Author Archives: Rasa Rasika

This Is It For Me
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“I like chanting the maha-mantra. I’m familiar enough with the words ‘Hare,’ ‘Krishna,’ and ‘Rama.’ They please me as they pass through my mind and lips. I’ve been doing it so long it’s become a love and a deep attachment. I could never switch to another kind of prayer of another religion, or even another mantra in the Vedic religion. This is it for me.”

From Japa Transformations
by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami

Chanting Is Not Just A Process
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Chanting is Not Just a Process, it’s a Relationship.

  • We are repairing a broken relationship with Krsna
  • When we chant, we are crying to Krsna, begging, “Please accept me, please accept me.”
  • This kind of chanting makes us aware that we once turned away from Krsna, and that we still have the tendency to turn away from Krsna.
  • We chant with remorse for having broken this relationship and with a prayerful desire to reestablish this relationship.

From Japa Workshop Principles
by Mahatma dasa

Chanting Together
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Recently I received a very nice email which made me realise the importance of chanting together with quality. Here is the message:

My partner and I live in different countries for now and so naturally difficulties in our relationships are manifest. Sometimes though, when we call each other on skype, we just chant a few rounds together and naturally feel better and forget our silly problems. It becomes easier to talk about our relationship in Krsna consciousness and what we can do together in service than focus on how we can ¨fix¨ our problems in our relationship.

Of course, I am always in the nectar of tidbits from japagroup and so am hoping this feeling of thankfulness for the holy name serves someone else.

Hare Krsna,

Your servant,
Bh. D****

Japa Poem
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“Chanting ‘I’m late, I’m late!’
like the rabbit in Alice
in Wonderland. But I shall
not let it ruin the quality of my rounds.
I’ll say them with rapid attention
and hear the syllables go
quickly through my mind.
I’m chanting to please Krishna
and not to complete a race.
I ask Him to forgive me
if I rush and I’ll
try to pray, not run.”

by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami

This Is It For Me
→ Japa Group

“I like chanting the maha-mantra. I’m familiar enough with the words ‘Hare,’ ‘Krishna,’ and ‘Rama.’ They please me as they pass through my mind and lips. I’ve been doing it so long it’s become a love and a deep attachment. I could never switch to another kind of prayer of another religion, or even another mantra in the Vedic religion. This is it for me.”

From Japa Transformations
by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami

How Some People Take Up Japa
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Recently I was reading a sankirtan story which talks about the effects of chanting and how some people take up Japa from all walks of life.

“I was in Kensington this week and the cold would not allow me to stand at one place, so I was walking around trying to stay warm. That’s when I saw 3 ladies I had seen a little while ago and wanted to talk to them but missed the opportunity. So this time I said Hi and introduced myself.
The slightly older lady seemed interested and told me how she was into meditation and then stopped. So I showed her the books and when she finally decided to take the book, I decided to probe deeper. So I started to ask her about what kind of meditation she was doing?
She told me a few years ago she had heard a mantra at some program and then she told me she had been chanting this mantra (the Hare Krsna mantra) for a year and then life got busy and she stopped for a while and now recently she wanted to chant again and was looking to join some meditation program. I explained to her how she had met the right people and got the right book to fulfill her desires. It was magical to see how Krishna arranges these sankirtan encounters.”

This story gave me faith that the chanting of Hare Krsna is a very powerful weapon in the age of Kali and by this chanting the effects of the material world can be reduced and eventually vanquished.

The Way The Mind Works
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Radhanath Swami advises us to ignore the mind while chanting Hare Krishna, lest it deludes us and distracts us from the path of spiritual progress:

“In life, some of the most dangerous enemies cannot be seen, we don’t even know they are there; we may even consider them as our friends. That is the way the mind works.” Radhanatha Swami

You Should Be Focused
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“We should be very attentive and not let our attention waver when we’re chanting the holy names. And as Prabhupada states in the purport, it’s a very heavy statement, “If one’s mind is distracted from worship, a mere show of worship will not be of any benefit.” In other words – putting it in language you may understand – if your mind is thinking of something else what is the benefit of that? You should be focused on the holy names while you’re chanting the holy names to avoid the offenses.”

Bir Krsna Goswami
Lecture SB 5.8.14
New Goloka January 1, 2013

You Should Be Focused
→ Japa Group

“We should be very attentive and not let our attention waver when we’re chanting the holy names. And as Prabhupada states in the purport, it’s a very heavy statement, “If one’s mind is distracted from worship, a mere show of worship will not be of any benefit.” In other words – putting it in language you may understand – if your mind is thinking of something else what is the benefit of that? You should be focused on the holy names while you’re chanting the holy names to avoid the offenses.”

Bir Krsna Goswami
Lecture SB 5.8.14
New Goloka January 1, 2013