(The Hare Krishna mantra)
"Krishna and Krishna's name nondifferent. As soon as you chant Hare Krishna, that means Krishna is dancing on your tongue."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Seattle, October 20, 1968)
"Kirtaniyah sada harih, always chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna. That will save you. That Krishna chanting and hearing, that will keep us safe."
(Srila Prabhupada Morning Walk, Honolulu, May 31, 1975)
"One may or may not know the value of chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, but if one somehow or other chants it, he will immediately be purified, just as one who takes a potent medicine will feel its effects, regardless of whether he takes it knowingly or unknowingly."
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.2.19, Purport)
"As a result of chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, one makes such great advancement in spiritual life that simultaneously his material existence terminates and he receives love of Godhead. The holy name of Krishna is so powerful that by chanting even one name, one very easily achieves these transcendental riches."
(Caitanya-caritamrta Adi 8.28)
"So Krishna consciousness is so beautiful thing that it does not require any material acquisition, neither it can be checked by any material… anywhere, any part of the world, at home or out of home, anywhere you can, with your ecstasy, you can chant Hare Krishna, and you attain love of God very quickly."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, London, August 26, 1971)
"So the sankirtana movement, Krishna consciousness movement, the more you chant Hare Krishna maha-mantra, your, the heart disease, material enjoyment, that will decrease, and then you will understand what is your position and you will be gradually attracted by Krishna."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Sanand, December 27, 1975)
"Just like when there is sunrise, immediately the all-pervading fog disappears. Now this Kali-yuga, by bhakti-yoga, especially by chanting Hare Krishna maha-mantra, one can be fully reformed and come to spiritual platform, and that is success of life."
(Srila Prabhupada Conversation, New Vrindaban, July 1, 1976)
"People go to places of pilgrimage in order to be delivered from the reactions of unknown sinful acts. But one can be freed from all sinful reactions simply by remembering His holy name. The Lord is therefore as good as the holy places of pilgrimage. One can be free from all sinful reactions after reaching a place of pilgrimage, but one can have the same benefit at home or at any place simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord."
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.7.15, Purport)
"The Lord does not say that one should give up his prescribed duties or engagements. One can continue them and at the same time think of Krishna by chanting Hare Krishna. This will free one from material contamination and engage the mind and intelligence in Krishna. By chanting Krishna's names, one will be transferred to the supreme planet, Krishnaloka, without a doubt."
(Bhagavad-gita As It Is 8.7, Purport)
"At the present moment, modern civilization is too much attached to the material way of life, or sense gratification. Therefore, the Krishna consciousness movement can give the people in general the best opportunity to utilize their human life in the midst of material enjoyment. Krishna consciousness does not stop them in their propensity for material enjoyment, but simply regulates their habits in the life of sense enjoyment. In spite of their enjoying the material advantages, they can be liberated in this very life by practicing Krishna consciousness by the simple method of chanting the holy names of the Lord—Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare."
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.22.3, Purport)
"Chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra is the easiest process of meditation in this age. As soon as one chants the Hare Krishna mantra, he sees the forms of Krishna, Rama and Their energies, and that is the perfect stage of trance. One should not artificially try to see the form of the Lord while chanting Hare Krishna, but when the chanting is performed offenselessly the Lord will automatically reveal Himself to the view of the chanter. The chanter, therefore, has to concentrate on hearing the vibration, and without extra endeavor on his part, the Lord will automatically appear."
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.8.53, Purport)
"There are three stages in chanting the holy name of the Lord. In the first stage, one commits ten kinds of offenses while chanting. In the next stage, namabhasa, the offenses have almost stopped, and one is coming to the platform of pure chanting. In the third stage, when one chants the Hare Krishna mantra without offenses, his dormant love for Krishna immediately awakens. This is the perfection."
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.24.20, Purport)
"You can get the same benefit by chanting name as you get personally talking with Krishna. That is also possible. But this will be gradually realized. Nama cintamanih krsnas caitanya-rasa-vigrahah. Rasa-vigraha means the pleasure, reservoir of all pleasure. As you chant the name of Hare Krishna, so gradually you relish some transcendental pleasure. Just like these boys and girls, while chanting, they're dancing in joyfulness. Nobody could follow them. But they are not crazy fellows, that they're chanting. Actually, they're getting some pleasure, transcendental pleasure. Therefore they're dancing. It is not that the dog-dance. No. It is really spiritual dance, the soul's dance. So therefore He's called rasa-vigraha, reservoir of all pleasure."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Stockholm, September 8, 1973)
"So the Hare Krishna movement is so strong, and indirectly, directly, or some way or other, if you chant Hare Krishna, you become benefited. It is so. So if you neglectfully chant Hare Krishna you become so benefited, then how much you will be benefited if you carefully chant Hare Krishna. That should be the ideal."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Vrndavan, September 8, 1975)
"One cannot be happy in any way within this material world. As stated in Bhagavad-gita (BG 8.16):
abrahma-bhuvanal lokah
punar avartino 'rjuna
'From the highest planet in this material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place.' Therefore, not to speak of going to the moon, even if one is promoted to the highest planetary system, Brahmaloka, there cannot be any happiness in this material world. If one actually wants happiness, one must go to the spiritual world. The material world is characterized by a struggle for existence, and survival of the fittest is a well-known principle, but the poor souls of this material world do not know what is survival and who is fit. Survival does not mean that one should die; survival means that one should not die, but should enjoy an everlastingly blissful life of knowledge. This is survival. The Krishna consciousness movement is meant to make every person fit for survival. Indeed, it is meant to stop the struggle for existence. The Srimad-Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita give definite directions on how to stop the struggle for existence and how to survive in eternal life. The sankirtana movement, therefore, is a great opportunity. Simply by hearing Bhagavad-gita and chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, one becomes completely purified. Thus the struggle for existence ceases, and one goes back home, back to Godhead."
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 8.5.23, Purport)
"In this Age of Kali everyone is perplexed by so many inconveniences— social, political and religious—and naturally no one is happy. Due to the contamination of this age, everyone has a very short life. There are many fools and rascals who advise people to adopt this way of life or that way of life, but real liberation from life’s perplexities means preparation for the next life. Tatha dehantara-praptir dhiras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13). One should be situated in his spiritual identity and return home, back to Godhead. The simplest method for this is recommended herein by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. We should constantly chant the holy names of the Lord, the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. Following in the footsteps of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Krishna consciousness movement is recommending this process all over the world. We are saying, 'Chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, be freed from all the complexities of life, and realize Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Engage in His devotional service and perfect your life so that you can return home, back to Godhead.'"
(Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya 25.198, Purport)
"Every one of us is covered by the darkness of ajnana. What is that ajnana? 'I am this body.' 'I am Indian.' 'I am American.' 'I am Andhra,' 'I am Bengali.' 'I am this, I am that.' So there is fighting, due to ajnana. So first of all we have to drive away this ajnana. Therefore Krishna is teaching Arjuna that 'You are not this body. You are spirit soul.' This is the first spiritual instruction by the authority to anyone, that 'You are not this body.' So by chanting Hare Krishna mantra... It is the medicine recommended in the sastra, ceto-darpana-marjanam (CC Antya 20.12). That dust of ignorance is moved. He can understand that 'I am not this body; I am spirit soul, part and parcel of Krishna. My duty is to serve Krishna.' In this way, he becomes enlightened gradually."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Hyderabad, November 17, 1972)
"Constant chanting of the holy name will make one free of offenses, and then he will gradually be elevated to the transcendental platform on which he can chant the pure holy name and thus become a lover of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is recommended that even if one commits offenses, one should continue chanting the holy name. In other words, the chanting of the holy name makes one offenseless.
It is recommended that even if one commits offenses, one should continue chanting the holy name. In other words, the chanting of the holy name makes one offenseless. In the book Nama-kaumudi it is recommended that if one is an offender at the lotus feet of a Vaisnava, he should submit to that Vaisnava and be excused; similarly, if one is an offender in chanting the holy name, he should submit to the holy name and thus be freed from his offenses."
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.5.23-24, Purport)
"Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu prays in His Siksastaka:
yugayitam nimesena caksusa pravrsayitam
sunyayitam jagat sarvam govinda-virahena me
'O Govinda! Feeling Your separation, I am considering a moment to be like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world in Your absence.' It is the aspiration of a devotee that while he chants the Hare Krishna maha-mantra his eyes will fill with tears, his voice falter and his heart throb. These are good signs in chanting the holy name of the Lord. In ecstasy, one should feel the entire world to be vacant without the presence of Govinda. This is a sign of separation from Govinda. In material life we are all separated from Govinda and are absorbed in material sense gratification. Therefore, when one comes to his senses on the spiritual platform he becomes so eager to meet Govinda that without Govinda the entire world becomes a vacant place."
(Caitanya-caritamrta Adi 7.81, Purport)
"A devotee is inspired by the Supersoul within the heart to advance in devotional service in a variety of ways. The devotee does not feel hackneyed or stereotyped, nor does he feel that he is in a stagnant position. In the material world, if one engages in chanting a material name, he will feel tired after chanting a few times. However, one can chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra all day and night and never feel tired. As chanting is increased, it will come out new and fresh. Srila Rupa Gosvami said that if he could somehow get millions of ears and tongues, then he could relish spiritual bliss by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. There is really nothing uninspiring for a highly advanced devotee. In Bhagavad-gita the Lord says that He is situated in everyone's heart and that He helps the living entity forget and remember. By the grace of the Lord, the devotee gets inspiration."
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.30.20, Purport)
"Sometimes when our students of the Krishna consciousness movement chant and dance, even in India people are astonished to see how these foreigners have learned to chant and dance in this ecstatic fashion. As explained by Caitanya Mahaprabhu, however, actually this is not due to practice, for without extra endeavor these symptoms become manifest in anyone who sincerely chants the Hare Krishna maha-mantra."
(Caitanya-caritamrta Adi 7.83, Purport)
"The ritualistic ceremonies of atonement recommended in the religious scriptures are insufficient to cleanse the heart absolutely because after atonement one's mind again runs toward material activities. Consequently, for one who wants liberation from the fruitive reactions of material activities, the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, or glorification of the name, fame and pastimes of the Lord, is recommended as the most perfect process of atonement because such chanting eradicates the dirt from one's heart completely."
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.2.12, Purport)
"Karmis change their professions at any moment, but a Krishna conscious person does not change his profession, for his only profession is to attract the attention of Krishna by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra and living a very simple life, without following daily changes of fashion."
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.5.14, Purport)
"This chanting of Hare Krishna and our sincere desire to serve Krishna will make everything clear, even if there is some impediments, because from Srimad-Bhagavatam we understand that a system of religiousity is to be understood as the most perfect if by following such system, we enrich our tendency to love God. Actually that tendency is in everyone, but on account of not being associated with pure devotees, our love is placed on something non-God. The whole process of Krishna Consciousness is to replace our love to Krishna. So any process that helps us to increase our love of Krishna, that is the best system of religiousity. Such system cannot be checked by any material impediments, and such development of love of Krishna is without any cause. Chanting of Hare Krishna is not meant for achieving any other better thing than Krishna. But when we chant Hare Krishna without any offense, we relish Krishna, the Reservoir of all pleasure."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, July 14, 1968)
"Due to the contamination of material association, through many, many millions of births, one's heart is always covered with the dust of materialism, but when one engages in devotional service and constantly chants Hare Krishna, the dust quickly clears, and one is elevated to the platform of pure knowledge. The ultimate goal, Vishnu, can be attained only by this chant and by devotional service, and not by mental speculation or argument."
(Bhagavad-gita As It Is 10.11, Purport)
"The life in the Kali-yuga itself is faulty. Everything is faulty. So... But still, Krishna is so kind, He has given an opportunity that by chanting His holy name one can become free from this faulty position. Kirtanad eva krsnasya mukta-sanga param vrajet. It is possible.
So Caitanya Mahaprabhu, maha-vadanyavatara, He is patita-pavana. He is the deliverer of all the fallen souls. He has given us this much tapasya prescription. Tapasya must be there. And that is very easy to be done by us. It is not very difficult. One has to become very humble. That is the first qualification. Trnad api sunicena. Sunicena means lower than the grass. Just like we trample over the grass; they do not protest. Trnad api sunicena taror api sahisnuna. And tolerant, humbler than the grass and tolerant than the tree. A tree gives us all benefit, but in return we give the tree so much trouble. We snatch away the twigs, we snatch away the leaves. Sometimes for our fuel we cut down. But there is no protest. So these things have been taught by Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Trnad api sunicena taror api sahisnuna amanina manadena. Nobody should think himself that he is very prestigious person, falsely. Nobody is prestigious. Everyone should be humble."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Vrndavana, October 23, 1976)
"Kali-yuga means the age of quarrel and misunderstanding. This is the age. For nothing there is misunderstanding and quarrel and fight and war, for nothing. So in this age the medicine for delivering the conditioned souls from miserable, materialistic way of life is prescribed in the sastras. What is that? Harer nama, simply chanting of the holy name of Hari, Hare Krishna. Harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam: (CC Adi 17.21) 'In this age, simply this harer nama kevalam, only.' There is no other alternative. Therefore in the next line it is stressed, nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha: 'There is no other alternative, no other alternative, no other alternative.'
So this Krishna consciousness movement is based on authority. We are prescribing the right medicine, and it is becoming very effective also. That is the proof. If you say that 'How I can understand that this medicine is very effective?' Yes, it is effective. By chanting this Hare Krishna mantra, any part of the world, although they do not know the meaning, they chant and they join and they become rectified, and they become bright-faced. That is the verdict. So therefore we appeal to everyone, irrespective of any caste-creed consideration, please come, join this movement, and be happy."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, New York, July 22, 1971)
"Our movement is to request persons that 'You please chant this Hare Krishna, and if you go on chanting, you will find the solution of your life very easy.' There is no expenditure and there is no loss. Suppose if you chant Hare Krishna—nobody will object. There is no tax. But if there is some gain, why don't you try to achieve it? Just make an experiment for one week. Chant as many times as you can: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. And you'll find so many things new in your life. That is practically experienced, and if you try to chant, you'll also feel. And I shall be very glad if you join with this chanting again when we shall perform again, and you shall join with us: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Los Angeles, April 16, 1970)
"Everyone of you should be thoroughly convinced of the power of the Hare Krsna mantra to protect you in all circumstances and chant accordingly at all times without offense. Then advancement will be swift and you will gradually come to see everything clearly so that you may act for the pleasure of the Lord without uncertainty. When one is spontaneously engaged in this way, always in the service of the Lord and anxious to avoid all mundane activities, he is actually experiencing the taste of bliss in Krsna consciousness."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, January 10, 1971)
"One can sit down anywhere and chant Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. If the surface of the globe is overflooded with the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, the people of the world will be very, very happy."
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.24.10, Purport)
"Take prasada and chant Hare Krishna, that's all. And we have now nice buildings. Live there peacefully, chant Hare Krishna. Bas. This is my success. If I see that you are living very nicely, chanting very nicely, then all my labor is successful."
(Srila Prabhupada Conversation, Bombay, August 13, 1976)
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