Hare Krishna!
Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada,
Below I want to know,
1. Should I follow any mantra before chanting Hare Krsna Mahamantra?
I first chant The Pancha Tattva mantra once, then start MahaMantra, i.e,
jaya sri-krishna-chaitanya
prabhu nityananda
sri-adwaita gadadhara
shrivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda
and then
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna
Krishna, Krishna, Hare, Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama
Rama, Rama, Hare, Hare
Is that correct?
2. Should I chant any Mantra at the end of the Mahamantra?
3. Inside my BeadBag The Japa Mala touches my middle,ring and little finger. Is that Ok?
4. I think of Sri Krishna's deity when I chant Mahamantra. Sometimes I close my eyes, sometimes I open it. Is that Ok?
5. Is it mandatory to chant before Krisna's Deity for the first 16 rounds? Sometimes I chant in an empty room where no Krishna's Deity is there? Is that OK?
6. Is that a Big Sin to cross the Krishna Bead after completion of the current round? If it is done mistakenly then is it a sin?
7. I feel trouble to do in a smooth way when I chant in the reverse order in the Japa Mala. i.e, when my thumb push the bead upward. What to do?
The above picture seems OK for me. no trouble. But reverse one is giving me trouble inside the bag when chanting.
8. Why Advanced devotee take lesser time to complete 1 round chanting of Mahamantra? I heard they take about 7-8 minutes, whereas for me it is about 13 minutes.
9. Can I chant the Holy Mahamantra in the morning (say at 7 am) without taking BATH?
Point-wise reply would be good for me to better understand.
Hare Krsna!
Just Servant
Replies
1. correct.
2. no need to any mantra after Maha Mantra.
3. It is ok.
4. Srila Prabhupada says we have to keep our eyes little open so that we do not fell asleep. Little open looking to the tip of the nose. It is nice to think of Deity but the best way is to try to HEAR each word of Maha Mantra.
5. Chanting before the Deity is very nice, but again main thing is we hear each word of Maha Mantra concentrating our mind not on eyes but on the sound.
6. Yes, it is bigger than sin Prabhu, please do not cross Krishna. If You get nice - little bigger Japa beads then You won't cross Him. Why i never cross? You can also follow, don't You!?
7. We do not push beads upward. We always count putting beads on the middle finger and moving each bead by our big finger down not upward. When we complete one round we turn the beads and go back. Please meet one Devotee to show to You in practice!
8. Valmiki when he was a sinner he was not able to pronounce the word 'RAMA' because of sins. So it is because of our sins it is very difficult for us to pronounce the Holy Names correctly at the same time fast. But, please do not worry, slowly slowly sins will be washed away and we will chant faster and clearer. But clearer we have to try even today. Not shnik shnik yam yam trying to chant faster. It is better to pronounce clearer Names rather than running to be on time. But still we have to try faster because when we do not chant faster it means our mind IS TRAVELING HERE AND THERE NOT ON JAPA.
9. Yes, You can. But usually Devotees wake up at 3 and after purifying intestines from old food they take bath and then chant. Till Sun rise better to be clean externally also. But one can chant the Holy Names no matter to external things.
Your servant,
Oh! Thank you Mataji!
Hare Krsna!
Your replies are very essential and a lot to me.
Thank you again,
Hari Bol!
Hare Krsna!
1. Should I wash the Chanting Bead itself? or we do not need to cleansince TULSI (the bead of which is made of) is always pure.
2. How do you change the position of bead mala after completion of each round? Do you have any youtube link where I can see this in action? This will be very helpful to me.
Hari Bol!
my humble obeisances Prabhu,
Better beads be clean and pure. Clean you can keep by washing once in 2-3 months with washing soda and for purity wash it again once in 2-3 months with cow dung, or urine or milk or in Ganges water.
When we come to Krishna bead we catch hold that bead and in clock wise turn it to other side so that we start next round from that bead in which we left in our previous round.
The main thing is not to cross Krishna bead.
Your servant,
I am a demon and it takes me 10 minutes to chant a round. Yes, I too have noticed that the advanced devotees chant faster than me. Anyway, I have no business being on the computer right now. I have to catch up now. I have 25 rounds left to do today to catch up. All I know is that my sanity has been restored and I am chanting again. I sometimes have periods of insanity when I am not chanting at all. Never give it up. Never.
very much thank you for you query prabhu ji. Your question should help many devotees in chanting process.
1. It is better to pay obeisances to srila prabhupada before starting every round of chanting.
2. It is beneficial to chant in front of Vrinda devi. Every one has tulsi maharani in their house.
When you chant in empty room, try to make the environment of the room healthy and with proper sunlight.
3. As prabhupada instructed, chant loudly. Chant and listen carefully every syllable of your chanting process thats all.
4. By constant chanting you'll not face any problem for chanting in reverse order too.
5. It is better to take bath before chanting and put up clean clothe, but if one is sick or the conditions are not favorable for bathing you can chant. Try to chant early in the morning, this will help you to progress in chanting and increase your bhakti.
Your humble servant.
Thank you for your interest in replying..
hare krishna prabhu ji,
If you've any other queries please share with us. We will be happy to give our best solutions as far as possible.
Your humble servant.
Actually few points are missed out. If you focus on the other points, then this would be good for me.
Hari Bol
PRAYER TO READ AFTER CHANTING JAPA.
guhyaati guhya-goptaa twaam
grhaanaasmat-krtam japam
siddhir bhavatu me deva
twat-prasaadaat twayi sthite
Translation: O my Lord, You are the secret of secrets
and a keeper of secrets. Please accept the japa I have
chanted as an offering to You. Please be merciful and
let me attain the same perfection attained by those
who are fixed in Your service.