Yuga Dharma
"Harinama Sankirtana"
Always Chant
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna...
ACTIVITIES
Different ages have different prescribed methods for self-realization. In this Age of Kali (the current age of quarrel and hypocrisy), the authorized method is the congregational chanting of the Holy Names of the Lord.
In this Age of Kali there is no other means, no other means, no other means for self-realization than chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name of Lord Hari.
”Brihan-naradiya Purana
Yugadharma in Action
The congregational chanting of Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare is the most sublime and joyful process for spiritual awakening in this age.
The Core Practice: Devotees dancing in ecstatic Kirtan with Mridangas and Karatalas.
The Divine Originator: Lord Chaitanya and His associates dancing in spiritual ecstasy.
Yugadharma in Action: Vibrant public processions bringing the Holy Name to every street.
The Mantra: The Great Chant for Deliverance in this Age of Kali.
The Hare Krishna
Maha Mantra
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
(Ref: Krishna Consciousness - The Topmost Yoga System)
The Method of Revival
This transcendental vibration—by chanting of Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare—is the sublime method for reviving our Krishna consciousness. As living spiritual souls we are all originally Krishna conscious entities, but due to our association with matter since time immemorial, our consciousness is now polluted by material atmosphere.
In this polluted concept of life, we are all trying to exploit the resources of material nature, but actually we are becoming more and more entangled in our complexities. This illusion is called maya, or hard struggle for existence over the stringent laws of material nature. This illusory struggle against the material nature can at once be stopped by revival of our Krishna consciousness.
An Original Energy
Krishna consciousness is not an artificial imposition on the mind. This consciousness is the original energy of the living entity. When we hear the transcendental vibration, this consciousness is revived. And the process is recommended by authorities for this age.
By practical experience also, we can perceive that by chanting this Maha-mantra, or the Great Chanting for Deliverance, one can at once feel transcendental ecstasy from the spiritual stratum. When one is factually on the plane of spiritual understanding, surpassing the stages of sense, mind and intelligence, one is situated on the transcendental plane.
Receiving the Sound
We have seen it practically. Even a child can take part in the chanting, or even a dog can take part in it. The chanting should be heard, however, from the lips of a pure devotee of the Lord, so that immediate effect can be achieved.
"As far as possible, chanting from the lips of a nondevotee should be avoided, as much as milk touched by the lips of a serpent causes poisonous effect."
Beyond Intellectual Adjustment
This chanting of Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare is directly enacted from the spiritual platform, surpassing all lower states of consciousness—namely sensual, mental and intellectual.
There is no need of understanding the language of the mantra, nor is there any need of mental speculation nor any intellectual adjustment for chanting this Maha-mantra. It springs automatically from the spiritual platform, and as such, anyone can take part in this transcendental sound vibration, without any previous qualification, and dance in ecstasy.
The Meaning
The word Hare is a form of addressing the energy of the Lord. Both Krishna and Rama are forms of addressing directly the Lord, and they mean “the highest pleasure, eternal.” This Hare, the supreme pleasure potency of the Lord, helps us in reaching the Supreme Lord.
The material energy, called Maya, is also one of the multipotencies of the Lord, as much as we are also marginal potency of the Lord. The living entities are described as superior energy than matter. When the superior energy is in contact with inferior energy, it becomes an incompatible situation. But when the supreme marginal potency is in contact with the spiritual potency, Hare, it becomes the happy, normal condition of the living entity.
"The three words, namely Hare, Krishna and Rama, are transcendental seeds of the Maha-mantra, and the chanting is a spiritual call for the Lord and His internal energy. Mother Hare helps in achieving the grace of the supreme father, Krishna... No other means, therefore, of spiritual realization is as effective in this age, as chanting the Maha-mantra:"
The Process for Each Age
Satya Yuga
Meditation on Vishnu (Dhyana) was the prescribed process when people lived for 100,000 years.
Treta Yuga
Grand Sacrifices (Yajna) were performed when life span was 10,000 years.
Dvapara Yuga
Opulent Deity Worship (Archana) was the standard when people lived for 1,000 years.
Kali Yuga
Chanting of Holy Names (Sankirtana) is the only deliverer in this short life of 100 years.
The Universal Remedy
The Problem
Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults. People are short-lived, unlucky, and always disturbed.
The Solution
Despite these faults, there is one great quality: simply by chanting Hare Krishna, one can become free from material bondage.
The Result
This chanting cleanses the heart of all dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life.