Morning Rounds: Opening Up the World of Bhakti Through Japa Meditation
In short, Morning Rounds is: How to make the most of our most important practice.
Like a doctor making rounds to support healing, Morning Rounds is about tending to the soul. Through the chanting of the Holy Names, we gradually quiet the mind, soften the pull of the ego, and reconnect with our deeper spiritual nature.
Drawn from our weekly japa meditation gatherings at Upbuild, these reflections offer a few minutes of inspiration to support your meditation and begin your day with greater clarity, humility, and joy.
In the Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna describes japa, the chanting of the Holy Names, as the highest form of sacrifice. This timeless practice has the power to transform our consciousness through the simple act of returning, again and again, to the sound of the Holy Names.
Whether you are new to chanting or have an established practice, these reflections are an invitation to deepen your relationship with the maha-mantra:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
Through consistent practice and the support of community, we begin to experience a deepening sense of joy and connection that arises simply from hearing and chanting these sacred names.
Morning Rounds: Opening Up the World of Bhakti Through Japa Meditation
2 - Sanga 1: The Need for Collective Practice
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In this episode, Hari emphasizes the significance of chanting together in a supportive environment and the unique benefits of collective spiritual practice. He explores the balance between individual focus in chanting and the uplifting influence of being in a group.
Quotes
- "The more sincere the person is, the more we can feel that they’re really trying to give themselves to Krishna."
- "Chanting in sanga is to uplift us by our collective intention, our collective energy, our spirit, our sincerity."
- "In the brahmacari ashram, the sound vibration of others chanting created this din that was so beautiful."
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Our heartfelt thanks to Jahnavi Harrison for graciously allowing us to feature her recording, "Divine Maha Mantra," in our intro and outro. Learn more about her divine music: https://www.jahnavimusic.com/.
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In short, Morning Rounds is: How to make the most of our most important practice.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare. Welcome to Morning Rounds. These are short 5 to 15 minute episodes from our weekly Jeppa meditation program with the Upbuild community, offering guidance and inspiration for your chanting practice. Rooted in years of monastic training, the study and teaching of the Phagavad Gita, coaching, and our own spiritual practices. These teachings are meant to support you in the most important journey there is: the journey from the ego to the true self. You can also join us for the live version of this program by visiting upbuild.com forward slash morning-rounds. I know that it means a lot to him, and I am feeling it means a lot to me also. It's very encouraging and inspiring. So the idea of chanting in Sangha is really important. Sometimes we have the idea that we should chant alone. And there is value to chanting alone. If we can be in an undisturbed place, then being by ourselves can be really beneficial to just focus on our relationship with Krishna. So why chant together then? And do we not distract each other with our respective chanting? Since we're all chanting at our own pace, and the idea is to hear my own chanting and to pay attention to my own chanting. Are we not distracting each other by the sound of each other's chanting? So I'm sure you have a sense of what the answer is based on the fact that we're doing this. But uh the the understanding is we're here to actually uplift each other through our own focus and sincere dedication to the chanting of the holy names. For example, when I hear someone else or I see somebody else chanting the holy names, it has an effect on my consciousness. It makes me think, oh, I should do that too. And the more sincere the person is, the more we can feel that they're really trying to give themselves to Krishna, the more it has this effect on our hearts and puts us in the right mood. So while we're not trying to keep track of where is this person at, what is the pace that they're working at? Or, you know, I heard the holy name from Amit or from Radha Bhakti. It's not that we're trying to hear from the other person because we do want to stay with our chanting, with our unique relationship with Krishna. But if we were to hear Amit or Radhabhakti's chanting, it also doesn't take us out of it. It only reinforces. And again, we're not trying to concentrate on where is somebody at and where what is the other person's chanting like, but it gives strength to our own chanting and it gives a reminder. Let me focus on my voice. So the idea of chanting in Sangha is to uplift us by our collective intention, by our collective energy, our spirit, our sincerity. And on Zoom, of course, it's a little different. When we were in the Brahmacharya ashram, when I was a monk, we would all chant together in a room and we would hear each other's chanting, and it would create this din that was so beautiful, it left the deepest impression on me. And every day I wanted to wake up to that. So because we can't all be in the same place at the same time right now, we are at least in the same place at the same time over Zoom. And then there will be others who will be chanting and hopefully connecting with us in spirit who cannot be here at this moment. And that creates a similar effect. So it's not the same as being in the room together, and hopefully one day we'll get that chance. Um, but you can feel by that experience of being in the room together. That definitely I can draw from my own experience that it really carries you. The the sound vibration of others chanting and the visual and the sense that we're in this together, it carries you again. It gives so much spiritual strength. So please do not mind that you will hear my chanting. We'll also experiment a little bit here and there with how Zoom works. We'll try some things out. But today and last week, you heard just my chanting. Don't be distracted by it. Instead, let it be something that you don't have to follow, but that hopefully is offering something. My aim is to offer something to you. And we all want to be in that consciousness that we're offering something to each other and to Krishna through this chanting. So with that, we will come into our meditation, our round of java together. Thank you so much for listening to Morning Rounds. Upbuild is a leadership and spiritual development organization that offers courses, workshops, coaching, and other services to help you on the path toward being your best self, free from the shackles of the ego. Please join us for the live version of this program by visiting Upbuild.com forward slash morning dash rounds.