The Hare Krishna Maha-mantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

Photo from Daiji World

Do your part for the environment

Recommended instead to organize congregational chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra

In Bhagavad-gita, it is stated: yajñad bhavati parjanyah [Bg. 3.14]. Due to the performance of yajña, clouds of water are manifest in the sky. Clouds and rainfall are under the management of Indra, the heavenly King, but when Indra is neglectful, the Supreme Lord Himself, who is also known as yajña or yajña-pati, takes the task upon Himself. Consequently there was sufficient rainfall in the place named Ajanabha. When yajña-pati wants to, He can do anything without the help of any subordinate. Therefore the Supreme Lord is known as almighty. In the present age of Kali there will eventually be a great scarcity of water (anavrishti), for the general populace, due to ignorance and the scarcity of yajñic ingredients, will neglect to perform yajñas. Srimad-Bhagavatam therefore advises: yajñaih sankirtana-prayaih yajanti hi sumedhasah. After all, yajña is meant to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this age of Kali, there is great scarcity and ignorance; nonetheless, everyone can perform sankirtana-yajña. Every family in every society can conduct sankirtana-yajña at least every evening. In this way there will be no disturbance or scarcity of rain. It is essential for the people in this age to perform the sankirtana-yajña in order to be materially happy and to advance spiritually.

My lord, all of you are expert in chanting the Vedic mantras. How then has the result been opposite to the one desired? This is a matter for lamentation. There should not have been such a reversal of the results of the Vedic mantras.

PURPORT
In this age, the performance of yajña has been forbidden because no one can properly chant the Vedic mantras. If Vedic mantras are chanted properly, the desire for which a sacrifice is performed must be successful. Therefore the Hare Krishna chant is called the maha-mantra, the great, exalted mantra above all other Vedic mantras, because simply chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra brings so many beneficial effects. As explained by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (Shikshashtaka 1):

cheto-darpana-marjanam bhava-maha-davagni-nirvapanam
shreyah-kairava-chandrika-vitaranam vidya-vadhu-jivanam
anandambudhi-vardhanam prati-padam purnamritasvadanam
sarvatma-snapanam param vijayate shri-krishna-sankirtanam

"Glory to the Sri Krishna sankirtan, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. This sankirtan movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious." [Chaitanya-charitamrita Antya-lila 20.12]

Therefore, the best performance of yajña given to us is the sankirtan-yajña. Yajñaih sankirtan-prayair yajanti hi sumedhasah (SB 11.5.32). Those who are intelligent take advantage of the greatest yajña in this age by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra in congregation. When the Hare Krishna mantra is chanted by many men together, the chanting is called sankirtan, and as a result of such a yajña there will be clouds in the sky (yajñad bhavati parjanyah [Bhagavad-gita 3.14]). In these days of drought, people can gain relief from scarcity of rain and food by the simple method of the Hare Krishna yajña. Indeed, this can relieve all of human society. At present there are droughts throughout Europe and America, and people are suffering, but if people take this Krishna consciousness movement seriously, if they stop their sinful activities and chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, all their problems will be solved without difficulty. In other processes of yajña there are difficulties because there are no learned scholars who can chant the mantras perfectly well, nor is it possible to secure the ingredients to perform the yajña. Because human society is poverty-stricken and men are devoid of Vedic knowledge and the power to chant the Vedic mantras, the Hare Krishna maha-mantra is the only shelter. People should be intelligent enough to chant it. Yajñaih sankirtan-prayair yajanti hi sumedhasah [SB 11.5.32]. Those whose brains are dull cannot understand this chanting, nor can they take to it.