Each Word of Maha Mantra is a Jewel
Srila Prabhupada once stated: "You must hear every word of the mantra, because chanting is the essence of our philosophy." Why did he say this? Srila Prabhupada's main intent was to get all his disciples to remember and serve Krishna. By chanting sincerely, the objective of remembering Krishna is achieved. All nine processes of Bhakti are contained within chanting and so, it is the chief means of...
Chant Gayatri Instead of Hare Krishna
Question: Chant Gayatri Instead of Hare Krishna? Since Sri Krishna says that of mantras He is Gayatri shouldn't we chant the Gayatri mantra instead of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra? Can you please quote slokas where it is said that Hare Krishna maha-mantra is superior. My parents want me to chant Gayatri mantra, however, I tell them that since I chant Hare Krishna maha-mantra, it already includes all other mantras. But, they...
The 4 step japa mala technique
Step 1 – Make a sankalpa to hear ONE mantra. A sankalpa is a resolution or determination to do something. So the 1st step is to tell the mind to resolve to just hear one hare krishna maha mantra. The idea is that it is a doable request. If we tell the mind to hear 16 rounds of mantra, or even 1 round….the mind is to powerful to heed such a big request. But if we tell the mind "Just hear this one mantra…" we...
Courtesy Japa
How to properly chant the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra – Japa ” Nish, nish, ram, ram, nish, nish, ram, ram .” Srila Prabhupada once imitated how we sometimes chant without focus, without concentration, without proper pronunciation – how we chant when we don’t feel like chanting. You know the mood behind this type of chanting; “I have to chant but I’d rather be doing something else.” And in...
Chanting leads to Transcendental ecstasies
In the beginning, there may not be the presence of all transcendental ecstasies, which are eight in number. These are: (1) being stopped as though dumb, (2) perspiration, (3) standing up of hairs on the body, (4) dislocation of voice, (5) trembling, (6) fading of the body, (7) crying in ecstasy, (8) trance. But there is no doubt that chanting for a while takes one immediately to the spiritual platform, and one shows the first symptom...
