Why do some people chant the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra on beads for 2-3 hours daily?

Question

This is the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra:

HARE KRISHNA, HARE KRISHNA, KRISHNA KRISHNA,
HARE HARE

HARE RAMA, HARE RAMA, RAMA RAMA, HARE HARE

Answer 1

Chanting the transcendental vibration Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare is the sublime method for reviving our transcendental consciousness, or Krishna consciousness.

As living spiritual souls, we are all originally Krishna conscious entities, but due to our association with matter from time immemorial, our consciousness is now polluted by the material atmosphere, called maya, or illusion. And what is this illusion? The illusion is that we are all trying to be lords of material nature, while actually we are under the grip of her stringent laws. When a servant artificially tries to imitate the all-powerful master, he is said to be in illusion. We are trying to exploit the resources of material nature, but actually we are becoming more and more entangled in her complexities. Therefore, although we are engaged in a hard struggle to conquer nature, we are becoming ever more dependent on her. This illusory struggle against material nature can be stopped at once by revival of our eternal Krishna consciousness.

This simplest method of meditation is recommended by learned authorities for this age. By practical experience also, one can perceive that by chanting this maha-mantra, or the Great Chant for Deliverance, one at once feels transcendental ecstasy coming through from the spiritual stratum.

The word Hara is a form of addressing the energy of the Lord, and the words Krishna and Rama (which mean "the highest pleasure eternal") are forms of addressing the Lord Himself. Hara is the supreme pleasure energy of the Lord, and when addressed as Hare in the vocative, She helps us to reach the Supreme Lord.

Therefore no other means of spiritual realization is as effective in this age of quarrel and hypocrisy as the chanting of the maha-mantra:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

For further discussion:-Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari ([e-mail])

Answer 2

Like all mantras they are empowered through the syllables that vibrate throughout the universe.

Mantras are part of meditation and japa meditation (meditation with a mantra) is common in many Eastern religions including Hinduism. Chanting the mantra helps to focus the mind on the Divine. The longer one does the mantra, the more focused the mind is. The goal is Self-Realization/God-Realization/Krishna-Consciousness or whatever term you'd like to use. In other words, it's moksha...

That's why the ISKCON members chant their mantra and some chant it more than others.

I have a mantra that I chant with my japamala when I meditate. The mantra was given to me by a guru and is related to my ishtadev.

Answer 3

It's a form of meditation just like the rosary or any of the oriental techniques