Srila Prabhupada

His Chanting

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Like Prabhupadas preaching, his chanting was constant. While talking in his room with professors in Toronto, Prabhupada silently chanted the Hare Krisha mantra in between their academic words.

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When Prabhupada encouraged his disciples to chant Hare Krishna while sitting with them during a prasadam feast, one of the devotees replied, "But Swamiji, how can we chant and eat at the same time?"

"Chant in between bites," said Srila Prabhupada.

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We can hear Srila Prabhupadas japa on a recording: He chants quickly, and he said that sixteen rounds of japa could be done in one and a half to two hours. During an initiation lecture, he commented that it should take five or six minutes to chant a round, although he admitted that it might not be possible in the beginning.

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When a devotee said that it was hard to chant and keep awake, Prabhupada replied that they should do like he does, as he walks in his room in the afternoon while chanting japa.

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In the early morning, after completing his dictation of Srimad-Bhagavatam translations at maybe four or five A.M., Srila Prabhupada would sit back and chant japa. He did not chant very loudly, but from the other room one could sometimes hear, especially the words "Rama, Rama".

Then in the afternoon sometimes he would remark that he had a few extra rounds to chant, and he would move the counting beads. We took it that Prabhupadas statements about his own chanting of prescribed rounds was for our own benefit, but it was encouraging for our own regulative habit.

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Often he would spontaneously utter the words "Hare Krishna", or he would state harer nama, harer nama, harer namaiva kevalam, with great feeling and expression.

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When in the course of a lecture Prabhupada would say the words of the Hare Krishna mantra, the whole audience of devotees would repeat it word for word in unison with him. He did not ask them to do this, but it was a spontaneous response. The devotees could not resist the chance to chant along with him.

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On airplanes he would often chant for long periods, silently or barely audibly moving his lips, and intently fingering the beads, sometimes shaking them within the bag. Or sometimes during morning walks, instead of talking, he would chant, and everyone would eagerly join with him.

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Prabhupadas speaking about chanting was also another type of chanting. He recommended the chanting of Hare Krishna, and sometimes he would become surcharged with emotion, and his voice would rise in volume. "We are simply asking everyone, "Please chant Hare Krishna!

At times like that, when Srila Prabhupada put all his energy into the request that everyone should chant, we could understand that the Hare Krishna mantra was the summum bonum of life. Therefore often in a lecture he would state it loudly, "Please chant Hare Krishna!" And yet he would often follow this by saying that people were so unfortunate that they could not do this simple thing.

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Srila Prabhupadas japa beads were brown tulasi. He asked that his saffron bead bag be changed and a clean one given to him regularly. He gave his servants the blissful service of changing his counter beads and transferring them to the new bag. He was certainly a master at chanting Hare Krishna, and Prabhupadas followers were always eager to take part with him in his pure, empowered activities of chanting Hare Krishna and distributing it to others.

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Prabhupada Nectar, Volume 3