Although God is known throughout the world by many different names, each of which describes some particular aspect of His glories and attractive features, there is one name which expresses the sum total of God's infinite qualities and characteristics This supreme, all-encompassing, and most powerful name of God is found in the oldest religious scriptures in the world, the Sanskrit Vedas of India, which state that the principal name of God is Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada explains: "When we speak of Krishna, we refer to God. There are many names for God throughout the world and throughout the universe, but Krishna is the  supreme name according to Vedic knowledge."

The spiritual qualities of Krishna's holy name are described throughout the Vedic literatures. The Padma Purana states,  "The holy name of Krishna is transcendentally blissful. It bestows all spiritual benedictions, for it is Krishna Himself,  the reservoir of all pleasure.... It is not a material name under  any condition, and it is no less powerful than Krishna Himself. Since Krishna's name is not contaminated by the  material qualities, there is no question of its being involved          with maya [illusion]. Krishna's name is always liberated and spiritual; it is never conditioned by the laws of material nature. This is because the name of Krishna and Krishna Himself are identical." Since time immemorial, millions of devotees and saintly persons have chanted the name of Krishna to achieve spiritual perfection. But history records that it was widely popularized by Lord Caitanya, an incarnation of Lord Krishna who appeared in Bengal barely five centuries ago and established the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra as the universal spiritual practice for the present age.
According to Vedic cosmology, the material creation eternally passes through cycles of four ages. Each begins with a Golden Age (Satya-yuga), then conditions progressively deteriorate, ending in the Kali-yuga, an age characterized by quarrel and hypocrisy. For each of the four ages, the Vedas prescribe a universal method of self-realization just suited for that particular age.
For instance, in the Satya-yuga, the recommended path was that of the mystic yoga system, which involved a lifetime of unbroken yoga practice, accompanied by strict vows of penance and austerity. We are presently at the beginning of the last age, Kali-yuga. In this age people no longer have the endurance, willpower, or sufficient life span necessary to successfully practice the original yoga system described in the Vedas. The Vedic scriptures therefore advise, "In this age of Kali there is no alternative, there is no alternative, there is no alternative for spiritual progress other than chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name of the Lord." 30
The Kali-santarana Upanisad specifically recommends the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra: "Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare” - these sixteen names composed of thirty-two syllables are the only means to counteract the evil effects of Kali-yuga. In all the Vedas it is seen that to cross the ocean of nescience there is no alternative to chanting the holy name."

Lord Caitanya's biographers record that He spent many years traveling all over India spreading the chanting of the holy names of Krishna. He chanted the Hare Krishna mantra congregationally (kirtana) to the accompaniment of musical instruments, including drums and hand cymbals. The Lord also chanted the mantra quietly a specific number of times daily as a private meditation (japa). In the Siksastaka, His famous prayers about the holy names of Krishna, Lord Caitanya wrote, "Let there be all victory for the chanting of the holy name of Lord Krishna, which can cleanse the mirror of the heart and stop the miseries of the blazing fire of material existence. That chanting is the waxing moon that spreads the white lotus of good fortune for all living entities. It is the life and soul of all education. The chanting of the holy name of Krishna expands the blissful ocean of transcendental life. It gives a cooling effect to everyone and enables one to taste full nectar at every step."

 During His lifetime, Lord Caitanya predicted that the holy names of Krishna would spread to every town and village in the world. This prophecy lay unfulfilled for four hundred years, until the time of Bhaktivinoda Thakura, a great spiritual master in the direct line of disciplic succession from Lord Caitanya. In 1885 Bhaktivinoda wrote, "Lord Caitanya did not advent Himself to liberate only a few men in India.  Rather, His main objective was to emancipate all living entities of all countries throughout the entire universe and preach the Eternal Religion.... There is no doubt that this unquestionable order will come to pass....  Very soon the unparalleled path of hari-nama sankirtana [the congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord] will be propagated all over the world.... Oh, for that day when the fortunate English, French, Russian, German, and  American people will take up banners, mrdangas [drums], and karatalas [hand cymbals] and raise kirtana [chanting] through their streets and towns! When will that day come?"

Bhaktivinoda's vision became a reality in less than a century. In 1965, India's greatest spiritual and cultural ambassador, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, arrived in New York's East Village, the heart of the countercultural movement of the sixties. Within a year Srila Prabhupäda, tenth in the line of spiritual masters from Lord Caitanya, had founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Very quickly, the sound of the chanting of Hare Krishna spread, first across America, then on to England and throughout the world.
The Vedic scriptures predict that although the age of Kali is the most degraded of all, the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra will dramatically alter the present war-torn, hate-filled atmosphere of the world. These most ancient, timeless writings forecast a Golden Age, beginning with the widespread chanting of Hare Krishna, during which the painful disturbances of this age will be mitigated and people everywhere will be economically, politically, socially, culturally, and spiritually happy.