courtesy japa

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Putting An End to Courtesy Japa

 

By Mahatma Prabhu(ACBSP)

 

 

“Nish, nish, ram, ram, nish, nish, ram, ram.” Prabhupada once imitated how

we sometimes chant without focus, without concentration, without proper

pronunciation – how we chant when we don’t feel like chanting. You know the

mood behind this chanting; “I have to chant but I’d rather be doing

something else.” And in our minds we are thinking, “I can’t wait to get

these rounds out of the way.” We all do this. And it can get pretty bad. I

know devotees who chant rounds while watching football games on TV.

 

Prabhupada explained that this type of chanting is more or less useless

because it will not produce the desired result, love of Krsna. To even call

this chanting is a stretch. It is closer to a ritual. But Prabhupada

acknowledged the value in the ritual by saying that although this kind of

chanting is not very productive, at least those who are chanting this way

are keeping their vow to chant.

 

I call this kind of japa, “courtesy japa.” “Courtesy japa” means that since

you have taken a vow - either to your spiritual master or yourself - to

chant a certain number of rounds daily, you keep that vow while chanting

the

kind of japa I described above.

 

Here are a few other examples (methods) of what I call “courtesy japa:”

 

*

Chanting while talking to someone (you talk, and when they reply you

chant).

*

Chanting while reading (which could really work if you have two heads, one

to read and one to chant).

*

Chanting while listening to a CD or the radio (this is especially

challenging while listening to the news or listening to rock and roll

music).

*

Chanting while shopping.

*

Chanting while window shopping (this often happens on early morning japa

walks).

*

Chanting while you are dosing off (sometimes known as dive bomb japa).

*

Chanting while site seeing or looking around at a million things (sometimes

known as radar japa).

*

Chanting while watching movies (Krsna Conscious movies are included in

“courtesy japa”).

*

Chanting a little, talking a little, chanting a little, talking a little

(sometimes known as jibber japa).

*

Chanting while iiiiiiii (fill in your favorites).

 

Note, these are all excellent ways to ruin your japa and thus put your

Krsna

conscious transmission in park. You can make incredible advancement during

japa. Good japa is like flying down the highway in fourth gear. Good japa

produces inspiration, realization, detachment, increased desire to serve,

attraction to study scripture, and an ability to see maya’s workings more

clearly. And there are so many more gifts japa delivers. Yet we deprive

ourselves of these gifts when we chant “courtesy japa.”

 

THE NEW MANTRA IS “DOWN WITH ‘COURTESY JAPA’.” “Courtesy japa” is like

shooting a gun with blank bullets. When the trigger is pulled it just

sounds

like a bullet is being fired. Obviously you can’t win a battle firing

blanks. Similarly, “courtesy japa” sounds like the Hare Krsna maha mantra

but it is just an empty sound, a shadow of the real thing. Certainly you

can’t win the battle with maya firing blank mantras.

 

The problem is - and this is something we have to accept philosophically as

well as practically – if you keep practicing the wrong way, you’ll continue

to get wrong results. What’s more is that bad chanting tends to produce

more

bad chanting. Let me say that in another way because this is really

important. The more you practice the wrong way of doing something, the more

it gets engrained/programmed within you and the harder it usually becomes

to

fix it.

 

THUS IT DOESN’T NECESSARILY FOLLOW THAT THE LONGER YOU CHANT THE MORE

ADVANCED YOU WILL BECOME.

 

Do you have a severe case of courtesy japaitis programmed into you? If so,

ask yourself how you are going to kick the habit. This is an important

question to answer because good japa is one of the pillars of spiritual

life.

 

It’s all about fighting apathy in our japa. As Lord Caitanya said, playing

the part of a conditioned soul, “I am so unfortunate that I have no

attraction for chanting Your Holy Names.” So we have two choices during

japa. One is to go with the flow and just let the mind wander. The other is

to go against the flow and make a valiant effort to focus on the holy name

and chant in a prayerful, devotional mood. That’s not so easy. It takes

effort. It goes against everything “courtesy japa” stands for. And this is

not much fun for lazy japa chanters like me. After all, concentrating is

hard work.

 

Japa can be a creative time. Often when I chant I get all kinds of ideas.

Also the many things I have to do in the day - and even creative ways of

doing them - keep popping up in my mind (or should I say keep pooping in my

mind). Don’t dwell on these. If they come up, either neglect them (those

good ideas will most likely come up later) or stop chanting and write them

down so you don’t have to think about them while you chant. How will you

break the habit of “courtesy japa?” Krsna is in your heart and He will help

you as much as you want to be helped. Krsna says from Me come knowledge,

remembrance and forgetfulness. So He will show you how to become a master

of

japa or a master of “courtesy japa.” It all depends on what you want. If

you

want to improve, He will show you when to chant (hint – early in the

morning), where to chant (hint – where you are not distracted), how to

chant

(hint – in front of devotional pictures, tulasi, Deities, etc, not in front

of a television or a non Krsna conscious magazine).

So here’s the exercise. Write on top of a piece of paper, How To Improve My

Japa? Below that write the subtitle, Putting an end to“courtesy japa.” Then

make your list.

 

And please, please, please, please, please (with sugar on top) share your

realizations with everyone on our Illuminations . This will be

so

helpful. And please also write and share the gifts you get from japa.

 

Let’s put an end once and for all to “courtesy japa,” the great enemy of

Krsna consciousness.