SRILA PRABHUPADA ON 64 ROUNDS.

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SRILA PRABHUPADA ON 64 ROUNDS.

 

SO YOU HAVE TO INCREASE (THE CHANTING). THAT IS THE ONLY REMEDY.

 

(CONCLUSION: IF THE MATERIAL FEVER IS NOT BEING DIMINISHED, CHANTING 64

ROUNDS IS THE ONLY REMEDY IN THE WORDS OF SRILA PRABHUPADA IN TH EFOLLOWING

MORNING WALK.)

 

Morning Walk, May 14, 1975, Perth:

 

Devotee (1): Srila Prabhupada, how can the position be reconciled if in

Krsna consciousness one of the two, the husband or the wife, wants to enjoy

sense gratification, but the other does not? Should there be separation

then?

 

Prabhupada: No... They should be trained up. Sense enjoyment means not

advanced in Krsna consciousness. As soon as one is advancing in Krsna

consciousness, his sense enjoyment spirit will be reduced. That is the test.

Bhaktih paresanubhavo viraktir anyatra ca [sB 11.2.42]. The test is, how you

are advancing in Krsna consciousness is the proportionate diminishing of

sense enjoyment. That is the test. Just like cure of the disease means

diminishing the fever, temperature. This is the test.

 

Devotee (1): What if that fever is not being diminished?

 

Prabhupada: Then he should try to chant Hare Krsna mantra, instead of

sixteen rounds, sixty-four rounds. That is the way. Sixteen round is the

minimum. Otherwise Haridasa Thakura was 300,000. So you have to increase.

That is the only remedy. If one has got determination, he will make progress

without any trouble. That determination is very difficult, that

determination, "I must be Krsna conscious fully." That determination.

Drdha-vratah.

 

TRY TO INCREASE (FROM 48 TO 64) BUT NEVER DECREASE YOUR CHANTING.

IF YOU ARE ABLE TO CHANT MORE THAN 16 ROUNDS UP TO 64 IT IS VERY GOOD.

 

Letter to: Indira (Iris Mendoza), Ekayani (Esther Mendoza), San Francisco,

17 December, 1967

 

"I am very glad to learn you are chanting 48 rounds. Actually it is all

right that one should chant 64 rounds, even 16 rounds, so if one is able to

chant more than 16 rounds up to 64, it is very good. You fix up your rounds.

Try to increase it but never decrease it."

 

{Note: Indira is fairly new devotee at that time.)

 

VERY GOOD AND VERY NICE IF YOU CAN DO IT (CHANT 64 ROUNDS):

 

Letter to: Hamsaduta, Hawaii, 23 March, 1969

 

"Yes, it is very good if you can chant 64 rounds; this is very nice if you

can do it."

 

PRABHUPADA PRESCRIBED 64 ROUNDS WHEN DEVOTEES

WERE IN TROUBLE WITH THEIR SENSES:

 

Letter to: Bhaktijana, Los Angeles, 12 February, 1968

 

"I shall advise you again to chant always, increasing the counting, namely,

16 rounds is generally prescribed, but for the time being you can stop all

other activities and increase the chanting to 64 rounds."

 

That is the instruction given by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu in His Siksastaka

3. Kirtaniyah sada harih: [Cc. adi 17.31] "The holy name of the Lord should

be chanted twenty-four hours daily." Therefore in this Krsna consciousness

movement we request the devotees to chant at least sixteen rounds on their

beads daily. Actually one has to chant twenty-four hours daily, just like

Thakura Haridasa, who was chanting the Hare Krsna mantra three hundred

thousand times daily. Indeed, he had no other business. (Srimad-Bhagavatam

4.24.70 purport)

 

IF YOU CAN'T SURRENDER TO KRSNA, FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF HARIDASA THAKURA

BY CHANTING CONSTANTLY ON BEADS

 

Surrender is the ultimate instruction of the Bhagavad-gita, but for one who

cannot surrender to the lotus feet of Krsna, it is better to chant the Hare

Krsna mantra constantly, under the instruction of Haridasa Thakura.

 

In our Krsna consciousness movement we are teaching our followers to chant

the Hare Krsna mantra continuously on beads. Even those who are not

accustomed to this practice are advised to chant at least sixteen rounds on

their beads so that they may be trained.[.] Sada means "always." Haridasa

Thakura says, nirantara nama lao: "Chant the Hare Krsna mantra without

stopping."[.] One's real duty is to surrender to the lotus feet of Krsna,

but if one is unable to do so, he should adopt this process, as introduced

by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His most confidential servant, Namacarya

Srila Haridasa Thakura. This is the way to achieve success in Krsna

consciousness. (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Antya-lila 3.137)

 

(Note: Apart from this there are innumerable quotes by Prabhupada throughout

Bhagavatam & Cc on the necessity of constantly chanting the holy names. A

daily discipline of chanting 64 rounds is a great boost to come up to the

stage of constant chanting imho.)

 

FIRST INITIATION BY SRILA PRABHUPADA

 

The Hare Krishna Explosion, p. 63, by Hayagriva dasa, Palace Press 1985.

 

"Now that you have beads," Swamiji says the next morning, "you should chant

sixty-four rounds every day."

"Sixty-four rounds?" To pronounce every word of the mantra distinctly, we

require five minutes to chant a round. Sixty-four rounds would take over

five hours. "Impossible!" we say. "We'll never have the time."

"All right," Swamiji says. "Thirty-two rounds."

"Impossible," we say. "We'll never be able to do it. It's way too much."

"All right," Swamiji says. "Sixteen rounds. No less."

 

TKG's Diary June 10

 

Many years ago (Srila Prabhupada), he was chanting sixty-four rounds, then

gradually less, until a number of years ago it was sixteen.

 

____________________

 

CONCLUSION: What follows are my personal realizations and/or feelings about

the process of chanting 64 rounds daily. I appeal to all the sara-grahi

vaisnavas to kindly take the good points and please don't challenge me for

some of them if they disagree.

 

If one can discharge his practical devotional services and manage to

chant 64 rounds then it is the best. Chanting 64 rounds should not be an

excuse to escape doing one's services or the daily program of sadhana-bhakti

given by Prabhupada. If a devotee has genuine desire to chant 64 rounds then

he will find out the way without disturbing anybody. As far as I know there

is not a single written instruction or statement from Prabhupada

discouraging devotees to chant 64 rounds if they could manage to do it

alongwith their other services. Also chanting 64 rounds in the association

of devotees while engaged in services related to preaching can never be

considered nirjana-bhajana. Ofcourse the devotees who chant 64 rounds should

not get puffed up and look down on other devotees who don't chant 64. They

should feel themselves as so contaminated and fallen that chanting 64 rounds

daily is the only hope for them to steadily remain in Krishna consciousness.

 

Also if one chants 64 rounds with attachment then it automatically

brings a great upsurge of humility and ecstacy in one's heart. One becomes

jubilant in deep rememberance of the Lord's pastimes and constantly aspires

to become the servant of the servant. And one becomes totally enthusiastic

to preach vigorously (jive doya). One's preaching becomes unlimitedly more

effective and can convert sinful people into devotees even by preaching only

a little. This is simply due to the potency of the holy name and anyone can

experience it of one increases the chanting without compromising on the

quality & distinct pronunciation of the chanting. One can achieve the stage

of nishtha or real madhyama-adhikari platform crossing the stage of

anartha-nivrtti very quickly (maybe maximum of 10 years) by chanting 64

rounds everyday while trying to avoid the ten offenses and if one is

surrendered to one's guru. One can beg from the guru his permission and

blessings to chant 64 rounds. If one gets it then one will surely be

successful very quickly (I can give furthur sastric references which state

that the progress is very quick if one sincerely chants an increased no. of

rounds without an ulterior motive and that without increasing the chanting

there is no other way.) Just like the prostitute who became a pure devotee

very quickly simply by chanting 3,00,000 names daily on the instruction of

her guru Haridasa Thakura. According to Bhagavatam, Padma Purana,

Hari-nama-cintamani, Prema-vivarta etc. chanting constantly is the only

means to keep the namaparadhas from constantly attacking us. Side by side

one has to deeply study the 10 offenses and conscientiously try to avoid

each of them. Also one should have great attachment for Lord Gaura & Lord

Nityananda's name, pastimes, dhama and associates which very quickly renders

our chanting of Hare Krsna offenseless.

 

There is an even more quicker way. If one chants 64 rounds or more

while residing in Navadvipa-dhama, then according to Nityananda Prabhu and

Thakura Bhaktivinoda in Navadvipa-dhama-parikrama, one gets pure love of

Radha-Krsna very very quickly even though one may be full of offenses in the

very beginning. One has to chant in Navadvipa with sambandha-jnana with Lord

Caitanya and in a humble state of mind. Ofcourse it may not be possible for

all devotees.

 

Just one more point as food for thought. Many yogis and jnanis

perform their sadhana for hours together daily. We have got the highest and

most sublime process of self-realiztion which is chanting the Hare Krishna

maha-mantra. The chanting is fully capable in and of itself to award us the

greatest gift of love of God. There is nothing else required. And we give

only 11/2 to 2 hours daily for chanting 16 rounds and feel we that we have

done a lot of sadhana. Comparing to 24 hours everyday 2 hours is nothing. We

have the greatest means of sadhana available, the Hare Krishna maha-mantra

as given by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu (the combined form of Radha and Krsna

who comes only in once in one day of Brahma) and we do it for only 2 hrs

everyday out of 24 hours. This may not be the most effective use of the

human form of life. If someone gets the most valuable jewel in the world,

then he will always keep it him. To chant 64 rounds daily it may take 5 1/2

6 or 7 or 8 hours. But what is that compared to the greatest gift which we

are going to receive in return i.e. pure love for Radha & Krsna and

eligibility to enter Goloka Vrindavan and put an end to all over miseries

once and for all.

 

LOOK OUT FOR THE NEXT EMAIL: LORD CAITANYA & THE ACARYAS ON 64 ROUNDS.

(A comprehensive collection of quotes)

 

Your aspiring servant, BR Sadhu Swami