Introduction

The Hare Krishna -movement is also known as the Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition. The followers of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, especially those who are from a place called Gauda, Bengal, are called Gaudiya. Sri Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti is an authentic branch of this ancient school of thought.

The Gaudiya Vaishnava -tradition assumed its present shape after the divine appearance of Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He took birth in this world during a solar eclipse in February 1486. He was born as the son of Jagannatha Mishra and Sacimata in Sridhama Mayapur, in the town of Navadvipa, West Bengal.

During His life He manifested all the signs of a perfect devotee of Krishna, and through His example He instructed the whole world in the science of love of Krishna. Sriman Mahaprabhu is none other than Krishna Himself, who appeared to understand the depth of the love of Sri Radha, His eternal beloved, and to distribute the sweet mellows of love of God.

The teachings of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu are based on the ancient Vedic literature of India. They are divided in three basic categories, namely sambandha (the relationship between the individual soul, the world, and the Supreme Lord), abhidheya (action in accordance with this relationship) and prayojana (the ultimate goal of life). We will now present these lofty concepts in an easily understandable way.

We all are eternal, spiritual entities. We wander from birth to childhood, from childhood to youth, from youth to old age, and from old age to death, only to accept a new body as our covering after death, just as we change our old, worn-out clothes to a new set. Under the influence of illusion, we consider this temporary material body as our real self. The material body exhibits symptoms of life only when consciousness is present. A body without consciousness is dead. Without consciousness the mouth no longer speaks, the eyes no longer see, the ears no longer hear, nor does the brain think. We, the spirit souls, are the source of this consciousness.

The material world is like a tree having its roots towards the sky and its branches downwards. We may see such a tree while observing the reflection of a tree on the surface of a calm lake. Just as the tree in the lake is a perverted reflection of the original tree, similarly the material world is a perverted reflection of the original spiritual realm.

Hankering after the fruits of the reflection, the human being only gets wet, uselessly attempting to satisfy his hunger, and so the spirit soul is also frustrated in his attempts to attain permanent happiness in a world of temporary reflections. Factual happiness is only found in factual reality, the realm of spirit.

The Absolute Truth manifests in three phases: 1. The omnipresent Godhead, the basis of all existence, 2. The Supersoul, the Lord of everyone's heart, who gives us memory, knowledge and forgetfulness, 3. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is known as Krishna, the original and all-attractive person. He is the origin of the Godhead and the Supersoul.

Krishna Himself is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth and the original cause of all causes. He is the origin of all creation, maintenance and destruction, who is both directly and indirectly aware of His creations, yet being eternally independent of them. His illusory energy causes this manifest world to appear factual. With His illusion, He binds all the living entities in the cycle of birth and death, in accordance with their desires. He Himself exists in his eternal abode full of knowledge and bliss, beyond the temporary existence.

The constitutional position of the living entity is to be eternally full of knowledge and bliss. This natural state is revived through the hearing, chanting and remembrance of the name, form, qualities and pastimes of Sri Krishna, the original Personality of Godhead. We are His eternal servants, and belong to His divine abode.

Being absolute, Krishna is nondifferent from His name and His beautiful pastimes. By hearing, glorifying and meditating on His name, form, qualities and pastimes, we can attain our constitutional position in a natural, loving relationship with Krishna, the playful, all-attractive Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The quickest method for attaining this state of consciousness is the hearing, chanting and meditation of the Hare Krishna -mantra in the association of persons who have a deep, personal relationship Krishna. The chanting of the holy names destroys the materialistic conception of life to the root, and allows the living entity to taste that nectar which he has always hankered for.

This mantra includes the most important names of Krishna: Hare means the internal energy of Krishna, Krishna means the all-attractive One, and Rama means the supreme enjoyer of all loving pastimes. Hidden in these holy names is the eternal position of the living entity as a part of the love-laden activities of the spiritual world.

The ultimate reason for existence is love. Without it, no-one can live. To expand the love He experiences, Krishna has manifested us, the tiny living entities. A person who is aspiring to attain perfect love should dedicate himself to this elevated and beautiful process of Krishna consciousness, through which one may very quickly realize Krishna, the all-attractive Personality of Godhead, and Vrindavana, His spiritual abode, where He is absorbed in His eternal  pastimes filled with ecstatic love with His servants, friends, parents and beloved-ones.
Developing pure love and perfecting it by following in the footsteps of the eternal associates of Krishna who have natural, inherent love for Him is the ultimate, matchless goal of human life. Who could fail to be attracted?