Hare Krishna recitation on Queen Street, Auckland City

I was quite amused to have come across a Hare Krishna performance by the kiwis :)
Hare Krishna is a Hindu ritual, you see

So, I wasn't expecting to see these-

(Source: Wikipedia)
The Hare Krishna mantra, also referred to reverentially as the Maha Mantra ("Great Mantra"), is a sixteen-word Vaishnava mantra which appears within many traditions of Hinduism and is believed by practitioners to bring about a higher state of consciousness when heard, spoken, meditated upon, or sung out loud.

"Hare Krishna" in popular culture

(Source: Wikepedia)

The Hare Krishna mantra appears in a number of famous songs, notably those sung by The Beatles, with the lyrics of John Lennon, and after the break up those of George Harrison and Ringo Starr and has been at the number-one spot in the UK singles charts on more than one occasion within songs such as My Sweet Lord.

There is also a reference to singing kirtan of Hare Krishna mantra in I Am The Walrus (Elementary penguins singing Hare Krishna). Ringo's song containing the words "Hare Krishna!" was written with the help of George.

Later Paul McCartney produced a single with a picture of Krishna riding on a swan on the cover, although there wasn't any chanting of Krishna's names inside. 

Of the four Beatles members, only Harrison was actually Hindu, and after he posthumously received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2009, his son Dhani Harrison uttered out the phrase Hare Krishna during the ceremony.


At the 2008 VMA Awards, the host, English Comedian Russell Brand ended the ceremony by saying Hare Krishna.

The Washington D.C. Production duo Thievery Corporation Releases a track on the 2008 album entitled, "Hare Krishna".

In the Seinfeld episode The Subway, a patron in Monk's restaurant yells, "Hare Krishna! Hare Krishna!" when he sees George walk in wearing only a towel.