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.