Srila Prabhupada - Japa

The Hare Krishna mantra, also referred to reverentially as the Maha Mantra ("Great Mantra"), is a 16-word Vaishnava mantra and which from the 15th century rose to importance in the Bhakti movement following the teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. This mantra is composed of two sanskrit names of the Supreme Being - "Krishna" and "Rama."

Since the 1960s, the mantra has been made well known outside India by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and his movement, International Society for Krishna Consciousness (commonly known as the "Hare Krishnas" or the Hare Krishna movement).