Morning Rounds: Opening Up the World of Bhakti Through Japa Meditation

7 - Volume: How Loudly Should You Chant?

• Hari Prasada Das (Upbuild)

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0:00 | 9:35

Volume plays a critical role in our japa practice. Hari explores three distinct volumes of chanting: manasika (mental), upamsu (soft), and vacika (loud), emphasizing how each can be suitable depending on circumstances and individual experience. He highlights the potential benefits of loud chanting for beginners and those experiencing emotional stress, suggesting that it helps capture one's mind and establish a connection with Krishna. Hari also reflects on the teachings of Sanatana Goswami, who offered guidance on japa, linking the choice of volume to our level of focus and absorption. But at the end of the day, upamsu is the most universal standard for chanting japa, as recommended by the acharyas.

Quotes

  • "Manasika is actually the best of the best because it requires the most absorption."
  • "For beginners, the louder we chant, the more likely we can grab the mind."
  • "When you're frustrated, chant loudly to get it out of your system."
  • "Finding what is comfortable for you and experimenting with that volume is key to effective chanting."


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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.


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Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Krishna.

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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. So today is a very, very auspicious day. It is called the Guru Purnima. It is the appearance day of or the celebration day of the Guru. It also happens to be the disappearance day of one of the greatest gurus of all time, Srila Sanatana Goswami. And uh it's also the day that Bhakti Charu Swami departed, um, just at the beginning of the pandemic. So in 2020, on this day he left, which is an incredibly um good sign. When somebody leaves on such a holy day, it's uh very beneficial. And they're for very advanced souls, it may even be a choice. In fact, it usually often is. So this is a special day to be chanting our round together. And Sanatan Goswami, whose disappearance it is, also wrote a work called the Hari Bhakti Vilas, which gives guidance on Jappa. And today's subject matter he actually gives specific guidance about. So that's a wonderful coincidence. Today we're talking about volume. So we've talked about the uh speed, time it takes to chant around. Um, we're talking about different aspects so that we have the basics and we're not wondering, oh, am I doing it right? Am I doing it right? Um, really getting honing in on what are some of the fundamental understandings to be able to chant comfortably. So today, volume um there are three different volumes at which we can chant our rounds. So the first is called manasik. Manasik is in the mind. Manas is a term for the mind, and we find it in the Bhagavad Gita all over the place. So you can actually chant japa in your mind. In other words, you don't even have to move your lips. The second is upamshu. Upamshu is softly, like a whisper, something that you can hear, but which others will not readily hear. So that is moving your lips, it is allowing yourself to hear, but very soft. And the third is vacuk. Vachik is loud. So, what do we make of these three different ways to chant? Well, they are according to different circumstances and also according to different levels of experience. So, Srila Haridas Thakur, who is called the Nam Acharya, or the person who is the teacher, the Acharya, the ultimate teacher of chanting the holy names, he would chant 128 rounds a day. That means he basically didn't do anything but chant and really did not sleep much. One hour, maybe, one hour and a half, possibly. Um, and he divided his japa of those 128 rounds into thirds. So he did one third of each style of chanting. So he did manasik, he did vacak, and he did upamshu. And um the recommendation for us is vajaka is mostly for kirtan. So when we set the Mahamantra to music, it's very helpful to chant it loudly. That gives more inspiration, enthusiasm, allows it to be an infectious experience. When it comes to japa, that is not really the standard. Now, um, what is the standard? Well, Upamshu is considered the best for most purposes. You want to chant just loudly enough that you can hear it, and not much more than that. That creates an engagement for the mind, and at the same time, it allows us to be in a soft meditative state. That is Upamshu. There is nuance here. Manasik is actually the best of the best because it requires the most absorption, because the mind is crazy, and to be able to just think about Krishna completely, meditating on every syllable without anything else, without even needing to move the mouth, that's the most powerful. However, we're not on that level. I'm certainly not, and so we don't recommend that. Only if you're sick or if you have some need to chant in the mind, that's okay. But generally speaking, the mind gets lost. And at least if we have the sound vibration, there's some benefit and some way to bring the mind back. So we don't recommend chanting manasik until you are really, really you it's said in the shastras, you have such a pure mind that it's just focused and absorbed completely. You're very elevated, you're thinking of Krishna, you're you know feeling his presence. Um, and the last nuance is that when we be our beginners, the louder we chant, the more likely we can grab the mind. Um, and also Srila Prabhupada said that when he when you're frustrated, chant loudly. When you're angry or something, you can just chant loudly and get it out of your system, but really calling to Krishna. So it creates relationship. It's a wonderful way of dealing with stress and difficulties. Um, this they don't teach you in most places, you know, how to get rid of stress. Chant loudly. Um, but it's very good to know. I myself uh I like to chant up, but I find that I also chant a bit louder when I can. Um, if the environment allows for it, I like to engage the mind more. I'm a beginner, I need the help of chanting a little more loudly. So this is not loud like kirtan. I'm not like Hare Krishna, you know, but I am chanting at a volume that helps me remember that I'm chanting and can grab the mind. Good. So this was a little longer, there was a little more context, but um, we'll get into the chanting and find your comfort zone. Or I mean, zone maybe is too much that that can be too comfortable. Find what is comfortable for you and chant at that volume. Experiment with that volume. Okay. 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.