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Chanting Hare Krishna (Japa)

28 Nov 2014 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Japa, Meditation Tags: chanting Hare Krishna, chanting japa, Hare Hare, Hare Krishna, Hare Rama, japa, kirtana, Krishna Krishna, mantra, mantra meditation, meditation, Rama Rama

Japa

Chanting a mantra or hymn softly and slowly is called japa, and chanting the same mantra loudly is called kīrtana. For example, uttering the mahā-mantra (Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare) very softly, only for one’s own hearing, is called japa. Chanting the same mantra loudly for being heard by all others is called kīrtana. The mahā-mantra can be used for japa and kīrtana also. When japa is practiced it is for the personal benefit of the chanter, but when kīrtana is performed it is for the benefit of all others who may hear.

In the Padma Purāṇa there is a statement: “For any person who is chanting the holy name either softly or loudly, the paths to liberation and even heavenly happiness are at once open.” (from Nectar of Devotion Chapter 9)

click on link; Srila Prabhupada Chanting

Śrī Nāma-kīrtana

07 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Sri Nama-kirtana Tags: best dancer in vrndavana, braja-baro-nagara, chanting Hare Krishna, gokula-ranjana kana, gopi-prana-dhana, kirtana, madana-manohara, nama, nama-kirtana, names of krishna, son of mother yasoda, Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas, Sri Nama-kirtana, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur, yasomati-nandana

click on image to enlarge

In honor of the disappearance day celebration of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, we are posting one of his famous songs, entitled “Śrī Nāma-kīrtana”.

Krishna is very pleased when we call on Him by His Names, which are associated with His devotees, qualities and pastimes. This song by Bhaktivinoda Thakura is composed of the Nanes of Krsna in different aspects. (from the Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas)

Śrī Nāma-kīrtana
Chanting of the Holy Names
by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura

full song with synonyms and translations More

Bhakti-latā-bīja; “The Seed of Devotional Service”

13 Oct 2012 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhakti-latā-bīja, Devotional Service, Vaisnava-aparadha Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Autum, bhakti-latā-bīja, bija, devotional service, garden in autumn, gardener, hearing and chanting, kirtana, seed, seed of devotional service, sowing the seed in his heart, sravana

“When a person receives the seed of devotional service, he should take care of it by becoming a gardener and sowing the seed in his heart. If he waters the seed gradually by the process of śravaṇa and kīrtana [hearing and chanting], the seed will begin to sprout.

“As one waters the bhakti-latā-bīja, the seed sprouts, and the creeper gradually increases to the point where it penetrates the walls of this universe and goes beyond the Virajā River between the spiritual world and the material world. It attains brahma-loka, the Brahman effulgence, and, penetrating through that stratum, it reaches the spiritual sky and the spiritual planet Goloka Vṛndāvana.”

“Being situated in one’s heart and being watered by śravaṇa-kīrtana, the bhakti creeper grows more and more. In this way it attains the shelter of the desire tree of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, who is eternally situated in the planet known as Goloka Vṛndāvana in the topmost region of the spiritual sky.”

“The creeper greatly expands in the Goloka Vṛndāvana planet, and there it produces the fruit of love for Kṛṣṇa. Although remaining in the material world, the gardener regularly sprinkles the creeper with the water of hearing and chanting.

Chanting the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra (Japa)

28 Sep 2012 1 Comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Chanting Hare Krishna, Japa, Practicing Krishna Consciousness at Home Tags: chanting, chanting Hare Krishna, God, Hare, Hare Krishna, Holy Names of the Lord, japa, kirtana, Krishna, Maha Mantra, practicing krishna consciousness at home, Rama

It has been requested that we do a post on Japa Meditation, so on this auspicious day of the appearance of Haridasa Thakura, we share with you some instructions on the chanting of Japa.

…Since God is all-powerful and all-merciful, He has kindly made it very easy for us to chant His names, and He has also invested all His powers in them. Therefore the names of God and God Himself are identical. This means that when we chant the holy names of Krishna and Rama we are directly associating with God and being purified. Therefore we should always try to chant with devotion and reverence. The Vedic literature states that Lord Krishna is personally dancing on your tongue when you chant His holy name.

Knowledge by Way of the Mahātmās, Great Souls

21 Jan 2012 1 Comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Raja-Vidya Tags: Arjuna, Bhagavad-gita As It Is, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, kirtana, Krishna, mahatmas, material conditioning, Raja-Vidya, spiritual knowledge, spiritual progress, the king of knowledge

No one can be equal to God, and no one can be above Him. Even Lord Brahmā and Śiva, the most exalted demigods, are subservient to Him and pay their respectful obeisances. Instead of trying to become God by some meditational process or other, we had better hear about God submissively and try to understand Him and our relationship to Him. The representative of God or the incarnation of God never claims to be God but the servant of God. This is the sign of the bona fide representative.

Raja-Vidya: The King of Knowledge
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter 4

Knowledge by Way of the Mahātmās, Great Souls

The presence of Kṛṣṇa in all aspects of the creation is perceived by the mahātmās, the great souls, who are always engaged in the worship of Kṛṣṇa. As Kṛṣṇa Himself states, these great souls are conversant with the confidential knowledge found in the Ninth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, and they know Kṛṣṇa to be the source of all things.

mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha
daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ
bhajanty ananya-manaso
jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam

“O son of Pṛthā, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible.” (Bg. 9.13)