Chant and be happy… In Rome.

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Devotees chant Hare Krishna in Rome. - 1977
Devotees chant Hare Krishna in Rome.

Madhava dasa ISKCON Book Distributor with wig 1977Mahadeva dasa, book distributor: “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. I feel this is the highest welfare work. People are suffering, because they’re ignorant of their real, spiritual self. But as the scriptures say, ‘if one simply chants the holy name of Krishna, this holy name will rise within his heart like the powerful sun and immediately dissipate all the darkness of ignorance.'”

Dvarakanatha dasa, Hare Krishna school teacher, with family - 1977

Dvarakanatha dasa, schoolteacher, with family: “We knew that family life would be most successful if it had a central purpose. So we tried country living, gardening, a VW bus, a good-paying job, and natural foods. But none of these satisfied us. Now, by chanting Hare Krishna, we’ve made Lord Krishna the center of our lives. We chant together every day and read about Krishna in the books of our spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada. More and more we’re feeling unselfish in our family relationships and happy just being together to glorify Krishna and His pure devotees.”

Mike Gabbard, Dean of Students, American Samoa Community College on chanting Hare Krishna - 1977

Mike Gabbard, Dean of Students, American Samoa Community College: “Like most people, I often get caught up in the rush of events that go on around me. Chanting Hare Krishna helps me remember the real purpose in my life—loving service to God.”

ISKCON's Hare Krishna Temple in Montreal, Quebec -1977

Here at ISKCON’s center in Montreal, Quebec, everyone chants the Hare Krishna mantra, including the children. Chanting is simple to understand. It isn’t anything artificial to be imposed on the mind—it’s something sublime to purify our hearts. We’re all originally Krishna-conscious spiritual entities, and chanting Hare Krishna is the easiest method for reviving our dormant, pure state of God consciousness.

Find out more about Krishna consciousness in this issue of BACK TO GODHEAD magazine.

A short statement on the philosophy of Krishna Consciousness

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is a worldwide community of devotees practicing bhakti-yoga, the eternal science of loving service to God. The Society was founded in 1966 by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, a pure devotee of God representing an unbroken chain of spiritual masters originating with Lord Krishna Himself. The following eight principles are the basis of the Krishna consciousness movement.

We invite all of our readers to consider them with an open mind and then visit one of the ISKCON center to see how they are being applied inevery day life.

1. By sincerely cultivating a bona fide 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.

3. Krishna is the eternal, all-knowing, omnipresent, all-powerful, and all-attractive Personality of Godhead. He is the seed-giving father of all living beings, and He is the sustaining energy of the entire cosmic creation.

4. The Absolute Truth is contained in all the great scriptures of the world. However, the oldest know revealed scriptures in existence are the Vedic literatures, most notably the Bhagavad-gita, which is the literal record of God’s actual words.

5. We should 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 we eat, we should offer to the Lord the food that sustains us. Then Krishna becomes the offering and purifies us.

7. We should perform all our actions as offerings to Krishna and do nothing for our 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. The easiest method for most people is to chant the Hare Krishna mantra:
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

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