Prabhupada’s Practical Tips on Chanting

Mahanidhi Madan Gopal Das

Sruti-kirti Prabhu, a disciple and former personal servant of Srila Prabhupada, recounts Prabhupada’s practical instructions regarding chanting rounds.

“It was easy to understand that Śrīla Prabhupāda enjoyed chanting japa. He always stressed the importance of chanting our 16 rounds. He once told me that as a householder, he used a simple process for completing 16 rounds that we could apply.

‘When I was a householder,’ Srila Prabhupada said, ‘I would chant four rounds before each meal and four rounds before retiring in the evening. In this way 16 rounds could be chanted without difficulty.’ He laughed and said, ‘If you don’t take prasadam before chanting your four rounds then you will be sure to get them chanted.’

“In New Dwaraka he told me, ‘In the evening, if I get tired, I walk and chant. If you are tired, then walk and chant like I do. Sometimes, if I am tired, I pace back and forth in the room. Simply, in one room you can do everything. If you are tired, you can stand up and chant, like I do.’

“It was common to see Śrīla Prabhupāda walk in his quarters or sit in his rocking chair while he chanted rounds. In the evening he sometimes chanted rounds while I massaged him in bed. Many times devotees went into Śrīla Prabhupāda’s room with a problem they were hoping would be solved with some particular arrangement. His solution was always the same. ‘Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, chant your 16 rounds.’ He developed the phrase, ‘Just do it!’ long before Nike.” (Srila Prabhupada Uvaca 63)

An excerpt from the book Art of Chanting