Krsna Kirtana Songs
est. 2001 www.kksongs.org
Frequently Asked
Questions: Krsna Consciousness in a Nutshell
he kṛṣṇa
karuṇā-sindho dīna-bandho
jagat-pate
gopeśa gopikā-kānta rādhā-kānta
namo 'stu te
tapta-kāńcana-gaurāńgi rādhe vṛndāvaneśvari
vṛṣabhānu-sute devī praṇamāmi
hari-priye
“Hari Bol! Hare
Krishna!” If you don't know what these words mean, you sure have come to
the right place. This page will give you some of the basics of Krsna
Consciousness in a nutshell. Unlike typical websites where an article is
presented as it is, I decided to explain Krsna Consciousness in the form of
frequently answered questions.
Who is Krsna?
Krsna
is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is God. The name "Krsna"
means "all-attractive." Understanding this, devotees of Lord Krsna
are non-sectarian, as God has many names and Krsna is just one of the names.
The names of God represent His numerous opulences and
qualities. For instance, He can be referred to as Rama
in Hinduism ("Reservoir of Pleasure"), Buddha in Buddhism
("Enlightened One"), or Allah in Islam ("Merciful One").
According to one of the scriptures known as the Brahma Samhita,
the Lord's name is originally Krsna and Govinda (The
giver of pleasure to the senses of the cows).
What is Hare Krsna?
Hare
Krsna is the first two words of a sixteen worded Sanskrit mantra. The entire
mantra is chanted as such:
“hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare”
This
mantra is known as the mahamantra or "greatest
mantra" as this mantra has so many potencies. When chanted with devotion
and sincerity, it can deliver fallen souls and help one understand the love of
Godhead. In this current Iron Age, known in the scriptures as Kaliyuga, when all souls are in the verge of degradation,
the only method to be saved is chanting the Lord's name. This is why
occasionally one can encounter Krsna devotees on the street chanting Hare Krsna
and attempting to spread it.
As
mentioned before, Krsna Consciousness is non-sectarian. Other religions may
have other sayings like "Allahu Akbar", "Nam Yo Ho Renge Kyon” and
"Hallelujah" which is just as potent to save a falling soul through a
different path.
What is Krsna
Consciousness?
Krsna
Consciousness can be simply defined as always remembering Krsna; however, going
about that can becme difficult to understand. Krsna
Consciousness is a lifelong process of understanding how to love Krsna and how
to serve Him. Krsna is a person, a spiritual person. Spiritual evidence in
Vedic scriptures says that every living entity has a soul without distinction.
Each soul has the same qualities as God, however the
quantity and extent of those qualities are far different and far lower than
those of God's. Krsna can love, so can souls to some extent. Krsna can eat, so
can the souls to some extent. Krsna has feelings, so do souls to some
extent. Knowing that God is indeed a
person, it is first important to develop love for Him. This takes place to
through reading His glories and chanting the mahamantra.
One will develop love for Him. After this, one will want to serve Him.
Naturally, the person who loves someone will want to serve them. Krsna
Consciousness is a never-ending science on loving, serving, and always
remembering Krsna.
Who started Krsna
Consciousness?
In
actuality, Lord Krsna started this process. In the Bhagavad-gita,
Lord Krsna mentioned that His teachings were spread in an unbroken succession
of disciples. According to scripture, Krsna had first imported this knowledge
to Brahma (demigod of creation). Brahma then spread this knowledge to his son, Narada Muni. Narada
Muni taught the compiler of the Vedic scriptures, Vyasa Deva, about five thousand
years ago. This chain continued spreading perfect knowledge without
interpretations or any modifications and it still continues today.
Most
notable feature is that Lord Caitanya, Lord Krsna's incarnation in Kaliyuga,
came in this disciplic succession as an instrument to
carry out the spreading of Hare Krsna mahamantra and
showing how to love Krsna and how to serve Him. He came on earth around 1486
and lived until approximately 1534.
Around
the late 1800s, Bhaktivinoda Thakura
had a worldwide vision to spread the Krsna Consciousness. His son, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, made a start to formalize Krsna Consciousness in
Vedic institutes called the Gaudiya Matha. His disciple is His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, or Srila Prabhupada
for short. By the order of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Srila Prabhupada traveled to
Western countries in 1965 and preached Krsna Consciousness in English. In
addition, he distributed knowledge of Krsna through books, lectures, and
recordings. He founded an institution for devotees to assemble together and
glorify the Lord. This was known International Society for Krsna Consciousness
or ISKCON for short. Prabhupada passed away in 1977,
however his works, teachings, and inspiration remains immortal. Prabhupada initiated disciples to spread these teachings
around. Thus the succession of Krsna Consciousness continues.
What rules do
devotees follow?
In
order to understand how to love God, one must first understand how to be good
and how to be pure. There are four regulative principles which are based on the
four pillars of goodness. The four regulative principles are as follows:
1) No intake of meat, fish, or eggs. If one does not
stop killing animals just for their edibility, then how can one understand what
compassion for animals are?
2) No intoxication. One must love and live with a
clear mind devoid of any stimulants to create an artificial zone for the mind.
3) No inappropriate sex. It dulls the mind and it is
a very unclean habit.
4) No gambling. It creates envy, anger, and fear
unnecessarily.
Besides these four fundamental regulations. Of course, it may be difficult to follow them, but
it is very important to go about it gradually.
Chanting
Hare Krsna in a set of rosaries, or 108-tied beads, is prescribed. There are no
fast or slow rules in chanting, but sixteen is a minimum goal. Like with the regulative principles, it is also a good idea to go
slowly on this and work your way to sixteen.
Eating
has regulations. Devotees must offer the food to God before accepting it. God
really does not need food, for He is self-sufficient. But, when devotees cook food
with love, God will surely accept. In this way of love, practicing on how to
offer food is a very big step. Also, if God eats it, all hidden karma will go
away, and His mercy will be imbedded into the food. Hence, the food is known as
"prasada" or "Lord's mercy."
Do devotees do idol
worship?
If
one was to take the question literally, yes devotees worship statues of God and
His devotees. From the mentality and intention standpoint, devotees do not
worship idols. God is indeed very merciful that He allows us to worship Him
through His images, whether they are in statue form or picture form. Of course,
the statue or picture has to be a true representation of the personality
represented. Otherwise, that picture or statue is not authorized. A good analogy
to help one understand this is by looking at a mailbox. Anyone can throw
anything into the mailbox. If a mailman finds the envelope with the the right weight, proper addressing, and the properly
stamped envelope, then he or she will accept this and deliver it. If these
things aren't there, then this is not considered mail and the mailman will
reject it. Likewise, it is important to have authorized images of Krsna or His
devotees, as these images are non-different from Him.
Devotees
also worship devotees of the Lord, as they have offered their lives in worship
and service of the Lord. They are considered exemplary people who are worthy of
respect. They are not considered God, but they are as good as God. In the same
respect, the spiritual master is worshipped along with God, although the
spiritual master is not God. Before worship of God, worship of spiritual master
is always very important; by the spiritual master's grace, one can understand
God.
In
a Krsna temple or a devotee’s house, there will be an altar of Lord Krsna and
His eternal consort, Radharani in the center. Radha and Krsna are the enteral
couple and the highest amongst all. To the right or left a picture of Lord Caitanya and His associates are placed. The picture of the disciplic succession from Bhaktivinoda
Thakura to Srila Prabhuapda is placed. If one found a spiritual master, the
picture of the spiritual master is placed in conjunction to the rest of the disciplic succession. This is a very simple altar. Of
course, altars may vary, but this is the generic altar. Here is where chanting takes place, where
devotional songs are sung, where food is offered, where reading spiritual
literature takes place, where any spiritual activity with Krsna is taken place.
Please
check out the temple room page of this website.
What books do you
read and what hymns do you sing?
There
is not only single book which sings glories and teachings of Krsna and His
devotees. There is a numerous amount which may take lifetimes
to understand. However, the most basic ones which are read most commonly
are the Bhagavad-gita, Srimad
Bhagavatam, and Caitanya Caritamrta. Bhagavad-gita is a
section of a bigger epic known as the Mahabharata. The Bhagavad-gita,
or Gita for short, is a conversation in the battlefiled between Krsna and his friend, Arjuna, which covered the most confidential spiritual
topics. The ultimate conclusion is that surrendering everything and devotion
and love for the Lord is the highest path. Bhagavad-gita,
in general, covers the fundamental principles of spiritual life. Srimad-Bhagavatam takes a closer look at devotional service
as well as pastimes of the Lord and His devotees in various events. Unlike Bhagavad-gita which only consists of 700 verses, Srimad-Bhagavatam is a very huge book which is about 10,000
verses! Caitanya Caritamrta
is the lifestory of Lord Krsna's
most recent incarnation as Lord Caitanya and His
pastimes. Prabhupada has translated these three books
with details translations and explanations. He has also written other books on
Vedic literature and Krsna Consciousness.
There
are numerous songs that devotees sing about Krsna, His forms, and His devotees.
You can find a good handful of such hymns, prayers, and songs in the Lyrics
Page of this webpage.
What is Krsna
Consciousness in a Nutshell?
Besides
the name of this page, Krsna Consciousness is about "loving, serving,
remembering, and spreading Krsna." Lifestyle is all about chanting,
dancing, and eating prasadam. Simple living is higher
thinking. Lastly, "chant Hare Krsna and be happy!" For more
information, please click one of the links from the KKSongs
Links Page for more information. Hare Krsna!
(1896 – 1977)
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Founder Acarya of the
International Society of Krsna Consciousness
UPDATED: April 1, 2009