Japa Meditation, How to Chant | We Capture Each Bead and Chant
The krsna consciousness movement means we are teaching our disciples how to think of krsna twenty-four hours. This is krsna consciousness. And the simple method is to chant, Hare krsna, Hare krsna, krsna krsna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. So this is the process. We have got this bead bag and within this bag there are beads. We capture each bead and chant, Hare krsna, Hare krsna, krsna krsna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. One bead equals sixteen times, so the whole bead chain there are one hundred and eight beads. So one round means about seventeen hundred. In this way, our disciples are advised to chant at least sixteen rounds. This is our daily duty. It takes about two hours.
Krshna Would Also Count on 108 Bead
Krshna had many thousands of cows, and they were divided into groups according to their colors. They were also differently named according to color. When He would prepare to return from the
pasturing ground, He would gather all the cows. As Vaisnava count 108 beads, which represent the 108 individual gopîs, so Krsna would also count on 108 beads to count the different groups of cows.
They Are Your Direct Link with Krsna
I do not know just what has happened to your old beads, but you should keep your beads always very, very carefully. They are your direct link with Krsna Concentrate Fully on the Sound Chanting japa should be done early in the morning with full concentration preferably during the Brahma Muhurta time [one and a half hours before sunrise].
Concentrate fully on the sound vibration of the mantra, pronouncing each name distinctly and gradually your speed in chanting will increase naturally. Do not worry so much about chanting fast, most important is the hearing.
That Is Required—That Is Japa
Prabhupåda: Hare Krsna. We chant Hare Krsna . . . We chant Hare Krsna. It may not be melodious but we chant Hare Krsna . . .
That is, in the Kali-yuga it should be openly chanted and we have to follow our predecessor, Haridasa Thakura, nanacarya. When we chant, when we utter the mantra, that we utter loudly. That is
required. That is japa. So this mantra is mahå-mantra and it should be chanted loudly, or as you like. There is no such restriction . . .
And we have to follow the great personalities. Haridasa Thakura, he was chanting very loudly; Caitanya Mahåprabhu chanted very loudly. So what more evidence you want? My Guru Maharaja
chanted loudly, we are chanting loudly. Whole business finished.
Concentrate Fully on the Sound
Chanting japa should be done early in the morning with full concentration preferably during the Brahma Muhurta time [one and a half hours before sunrise]. Concentrate fully on the sound vibration of the mantra, pronouncing each name distinctly and gradually your speed in chanting will increase naturally. Do not worry
so much about chanting fast, most important is the hearing.
PURPORT
When chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, in the beginning one may commit many offenses, which are called namabhasa and nama-aparadha. In this stage there is no possibility of achieving perfect love of Krsna by chanting the Hare Krsna mahåmantra. Therefore one must chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra according to the principles of the above verse, trand api su-nicena taror api sahinsnuna.
One should note in this connection that chanting involves the activities of the upper and lower lips as well as the tongue. All three must be engaged in chanting the Hare Krsna mahå-mantra. The words “Hare Krsna” should be very distinctly pronounced and heard. Sometimes one mechanically produces a hissing sound instead of chanting with the proper pronunciation with the help of the lips and tongue.
Chanting is very simple, but one must practice it seriously. Therefore the author of sri Caitanya-caritamnta, Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, advises everyone to keep this verse always strung about his neck..