Hare Krishna
Encyclopedia
The Hare Krishna mantra
, also referred to reverentially as the Maha Mantra ("Great Mantra"), is a sixteen-word Vaishnava mantra which first appeared in the Kali-Santarana Upanishad, and which from the 15th century rose to importance in the Bhakti movement
following the teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
.
According to Gaudiya Vaishnava theology, one's original consciousness and goal of life is pure love of God
(Krishna
).
Since the 1960s, the mantra has been made well known outside of India by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
and his International Society for Krishna Consciousness
(commonly known as "the Hare Krishnas").
names in the vocative case: Hare, Krishna, and Rama (in Anglicized spelling, the transliteration
of the three vocatives is , and , pronounced ˈhɐreː, ˈkr̩ʂɳɐ, ˈraːmɐ). It is an anustubh
poetry stanza
:
"Hare" can be interpreted as either the vocative of Hari
, another name of Vishnu meaning "he who removes illusion", or as the vocative of Harā, a name of Rādhā
, Krishna's eternal consort or Shakti
. According to A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
, Harā refers to "the energy of God" while Krishna and Rama refer to God himself, meaning "He who is All-Attractive" and "He who is the Source of All Pleasure". Rama can refer to Ramachandra or to Krishna as Radha-Raman, another name of Krishna meaning beloved of Radha. In the hymn Vishnu Sahasranama
spoken by Bhishma
in praise of Krishna after the Kurukshetra War
, Krishna is also called Rama.
Rama can also be a shortened form of Balarama
, Krishna's first expansion.
The mantra is repeated, either out loud (kirtan
), softly to oneself (japa
), or internally within the mind. A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami describes the process of chanting the Maha Mantra as follows:
The mantra is first attested in the (Kali Santarana Upanishad
), a Vaishnava Upanishad associated with the Krishna Yajurveda
. In this Upanishad
, Narada
is instructed by Brahma
(in the translation of K. N. Aiyar):
Narada asks to be told this name of Narayana
, and Brahma replies:
The mantra was popularized by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
roughly around 1500 AD when he began his mission to spread this mantra publicly to "every town and village" in the world, travelling throughout India, and especially within the areas of Bengal
and Orissa
. Some versions of the Kali Santarana Upanishad give the mantra with Hare Rama preceding Hare Krishna(as quoted above), and others with Hare Krishna preceding Hare Rama. as in Navadvipa version of the manuscript. The latter format is by far the more common within the Vaishnava traditions. It is a common belief that the mantra is equally potent when spoken in either order.
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
, a pure devotee of Krishna in disciplic succession, on the order of his guru, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
, brought the teachings of Sri Chaitanya from Bharat (India) and single-handedly took the responsibility of spreading them around the Western world. Beginning in New York
1965, he encircled the globe fourteen times in the final eleven years of his life, thus making 'Hare Krishna' a well-known phrase in many parts of the world.
subculture
. This was an erroneous association, as the ideals of these groups are quite different. Although Prabhupada was open to anyone becoming a member of the Hare Krishnas, they had to follow the four regulative principles, one of which is strict abstention from intoxicants, including marijuana. Elevation and joy were to be derived from chanting God's holy names
.
The hippie
Broadway
musical "Hair"
has a song, "Be-In" with the mantra in it, along with some additional lyrics.
(in the lyrics of John Lennon
and George Harrison
), and has been at the number-one spot in the UK singles chart
s on more than one occasion within songs such as Harrison's "My Sweet Lord
". George Harrison
put a Hare Krishna sticker on the back of the headstock of Eric Clapton
's 1964 Gibson ES-335
; the sticker also appeared on Gibson's 2005 reproduction of the guitar.
The mantra also appears in The Pretenders
' Boots of Chinese Plastic.
The Radha Krsna Temple
's recording Hare Krsna Mantra was released as a single on The Beatles' Apple Records
label in 1969, and reached #12 in the UK music chart and appeared on the music show Top of the Pops
. It also made the #1 slot in both German and Czechoslovakian music charts.
Less well-known but equally relevant to fans of pop music culture are recordings of the Hare Krishna mantra by The Fugs
on their 1968 album Tenderness Junction
(featuring poet Allen Ginsberg
), by Nina Hagen
, and by Hüsker Dü
on their 1984 album Zen Arcade
.
Kula Shaker
, Boy George
, and members of The Rubettes
have recorded music tracks about Krishna Consciousness.
At the 2008 and 2009 VMA Awards, the host, English comedian Russell Brand
ended the ceremony by saying Hare Krishna, as he does at all his shows.
The Washington D.C. Production duo Thievery Corporation
released a track on the 2008 album entitled, "Hare Krishna".
In the Muppet Movie a running gag
entailed one character saying they were lost and the other saying "maybe you should try Hare Krishna."
In the Seinfeld
episode The Subway, a patron in Monk's restaurant yells, "Hare Krishna! Hare Krishna!" when he sees George walk in wearing only a bedsheet. A similar scenario occurs in Scrubs
when J.D. shaves his head in support for a chemo patient, and in the movie Stripes
when John Candy's character leaves the army barber.
The Hare Krishnas are featured in the popular video game series Grand Theft Auto originally as pedestrians, and in later installments as a gang.
The band Shelter
features themes and lyrics of Hare Krishna culture .
In the film 'Osmosis Jones' (2001), Jones pushes past two cells in Franks stomach who are singing 'Hare Krishna' whilst playing a drum and jiggling a tambourine.
, and throughout Vaishnava literature in general. For example:
Mantra
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...
, also referred to reverentially as the Maha Mantra ("Great Mantra"), is a sixteen-word Vaishnava mantra which first appeared in the Kali-Santarana Upanishad, and which from the 15th century rose to importance in the Bhakti movement
Bhakti movement
The Bhakti movement is a Hindu religious movement in which the main spiritual practice is loving devotion among the Shaivite and Vaishnava saints. The Bhakti movement originated in ancient Tamil Nadu and began to spread to the north during the late medieval ages when north India was under Islamic...
following the teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a Vaishnava saint and social reformer in eastern India in the 16th century, believed by followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism to be the full incarnation of Lord Krishna...
.
According to Gaudiya Vaishnava theology, one's original consciousness and goal of life is pure love of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
(Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
).
Since the 1960s, the mantra has been made well known outside of India by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was a Gaudiya Vaishnava teacher and the founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, commonly known as the "Hare Krishna Movement"...
and his International Society for Krishna Consciousness
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness , known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava religious organization. It was founded in 1966 in New York City by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada...
(commonly known as "the Hare Krishnas").
Mantra
The Hare Krishna mantra is composed of SanskritSanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
names in the vocative case: Hare, Krishna, and Rama (in Anglicized spelling, the transliteration
IAST
The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration is a transliteration scheme that allows a lossless romanization of Indic scripts as employed by the Sanskrit language.-Popularity:...
of the three vocatives is , and , pronounced ˈhɐreː, ˈkr̩ʂɳɐ, ˈraːmɐ). It is an anustubh
Anuṣṭubh
' is the name of a meter and a metrical unit, found in both Vedic and Classical Sanskrit poetry, but with significant differences.By origin, an anuṣṭup stanza is a quatrain of four lines. Each line, called a pāda ' is the name of a meter and a metrical unit, found in both Vedic and Classical...
poetry stanza
Stanza
In poetry, a stanza is a unit within a larger poem. In modern poetry, the term is often equivalent with strophe; in popular vocal music, a stanza is typically referred to as a "verse"...
:
"Hare" can be interpreted as either the vocative of Hari
Hari
Hari is an Avatar, another name of and , and appears as the 650th name in the Vishnu sahasranama of Mahabharata. In Sanskrit "hari" sometimes refers to a colour, green, yellow, or fawn-coloured/khaki. It is the colour of the Sun and of Soma...
, another name of Vishnu meaning "he who removes illusion", or as the vocative of Harā, a name of Rādhā
Radha
Radha , also called Radhika, Radharani and Radhikarani, is the childhood friend and lover of Krishna in the Bhagavata Purana, and the Gita Govinda of the Vaisnava traditions of Hinduism...
, Krishna's eternal consort or Shakti
Shakti
Shakti from Sanskrit shak - "to be able," meaning sacred force or empowerment, is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe in Hinduism. Shakti is the concept, or personification, of divine feminine creative power, sometimes...
. According to A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was a Gaudiya Vaishnava teacher and the founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, commonly known as the "Hare Krishna Movement"...
, Harā refers to "the energy of God" while Krishna and Rama refer to God himself, meaning "He who is All-Attractive" and "He who is the Source of All Pleasure". Rama can refer to Ramachandra or to Krishna as Radha-Raman, another name of Krishna meaning beloved of Radha. In the hymn Vishnu Sahasranama
Vishnu sahasranama
The Vishnu sahasranama is a list of 1,000 names of Vishnu, one of the main forms of God in Hinduism and the personal supreme God for Vaishnavas . It is also one of the most sacred and commonly chanted stotras in Hinduism...
spoken by Bhishma
Bhishma
Bhishma or Bheeshma or Devavrata or 'Bhishma Pitamah' was the eighth son of Kuru King Shantanu who was blessed with wish-long life and had sworn to serve the ruling Kuru king. He was one of the most prominent characters of the great Indian epic, the Mahabharata. He was the grand uncle of both the...
in praise of Krishna after the Kurukshetra War
Kurukshetra war
According to the Indian epic poem Mahābhārata, a dynastic succession struggle between two groups of cousins of an Indo-Aryan kingdom called Kuru, the Kauravas and Pandavas, for the throne of Hastinapura resulted in the Kurukshetra War in which a number of ancient kingdoms participated as allies of...
, Krishna is also called Rama.
Rama can also be a shortened form of Balarama
Balarama
Balarama , also known as Baladeva, Balabhadra and Halayudha, is the elder brother of the divine being, Krishna in Hinduism. Within Vaishnavism Hindu traditions Balarama is worshipped as an Avatar of Vishnu, and he is also listed as such in the Bhagavata Purana...
, Krishna's first expansion.
The mantra is repeated, either out loud (kirtan
Kirtan
Kirtan or Kirtana is call-and-response chanting or "responsory" performed in India's devotional traditions. A person performing kirtan is known as a kirtankar. Kirtan practice involves chanting hymns or mantras to the accompaniment of instruments such as the harmonium, tablas, the two-headed...
), softly to oneself (japa
Japa
Japa is a spiritual discipline involving the meditative repetition of a mantra or name of a divine power. The mantra or name may be spoken softly, enough for the practitioner to hear it, or it may be spoken purely within the recitor's mind...
), or internally within the mind. A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami describes the process of chanting the Maha Mantra as follows:
History
Upanishad
The Upanishads are philosophical texts considered to be an early source of Hindu religion. More than 200 are known, of which the first dozen or so, the oldest and most important, are variously referred to as the principal, main or old Upanishads...
), a Vaishnava Upanishad associated with the Krishna Yajurveda
Yajurveda
The Yajurveda, a tatpurusha compound of "sacrificial formula', + ) is the third of the four canonical texts of Hinduism, the Vedas. By some, it is estimated to have been composed between 1400 and 1000 BC, the Yajurveda 'Samhita', or 'compilation', contains the liturgy needed to perform the...
. In this Upanishad
Upanishad
The Upanishads are philosophical texts considered to be an early source of Hindu religion. More than 200 are known, of which the first dozen or so, the oldest and most important, are variously referred to as the principal, main or old Upanishads...
, Narada
Narada
Narada or Narada Muni is a divine sage from the Vaisnava tradition, who plays a prominent role in a number of the Puranic texts, especially in the Bhagavata Purana, and in the Ramayana...
is instructed by Brahma
Brahma
Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...
(in the translation of K. N. Aiyar):
Narada asks to be told this name of Narayana
Narayana
Narayana or Narayan or Naraina is an important Sanskrit name for Vishnu, and in many contemporary vernaculars a common Indian name. Narayana is also identified as the original man, Purusha. The Puranas present divergent views on Narayana...
, and Brahma replies:
The mantra was popularized by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a Vaishnava saint and social reformer in eastern India in the 16th century, believed by followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism to be the full incarnation of Lord Krishna...
roughly around 1500 AD when he began his mission to spread this mantra publicly to "every town and village" in the world, travelling throughout India, and especially within the areas of Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
and Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
. Some versions of the Kali Santarana Upanishad give the mantra with Hare Rama preceding Hare Krishna(as quoted above), and others with Hare Krishna preceding Hare Rama. as in Navadvipa version of the manuscript. The latter format is by far the more common within the Vaishnava traditions. It is a common belief that the mantra is equally potent when spoken in either order.
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was a Gaudiya Vaishnava teacher and the founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, commonly known as the "Hare Krishna Movement"...
, a pure devotee of Krishna in disciplic succession, on the order of his guru, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur Prabhupada,, was a preacher of Gaudiya Vaishnavism throughout India in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He was born as Bimal Prasad Dutta in the seaside pilgrimage town of Jagannath Puri, Orissa, India...
, brought the teachings of Sri Chaitanya from Bharat (India) and single-handedly took the responsibility of spreading them around the Western world. Beginning in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
1965, he encircled the globe fourteen times in the final eleven years of his life, thus making 'Hare Krishna' a well-known phrase in many parts of the world.
Hippie culture
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Hare Krishnas became confused with the hippieHippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
subculture
Subculture
In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...
. This was an erroneous association, as the ideals of these groups are quite different. Although Prabhupada was open to anyone becoming a member of the Hare Krishnas, they had to follow the four regulative principles, one of which is strict abstention from intoxicants, including marijuana. Elevation and joy were to be derived from chanting God's holy names
Names of God
Names of God, or Holy Names, describe a form of addressing God present in liturgy or prayer of various world religions. Prayer involving the Holy Name or the Name of God has become established as common spiritual practice in both Western and Eastern spiritual practices...
.
The hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical "Hair"
Hair (musical)
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
has a song, "Be-In" with the mantra in it, along with some additional lyrics.
Popular culture
The Hare Krishna mantra appears in a number of famous songs, notably those sung by The BeatlesThe Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
(in the lyrics of John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
and George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
), and has been at the number-one spot in the UK singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
s on more than one occasion within songs such as Harrison's "My Sweet Lord
My Sweet Lord
"My Sweet Lord" is a song by former Beatles lead guitarist George Harrison from his UK number one hit triple album All Things Must Pass. The song was written in praise of the Hindu god Krishna...
". George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
put a Hare Krishna sticker on the back of the headstock of Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
's 1964 Gibson ES-335
Gibson ES-335
The Gibson ES-335 is the world's first commercial thinline arched-top semi-acoustic electric guitar. Released by the Gibson Guitar Corporation as part of its ES series in 1958, it is neither hollow nor solid; instead, a solid wood block runs through the center of its body...
; the sticker also appeared on Gibson's 2005 reproduction of the guitar.
The mantra also appears in The Pretenders
The Pretenders
The Pretenders are an English rock band formed in Hereford, England in March 1978. The original band consisted of initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde , James Honeyman-Scott , Pete Farndon , and Martin Chambers...
' Boots of Chinese Plastic.
The Radha Krsna Temple
Radha Krsna Temple
The Radha Krishna Temple was the headquarters of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in London from the late 1960s. The temple came to prominence when The Beatles and especially George Harrison started to publicly express their interest in Eastern philosophy and Krishna consciousness...
's recording Hare Krsna Mantra was released as a single on The Beatles' Apple Records
Apple Records
Apple Records is a record label founded by The Beatles in 1968, as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mary Hopkin, James Taylor, Badfinger, and Billy Preston...
label in 1969, and reached #12 in the UK music chart and appeared on the music show Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
. It also made the #1 slot in both German and Czechoslovakian music charts.
Less well-known but equally relevant to fans of pop music culture are recordings of the Hare Krishna mantra by The Fugs
The Fugs
The Fugs are a band formed in New York in late 1964 by poets Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg, with Ken Weaver on drums. Soon afterward, they were joined by Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber of the Holy Modal Rounders...
on their 1968 album Tenderness Junction
Tenderness Junction
Tenderness Junction is a 1968 studio album by The Fugs, a band formed in 1964 by anti-war musician/poets Ed Sanders, Tuli Kupferberg and Ken Weaver. It was released in the U.S. by record company Reprise...
(featuring poet Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
), by Nina Hagen
Nina Hagen
Nina Hagen is a German singer and actress.-Early years:Hagen was born as Catharina Hagen in the former East Berlin, East Germany, the daughter of Hans Hagen , a scriptwriter, and Eva-Maria Hagen, an actress and singer...
, and by Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü was an American rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer Grant Hart....
on their 1984 album Zen Arcade
Zen Arcade
Upon its release Zen Arcade received positive reviews in many mainstream publications, including NME, The New York Times and Rolling Stone. In his review for Rolling Stone, David Fricke described Zen Arcade as "the closest hardcore will ever get to an opera .....
.
Kula Shaker
Kula Shaker
Kula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
, Boy George
Boy George
Boy George is a British singer-songwriter who was part of the English New Romantic movement which emerged in the early 1980s. He helped give androgyny an international stage with the success of Culture Club during the 1980s. His music is often classified as blue-eyed soul, which is influenced by...
, and members of The Rubettes
The Rubettes
The Rubettes were an English pop band assembled in 1973 by the songwriting team of Wayne Bickerton, then the head of A&R at Polydor Records, and his co-songwriter, Tony Waddington, after their doo-wop and 1950s American pop-influenced songs had been rejected by a number of existing acts...
have recorded music tracks about Krishna Consciousness.
At the 2008 and 2009 VMA Awards, the host, English comedian Russell Brand
Russell Brand
Russell Edward Brand is an English comedian, actor, columnist, singer, author and radio/television presenter.Brand achieved mainstream fame in the UK in 2004 for his role as host of Big Brother spin-off, Big Brother's Big Mouth. His first major film role was in the 2007 film St Trinians...
ended the ceremony by saying Hare Krishna, as he does at all his shows.
The Washington D.C. Production duo Thievery Corporation
Thievery Corporation
Thievery Corporation is a Washington, D.C. based recording artist and DJ duo consisting of Rob Garza, Eric Hilton, and their supporting artists, including current drummer Jeff Franca...
released a track on the 2008 album entitled, "Hare Krishna".
In the Muppet Movie a running gag
Running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
entailed one character saying they were lost and the other saying "maybe you should try Hare Krishna."
In the Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
episode The Subway, a patron in Monk's restaurant yells, "Hare Krishna! Hare Krishna!" when he sees George walk in wearing only a bedsheet. A similar scenario occurs in Scrubs
Scrubs (TV series)
Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
when J.D. shaves his head in support for a chemo patient, and in the movie Stripes
Stripes (film)
Stripes is a 1981 American comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman, starring Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Warren Oates, P. J. Soles, and John Candy. It also featured several actors in their first significant film roles, including John Larroquette, Sean Young, John Diehl, and Judge Reinhold. It was one...
when John Candy's character leaves the army barber.
The Hare Krishnas are featured in the popular video game series Grand Theft Auto originally as pedestrians, and in later installments as a gang.
The band Shelter
Shelter (band)
Shelter is a Hare Krishna hardcore punk band formed by Ray Cappo.-Brief recent history:In 2001, the band released the album The Purpose, The Passion...
features themes and lyrics of Hare Krishna culture .
In the film 'Osmosis Jones' (2001), Jones pushes past two cells in Franks stomach who are singing 'Hare Krishna' whilst playing a drum and jiggling a tambourine.
Scriptural references
The practice of chanting the Hare Krishna mantra is recommended in the Puranas, the PañcaratraPañcaratra
Pāñcarātra are the Vaishnava Sanskrit texts dedicated to worship of Narayana and form part of the Agamas.Unlike Vaikhanasa tradition, the Pancaratric tradition of Agamas prescribe image worship in the place of rituals like Yajnas, mentioned in the Vedas...
, and throughout Vaishnava literature in general. For example:
See also
- Haridasa ThakurHaridasa ThakurHaridasa Thakur was a prominent Muslim-Vaishnava saint, instrumental in the early appearance and spread of Hare Krishna movement. He is considered to be the most famous convert of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, apart from Rupa Goswami and Sanatana Goswami themselves, and the story of his heroism in the...
- Kali-Saṇṭāraṇa Upaniṣad
- KrishnaismKrishnaismKrishnaism is a group of Hindu denominations within Vaishnavism, centered on devotion to Radha Krishna or other forms of Krishna, identified with Vishnu.The central text of Krishnaism is the Bhagavad Gita....
- Svayam BhagavanSvayam BhagavanSvayam Bhagavan , "The Lord" or Lord Himself, is a Sanskrit theological term. The term refers to the concept of absolute representation of the monotheistic God as Bhagavan within Hinduism....
- VaishnavismVaishnavismVaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu, or his associated Avatars such as Rama and Krishna, as the original and supreme God....
- VrindavanVrindavanVrindavan also known as Vraj is a town in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India...