Lord Kṛṣṇa used to lie down with His sixteen thousand wives, but also He would rise up from bed very early in the morning, three hours before sunrise. By nature’s arrangement the crowing of the cocks warns of the brāhma-muhūrta hour. There is no need of alarm clocks; as soon as the cocks crow early in the morning, it is to be understood that it is time to rise from bed. Hearing that sound, Kṛṣṇa would get up from bed, but His rising early was not very much to the liking of His wives. The wives of Kṛṣṇa were so much attached to Him that they would lie in bed embracing Him, but as soon as the cocks crowed, Kṛṣṇa’s wives would be very sorry and would immediately condemn the crowing.
After rising from bed, Lord Kṛṣṇa would wash His mouth, hands and feet and would immediately sit down and meditate on Himself. This does not mean, however, that we should also sit down and meditate on ourselves. We have to meditate upon Kṛṣṇa, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. That is real meditation, Kṛṣṇa is Kṛṣṇa Himself; therefore He was teaching us that brāhma-muhūrta should be utilized for meditation on Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. By doing so, Kṛṣṇa would feel very much satisfied, and similarly we will also feel transcendentally pleased and satisfied if we utilize the brāhma-muhūrta period to meditate on Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa and if we think of how Śrī Rukmiṇīdevī and Kṛṣṇa acted as ideal householders to teach the whole human society to rise early in the morning and immediately engage in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
KRSNA, The Supreme Personality of Godhead – 1970 Edition
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Vol. 2, Chapter 15
"The time early in the morning, one and a half hours before sunrise, is called brahma-muhurta. During this brahma-muhurta, spiritual activities are recommended. Spiritual activities performed early in the morning have a greater effect than in any other part of the day. SB 3.20.46, purport
Srila Prabhupada was always vigilant about the devotees' being awake early in the morning. He often called for a temple president, asking why some devotees were regularly absent. "The morning temple program," he said, "was very important, and everyone must attend." Prabhupada especially wanted the devotees to attend the first kirtana of the day, mangala-arati.
"The exact time for the mangala-arati would vary according to the clock," he said, "but it must always be one-and-a-half hours before sunrise."
What is so special about this time?
There are many scriptural references:
The last line of Sri Gurvastakam appears in the Stavamrta-lahari of Sri Visvanath Chakravarti Thakura as follows:
srimad-guror astakam etad uccair
brahme muhurte pathati prayatnat
yastena vrndavana natha saksat
sevaiva labhya januso 'nta eva (9)
"That person who very attentively recites this astakam to Sri Gurudeva during brahma muhurta is sure to achieve direct service to the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krishna, the very life and soul of Vrindavana, at the end of his life."
Srila Prabhupada writes in Cc. Madhya 24.331, purport:
In the early morning hours (known as brahma-muhurta) one should get up and immediately chant the Hare Krsna mantra, or at least `Krsna, Krsna, Krsna. In this way, one should remember Krsna.
In Krsna book, "Lord Krsna's Daily Activities", Prabhupada writes:
"Lord Krsna would immediately get up from bed exactly on the appearance of brahma-muhurta.. After rising from bed, Lord Krsna would wash His mouth, hands, and feet and would immediately sit down and meditate on Himself."
Garga-samhita 4.8.19 states:
eka-varam- jalam- pitva dhauta-vastro 'ti-nirmalah
brahme muhurta utthaya caikadasyam- harim- natah
"During ekadasi one should be pure-hearted and very clean, wear clean garments, drink water only once, rise during brahma-muhurta, and bow down to Lord Krsna"
Garga-samhita 5.15.2:
brahme muhurte cotthaya gopyah sarva grhe grhe
dehaly-anganam alipya dipams tatra nirupya ca
"In each home the gopis rose at brahma-muhurta, anointed the doorways and courtyards, arranged the lamps, . . ."
Garga-samhita 8.10.7 also says:
brahme muhurte cotthaya rama-krsneti ca bruvan
natva gurum bhuvam caiva tato bhumyam padam nyaset
"One should rise at brahma-muhurta, chant the holy names of Lord Krsna and Lord Balarama, and bow down before one's guru. Only then should one place his feet on the ground."
Srila Prabhupada states that according to Vedic astrology, the day is divided into 30 periods called muhurtas. The brahma-muhurta begins 1 hr 36 minutes before sunrise and lasts for 48 minutes. He also states that ideally, the time for mangala-arati, which should be during brahma-muhurta, should vary according to the sunrise time because the brahma-muhurta time always depends on the time of sunrise. The time of sunrise determines the times of all the muhurtas in the day.
Even if one is not living in the temple, if one is serious about spiritual life, one should be awake and performing some spiritual activity during the brahma-muhurta.
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