||
Hare Kṛṣṇa ||
All Glories to Śrī Guru
& Gaurānga!
All Glories to Śrīla
Prabhupāda!
Nitāi Gaura
Premānande,
HARI HARI BOLO!
Patitānām Pāvanebhyo Vaiśṇavebhyo Namo Namaḥ!
Respected devotees,
Please accept our humble obeisance -
dandavat praṇāma,
In continuation of our previous article on Chanting Hare Krishna Mahaa Mantra, we are presenting various methods of Chanting as mentioned in the scriptures.
Japa Variety :
The Naama-aachaarya
Haridaasa Thaakura chanted a daily quota of 300,000
holy names (192 rounds) without fail. He
chanted sixty-four rounds silently in the mind; sixty-four rounds softly murmering; and sixty-four rounds in a
resounding voice. Hari-bhakti-vilasa describes three bonafide
ways to chant the Hare Krsna
mahaa-man-tra:
1.
Maanasika-Chanting in the mind without any external sound.
2. Upamsu-Soft
chanting that can only be heard by the saadhaka
Srila Prabhupada, who generally chanted
japa this way, explains the benefits of upamsujapa: "At the present
moment
the mind is always disturbed, full of
anxieties. You cannot concentrate. When you chant loudly, at least you hear "Krsna." Your mind is
immediately turned to Krsna. Immediately you associate with Krsna, forcibly." (SPT 11/10/68)
3. Vaachika-Loud
chanting that all can hear, as in kirtana, is a
hundred times more beneficial than upamsu japa. The Chaitanya-Bhaagavata
tells
how the caste brahmanas once challenged Haridasa to prove which
scripture
sanctioned his loud chanting. Haridasa Thakura replied, "Nowhere in the scriptures is loud chanting of the holy
name condemned. In fact, the Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.34.17 says: yan-nama
grhnann
akhildn srotfn atmanam eva ca sadyah pundti kim bhuyas, 'O
Acyuta, anyone who chants Your name purifies
himself along with all who hear his chanting.' In Naradiya
Purana, Prahlada Maharaja says,
'Compared to the person who is attached to chanting silently,
the person who loudly chants the
holy name of Hari is one hundred times better. A silent
chanter liberates only himself, but
one who chants loudly liberates himself and any other living
entity who hears him.' " (ct>.
ch. 17)
One may
alternate between these three forms of chanting in order
to improve concentration, maintain
taste, and cultivate attraction in japa. For variety, try chanting four
rounds
of manasic-japa. With lips closed and
tongue pressed against the palate (to prevent movement),
one should "mentally pronounce"
each word of the maha-mantra. To perform manasic japa successfully,
which is not easy, one must
focus all his attention on Krsna's holy names. By doing this
one becomes aware of how inattentive he
can be while chanting softly or loudly. For
example, when one is chanting loudly he may be "grinding out"
the holy names at a feverish pitch, but
the mind and heart may be a million miles from Krsna. But loud chanting
can be
very beneficial, especially when the
mind slips into monotony or the ghosts of desire surface from the depths. At times like this a brisk walk
in the fresh air, and a few loud "roof top rounds" will help
revive one's interest and attention in
japa. All these forms of chanting please Krsna and purify
the heart, provided they are done with
sincerity and devotion. With practice a sadhaka
can choose the chanting style that gives him the best results. Or
one
may follow Haridasa Thakura's example of
chanting japa in all three ways (silent, soft, loud). In all devotional endeavors, however, a sadhaka should always
seek the guidance and blessings of his preceptor.
Hear what Srila Prabhupada says about Hare Krishna Mahaa Mantra Chanting:
http://www.krishna.com/node/388
Here is a link of detailed study guide to achieve perfect japa practice:
http://nitaaiveda.com/All_Scriptures_By_Acharyas/Mahanidhi_Swami/Art_of_Chanting_Hare_Krishna.htm
If you have any quarries kindly revert back to us at iskco...@gmail.com
With sincere prayers
for your wellbeing and dandavat praṇāma,
Your humble servants
at,
Śrī RādhāGovindajī Dhāma
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Always
Chant...
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare
Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare |
Hare Rāma Hare
Rāma, Rāma Rāma Hare Hare ||...and be Happy
