Chanting… Do I Need Initiation to Chant Hare Krishna? And other Dīkṣā / Śikṣā questions… 20 Feb 201720 Feb 2017 Q: Does the maha-mantra by itself unfold Jnana or would you have to get some Jnana to chant the mantra effectively? If you have no impediments, then the mantra alone will…
Chanting Conceptions of the Mahāmantra 9 Feb 2016 QUESTION 1: What are the proper conceptions of the Name for persons who are just beginning to chant (i.e. those who are without attachment to Krishna in any particular rasa, but…
Chanting The “Yoga” of Chanting 9 Nov 20159 Nov 2015 In Kapila's discussion with his mother, he explains that the primary inspiration for bhakti comes from realizing one's true self as a luminous consciousness, and realizing that, like all luminous things, the true…
Chanting Don’t waste time chanting 9 Aug 201510 Aug 2015 If you are going to spend an hour-and-a-half ~ two hours (or whatever) chanting a mantra over and over again do it right. Don't waste your time being half-assed about it,…
Chanting Why do you WANT to Chant Hare Krishna? (Japa Tips 3) 6 Jul 20152 Aug 2015 Chanting Hare Krishna attentively is extremely easy, but wanting to chant Hare Krishna attentively is in fact very difficult. As my tired heart protests the impending hour-and-something I will be sitting down…
Chanting Meaning of the “Hare Krishna” Mantra 18 Jun 2015 हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे । हरे राम हरे राम राम राम हरे हरे ।। Most mantra have a sentence structure, making their meaning relatively specific and…
Chanting The Meaning of “Rāma” in the Hare Krishna Mahāmantra 17 Jun 201517 Jun 2015 The word rama literally means “pleasure.” With a long initial “a,” rāma, it means “pleaser and enjoyer” - a “lover” in the romantic and erotic sense. It is a name for…
Chanting Q & A about my Chanting Article 17 Jun 2015 I was really inspired to see how much interest there was in my article on chanting. There were a few consistent or excellent questions I heard amongst the responses, so…
Chanting Step One (of one): Improve Japa Chanting 13 Jun 20152 Aug 2015 Why Worry About It? First I have to want to improve my japa. That won't happen until (a) I'm sincere, and (b) I realize that chanting japa is more important than anything else (more…