Japa Walk Thru: Lila Meditations Intro

Mahanidhi Madan Gopal Das

This audio series presents narrations of the occassional and eternal pastimes of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Radha and Krishna. In Japa Walk Thru Lila Meditations, we mix japa chanting with meditation on Krishna’s pastimes. The result is a most wonderful, blissful, satisfying and enlightening experience of chanting Hare Krishna japa.
The practice of combining japa with lila meditation is a standard practice among most Gaudiya Vaisnavas. In fact, the founder-acharya of the world famous Hare Krishna Movement, Srila Prabhupada said, “You should know that it is not offensive to think of Krishna’s pastimes while chanting Hare Krishna japa. Rather IT IS REQUIRED!” (SP Letter Dec. 4, 1968)

The Japa Walk ThruLila Meditation Technique

1. Take your tulasi japa mala, and sit comfortably in a clean, sanctified place.

2. Play the desired lila audio tracks while listening through speakers, headphones or earplugs (or one ear plug).

3. Keep the audio player or the remote control within reach of your left hand, so you can occassionally pause or replay the audio track to deepen your contemplation on a particular scene, expression or loving exchange.

4. Start chanting the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra japa either silently in the mind or by softly whispering.

5. Adjust the audio volume so that you simultaneously hear the lila and attentively hear the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. Experiment until you find the perfect sound level that affords maximum concentration on both the pastimes of Krishna and His sweet Holy Names.

6. While chanting japa with full-heart concentration, listen to the lila narration while mentally trying to vizualize the pastime, to be there, to feel the loving exchanges of Radha and Krishna, and to think what seva you would be offering Them at that moment.

7. Whenever you want to deeply meditate or reflect upon a particular lila, a part of a lila, or a special exchange or scene within a lila, you can simply pause the audio track while continuing your nama japa. For example, sometimes we adjust our audio player so it repeatedly plays the same lila such as “Radha’s Morning Bath”.
Then while listening to that pastime and continuing our maha-mantra japa, we submerge our minds and hearts in all the minute details and sweet dealings of Srimati Radharani and Her sakhi/manjaris at that tender time of morning.

8. The japa walk thru technique is easy and blissful. Instead of wrestling with our wandering minds during japa, we can fill our minds with Radha and Krishna’s beautiful forms, qualities and pastimes while chanting. By this practice our scattered, monkey-jumping minds become pacified, pointed, and absorbed in hearing Krishna’s sweet Holy Names, mentally seeing Krishna’s form and pastimes, and feeling the hearts of Krishna and His loving friends.

9. After sometime of chanting japa and listening to the japa walk thru series, you will no longer think you are just a listener or observer of the lila. If Sri Krishna is merciful to you, you will feel that you are personally there, directly walking with Radha and Krishna and serving Them in every possible way. This is the perfection of Hare Krishna Maha Mantra japa. And this audio series is presented to help everyone attain this perfection.

Maha-mantra Radha-Krishna lila meditation ki jai! Jaya Jaya Sri Radhe!