In the second part of this 10 part series, Mahanidhi Swami talks about association during Japa, the mind and the importance of reciting prayers before Japa.
Time, Place & Mind - Start chanting very early in the morning, either with devotees, Tulasi-devi, Thakurji, or in a place free from disturbance. Sit before your Deities or Tulasi-devi and chant prayers to Shri Guru and the parampara, the six Gosvamis and the Panca-tattva. Remember Namacharya Thakura Haridasa and pray for his mercy. Pray to the holy name to help you chant with full attention, purely, and free from offenses.
In this second guideline, the Maharaja starts by talking about the importance of devotee association during Japa and the association of Tulasi devi and your Deities. It's quite common amongst some devotees to not be able to chant Japa directly with other devotees...especially if we are working in a job or have a business that takes alot of our time. Devotee association, especially good chanters, is very important. If you can't then it's very good to chant before Tulasi devi or if this is not possible, chant in front of a picture of your Deities.
Another good point the Maharaja mentions is to chant in a place free from distburbance...this is essential if we want to chant with attention. It's no good chanting in a place where people are constantly interrupting you or where there is alot of noise around you. If your home is a disturbance, then go for a Japa walk or to a secluded place, where the chance of disturbance is reduced greatly.
Next the Maharaja mentions prayers to Sri Guru and the parampara, the six Gosvamis, Namacharya Thakura Haridasa and the Panca-tattva. These prayers are very important to get the mercy of the Lord and His pure devotees. We can also pray to the holy name to help you chant with full attention, purely and free from offenses. A very important aspect of spiritual life is this praying.
Comments
The 3 Most Important Aspects
Thanks Rasa Prabhu for this nice quote and the explanation you gave is also very effective. You just put everything that is essential on this article, prayer, nice environment and association. All we need to have a very good and concentrated japa. For me these three aspects really make a lot of difference when followed, because I tend to be very distracted if I chant in a place where there are others talking or doing other things, association of nice chanters is also pretty helpful to me even if its only by reading from serious chanters about japa or listening to a lecture, this gives me a lot of inspiration.
Chanting in front of the picture of Srila Prabhupada or my spiritual master also gives me strength and I focus more.
I can remember all those nice times in the japa room when we talk about prayer only that makes me aware of how important prayer is to develop the right mood for constant chanting.
Thanks for this nice article, it really had an effect on me.
ys
Aruna devi
Prayer, Nice Environment and Association
Thanks for your comments Aruna devi....nice to hear about your Japa and how you chant. The point you make about just hearing from serious chanters or reading what they write...all this is also association, even if not in person, it still has the same spiritual value.