Reading it:

• If the maha-mantra is written on the wall somewhere, try reading it while you are chanting it.
• With each word of the mantra that you are chanting, follow it on the wall with your eyes.
• This way, you are engaging one additional sense in helping you to concentrate.

Taken from Iskcon.com

You’re chanting on cruise with no
impediments in sight. You’re happy and
content for a decent performance.
You try to catch up on your delayed
quota and don’t go very deep into
contemplation. But you’re satisfied,
not guilty, to be cruising down the road
of bhakti marga in japa high gear.
May the Lord accept me without
giving me a speeding ticket and
help me improve the balance of the quota
Taken from Bhajan Kutir #258

Please share your realisations with other devotees from around the world...simply send me an introduction email and I will be happy to make you a member:

rasa108@gmail.com

ys

Rasa Rasika dasa

Emphasizing individual words – gradually build up:

• At the beginning of each round, decide on a particular word or words in your mantra to emphasise, e.g. the first "Hare" of the first half, or every "Krishna", or the two "Ramas" in the last line.
• You will see how the words you emphasise start to stand out more.
• With each round, add to it: the double "Krishna" and the double "Rama".
• Again, these words in the mantra will stand out more.
• Keep adding to it, never take a step backwards, or allow an emphasis you have already established slip away, until finally you are emphasising every word of the mantra.

Taken from Iskcon.com

Hare Krsna my dear devotees, I hope you have had a nice week and you can chant nicely this week. I brought something nice from H.H.Sacinandana Swami maharaja today, he mentions about how important is to have Krsna as our best friend and address Him while chanting, this also means being attentive and concentrated in japa because by doing that we will be developing a real relationship with the Lord.
Question: Why is it so difficult to call out for Krishna?

H.H. Sacinandana Swami: One can best call out for Krishna when not calling out for so many other things as well. Go to one address. Krishna wishes to see how we make ourselves more and more dependent on Him. We should try to become exclusively His devotee.
Srila Prabhupada writes: “The beginning of ecstatic love of Godhead is basically faith....” (NOD 19)

“Never expect any good from the so called society, friendship and love. Only Krishna is the genuine friend of all living beings and it is He only who can give us all benediction. The more you advance in Krishna Consciousness chanting Hare Krishna Hare Krishna the more you become spiritually advanced and happy in all respects.” (Letter to Balabhi, April 22, 1967)

“We should learn to depend on Krishna more and more. Actually, Krishna is always guiding us as Supersoul, but due to our forgetfulness, we do not understand that Krishna is friend everlasting. With advance of Krishna Consciousness one is able to realize that Krishna is always with His devotees—not only with His devotees, also with the non-devotees, but the devotees can recognize His Presence and the non-devotees cannot. The more you make advancement in Krishna Consciousness you will see Krishna everywhere. Not only on the bank of the river, but also on streets, trees, lampposts, and so on. The more you see like that you know you are making tangible advancement in Krishna Consciousness. Actually, there is nothing but Krishna all around us. This is explained in the Gita. He is the taste of water, light of the moon, the fragrance of the flower, light of the sun, sound of the sky, the power of the strong and so on. So one who is actually making progress in Krishna Consciousness, he can see Krishna everywhere. At every stage of life, who can avoid the sunlight, the moonlight, the fragrance of the flower, the taste of the water, the sound of the sky, and so on; but one has to learn it, that there is Krishna in all these varieties of existence. Without Krishna there is nothing. It is simply by the influence of Maya that we forget the relationship of Krishna with everything that be.” (Letter to Krsna devi, December 21, 1967)

“Anyone can understand that behind the beauty of nature, behind the succulent fruits and vegetables, and behind the wonderful heat and light of the sun, there is a friend. So we should contact that dearmost friend, Krsna. Any reasonable man will accept this argument. That is rational thinking.” (Letter to Vyasa, August 6, 1970)
In our everyday life of chanting we need to try to develop this individual relationship with the Lord through chanting and also become his best and exclusive servant in this way all our lives will be blessed in every area and we will feel Him closer to our heart

May you have a wonderful chanting and you be able to concentrate and feel the deep sound of the Lords names.

your servant,

Aruna devi

Each-mantra-of-each-round:

• You have to chant and hear each mantra. Right here and now.
• Focus on this bead you are now holding between your fingers, this mantra that is now being uttered from your lips and now entering into the ear.
• And then move onto the next mantra, which you must focus on in the same way… and the next… and the next.
• This may work for 10 or 15 mantras, maybe even 30, and the mind will become diverted again. Then you have to pull the mind back and set to it again.
• Continue to do this and you will succeed.
• At the end of each round, take stock of how well you did, and resolve to make the next round even better: "This time I am going to concentrate fully on each and every mantra of this round – all 108."
• The attitude is, “Right now, this is the only round that counts.”
• And so it goes on for each and every mantra of each and every round… You will see steady improvement… And if you practice this each and every day, your rounds in general will steadily improve.

Taken from Iskcon.com

I was reading Radha-Damodara Vilasa by Vaiyasaki Prabhu last night and came across this wonderful recollection of Vishnujana Maharaj that mother Manmohini shares:

"If you don't chant your sixteen rounds, it's like you've left the door open to your place. So when it's your turn for Maya to attack, when it's your turn to get bombarded by the modes of material nature, if you haven't closed your door properly, Maya will just walk right in and you'll be finished. And if you do chant your sixteen rounds, you have that protection, you have that shield. It's like you locked your door against Maya. So when it's your turn to get hit up by Maya, she'll say, ‘Forget this one; it's too much trouble,' and she'll move on to somebody weaker."

That made me chant all my rounds all these years. That lecture made me realize how important chanting sixteen rounds is. You have that shield that wards off Maya.

O Krsna! Please attract my mind by pulling it to You.

O Hari! Please capture my mind by Your unsurpassed sweetness.

O Krsna! Please purify my mind with knowledge about devotional service given to me by Your own devotee.

O Krsna! Please make me able to relish Your transcendental name, form, qualities, pastimes, etc.

O Krsna! Please make me able to relish Your transcendental name, form, qualities, pastimes, etc.

O Hari! Please make me fit to serve You.

O Hari! Please make me able to relish Your transcendental name, form, qualities, pastimes, etc.

O Hari! Please direct me to do some particular service for You.

O Rama! Let me hear about Your most cherished pastimes in the company of Your dearest devotee.

O Hara (Radha)! Please reveal to me Your most cherished pastimes with Your beloved Sri Krsna.

O Rama! Please reveal to me Your most cherished pastimes with Your beloved Sri Radha.

O Rama! Please engage me in remembering Your transcendental name, form, qualities, pastimes, etc.

O Rama! Please make me fit to serve You while remembering Your transcendental name, form, qualities, pastimes, etc.

O Hari! Having accepted me as one of Your own servitors, please enjoy me as You please.

O Hari! Please enjoy with me in Your transcendental way.
Bhaktivinoda Thakur

I was behind on my schedule for chanting rounds. I began chanting to get them done, rather than to meditate on them carefully. I partially checked this and listened to the holy names and their syllables, but I was guilty of rushing. It’s foolish to do so because I can get them done later in the day, but I so much value this early morning time that I wanted to concentrate and get a quota done. As I exerted myself, my head began to hurt, but I do value the holy names and don’t consider them something to be rushed. They should be carefully passed through the mind with reverence and attention.
From Bhajan Kutir #251

Please share your realisations with other devotees from around the world...simply send me an introduction email and I will be happy to make you a member:

rasa108@gmail.com

ys

Rasa Rasika dasa

I stayed alert for a long time and paid attention to the syllables of the mantras. My chanting wasn’t so speedy, but it was steady. On the tenth round, I got a headache and took medication, and the headache went down. I just finished sixteen rounds. I’ll be able to chant some extra today.
Taken from Bhajan Kutir #250

Hare Krsna my dear devotees. I hope your week has been blessed with lots of nectar and realisations from chanting. The Japa mediation process given for us by our merciful Srila Prabhupada is the salvation in this Age of Kali - bringing us shelter to our hearts that are full of contaminations of this material world, this makes us more and more inclined to present ourselves as bodies living in this world as if we belonged here. On the other hand when chanting the holy names of the Lord, we start seeing ourselves in our eternal position as servants and our qualities, the soul qualities come out and we see ourselves as spiritual souls, living in bodies in order to learn again how we can come back to Godhead using the process our spiritual master has been guiding us.
I have got from H.H. Sacinandana Swami's site this nice reply he gave to a devotees answer. I hope you like it and it shines in your heart like it did to me.

Question: What is the difference between the first (i.e. ceto-darpana-marjanam) and the second (i.e. sarvatma-snapanam) cleansing mentioned in the first verse of siksastaka?

Answer: The first cleansing refers to wiping the material dust from the mirror of the mind – almost a forceful purification of material concoctions. It is by the mind that we mistakenly think: O, I am drowning, o, I am happy, o I am distressed, o I am progressing, o I am dying. Yes, death only exists in the mind as the spiritual soul has no death. When the mind is sufficiently cleansed it can start to reflect spiritual knowledge and the quality and energy of the soul. Sarvatma-svnapanam, the second cleansing, refers to a bath of the soul with the nectarean water of spiritual bliss, knowledge and love. In other words, the transcendental sound of the Holy Name totally overwhelms the soul with its sublime potencies – it doesn’t just wipe away material concoctions. No, it brings the spiritual energy down. In contact with this transcendental energy of the Holy Name a total transformation can be effected. A transformation like the transformation of bell-metal to gold. Srila Prabhupada referred to this transcendental transformation of the material energy when he said that our temples are not situated in London, Tokyo, Hamburg, etc., but they are in the spiritual world. He was indicating that by the chanting of the Holy Names the material energy had been changed to spiritual energy.
I liked very much this part that he gives Srila Prabhupada's example and says that by chanting the material energy is changed to spiritual energy. I always think of this when I am chanting and this also inspires me to chant because sometimes we have the feeling that we don't belong to a certain situation or to a place and we need to be in contact with the Lord to feel confortable in this material world so chanting makes me feel like that, connects me in such way that I don't feel lonely and feel more like a child looking for the father to protect me and this father is the Lord. This feeling of protection is amazing, I am sure you may have some feelings like that. Then you realise how close the Lord is to you.

May your week be blessed and you can feel Krsna while chanting.

your servant,

Aruna devi

Chanting nonalert, I have nothing much
to show: ten rounds ending with
a headache. Ashamed before Nama Prabhu,
I grasp the beads with new determination
to finish the quota better than
the first ten. Some days are not so good,
and you have to trust you’ll improve
From Bhajan Kutir #247

Overcoming obstacles in our Japa can be a daily battle....our mind is not fully absorbed in the sound of the Hare Krsna mantra so we allow it to wander on to other thoughts. We can get distracted by sounds and sights around us - this is the nature of the material world and Mayadevi, her service is to test us to see if we have strong determination and also if we are willing to make an effort to move towards the Lord, if we pass the test then we make great advancement, if not we continue in our illusion.There a a few simple guidelines that Srila Prabhupada has revealed to us...firstly chanting early in the morning, concentration on the sound and pronouncing the words very clearly - there is a nice quote on this subject:
"Chanting japa should be done early in the morning with full concentration preferably during the Brahma Muhurta time. Concentrate fully on the sound vibration of the mantra, pronouncing each name distinctly and gradually your speed in chanting will increase naturally. Do not worry so much about chanting fast, most important is the hearing."
Letter from Srila Prabhupada 6/1/72

I got up close to the mahamantra despite the impairment. I accumulated my quota and was not sleepy. But I was distracted. I count the holy names in my favor and do not consider it an aparadha that I have pain. It is just something that comes with this material body. If it is up to me, I would chant better. I have the alternative of lying down in bed with the lights out, but I prefer to keep chanting quietly. I must keep it a priority and not abandon it completely. I have chanted nine rounds. I’m hoping the headache will go down, at least in time for my late-morning writing, because it seems to be a formidable one. There is some doubt.
From Bhajan Kutir #246

Hare Krsna dear devotees. Nice being with you again and I hope your week has been blessed by the Lord. Today I bring to you more nectar from H.H. Sacinandana Swami - he is always so precise in his replies to devotees doubts that you can't miss this one about chanting. I hope this causes the same or even a better effect on your chanting than it has caused on mine. Maybe we haven't achieved the mood of Srila Haridas Thakur for chanting, but we need to have it as a goal.Here follows the quotes:

Question: What does it mean to fully give yourself to the Holy Name while chanting japa?

Answer: Srila Jiva Gosvami explains that there are two ways of chanting. First kevala, or just chanting, and sama sneha, or chanting with affection. When you chant with affection for Krishna, then while you chant you start giving your heart to the Holy Name (Krishna). Of course, there are varying degrees of doing so. Begin at your level and sometimes have the Haridas Thakura level in mind as a motivating example.
You can use the wonderful prayers from the Sanata Kumara Samhita to do this.
Padya-pancaka

samsara-sagaranatha putra-mitra-grhakulat
goptarau me yuvam eva prapanna-bhaya-bhanjanau
O Sri Sri Radha-Krishna, please rescue me from the ocean of births and deaths. Please rescue me from the troubles born from children, friends, and home. Please break into pieces the fears of Your surrendered devotee.

yo ‘ham mamasti yat kincid iha loke paratra ca
tat sravam bhavator adya caranesu mayarpitam
O Sri Sri Radha-Krishna, today I place myself and everything I possess both in this life and in the next at Your feet.

aham apy aparadhanam alayas tyakta-sadhanah
agatis ca tato n€thau bhavantau me bhavet gatih
I am so home of all offenses. I have abandoned all spiritual duties. I have no shelter. O Sri Sri Radha-Krishna, O my Lords, please become my shelter.

tavasti radhika-natha karmana manasa gira
krsna-kante tavaivasmi yuvam eva gatir mama
O master of Radha, I am Yours. O beloved of Lord Krishna, I am yours. I offer to both of You my thoughts, words, and deeds. You two are the goal of my life.

saranam vam prapanno ’smi karuna-nikarakarau
prasadam kurutam dasyam mayi duste ‘paradhini
O Sri Sri Radha-Krishna, You are like two great oceans of mercy. Please be merciful to me. I take shelter of You. I surrender to You. Please engage me, a sinner and an offender, in Your service.
Simply amazing! I hope you like it and may use it in your daily chanting. The mood of prayer has a great power in our lives and gives us the feeling of surrender and dependance on the Lord.

May your devotional path become even more powerful and focused on your aim to come back to Godhead.

your servant

Aruna devi

Please share your realisations with other devotees from around the world...simply send me an introduction email and I will be happy to make you a member:

rasa108@gmail.com

ys

Rasa Rasika dasa

Trusting that Krishna will accept my
effort, I chant attentively in my mind.
I pray within and dutifully count
the quota. It’s close between us, me
and the mantras, a lifelong bond
continued in illness. I tell myself
the ardor isn’t dwindling, it’s just
the outer performance. My heart is still
with Him as good as in my vigorous
youth. I chant alone and like it that way
because I don’t like to expose
my weakness to others. Alone with Him,
I privately offer my best and trust
that Krishna will accept my effort.
From Bhajan Kutir #243

My rounds have been whispered, pleading to Krishna to please accept them. I can’t be an ideal japa reform instructor for my readers. I mostly tell them of my struggles and speak of my determination despite the impairment. I hope that will be of some help in its own way. At least I’m determined and don’t give up.
From Bhajan Kutir #241

Hare Krsna dear devotees. I hope your week has been blessed with many realisations in your daily meditation on the holy names. Japa is our very important daily activity and we don't need to make many efforts to fall in love with this chanting and connection with Krsna, actually isn't He the one who is the most attractive?...how can a person not be attracted to His potent holy names and all the benedictions that are showered to the ones who dedicate their time to this relationship with Him.
My week has been busy - despite all tests and daily battles I have to face in this world, the chanting of the holy names reminds me of my eternal position as a devotee of the Lord....servant and an aspirant to His heart and affection. Who more than our queen of Vrindavana Srimate Radharani to teach us how to serve Krsna - by praying for Her daily protection we are able to understand how deep is this service and how potent it is when we spend some time with Krsna by chanting.Before starting this writing, I was thinking of sharing my own preparation for chanting. I usually make this ritual every weekend when my japa can be more dedicated and not so in a hurry, like it is during the working days. Every Saturday, like today I get home and first I clean all the room....check on Tulasi Devi....put Her near the light....clean my altar, clean all the dust of the room and the floor too. After I wash my bathroom and take a shower, ahh it's important to remember that before starting, for this cleaning I usually turn on my computer and put Visvambhar Prabhu 24 hour kirtan which helps me a lot to clean my inside thoughts and remember my son in India. The importance of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mission and also my own contribution to it. After my shower I offer an incense to Lord Nrsimhadeva and start saying some mantras before japa. I recite the following prayers:
My gurudeva's pranama
Srila Prabhupada pranama
Sri Vaisnava Pranama
Tulasi Devi prayer
Sri Gouranga pranama
Sri Radha Pranama
Sri Krsna Pranama
Panca Tattva Mantra
Then after all these mantras I start chanting the potent names of the Lord, the Hare Krsna maha mantra Hare Krsna....brought by our Founder-Acharya Srila Prabhupada with so much love and mercy to our life, with that came all benedictions that give us personal strength to serve Krsna with a pure heart and soul.
All these processes I followed for me brings me peacefulness to the heart and makes me calmer to chant. Everyone has a different process to be more focused, my brother turns on the stereo with Srila Prabhupada every day before chanting, this helps him and inspires him before and during his japa. Maybe you have your own way of focusing, the main thing is that you are able to use your intelligence and the right tools to make you more focused and concentrated...able to forget about everything and only meditate on the Lord.

I wish you have your personal relationship with the Lord developed in a very deep way more and more each day - it would be nice if you had the same desire too according to our Founder, this is the only way we can achieve pure devotional service. So use all the right tools to awaken these strong desires inside you, this is the key to success. Pure devotional service can't be bought but attained by really strong desires coming from the heart.

your servant,

Aruna devi