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
5 - Speed: How Quickly Should We Chant the Mantra?
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The discussion focuses on finding the right speed for chanting the mantra, highlighting the balance between pace and pronunciation. Hari explores how some individuals naturally chant at a faster pace, while others naturally go at a slower, more deliberate pace. He emphasizes that adjusting pace should never come at the cost of slurring or losing meaning.
Quotes
- "When we love somebody…we want to get their name right."
- "Chant as quickly as you can while preserving the pronunciation of the Hare Krishna mantra."
- "Chant with care and then gradually pick up the pace."
- "There has to be an energy to it, and it has to keep pace with the mind."
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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.
SPEAKER_01Welcome 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. Good morning. It's wonderful to be back with you for our rounds. I hope that you are continuing your chanting process not only when we're together, but on your own. We want to speak a little bit about speed. What is the right speed for our chanting of the Mahamantra? So the idea is that we want to chant as clearly the Mahamantra as we can. We want to pronounce every syllable like we spoke about last week. And then we can chant at a pace that works for that. Everyone can kindly mute, please. Thank you. Um you may hear that some people are chanting much faster than others, and sometimes that's very good. Sometimes there's a great cost. Because as long as we start to slur our pronunciation to create a greater speed, we're not really connecting with Krishna. Krishna's names are so beautiful. And when we love somebody, we care about them, we want to get their name right, we want to be fully with them in the way that they desire. So we don't want to rush. So whatever care we can put in is so important. So then why do some people chant quickly? Why do I, for example, chant more quickly than some others? The reason is given that the mind is so fast. In order to keep up with the pace of the mind, we want to increase the pace of the Mahamantra so that it is energizing and is not something which is just Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna. You know, it has to there has to be an energy to it and it has to keep pace with the mind. Now, if we love Krishna so much that we want to chant very slowly, that's also fine. But a speed is helpful to engage the mind. So you chant as quickly as you can while preserving the pronunciation of the Mahamantra. And as you go, you will get more adept. But always watch for pronunciation, don't rush it. There are so many who do Krishna nominated, right? And and we lose actually the care. So chant with care and then gradually pick up the pace, monitoring that you preserve each sacred syllable of Krishna's names. So that is our mission, and today we will practice and we will chant in that spirit. 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.