HOW TO CHANT ATTENTIVELY

INTRODUCTION

The mantra is a spiritual call to the Lord. The chanting of Hare

Krishna is directly enacted from the spiritual platform, surpassing all lower stages
of consciousness, namely sensual, mental, and intellectual. There is no need to
understand the language of the mantra, nor is there any need of mental speculation,
nor any intellectual adjustment for chanting the Maha-Mantra. The Hare Krishna
mantra was originated by Shree Chaitanya Mahaprabhu 500 years ago.

It springs automatically from the spiritual platform, and as such

anyone can take part in this transcendental sound vibration without any previous
qualification and dance in ecstasy.

During the chanting the Holy Name of the Lord, we are facing so
many problems like inattentiveness, Distractions like Mobile, Television, Friends,
Mind (Big Distraction), Laziness etc. So to overcome these problems and chant
properly the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra, a person should take care of certain
aspects so that anyone can connect with the supreme god by chanting properly and
we can make our life happy and prosperous by the mercy of Shree Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu.

For that purpose this article is compiled by FOLK SURAT on the

basis of the instructions of H.D.G.Srila Prabhupada and “Madhurya Kadambari”
by H.D.G. Vishwanath Chakraborty Thakur. Hare Krishna.

CREATED BY:
PANKAJ RANA, AMIT YADAV, ANURAG DAVE
MANGALDEEP, GOPALA KRISHNA, RAM PRAKASH.
DEDICATED TO H.D.G. A.C.BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPADA
 WHAT IS MANTRA MEDITATION?

There are three hands of chanting Hare Krishna Maha-Mantra.

1) Mantra, 2) Meaning and 3)Meditation.
They are described as follows:

1. Mantra

2. Meaning
‘Hare’ refers to the Lord’s energy
‘Krishna’ refers to the all attractive Lord himself
‘Rama’ refers to the Lord as Supreme enjoyer.
Translation is:
3. Meditation

 In this Meditation of chanting the Holy name, three words are included -
namely Hare, Krishna, and Rama are the transcendental seeds of the Maha-
Mantra, and the chanting is the spiritual call for the Lord and His internal
energy, Hara, for giving protection to the conditioned souls.

 The chanting is exactly like genuine crying by the child for his mother.
Mother Hara helps in achieving the grace of the supreme father Hari, or
Krishna, and the Lord reveals Himself to such sincere devotees.

 According to the Instructions of Srila Prabhupada a Devotee must have to

chant 16 rounds per Day without failing. This chanting Meditation will help
us in reaching the Supreme Lord.
 FIVE DOORS OF DISTRACTION IN CHANTING
According to “Chaitanya Charitamrita” the god is residing inside
the Inner most chamber of the Living Entities. And chanting is the only way to
reach to the inner most chamber of the Body. To chant properly and effectively we
need to open the five doors of distraction which are discussed below.

Thus by improving these easy and effective methods of opening the

Doors of distraction during chanting we can easily reach up to the innermost
chamber of our heart where god is residing and we can realize the existence of the
Almighty God. Five Doors are

1. LAYA (SLEEP OR TO LAY DOWN)

2. VIKSHOBH (DISTURBENCE)

3. APRATIPATTI (INABILITY TO CHANTING)

4. KSHAYA (TENDENCY TO BE ANGRY OR GREEDY)

5. RASA ASWADA (NO ABSORPTION IN HOLY NAME)

 1. LAYA (SLEEP OR TO LAY DOWN)

 Laya means tendency to sleep or to lie down.

 We all have experienced that sometime while chanting initially we all
are very enthusiastic but as soon as time passes, suddenly it decreases
and we feel sleepy.
 There are so many reasons for feeling sleepy while chanting. Here
some physical reasons are listed why we feel sleepy during chanting.

[ 1 ] Low water intake or low water consumption.

 Generally the people who are living in city, because of their busy
schedule, there consumption of water or drinking water capacity is
very less.
 When we do not drink the water in proper amount then our blood
remains hot and it does not get cool properly. So that hot blood
reaches to brain directly and brain gives a signal that a person need
some rest and he should sleep.
 That's why we feel sleepy during chanting because of our low water
intake or consumption.
 SOLUTION: The solution of this problem is we should drink more
amount of water at least 8 glass per day.

[ 2 ] Oily Food

 Generally if we eat heavy and oily food then the oxygen within our
body gets consumed in digesting oil because of the reaction of oxygen
with oil. Hence we do not feel fresh because of low amount of
oxygen.
 SOLUTION: Hence we should try to avoid oily foods as well
as heavy and indigestive foods.
 [ 3 ] Chanting slowly or swiftly

 During chanting if we chant in a medium or slow voice

then our ears may not able to listen the words properly.
 SOLUTION: The solution is that we should chant loudly and for
that chant in a separate place and keep distance from others during
chanting.

[ 3 ] Insufficient Rest

 Sometime due to insufficient rest we feel laziness during chanting.

 SOLUTION: While sitting and chanting if you feel sleepy then
suddenly stand up and start to chant. If again you feel sleepy then start
to walk slowly.
 Still you feel sleepy while chanting with walking then to take
sufficient rest is the only solution.
 We have so take a sufficient rest and start to chant again.

So these are some few points to avoid sleeping while chanting the holy
name of the Lord. If you will follow these steps very carefully then you can easily
open the first door of distraction called “Laya” with the keys given above and you
can enter into the innermost Chamber of your heart by chanting the holy name.
 2. VIKSHOBH (DISTURBENCE)

 Now we will talk about 2nd door which is vikshobh.

 Vikshobh means disturbance of distraction.
 There are 3 M of chanting properly. Method Mode and Mellow.

 First one is Method. In this we should sit in a straight posture of our body
without any stiffness or stress.

 Second one is Mood. Our mood always should be in a humble or respective

manner and we should always pray to Lord for his shelter while chanting.

 Third one is Method. If you will follow above two M sincerely then 3rd M
will fall into place automatically.

 We all have experienced once that while chanting the holy name, we had
bring out the chanting Mala from the japa bag to see how much beads are
left in completing the running round. This is called vikshobh or disturbance
while chanting.

 Here are some tips to avoid this distraction.

1 To chant attentively we should have to fix the holy space and Holy time
for chanting.
2 We should chant in very peaceful place where there are fewer crowds.
For example personal room or balcony or terrace.
3 Important part of the chanting is we should hear each and every word of
the mantra properly.
4 We should not think about previous Mantra or upcoming Mantra just
focus on present words of Mantra.
5 Chanting’s spot should not be open space; it should be closed small space
as possible. Generally in history all the great Acharyas used to do
chanting like this.
 6 Most effective way to chant attentively is to keep a Maha mantra card
with us so that by seeing the words of the Maha Mantra into the card, our
eyes will not get visual distraction.
7 Another method is to cover the face by piece of cloth.
But while doing this we should be careful that our eyes will not get close.
8 Generally young devotees should avoid chanting by morning walk.
So our eyes will not get distracted by the Exclusive things.
9 Chanting with morning work is suitable for old age people to get fresh air
and to remain healthy.
10 We should avoid doing all kind of parallel processing during Japa.
11 We should avoid chanting with using mobile or any electronic gadgets.
12 We should also avoid chanting by lying down on the bed and also
talking with other devotees.
13 Meaning of attentive chanting is to only listen by ear and speak by mouth
to each and every word properly, no any work by either mind or body.
14 We should chant by sitting in front of The Tulsi Maharani pot.

So by using above steps we can be saved by the distraction and

easily enter into the second door called as vikshobh.
 3 APRATIPATTI (INABILITY TO
CHANTING)

 Third door is apratipatti means occasional Inability to chant the holy name.

 If we are not able to chant the holy name of the lord in the form of japa mala
then the Kirtan is the another option.

 By singing the Hare Krishna Mantra as a form of Kirtan we can connect

with the innermost part of our body where god resides.

 We should read the glories of the God from the books of Srila Prabhupada
so we can increase the faith towards God and chanting.

 Reward yourself while your mind says “No chanting” and instead you say
“Yes chanting” and conquer the Mind on small scale.

 Courage yourself not listen to the Mad, Whimsical mind.

 “Shishtashtakam” prayer is the Golden weapon to conquer the mind.

We should repeat this prayer after completing each and every round and
Pray to God for help in chanting his holy name.

Thus by following the above steps we can conquer the 3rd or called
as of apratipatti.
 4 KSHAYA (TENDENCY TO BE ANGRY
OR GREEDY)

 Fourth door is kshaya and meaning is tendency to become angry or greedy.

 Sometimes we lose our patients or dhairya while chanting.

 We should gradually increase the enthusiasm and patience while chanting.

 Anger, Greediness these are the forms of inappropriate behavior.

So as a Prabhupada's devotee we should avoid these tendency while
chanting.

 The solution of this problem is Kshama or Forgiveness.

 “Kshama Veerasya Bhushnam”: “Forgiveness is the jewelry of the Brave

man.”

 Person who has no tendency to forgive another people can't chant properly
the holy name of the Lord.

 The reason is our false ego or bad tendency towards others. It does not allow
us to chant properly.

 By forgiving others you are not giving them any gift but you are getting
inner peace from your inside of the mind.

 Forgive everyone and conquer the dangerous Maya called anger.

 We should deliberately practice this three qualities enthusiasm

determination and patience.
 Once a devotee asked to Prabhupada that how to become enthusiastic? And
Prabhupada replied that “just be enthusiastic that's it!”

 To control the anger and greediness, we should be very humble towards

menial devotional service of the lord and vaishnavas.

So by following the above steps we can deal with such kind

of behavior which a devotee should have and we can open the fourth door
too.
 5 RASA ASWADA (NO ABSORPTION IN
HOLY NAME OF THE LORD)

 Fifth door is Rasa-aswad means no absorption towards chanting.

 If a person has no distraction, no laziness, no anger since that rasa is not

coming towards chanting the holy name. What to do?

 All above Four doors can be open by keys from outside by some exclusive
efforts and steps given above but the uniqueness of this door is that the key
to open this door is only inside us means it is with God only who is residing
within our heart.

 The solution key to open this door is that we should patiently and humbly
bag to God or pray to god. This is called as Art of begging (Sadhna).

 It is impossible to have an absorption in chanting the holy name without the

mercy of the Lord.

 This Rasa can be come by praying to God with sincere devotion. In Bhakti
everything does not come by efforts. Prayers are also important for
advancement.

So fifth door can be open by efforts, prayers, sincere

devotion and art of begging to God.
 So by the Mercy of the lord we can absorb our mind in
chanting the holy name and we can open all five doors of distractions and
we can reach into the innermost Chamber of our heart to realize the present
of God. That is called as the perfection of Mantra Meditation.