Chant Constantly

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
June 2010

Question: I live far from the temple and do not have the association of devotees. Is it good if, while I am at home and away from the temple, I chant and practise on my own?

Of course! গৃহে বা বনেতে থাকে, grhe va vanete thake: you can stay anywhere, in a forest or a house, it is necessary to chant, only to chant constantly. When you stop chanting, illusory environment can come. Chant constantly!

Sometimes you will not get taste, but you should think, "Why am I not getting taste?" You must think, "Something bad has come into my mind, that is why I am not getting taste through chanting." So, you should chant constantly. Those who only talk, talk, talk, their energy goes into talking, and they cannot chant.

Yesterday also I was coming by car, and someone there was always talking, talking, talking, and I could not tolerate it. Then I started chanting, and the talking stopped. Actually, I do not like so much talk, you know that...

Question: We are chanting the songs, but generally we do not understand their meaning. Does it bring the same result, same benefit to us?

Of course. When Mahaprabhu went to South India, there was one brahmin who was reading Srimad Bhagavad-gita with tears in his eyes, but his reading was wrong, he did not know how to pronounce the Sanskrit. Mahaprabhu asked that brahmin, "Brahmin, why are you crying? You are reading Srimad Bhagavad-gita, but your reading is wrong, then what are you reading? Why are tears coming to your eyes?" The brahmin replied, "My Gurudev told me, 'You read Srimad Bhagavad-gita,' so I am reading. I do not know what is the meaning or anything, but when I am reading I can see Lord Krishna, Arjun, their chariot running like this. I can see that, but when I stop, I cannot see it, that is why I am reading—I want to see that..."

You must use most of your time for chanting. Sometimes you work or sometimes cook, but you do not cook with your mouth, you cook with your hands; you work on a computer, but you work with your hands. When you are not working with your mouth, you are wasting your time. Use your time for chanting. Through chanting, everything comes: through chanting you will get the real service.

And do not do so much puja every day. Do not spend three hours a day doing puja and other things like that, it is not our line. But whatever you do, you must use most of your time for chanting.

I saw many devotees of Srila Gurudev, Srila Swami Maharaj, Srila Sridhar Maharaj, all Gaudiya Math: they follow so many rules and regulations, they spend three to eight hours a day doing some puja, but they do not chant at all. For this reason such devotees do not last so long. They continue for a few years, and then they stop. But those who chant more, their devotional activities get more and more energy, and they last longer.

Sometimes you are not able to chant on the beads, but then you chant without the beads, no problem. What is your work, you do that, what is your service, you do that, and all other time you only chant Hare Krishna maha-mantra. Do like this for one year, and then you tell me after one year what result you have got. OK?

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