Questions about chanting

[Guest guest]

Hare Krsna,

When chanting the Hare Krsna Mahamantra on Tulasi beads is it ok to chant partial round and continue from there ? If its ok how do we chant partial (fractional like half around) rounds, I mean how do u keep track of how much u have chanted ? Another question is : Is it ok for women to chant on Tulasi beads during the menstrual cycle ? What kind of restrictions should be followed during the period ?

 

Thanks for our your kind reponses.

 

Hari bol

 

 

[gHari]

Even when listening I do not turn off the CD or car until the last Rama Rama Hare Hare.

 

It tends to make them special.

 

The source of the idea was either Srila Prabhupada via his books or recordings, or the devotee who taught me how to chant japa; both solid references.

 

And really it is not life going on with the mahamantra interjected. It is the mahamantra happening, with life interrupting.

 

As far as rounds are concerned, I have seen many stop in the middle of a round and save the spot by pinning a bead to the bag. Sometimes I have to stop, and if I can't keep my hand in the bag holding the bead, I usually restart the round after washing my hands. The trick is to as soon as possible wash your hands and mouth and get that hand back in the bag; forever.

 

As far as menses, I'm afraid I've all but forgotten my previous life. Perhaps one of the mothers will have more current information.

[yasodanandana]

1st of all .... the chanting of hare krishna is above all rules and regulation, so anything we say about the behaviour, the paraphernalia, the offences and so on is a complete failure if the result is that people start to believe that it is too difficult and they do not start to chant or stop their chanting.

 

So let us not make it difficult in any way.

 

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when we are too preoccupied with the number of rounds, if we can break the rounds, wich hour we have to chant etc, it is manifest that we are not absorbed in chanting and that we have no real and steady taste in doing it.

 

so, after said that we are in maya (i am the first!!)... let's compile a chart :

 

1)the best is to chant everytime constantly absorbed like haridas thakura

2)to chant the number rounds assigned by the spiritual master in the morning from start to end in concentration with no interruption (i do not like too much the fixed rules on duration, and i would be a little more "long" than the average 1.30... 1.45 that we hear sometimes... but it is not so important, everyone of us knows wery well when he is concentrated and when he's chanting correctly the names)

3)to chant the rounds divided in two , three, our four groups also in various part of the day.

4)to chant with interruptions but exclusively at the end of the round

5)to chant interrupting rounds in the middle

 

when we do like that my gurudeva recommends to restart the round from the beginning and not from where we have stopped, he says like that maybe at every initiation ceremony.

 

so not to be an hypochrite i have to say that i go against all of the above regulations and i interrupt my rounds and i restart from where i have stopped. The system is to pull out a little portion of the mala by the last bead chanted from the beads bag.. in this way the bead is ready to be taken in the hand when we restart. I know that i am suggesting a not so good thing but it is exactly my level of krishna consciousness..

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for the fact of the japa during the menstrual cycle period i do not think that there's limitations and i have not heard of it by acharyas, prabhupada, gurudeva and so on, but i do not know all the instruction of the vaishnavas. I have heard of chanting, in this period, on plastic beads, counters, fingers and so on, but i have heard it only from fanatic fellows in full speculation spirit and i do not know any mataji prabhu abandoning tulasi japa mala in this circumstance.

 

(in my opinion, hands washed, one has the right and the duty to take his japamala at any stage of cleanliness (sickness, work, cooking etc,))

 

this is a very important subject, please correct me if i have said wrong things