Dhira Govinda told me that when he snuck into Arab countries from Israel to sell books and risked his very life he chanted really good rounds. When he said that I was remembering a time in the 80s when we were going out to O'Hare airport in Chicago and people were organizing to get us out of the airport. Sometimes they would even come up and strike us and threaten to kill us. In the morning right after Tulsi puja at 5:30 we had an hour and a half to chant our rounds before going out to the airport at 7:00. I used to have two thoughts chasing each other around in my head while I was trying to do my rounds. First I'd think, "I don't have time to do these rounds, I might get killed out there today." Then I'd immediately also think, "I better do really good rounds. I might get killed today." It helped me become more sincere and earnest in my chanting. To this day I try to recapture that mood when I chant my rounds.
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