Hare Krishna ! All glories to Shrila Prabhupada !
Recently I have been chanting with the audio of Shrila Prabhupada chanting. Can someone please tell me if it is ok to chant with the audio of Shrila Prabhupada ?
Sincerely,
Mihir.
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Dear Mihir Prabhu,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
When I was living in temple (ISKCON Riga, Latvia), Srila Prabhupada's Japa chanting record was always played in the temple room between Mangala arati and Deity greeting. Even at home I also love to chant along with Srila Prabhupada's chanting. It is very amazing experience.
As far as I know it is ok if it is not too loud so that we hear our own chanting also. Of course, Srila Prabhupada's chanting is much better, but the bhakti yoga practice is that we ourselves should also chant and also hear our chanting.
But I heard that it is not ok to play some recording with music while we are chanting Japa, even if it is Hare Krishna kirtan. And I also know some devotees who prefer to just listen to Srila Prabhupada's Japa recording just a little before chanting and then chant their own rounds in silence.
Your humble servant,
Madhavi-lata d.d.
Thats very interesting mataji. I will look into this more since I sometimes do that
is it so?!
usually i chant putting Kirtans of Aindra Prabhu but of course not so loud but in order i also can hear my own voice.
HH Sacinandana Swami Maharaja says that when pure Devotees chant they chant so purely that they make us also to feel the soul and make us to chant as we are soul not this body. Which means their chanting gives strength to our soul's desires...something like that.
So it is nice to chant in the association of sincere Devotees. If no then tape is also ok.
So tape is good if no association of Devotees, but if there are Devotees then better to chant with them.
The main thing is as Madhavi Lata Mataji told we have to hear our own voice also.
Your servant,
Dear Devotees, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Regarding playing the recording of music, I do not know an authoritative statement on this, just when I was still living in temple ashram, an elder devotee told me not to chant japa with kirtan playing, when she saw me doing this. I think that the point of this instruction is that we may become distracted by the music. Of course, while we are struggling to come to a higher level of chanting, we are anyway distracted by so many things. We may not be listening to any recording or anything like that and externally appear focused, while internally we are still so much distracted by our own mind. So better be distracted by something Krishna conscious. I heard devotees asking spiritual master about looking at a picture of Krishna while chanting, and the answer was that if we are able, then the best thing is to just listen to the holy names. But if we cannot, it is ok to look at a picture of Krishna, because it is also related to Krishna. I think that there would be a similar answer about listening to kirtan recording while chanting. As far as I have heard from descriptions, at the level of Ruci the Holy Names Themselves become so much more sweet and relishable for the devotee than the sweetest music one can possibly make with any instruments of this world. But that is, of course, a very high level! Then there is no longer that feeling we may often have at our present stage - that the Mahamantra is a little bit monotonous and it is a little boring to chant it for so long, so we should add something to make our chanting more interesting. But somehow we must keep chanting, so that one day we get to higher stage. So please forgive me devotees, no offense! Your humble servant