Answered from scripture
What is the Hare Krishna maha-mantra?
In short
The Hare Krishna mantra is the maha-mantra — the 'great mantra' — of sixteen words calling on the names of Krishna and Rama (Hare Krishna… Hare Rama…). It is chanted to turn the heart toward God through the divine name, in joyful repetition as japa or sung kirtan, and is the central practice of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition.
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The mantra
हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे । हरे राम हरे राम राम राम हरे हरे ॥
hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare / hare rāma hare rāma, rāma rāma hare hare
A loving call upon the names of the Divine — for remembrance, comfort, and joy.
In depth
The maha-mantra weaves three names of God — Hare (the Lord's energy), Krishna, and Rama — into sixteen words. In the devotional (bhakti) tradition, the name of God and God himself are held to be one, so to chant the name is to be in his presence.
It can be whispered on beads (japa) or sung aloud with others (kirtan). There are no prerequisites and no wrong time; the practice is simply to hear the names attentively and let them draw the mind, again and again, toward love of the Divine.
Related questions
What are the words of the Hare Krishna mantra?
It is a sixteen-word maha-mantra calling on the names Hare, Krishna, and Rama. Godify shows the full verified mantra with its transliteration and meaning.
How is the Hare Krishna mantra chanted?
As japa — softly on a mala — or as kirtan, sung aloud with others. The essence is to hear the divine names attentively and with devotion.
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