It's really difficult for me to pronounce well the maha mantra.
I feel I can pronounce it quite well just 3 or 5 times, when I am starting to chant the first round, but after that I feel I just can't pronounce the name Krishna well. If I chant very slow it's a little easier but even when chanting very slow it's difficult to pronounce the name Krishna clearly.
I've been trying to chant 4 rounds daily for the last months (I started chanting 7 years ago, but haven't been able to chant more than 4 rounds daily in a fixed way). The first round usually takes me 10 minutes, but the next rounds takes me 12 to 15 minutes per round. I just can't chant a round in 10 minutes or less after the first round, so it usually takes me 50 to 60 minutes to chant 4 rounds, and I feel I pronounce the mantra very bad during the last round.
The thing is that I don't know if my problem to pronounce well the mantra is spiritual or physical (may be the two). Indeed I have certain physical condition related to the frenulum of my tongue that could make difficult for me to pronounce the mantra, but this condition doesn't really affect the way I speak, only would be affecting the way I pronounce the mantra.
I've thought of having a surgery done, to remove the lingual frenulum, but I'm not sure if that will resolve the problem. Do you know about similar cases?
Haribol! Dear seeker, I also
Haribol!
Dear seeker,
I also sometimes have difficulty with the pronounciation of the Holy Names while chanting japa. While the actual sound vibration is important, ultimately Krishna responds to the crying of your heart to him, and the love you have for him. So do not worry too much and just love Krishna :)
Chant with Srila Prabhupada
Hare Krishan, Seeker
Have you tried chanting with Srila Prabhupada?
Chant with Him one, two or as many rounds as you like.
Also, in some local temples, there are special classes on improving chanting where all devotees chant 1 round in group with Prabhupad. Association of devotees is very beneficail and chanting in group is very effective as I apparently.
But, at home, please try to chant few rounds with Prabhupada, letting Prabhupada's voice louder than yours so that you can clearly hear Prabhupda's pronunciation. His Japa is available in www.iskcondesiretree.com under the audio files.
Hope this will help.
Durga
Krishna is known as Bhava
Krishna is known as Bhava Grahi Janardana which means He knows the heart of His devotees. Pronunciation is different all around the world. Devotees from China will not pronounce the Holy Name like the devotees from Mexico.
So one should sincerely endeavor according to ones capacity and not fear that Krishna does not hear them.
Even those who are deaf can chant the Holy Names
Yes I had this problem as
Yes I had this problem as well, when I first began chanting. Do not have any surgery done!
I would pass on the advice a friend and mentor gave me, which is that you should simply chant a set number each day, and increase the number as you are comfortable. This way you won't chant 10 rounds one day and 1 round the next- always chant at least a certain number; 4, 6, or as much as you can, and slowly work your way up to 16.
Now the second part of this is that after a while it will become more natural to you. At first chanting is a great austerity (as you said, it is very difficult). But actually chanting is a very pleasurable activity and devotees become attached to chanting. After a few weeks of chanting a regular number of rounds you get used to it.
As for chanting the names of Krishna, Hare, and Rama, this also becomes more natural as time goes by. You will learn more and more as time goes by and you are chanting. Chanting is associating with Krishna directly, so by this association you will be purified and also enlightened. The main thing is you will learn how to say them better, and also you will grow in Krishna consciousness as you chant - it purifies your heart and also gives you healing.
This is my suggestions; chanting is good for healing, becoming peaceful and then blissful. I know the feeling of having difficulty chanting, but it will go away as you continue doing it, it will become more natural and you will be able to pronounce the names perfectly for complete rounds.
Hope you read this eventually and it is helpful! :)
Jaya Krishna pada!
Thank you very much for your
Thank you very much for your answer. I was hoping that someone confirmed to me that pronunciation could be improved by practice, and that one could have difficulty in pronouncing the names at the beginning.
I had noticed that sometimes I was able to chant better, but it has been a fluctuating process for me. I mean there are periods when I feel I chant better and then periods when it's really difficult for me to chant. I think that those fluctuations has to do with daily events and circumstances.
But at the end I was quite worry that I was not able to improve the pronunciation in a steady way, and that after years sometimes I feel I just can't pronunce the names well. So I thought that may be the physical condition I have was influencing the chanting.
I had told some devotees about my difficulty in pronunciation, but none of them were so clear as you in their answers. They just didn't confirm that one could have difficulty in pronunciation at the beginning and that pronunciation could be improved, they basically told me that I should continue trying. May be I didn't ask them clearly enough, or the communication between us was not so clear.
Thanks again :)
Haribol
books
It's also very helpful to listen to mantras when you can, I believe. There are some very good ones on Youtube and I have many favourites. Personally I will also chant mantras like "Gauranga, Gauranga, Gauranga, Gauranga" or "Nityananda Haribol" or something of this nature, also I say "Narayana" a lot whenever I can, also as in "Narayana, Narayana, Jaya Jaya Govinda Hare," etc.
So if you can practice saying these other mantras, for instance
jaya jaya sri krishna chaitanya nityananda
jayadvaitacandra jaya gaura bhakta-vrnda
It will help you with chanting the name Krishna.
I am very glad to help you. I just wrote because I know exactly what you're talking about. But if you simply continue to practice then it will come much easier and you will also learn to use it to go into deep meditation. If it will be like this for you. I often had times of bliss from the holy name, or from our "nama om visnu padaya krsna presthaya bhutale srimate bhaktivedanta swamin iti namine," etc.
And if you can listen to books on audio, this can be very beneficial, or simply any kinds of bhajans you can find. At least, if they are Vaisnava it is usually much better, and there are more than plenty great Vaisnava melodies. For instance I have Srimad Bhagavatam on audio, and I have listened from Cantos 1-10 and several parts more than once.
My chanting clearly has
My chanting clearly has improved since I first started chanting japa. Yes you will definitely improve if you always make a sincere endeavor in your chanting.
It is said that the most elevated second class of chanting is achieved when one is always making the endeavor to improve and hear nicely. Haribol
Greetings, Seeker. I'd like
Greetings, Seeker.
I'd like to ask you a few questions:
Is English your native language? If not, what is your native language? (I study linguistics, so I know a bit what I am talking about. :) )
What about the word "Krishna" doesn't seem right when you pronounce it?
Do you have troubles pronouncing the "r"? Or "the "sh" or other sounds?
Hare Krishna.
Difficulties
Greetings.
My native language is spanish.
The first thing I find difficult is to pronounce the "sh". Then it's difficult for me to pronounce the two syllables together, one after another. I feel that I don't pronounce well the second syllable "na" (I read it should be pronounced "rna") after the first syllable. I feel I pronounce neither "na" nor "rna". Beside this it's difficult for me to pronounce the word at a reasonable speed. Sometimes I spend more than 15 minutes trying to chant one round. Also sometimes I find certain difficulty pronouncing the syllable "Ra" in the name "Rama" although this difficulty is much less than the one I have pronouncing the name "Krishna".
Analyzing the question I think I can pronounce "Krisna" ("s" not "sh") without difficulty. So the main difficulty for me seems to be to pronounce the sound "sh" after "Kri" and then to prounounce the second syllable after the "sh".
The situation is that if I am calm and try to pronounce the word "Krishna" alone I can pronounce it, quite slowly. But when I pronounce it inside the maha mantra, after the word "Hare" I feel I can only pronounce it well a few times. After having said the whole mantra 3 times or so I feel I start having difficulties to pronounce it. When I am in the third or fourth round I know I just can't pronounce the word, even if I chant very slowly.
I really don't have troubles speaking spanish. I have troubles pronouncing the sanskrit words.
Hare Krishna.
Shhh ...
Can you fluently speak English?
Or do you feel you have some specific problems with English too? Can you say "sh" in English well?
It could simply be a language problem that can be solved with some language exercises.
Please don't be hard on yourself. :)
Hare Krishna.
I speak a little English. I
I speak a little English. I think I can pronounce normally the sound "sh" in some words. The problem is with the word Krishna.
My preoccupation is that after 7 years I don't feel I can pronounce the maha mantra easily, and that prevents me to chant more rounds even though I would like to, because I simply can't.
I really think it could have something to do with the frenulum of the tongue, that in my case is quite ahead or may be is too short. Some doctors told me that I had that condition years ago, but since it is not a problem for speaking Spanish they didn't tell me to do anything. Now I have the doubt if I should have a surgery, but I am not sure if that is the real solution.
Anyway thanks for your messages.
Hare Krishna.
haribol seeker,i sometmes
haribol seeker,
i sometmes trip up on the krishna, krishna part during chanting but i've learnt to tap my beads twice when it comes up, sometimes it turns into krisna without the h but i'd say not to worry about it too much and to put a bit more practise in,
hare krishna
Are you in contact with devotees
You should locate devotees of Krishna who live near you or you can visit. The they will tell you what you sound like and that it is OK, or correct you if not. In your case this should be done in person so you can be satisfied that things are OK.
we all speak various languages, different accents within different languages, we all sound different.
Go and meet some devotees and get them to listen to you chant. This is the best way for you. It is too difficult to talk about sounds using written words. Go and associate with some Spanish speaking devotees and you can practice with them until you.
Hare Krishna
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