Today my mind has not been wandering but has been staying fixed on the utterance of the Names, so I’ve come to expect this. It’s a gain from my previous years’ chanting. My chanting of eight rounds was below seven minutes a round. Aside from hearing the sounds of the syllables, my mind did not sink into a Radha-Krishna meditation. But I am calling out just by basic faith in the japa operation. As when I speak to Krishna in my afternoon freewrite, I have confidence in Krishna’s being open to me when I chant japa. My fixation on accumulating mantras is not the highest stage, but it is important work. For now, it is the heart of my practice. I pay attention and quickly add one mantra to the next. I try to do something besides counting. This morning I thought of the vintage Lough Derg diary I’m reading, and I was eager to read some more. I also anticipated my journal writing and prayed to be able to do some today. Aside from this, I could not think of Krishna aside from the counting. After all, Prabhupada did advise, “Just hear.” The Names are absolute. You benefit just by touching Them with your tongue. When you put your hand in fire, you’ll be burnt. When you say the Hare Krishna mantras, you become Krishna-ized.
(_Japa Transformations_)
A positive quote about the chanting.
I was gaining control over inattentive
chanting, which
had plagued me
for many years.
I am not able
to do meditation on Radha-Krishna,
but I am calling
out sincerely to Harer Nama.
“When you put your hand in the fire,
you’ll be burnt. When you say
the Hare Krishna mantras,
you become Krishna-ized.”