Hare Krishna: Encyclopedia II - Hare Krishna - History

Hare Krishna - History

The mantra is first attested in the kalisaṇṭāraṇopaniṣad (Kali Santarana Upanishad), a Vaishnava Upanishad associated with the Black 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 CE. The reason given for Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's inversion of the mantra is that he wanted to spread it to all the fallen souls of the current Kali Yuga, regardless of qualification. Since there were injunctions that the Vedic mantras (including those in Upanishads) are not to be chanted publicly or by members of the lower castes, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu reversed the two halves so as not to offend the orthodox Brahmins, claiming it to be equally potent either way, and in the altered form it could be freely distributed and chanted in public. He then began his mission to spread this mantra publically to 'every town and village' in the world, travelling exstensively throughout India, distributing the Maha-Mantra.

In modern times (1960's) an elderly monk known as A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, on the order of his guru (Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura) brought the teachings of Sri Chaitanya from India and single-handedly took the responsibility of spreading them around the Western world. Beginning in New-York, 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.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki