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1. I happily and enthusiastically welcome the Holy Name every japa session
Create a positive mood to welcome the Holy Name, the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra, into your heart,
just the way you would welcome a special guest into your home. This can be achieved by reading
scriptures, offering prayers, or meditating on what you wish to achieve before chanting the Maha-
mantra on the japa beads. In this way, by getting in the right state of mind, chanting becomes an
exciting opportunity to connect with the Lord.
6. I receive and feel Krishna’s presence, mercy and love in His Holy Name
Allow mercy, love and blessings to come to you naturally through the Holy Name, rather than seeking
to force nectar out of the Holy Name. In other words, do not struggle to create mercy and love while
chanting but instead, allow yourself to bathe in and appreciate the mercy and love that already exists
within the Holy Name.
10. I fully honour my sacred relationship with the Holy Name during japa
Be conscious that when chanting the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra, you are present, Krishna is present
and thus, a relationship between you and Krishna is also present. Therefore, do not view chanting as a
mechanical process that you have to complete daily but rather as a way to deepen your relationship
with Krishna.
14. I turn off my world and turn on Krishna’s world when I chant my rounds
Create an internal space free from distractions when you begin chanting japa. Tell your mind that you
are turning off from everything, for example, turn off tasks that have to be carried out for the day.
This enables you to control your mind better while chanting. We are able to turn off our world when we
are reading a book for example or when we are engaged in a particular hobby, so turning off our world
while chanting the Maha-mantra should not be so difficult.
Also, it is useful to create a “time free zone” early in the morning by imagining that your day will start
only after japa. So, for example, if your day usually begins at 6am, wake up earlier to chant japa and
remind yourself before chanting that the day has not yet started. In this way, there is nothing to think
about other than Krishna during your japa session.
15. I chant with no other motive than to render pure devotional service
Chant the Maha-mantra in a humble state of mind, with the mood that you are an eternal servant of
Krishna. Chanting with this mood helps to awaken a pure service attitude. Krishna descends in His
name when we chant the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra with a service attitude. You are Krishna’s eternal
servant and He will always remain the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Nothing is impossible for
Krishna and thus, nothing is impossible for the one who takes shelter of the Holy Name.
16. My beads are my connection with Krishna and my ticket back to Godhead
Make chanting the Maha-mantra the most important activity of your day. Srila Prabhupada said that
the real purpose of reading his books is to convince you to chant the Holy Name, as chanting the
Maha-mantra is the most important process in devotional service. So, fall in love with the Holy Name!
18. I organize my life to make japa the most important activity of my day
Be aware of how your lifestyle, attitude and activities are supporting your chanting. The more you
change your lifestyle, around the sound vibration of the Maha-mantra, the more your consciousness
will change. The more your consciousness changes, the more your lifestyle will change. Purified
consciousness leads to purified lifestyle, and purified lifestyle leads to purified consciousness.
Therefore, it is important to consciously organize your lifestyle to support better chanting of the Maha-
mantra.
Japa Affirmations:
20 Meditations to Deepen Your Chanting:
https://www.amazon.com/Japa-Affirmations-Meditations-
Deepen-Chanting/dp/1073647978