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

11 - Time: The Best Hours for Chanting

• Hari Prasada Das (Upbuild)

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The time of day we choose for chanting can significantly impact our practice and connection with Krishna. In this episode, Hari speaks about how the quality of our chanting can vary depending on the time of day, influenced by the Modes of Material Nature: Goodness, Passion, and Ignorance. He emphasizes the benefits of morning chanting, including during the Brahma-muhurta – a spiritually charged period when our focus and energy are heightened. By understanding these energies throughout the day (from the clarity of the morning to the fatigue of the evening), we can better align our chanting practice with our spiritual goals, ensuring we keep Krishna very present in our lives.

Quotes

  • "The mantra is non-different from Krishna; it's our connection with Him."  
  • "At every moment, we want to be with Krishna, and His Holy Name is the most powerful way."  
  • "Chanting in the morning is ideal; it aligns us with the Mode of Goodness."  


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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.

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Welcome to Morning Rounds. These are short 5 to 15 minute episodes from our weekly Japa 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 Phagavat 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. Welcome to morning rounds. We will speak something on the time of day for chanting. When should we be chanting? So the immediate answer is anytime. It's always good. In fact, an even better answer is at every time we want to be chanting 24-7. That is the um the way of our acharyas, the great self-realized teachers would instruct that we want to have the mantra on our tongue at all times because that mantra is non-different from Krishna. It's our connection with him, it's his direct presence. We'll talk more about that in the future. But uh, that is the theme. So we want to have Krishna with us always. We never want to be disconnected, so we should be chanting at all times. And Srila Prabhupada set that example profoundly where sometimes he would be seen sleeping and people would hear the mantra or see his mouth moving. And it was very mystical. I mean, Prabhupada is a great mystic. So he understood and taught that at every moment we want to be with Krishna, and his holy name is the most powerful way. This is the heart of a devotee. Let me be with Krishna all the time. So Prabhupada would say, if you want to be my student, then 16 rounds minimum. And chanting 24-7 is the real thing. Um now, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the most recent incarnation of Krishna, who Prabhupada based all of his teachings on, he would say there are no hard and fast rules, and that's something we've also mentioned here. Uh, that we can chant at any time. There's no wrong time to chant. At the same time, we should know there are different qualities to different times of day, and there are different advantages and disadvantages. So for those of you familiar with our Bhagavad Gita classes or the three modes of material nature, as is spoken about even in yoga studios, the gunas in Sanskrit, um, then you understand that there is goodness, passion, and ignorance, different energies that preside over everything. So that includes times of day. In the morning, it is the mode of goodness. That means that there is a peacefulness, a clarity, a lucidity, and a power that allows you to be more present, more focused, and at your best. So chanting in the morning is ideal. We want to align with those modes in the best way that we can to use them. So in the daytime, it is the mode of passion, it's where there's restlessness and things to be done, demands, stresses, there's a pulling to work hard. And sometimes, if on vacation and we have the luxury or on the weekend to play hard. So it's a lot of movement, it's less easy or natural to be chanting in the day. And in the evening, especially at night, it is the mode of ignorance when the body starts to fade and wear down, and we become tired and we want to go to sleep. And for many people, they want to do all kinds of things that reverse those effects, but are actually playing to them by dint of escape, escaping into other worlds of movies to be the at the most innocent. Um, drinking is a big one, drugs um, and sensuality. So, in in the time of night, those urges become much stronger. And there's a reason why we sleep at night, it's because we want to use the mode of ignorance to recharge our bodies so that we can be in goodness the next day, and actually at each particular moment, we're gliding more into another mode. So by the time we reach 11 a.m., it's still morning, but it's taken on more of the quality of passion, and you can feel that if you're attentive. So by the time we reach 4 p.m., it's still mode of passion, but it's taking on more of the qualities of ignorance, and you can feel yourself starting to get tired. So being aware of these different energies is really helpful, and aligning with them in our lives and in our chanting is very beneficial. And the best time of day of all, it's not just morning, it's called the Brahma Muhurtha. It's the most auspicious hour, I believe it's about 48 minutes. It's approximately uh an hour and a half before sunrise for about 45 minutes or so, maybe 48. And that is where uh the great souls will say there is a gust of spiritual energy that will carry you. And by capitalizing on that, you'll see the effect on your jappa, you'll see the effect on the effect on your consciousness. And we don't want to lose out on these freebies that are given for our spiritual advancement. So being conscious of that and taking advantage when possible is really helpful for those who can do it regularly, even better. So the other advantage of the morning time is that it's the foundation for the day, and that's what we want our meditation to be as we're chanting right now. That this is setting us up for the rest of our day. This is putting Krishna first and keeping Krishna with us as our foundation for everything. And with that, we will chant. 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.