Hare Krishna Devotees chanting on Fifth Avenue New York City
Devotees chanting Hare Krishna in front of the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street.
Devotees chanting Hare Krishna in front of the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street.

The Hare Krishna mantra is for everyone, regardless of one’s religious faith, nationality, race, creed or occupation. This sound vibration is transcendental to all boundaries because it cannot be affected by material conditions; therefore anyone can chant it freely, at any time, in any place or under any circumstances.

ISKCON is working to fulfill Lord Caitanya’s prophecy that in this Age of Kali the holy name of Krishna will be heard in every city, village and town. Srila Prabhupada left India, at the age of seventy to found the Krishna consciousness movement to execute this mission.

Who am I? Where did I come from before birth, and after death where am I going? What is this universe? Is it chaotic madness, or does it follow a plan? Why must I die? Grow old? Feel pain? Is there real happiness here? Or is it somewhere else?

Most forms of meditation are virtually impossible to perform in the modern world, and therefore one should learn to meditate by the simple method of chanting and hearing the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.

Back to Godhead magazine is for intelligent people only. To be intelligent, one need not have a university degree or engage in intellectual word jugglery because the higher intelligence required for understanding Back to Godhead is not a matter of mundane academic research. The really intelligent person is one who will accept information about God from higher authorities and regard the science of Krishna consciousness as valuable and important.

“In the age of Kali (Quarrel and Hypocrisy) the chanting of the holy name is the best means of God-realization. There is no other alternative, no other alternative, no other alternative”

The scriptures and the saints and spiritual masters through the ages all say that chanting the Lord’s holy names is the best way to make spiritual advancement in this difficult time. Besides, it’s practical; it works.

Whats a Hare Krishna doing dressed up like Santa? Nowadays we usually think of Santa as some kind of wintertime Daddy Warbucks who”ll satisfy our craving for more and more material things. But ‘Santa’ really means ‘saint.’ The original Santa taught people all about God and how to love God.

None of us had ever designed a building or worked with marble or anything like that. But we chanted Hare Krishna, and gradually Krishna revealed these skills.

Laguna Beach—vacationers visit this southern California haven to enjoy the sun, surf and exotic shops. But the devotees at the Radha-Krishna temple there know a much better way you can enjoy yourself.

I’ve been chanting Hare Krishna and reading authorized books about Krishna consciousness for four years, and now I’m finding a higher happiness than I’ve ever experienced before.

“You ‘re all under arrest!” We protested. “All around you there’s drug addiction, prostitution, crime, and violence, and you can’t find anything better to do than arrest us for chanting the names of God!”

New Yorkers will be the first to admit that “Fun City” is often a hard place to be happy in. But the devotees at ISKCON’s center on Manhattan’s West 55th Street know the secret. By chanting the Hare Krishna mantra they’ve opened their minds to a whole new dimension of consciousness.

I’ve been chanting Hare Krishna for over three years, and the more I chant the more I can see that this chanting is an ever-fresh experience. By absorbing my mind in the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, I feel the spiritual strength and conviction to offer this chanting process to everyone.

ISKCON Devotees chanting Hare Krishna downtown and standing before the Amsterdam center of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. 1977.

Because there is no difference between Krsna and His name, the holy name of Krsna is as pure and as perfect as Krsna Himself. The chanting of Hare Krsna will release one from his designated condition in the gross and subtle bodies.

Japa is a simple, age-old practice. You softly chant the Hare Krsna mantra (names of God) while fingering a string of 108 beads. Pause long enough on each bead to say the entire mantra once.

While spreading the maha-mantra throughout the Indian subcontinent, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu prayed, “O Supreme Personality of Godhead, in Your holy name You have invested all Your transcendental energies.”

Even some of the impersonalists danced, and the faces of the people changed from grey to a nice reddish due to bright attentive joy. We got up from the stage and danced, and they got up from their seats and danced.