MAHA MANTRA

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishan Hare Hare


Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare


Spiritual translation:


“Om honor to the divine in his manifestations as Vishnu, Krishna
and Rama”


It is the mantra that addresses Hari, Rama and Krishna. Hari is
of course Vishnu, Hari means “yellow”, Hari also means “radiant”,
Hari also means “who attracts the hearts of all”. Rama means “the
one who is full of joy”, Krishna means “the black”, “the dark”
and therefore “the mysterious”. And so “Hare Rama Hare Krishna”
is the aspect that connects all three aspects of Vishnu, Rama,
Krishna and Hari. In the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, Rama is
also seen as the lover of Krishna. And sometimes Hari is also
referred to as Shakti, Shakti of Krishna.


So, there are different interpretations of these three names. At
Yoga Vidya we assume that Hari is Vishnu, Rama is the seventh
incarnation of Vishnu and Krishna is the eighth incarnation of
Vishnu. Originally the mantra actually began with Rama beginning,
“Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare”, then “Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare”. And there was in the
16th century the Shri Krishna Chaitanya Maha Prabhu, also called
Gauranga or just Chaitanya, and this Chaitanya was such a great
devotee of Krishna, he really wanted to say Krishna first. And so
he turned the mantra around and turned the classic mantra, “Hare
Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna,
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare,” into the mantra, “Hare Krishna Hare
Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare.” , Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama
Rama Hare Hare.” But the classic order is Rama first, Rama was
born before Krishna and therefore Rama should be sung before.


But of course, if one interprets Rama as either Bala Rama or also
as Radha, or if one interprets Rama as Bala Rama, brother of
Krishna and interprets Hari as Radha, then of course one wants to
repeat Krishna first. But when you receive an initiation in the
Yoga Vidya tradition, you should repeat it so that “Hare Rama”
comes first. If you sing it, then of course you can sing however
you want and since the Hare Krishna movement is particularly
important in German-speaking countries and this Maha Mantra is
also particularly chanted, the Maha Mantra is very often sung in
Yoga Vidya in such a way that “Hare Krishna” is sung first and
only then “Hare Rama”. - Maha Mantra, great mantra that is
particularly aimed at experiencing joy in life, experiencing joy,
feeling your heart, feeling love, being able to give love,
connecting with the divine.