Japa Improvement

Hare Krishna everyone, I was asked to share my method for attentive chanting. So, I tried to write my thoughts a little bit. I hope they are useful for somebody and not too extreme. Before trying to improve our japa it may sometimes be necessary to remind ourselves why do we chant in the first place. So, one comes to the conclusion that it leads us to the ultimate and original occupational duty of a spirit soul. Chanting the mahamantra also opens the gate to the actual happiness that we are looking for in this material world, since the spirit soul is originally full of bliss. One can remind oneself about the first sloka of Siksastakam about this.
The mind, being a pseudo devotee, may suggest some other things to do according to one's interests, but by the help of one's intelligence one should understand, as in Bhagavad-gita it is said, that happiness in the mode of goodness is poison in the beginning and nectar in the end (BG 18.37). Also one can compare the attractiveness of mundane matters to Krishna: "Know that all opulent, beautiful and glorious creations spring but a spark of My splendor" (BG 10.41). Therefore one can only be considered as intelligent if one faces the trouble of striving for attentive japa. My method for attentive consists of four stages: 1. Pronunciation - 2. - Diving - 3. Meditation and 4. Lila. I've heard that Bhaktivinoda Thakura also has guidelines for japa the first of which is the same, pronunciation. It would be nice if someone of the readers would bring them out in this blog, if it's not yet done.

1. Pronunciation
Once one of my godbrothers pointed to me that I wasn't pronouncing all the words of the mahamantra properly. Instead of saying hare hare I was saying "...re re" or "...are are". That time I remembered a scene from the musical 'My Fair Lady' where one professor tried to convert a flower seller lady into a British society lady. The lady was originally speaking English in Cockney slang, in which the letter 'h' is pronounced hardly at all. The professor made her practice by giving her paper to read full of words that start with 'h'. She had to say the words into a receiver which was somehow connected to a flame of an oil lamp. As she pronounced those words properly her blowing made the flame grow temporarily bigger. So I started to concentrate more on my pronunciation, especially on the hares. I also noticed that as I concentrated on the proper pronunciation of the words of mahamantra, my chanting was automatically attentive.

2. Diving
This stage is the stretching zone. As I concentrate on the pronunciation I imagine myself swimming in an ocean and diving gradually deeper and deeper into it. That is the ocean of the holy name. As I move from one whole mantra to another, I think to myself, "this mantra I shall chant more attentively than the last one...and this one even more attentively than that..." In this way I gradually increase my concentration. Satsvarupa Maharaja is using a different analogy of this stage. Let's say one has a multi track recorder and every track has some sounds in it: talking, music, street sounds, upcoming events... etc. And on one track there is the mahamantra. What one should do is simply to pull down the volumes all the other tracks, but let the track with mahamantra playing.

3. Meditation
This stage is already the goal. Your concentration is so strong that you can see the words of mahamantra just running in front of your eyes. You just love the mahamantra, there is nothing else you want. Nothing can shake you because you just want to stay on this stage. There is simply no other interest than to enjoy the nectar of the holy name.
Due to your intensity with the holy name you almost think that you are one with the holy name or even that you are the holy name. That is not true, of course, and you won't be bewildered by such kind of thought. This is just to describe the level of intesity of your concentration to the chanting of the holy name. In this stage you will love Krishna and get an idea of how wonderful Krishna is.

4. Lila
The last stage may not be absolutely necessary, but it gives a nice flavour in your
attentive chanting. I imagine a full moon night in the forest of Vrindavana with Srimati Radharani and Lord Sri Krishna who are seated on a decorated throne. Also 108 primary gopis are there sitting on the ground next to each other. They are forming a circle, and each one of them are chanting the mahamantra in turn: first one gopi next to the throne of Radha and Krishna, and then the next gopi. Everyone of them are in ecstasy hearing everyone else chanting waiting for their own turn, and especially when their own turn comes, they almost faint. When the other end of the circle has been reached at the other side of the throne, the chanting starts going in the other direction. That is actually you chanting with your japa beads. 108 gopis are there, Sri Sri Radha-Krishna is there - and you are there!

I hope this presentation serves it's purpose. Hare Krishna.

Your servant,

Gopinatha dasa