Baladeva’s alarm clock went off at 1:00 A.M.,
and our cowbells followed.
He administered the wake-up rituals,
including a pre-emptive strike
of headache medicine. Yesterday
I went 16 rounds without eye twinge.
I have begun reading Rupa Vilasa’s
book on nama acarya Haridasa Thakura.
His book emphatically states that
Haridasa Thakura chanted out loud
and not silently. (I had been
under the misconception that he chanted
one third of three hundred thousand names silently.)
The author also quotes Prahlad Maharaj
that out-loud chanting is much
superior to silent chanting.
So at the risk of provoking
eyestrain, I started out doing
vocal chanting on my first four rounds.
I took all of my preventative measures.
I practiced “just hear.”
This method is satisfying
to me, and I am capable of it.
You just chant and hear the Names
with no other meditation.
It is recommended by Srila Prabhupada.
Anyone who understands that the Name
is non-different from Krishna Himself
and absorbs himself
in the transcendental sound vibration,
is achieving a rare state of japa.
I continued this vocal
practice of “just hear”
for the whole two sets and
received no eye strain.
I met my quota after eight rounds
with ample minutes to spare.
Then I turned to writing
in my Japa Report
as a change of pace
and a relief from constant chanting.
I began the third set
at a low volume, vocal chanting.
I was distracted by planning what to write
in my Japa Report, but it
was not so bad because I
had already written about
the first sets in my report.
Nevertheless,
I was committing aparadha:
inattention to the holy names,
so my chanting was faulty.
But the mercy and the power
of the maha-mantra is so great
that it vanquishes sinful reactions,
ushers in liberation
and brings one gradually to love of God,
even when chanted with imperfections
as I was doing.
Haridasa Thakura declares that
elimination of sinful reactions
and liberation is not of interest
to the pure devotee. He declares
love of God is the real goal.
I recited the lines about the power
of the Hare Krishna mantra
with confidence that
I was making progress by
the Absolute nature of the Names.
The set went long and slow.
The vast majority was silent.
I completed my sixteenth round,
meeting the quota with minutes to spare.
I considered it a decent session.
I experienced no eye twinge
during the entire session, and did
a substantial amount of vocal chanting.
My morning japa is improving.