, materialistic happiness, and thus is spared from the suffering which is bound to it. He always remains peaceful, because he is satisfied within Krsna consciousness. 8.CLEAN, PURE
The Krsna conscious movement is meant for purifying the world in a revolutionary way-by hygienic external principles as well as by chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra which purifies the heart. 9.SIMPLE, WITHOUT MATERIAL POSSESSION
The highest realization is to see everything as Krsna's property. The sincere devotee is not only satisfied to see everything as Krsna's property, but also to engage everything in a proper way in Krsna's service. 10.BENEVOLENT
Since Krsna-consciousness effects the heart of every living entity, the welfare work of a devotee is not restricted to a specific race, species, etc., but for the benefit of all living entities. 11.PEACEFUL
To be peaceful does not mean to physically maintain idyllic peace but to experience real peace in one's relationship with Krsna. Only someone who has realized that there is nothing beyond Krsna can achieve real peace and fearlessness. 12.COMPLETELY ATTACHED TO KRSNA
Devotion to Krsna is neither sentimental nor whimsical but authorized and scientific. By practicing devotional service we can learn to surrender properly. Complete surrender to Krsna is the goal of every devotee because he wants to become free from material desires in order to serve Krsna more and more. Complete surrender to Krsna is the most important of all qualities to be developed. 13.DESIRELESS
When one is fully engaged in devotional service, one realizes that all one's desires are satisfied. Thus one does not have any material desire anymore. One only desires to serve guru and Krsna. 14.INDIFFERENCE TOWARDS MATERIAL POSSESSIONS
A devotee may use things in Krsna's service but he does not become attached to or dependent on them. He may serve Krsna with millions of dollars by opening temples, printing books, etc. However, he is also satisfied when he does not have any material assets and then simply chants Hare Krsna. 15.STEADY, FIXED
The realizations of a devotee should be so profound that his dedication to his spiritual master and Krsna cannot be influenced anymore by various temptations, suffering or opposing philosophies. 16.SELF-CONTROLLED
There are six bad qualities, namely lust, anger, greed, illusion, madness and envy. A pure devotee controls these bad qualities by engaging in Krsna's service. These qualities cannot be left behind in an artificial way by can be easily counteracted with transcendental knowledge and transcendental taste arising from one's devotional service. 17.DOES NOT EAT MORE THAN REQUIRED
Lord Krsna explains in the Bhagavad-gita that a yogi does not eat too much nor too little. This means practically exactly as much as he can easily digest. According to Ayurveda, one's stomach should be filled with 1/2 food, 1/4 water, and 1/4 air. 18.SANE
A devotee is never intoxicated by material enjoyment. He reduces his requirements to a minimum and offers his whole life to Krsna. In this way he is completely balanced. 19.RESPECTFUL
A devotee offers respect to others without expecting anything in return. He respects everyone as part of Krsna and treats them accordingly. 20.HAS NO MATERIAL HANKERING
A devotee is not attracted by material possessions which help us to gain a prestigious position. He sees everything attractive in this world as a reflection of Krsna, the all-attractive cause of all causes. 21.GRAVE
Although we lead a happy life in Krsna consciousness, we are always conscious that the material existence can be finished at any time and that the way back home, back to Godhead is not cheap. To be grave means that the devotee is constantly thinking of Krsna and the ultimate goal of life. 22.COMPASSIONATE
The essence of compassion is the distribution of transcendental knowledge. The basis of it are Srila Prabhupada's books and the force behind it is our purity. 23.FRIENDLY
A devotee is friendly because he leads everyone to Krsna, who is the best friend of all living entities. 24.POETIC
A devotee is even poetic if he is not literarily active because he is able to connect everything with Krsna's transcendental nature. 25.SILENT
Silence means that one only speaks about Krsna and not about material topics. 26.EXPERT
The essence of the expertise of a devotee is that he can do anything for Krsna. The best expertise is to surrender to Krsna

Up and Running, For Good!

Back again---for good.


Look for regular posts on Lord Krishna, Swami Prabhupada, The Bhagavad Gita and Bhakti-yoga.