The Hare Krishna Movement

…The Lord ordered all the citizens of Navadvīpa to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, and in each and every home they began performing saṅkīrtana regularly.

When the saṅkīrtana movement thus started, no one in Navadvīpa could hear any sound other than the words “Hari! Hari!” and the beating of the mrdaṅga and clashing of hand bells.

Song lyrics and text

Hari Haraye Namah Krsna Yadavaya Namah

Sri Nama Sankirtana
By Narottama Dasa Thakura

hari haraye namaḥ kṛṣṇa yādavāya namaḥ
yādavāya mādhavāya keśavāya namaḥ

gopāla govinda rāma śrī-madhusūdana
giridhārī gopīnātha madana-mohana

śrī-caitanya-nityānanda śrī-advaita-sītā
hari guru vaiṣṇaba bhāgavata gītā

śrī-rūpa sanātana bhaṭṭa-raghunātha
śrī-jīva gopāla-bhaṭṭa dāsa-raghunātha

ei chay gosāir kori caraṇa vandan
jāhā hoite bighna-nāś abhīṣṭa-pūraṇ

ei chay gosāi jār—mui tār dās
tā-sabāra pada-reṇu mora pañca-grās

tādera caraṇa-sebi-bhakta-sane bās
janame janame hoy ei abhilāṣ

ei chay gosāi jabe braje koilā bās
rādhā-kṛṣṇa-nitya-līlā korilā prakāś

ānande bolo hari bhaja bṛndāban
śrī-guru-vaiṣṇaba-pade majāiyā man

śrī-guru-vaiṣṇaba-pada-padma kori āś
nāma-sańkīrtana kohe narottama dāsa

TRANSLATION

Hari! Obeisances to Lord Hari, unto Krsna, and Yadava. Obeisances to Lord of the Yadus, Madhava, Kesava.

The lotus feet of my guru and the vaisnavas are my aspiration. Narottama Dasa thus sings Hari-nama sankirtana.

Purport by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

This song of Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura is very famous among devotees in Bengal and Orissa. When Lord Caitanya returned from Gaya, where He was initiated by Sri Isvara Puri, He was completely transformed into a God-intoxicated personality whom His students of grammar had never known before. Instead of teaching ordinary grammar studies, Lord Caitanya explained every sentence in such a way that every Sanskrit word and every letter was understood to indicate Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This form of grammar was later on developed by Srila Jiva Gosvami in a book called Hari-namamrta-vyakarana, The Grammar of the Nectar and Name of Sri Hari. But Lord Caitanya’s students thought that their teacher had become mad, and they rubbed His head with Visnu oil, an oil that cools the brain. Finally they asked Him, “You say that everything means Krsna and we should ultimately always be chanting the names of Krsna. Just how should we do this?” Then Lord Caitanya began to sing the names of Krsna and clap His hands, and He began His nama-sankirtana movement. The names He sang are the first two lines of this song, and Narottama Dasa Thakura and others have placed these names in the beginning of their writings to immortalize these events in the memory of everyone.

Narottama Dasa Thakura chants the names of Lord Caitanya, Nityananda, Sri Advaita and Sita (Lord Advaita’s consort). Since Lord Hari, the spiritual master, and the Srimad Bhagavad-gita are all on the transcendental platform, they are given the same respect. Then Srila Narottama Dasa chants the names of the six Gosvamis. “I offer my obeisances at their feet,” he sings, “which destroy sufferings accumulated over many long years. I am the servant of these six Gosvamis, and the dust of their lotus feet is my five kinds of foodstuffs. To serve their lotus feet and keep the association of devotees is my only business, birth after birth.” When the six Gosvamis were staying at Vrndavana, they revealed the eternal transcendental pastimes of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna. Before Lord Caitanya the exact location of the places of Lord Krsna’s pastimes were not known, and therefore Lord Caitanya instructed the Gosvamis to uncover the holy places and construct temples. The temple of Sri Radha Damodara is situated near the location of the rasa dance, and Srila Rupa Gosvami and the other Gosvamis used to gather there and discuss the topics of their literatures, which scientifically explained the super-excellent pastimes of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna. Narottama Dasa Thakura says, “In great ecstasy shout the name of Hari and serve the real transcendental master and devotees.” He concludes by saying, “With all hopes in the lotus feet of my guru and the holy Vaisnavas, Narottama Dasa sings the sankirtana of Lord Hari: Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.”

Also…

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta 1975 Edition
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Adi-lila, Chapter 17, Text 120-123

The Pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu in His Youth

The Lord ordered all the citizens of Navadvīpa to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, and in each and every home they began performing saṅkīrtana regularly.

When the saṅkīrtana movement thus started, no one in Navadvīpa could hear any sound other than the words “Hari! Hari!” and the beating of the mrdaṅga and clashing of hand bells.

PURPORT

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness now has its world center in Navadvīpa, Māyāpur. The managers of this center should see that twenty-four hours a day there is chanting of the holy names of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, with the addition of haraye namaḥ, kṛṣṇa yādavāya namaḥ, for this song was a favorite of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s. But all such saṅkīrtana must be preceded by the chanting of the holy names of the five tattvas-śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda. We are already accustomed to chant these two mantras-śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda and Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. Now, after these, the other two lines-namely, haraye namaḥ, kṛṣṇa yādavāya namaḥ gopāla govinda rāma śrī-madhusūdana-should be added, especially in Māyāpur. Chanting of these six lines should go on so perfectly well that no one there hears any vibration other than the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. That will make the center spiritually all-perfect.

Song lyrics & purport pasted from; Krsna Kirtana Songs
Text from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta from; Prabhupada Books