CHAPTER TEN

The meditation business is flourishing these days. Modern-day “messiahs,” “gurus,” and “incarnations,” carrying all kinds of mantras, are a dime a dozen, as eager customers flock to the feet of self-styled saviors. One so-called guru instructs his disciples in supercharged techniques for becoming a financial success. Another tells his followers that meditation will make their intelligence sharper and the body more fit to enjoy sensual pleasures. Still other “gurus” claim that sex is the ultimate goal of life and that unlimited sex will free one from all material desires. Some chic spiritual seekers pay a lot of money for secret mantras that they believe will allow them to perform mystic feats. But the Vedic literatures issue stern warnings about charlatan gurus and bogus mantras.

If a person is actually serious about spiritual life, he or she must come in contact with a bona fide spiritual master and learn from that person the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad states that “In order to learn the transcendental science, one must approach the bona fide spiritual master in disciplic succession, who is fixed in the Absolute Truth.”

Not just any guru will do. This verse informs us that the spiritual master must be in disciplic succession from Lord Kṛṣṇa, the supreme spiritual master. Such genuine spiritual masters receive Kṛṣṇa’s teachings through the disciplic chain and distribute them exactly as they have heard them from their spiritual master, without watering them down or altering them to suit their own whims. Bona fide gurus are not impersonalists or voidists and will never claim to be God; rather, they aspire to be a servant of God and His devotees. Such gurus are ācāryas, those who teach by example. Their lives are free from all material desires and sinful behavior, their character is exemplary, and they must be qualified to deliver their disciples from the path of repeated birth and death. The Kṛṣṇa conscious guru is absorbed in service to and meditation on the Supreme Lord at every moment.

Since the holy name of Kṛṣṇa is completely spiritual, it must be received from a pure representative or servant of Kṛṣṇa, who acts as a transparent medium between God and the sincere spiritual seeker. Mantras received from any other type of “guru” simply will not work.

Śrīla Prabhupāda writes in his commentary on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: “Unless one follows the disciplic succession, the mantra one receives will be chanted for no purpose. Nowadays there are so many rascal gurus who manufacture their mantras as a process for material advancement, not for spiritual advancement. Still, the mantra cannot be successful if it is manufactured. Mantras and the process of devotional service have special power, provided they are received from the authorized person.”

Receiving the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra from a bona fide guru who is in complete harmony with Kṛṣṇa’s teachings in the Bhagavad-gītā is the single most important aspect of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is the simplest of all processes of self-realization. There are no exorbitant fees; the mantra is free. The thriving business of selling mantras is a form of cheating. The test of a person’s sincerity is not that he pays some money but that he is willing to change his life.

In order to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, one need not equip oneself with expensive props and paraphernalia, learn to stand on one’s head, or perform difficult postures or breathing exercises. The only equipment one needs is a tongue and ears. Everyone already has these. The tongue simply has to vibrate Kṛṣṇa’s holy names, and the ears must hear it. By this simple process alone, one can achieve all perfection.

There are no hard and fast rules for chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. The most wonderful thing about mantra meditation is that one may chant anywhere – at home, at work, driving in the car, or riding on the bus or subway. And one may chant at any time.

There are two basic types of chanting. Personal meditation, where one chants alone on beads, is called japa. When one chants in responsive fashion with others, this is called kīrtana. Kīrtana is usually accompanied by musical instruments and clapping. Both forms of chanting are recommended and beneficial.

To perform the first type of meditation, one needs only a set of japa beads. These may be purchased from any Hare Kṛṣṇa temple. Or, if you like, you can make your own beads at home.

If you decide to make your japa beads, follow these simple instructions:

To meditate with the beads, hold them in your right hand. Gently roll the first bead between your thumb and middle finger as you chant the complete mahā-mantra – Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. Then go to the next bead, rolling it between the same two fingers while again chanting the entire mantra. Then go on to the next bead and then the next, continuing in this way until you have chanted on all 108 beads and have come to the Kṛṣṇa bead. You have now completed one round of chanting. Do not chant on the Kṛṣṇa bead, but turn the beads around and chant on them in the opposite direction, one after another. Chanting on beads is especially helpful because it engages the sense of touch during the meditative process and helps you concentrate even more on the sound of the mantra.

You may want to chant japa indoors, but you can chant just as comfortably walking along the beach or hiking in the mountains. Just bring your beads with you. If you chant sitting down, assume a comfortable position (preferably not lying down or slouching – sitting straight helps avoid the tendency to fall asleep). You can chant as loudly or as softly as you like, but it’s important to pronounce the mantra clearly and loudly enough to hear yourself. The mind may have a tendency to wander off to other matters when you chant, for the mind is flickering and unsteady, always looking for something new and pleasurable to absorb itself in. If your mind wanders (to anything except Kṛṣṇa and things related to Him), gently bring it back to the transcendental sound vibration. It won’t be difficult, because the mind is easily satisfied when absorbed in the divine sound of the Lord’s holy names (unlike other meditational practices, where we may be asked to fix the mind on “nothing” or “the void”).

One may chant japa at any time, but the Vedic literatures note that certain hours of the day are most auspicious for performing spiritual activities. The early morning hours just before and after sunrise are generally a time of stillness and quietude, excellently suited to contemplative chanting. Many people find it especially helpful to set aside a certain amount of time at the same time each day for chanting. Start with one or two rounds a day, and gradually increase the number until you reach sixteen, the recommended minimum for serious chanters.

While japa is a form of meditation involving you, your beads, and the Supreme Lord, kīrtana, on the other hand, is a form of group meditation in which one sings the mantra, sometimes accompanied by musical instruments. You may have seen a kīrtana party chanting on the streets of your city – Hare Kṛṣṇa devotees frequently perform this type of chanting to demonstrate the process and allow as many people as possible to benefit from hearing the holy names.

One may hold a kīrtana at home with family or friends, with one person leading the chanting and the others responding. Kīrtana is more of a supercharged meditational process, where in addition to hearing oneself chant one also benefits by hearing the chanting of others. Musical instruments are nice but not necessary. One may sing the mantra to any melody and clap his or her hands. (But if you are interested in the traditional melodies, ask at any Hare Kṛṣṇa temple.) If you have children, they can sing along as well and make spiritual advancement. You can get the whole family together every evening for chanting.

The sounds of the material world are boring, hackneyed, and monotonous, but chanting is an ever-increasingly refreshing experience. You can test this premise yourself. Try chanting some word or phrase for even five minutes. If you chant “Coca-Cola” over and over again, even for a few minutes, it becomes practically unbearable. There’s no pleasure in it. But the sound of Kṛṣṇa’s names is transcendental, and as we chant we want to chant more and more.

Although one receives immense benefit however and whenever one may chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, the great spiritual masters who are authorities on chanting suggest that a serious practitioner use certain practical techniques to enhance the chanting and bring quicker results.

The more we chant, the more easily we will be able to follow the yogic principles listed below, for as we chant we gain spiritual strength and develop a taste for higher, more spiritual forms of pleasure. When we begin to relish spiritual pleasure from chanting, giving up bad habits that may hinder our spiritual progress becomes much easier.

The four above-mentioned activities make it especially difficult for one to progress in spiritual life because they increase our attachment to material things. Therefore they are not recommended for those who wish to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa as a serious spiritual practice. The chanting is so powerful, however, that even if we are still involved with these things, we can still chant; the chanting will help us make the necessary adjustments.

Eventually, serious chanters will want to take initiation from a bona fide spiritual master. Initiation is recommended in the Vedic scriptures, for it dramatically helps one in chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and assists in the awakening of our original spiritual consciousness. There are qualified spiritual masters in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness throughout the world who are willing to assist anyone sincerely wishing to become God conscious.

Śrīla Prabhupāda has indicated that those who desire to take initiation must follow the regulative principles mentioned earlier and chant each day on beads a minimum of sixteen rounds. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the incarnation of Kṛṣṇa who popularized the chanting of the holy names five hundred years ago in India, introduced the system of chanting a fixed number of rounds each day. Careful completion of sixteen rounds daily will help the disciple to remember Kṛṣṇa always.

And that in essence is what Kṛṣṇa consciousness is all about – always remembering Kṛṣṇa and never forgetting Him. Chanting is the simplest way of maintaining this constant state of God consciousness, for the mystical potency contained in the mantra’s vibration will always keep you in touch with God and your own original, spiritual nature. All of God’s innumerable spiritual potencies, including His transcendental pleasure principle, are contained in His holy names. Therefore the pleasure you will feel as you begin to chant will be far, far greater than any material happiness you have ever experienced. And the more you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, the happier you will feel.