This week in the Japa Room we had a lively and interesting discussion on Stage 1: Reaffirm our faith in the potency of chanting the Hare Krsna mantra....here is the transcript from the session. Names have been truncated for privacy.

M: Today when I was chanting I was mispronouncing syllables because I was going to fast but I "fought the war" and won over my mind

RasaRasika: Very nice to hear this M....this is the war we need to fight until we go beyond offenses and then at this stage we will automatically be fixed on the Hare Krsna mantra and we will taste the bliss of chanting very easily. Until then we need to keep bringing the mind back to the sound so that we can focus and get the purifying effects of chanting.

L: and if anything else comes to my mind i think about a great fire behind that image that swallows every other obstacle

RasaRasika: This is a great vision to have...the fire of good Japa can burn up the offenses, distractions of the mind and obstacles and will lead us to pure chanting...this is a very good way to think about our good quality Japa.

M: Whan I chanted today continuously I have felt like I have served Krishna the whole day. A day just for Krishna. This is the proof in chanting. I may have been chanting with offenses but stopped, the offenses stopped

RasaRasika: Very nice to hear this M...it's very important to be able to chant as many rounds as possible without stopping...it gives us the best chance of getting into the Japa Zone...a place where you can feel and experience the purifying effects of Japa and this will give you very good consciousness for the whole day as you have said. Very nice to hear this.

L: so is it more beneficial to always chant aloud than chant in mind ?

RasaRasika: It's a common thought...that we can chant in our minds - Srila Prabhupada recommends that we chant out loud so that we can hear ourselves...this doesn't have to be so loud that it disturbs others, but it can be as loud as you like as long as you can hear your own chanting. There is a nice quote in relation to this:

"The first regulative principle is that one must chant the Hare Krsna maha−mantra loudly enough so that he can hear himself, and one must vow to chant a fixed number of rounds."
Sri Caitanya caritamrta Antya−lila 11.24

BP: speaking of pronouncing things, I chant rama as two distinct sounds "ra-ma" but I've heard it chanted as "ram" or "rom" I think rama is correct but Im kinda confused

RasaRasika: It's a good question because there are different opinions...my understanding is the the word Rama is pronounced as it is...Ra-ma but it can also be pronounced as Ram without the a on the end. Srila Prabhupada chanted Rama like this but Ra-ma is also correct.

M: Can I chant Shiksastaka before japa? That's what I do

RasaRasika: Yes M by all means chant these prayers...it gets us in the proper mood for Japa...to be more tolerant than a tree and to feel ourselves more humble than the grass and to offer respects to others but not expect that in return...this is helpful to give us the right mood so we can chant continuously. We can also chant the pranams to our Spiritual Master and Srila Prabhuada and also the Panca Tattva mantra. Another prayer is our own personal prayer that we composed to ask the Lord to help us to improve and reach good quality Japa...that is also important to include.

L: where do i find the shiksastaka prayer and other prayers that we are talking about?

Rasa Rasika: http://www.krishna.com/node/624

L: i have read that we must not go over the head bead. what is the significance of that?

RasaRasika: The head bead is Krsna's bead so we don't chant on that bead...we chant around this bead but not on it. Krsna also likes to chant and meditate on His own Holy names so we reserve this bead for Him.

L: thanks for that. I have been sinning all this time as i was not aware of its significance.. i wud be careful now

BP: thats what I started to do....I would try to chant before bed but I was so tired I didn't always finish so I started waking up two hours early then the time I normally wake up before school and it give me lots of time to chant in the morning

RasaRasika: This is great news BP and you will see the reciprocation of Krsna for your efforts...when we make an effort like this, the Lord is pleased and gives us some reciprocation for our efforts...very nice to hear this, please continue to get up earlier.

M: yes, very nice P prabhu

L: I used to chant regulary and later got distracted in my life .. for a year i did not chant..even then God was so merciful to me always and one day i felt ashamed that i was losing touch not being a good child of God and taking him for granted it made me restless and then i started to chant again..makes me feel at peace with myself

RasaRasika: This is nice L...can you see how the Lord arranged your restlessness? It's because deep down inside we have the desire to chant the Holy names, and by the Lord's great mercy He gives us the imputence to chant again...this is a very nice story and give me great faith. You can see how the Lord reciprocates and gives us peace of mind when we chant.

Rasa Rasika: By the way, here is the addresss of Srila Prabhupada's Japa http://ia360904.us.archive.org/2/items/SrilaPrabhupadaJapaByExample/Prab... just right click on this link and "Save as" or "Save link as"

L: also i realise that being in company of like minded devotees affirms your faith. i am glad to have discovered this chat room

Rasa Rasika: Yes L this is a very important aspect of devotional life...good association of like minded devotees interested in making advancement...I am glad you discovered the Japa Room and it's always nice to see you and everyone coming along each week...please keep coming back.

japa room: How can a devotee realise he has got firm faith and determination to chant, is it when he loses attraction to what impeds advancement

RasaRasika: Thanks A (who is appearing as japa room)...when we release ourselves from the impediments in our Japa, for example not doing other things at the same time...then by making this effort to improve this will give us some feeling when we chant...we will feel the purifying effects and then our faith becomes firm "Yes this chanting really does work"...from this firm faith comes determination to continue. So I would say it's a matter of releasing ourselves from impediments and then the faith and determination will be strong.

japa room: thanks

RasaRasika: OK we'll finish up for this week...thanks to everyone for coming along...next week is Stage 2: Admit to ourselves that we need to improve and manage the quality of our Japa...see you all then, Hare Krsna