The emperor Pracinabarhi sent his ten sons, the Pracetas, to practice austerities in preparation for marriage. They met Lord Siva, who out of great mercy instructed them about the Absolute Truth. Lord Siva emerged from a great ocean of water and spoke to them: “Any person who is surrendered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, the controller of everything—material nature as well as the living entity—is actually very dear to me” (_SB_ 4.24.28). He then began to chant a song. Lord Siva had come to bless the Pracetas by personally chanting the mantra. Srila Prabhupada writes, “When a mantra is chanted by a great devotee, the mantra becomes more powerful. Although the Hare Krishna mantra is powerful in itself, a disciple upon initiation receives the mantra from his spiritual master, for when the mantra is chanted by the spiritual master, it becomes more powerful. Lord Siva advised the sons of the king to hear him attentively, for inattentive hearing is offensive” (_SB_ 4.24.32, purport).
(_Tachycardia_)
JAPA POEM
When Prabhupada initiated me in 1966
he chanted
a round on my red beads,
and the mantra became
more powerful. Lord Siva gave a mantra
to the Pracetas and
he advised them
to hear him attentively.
Prabhupada comments: “Inattentive
chanting is offensive.”