How Old Are You?
Even though we routinely say the age of our bodies when we are asked how old we are, this is not actually true. Our actual age is infinity. But in the spite of this we are ever-fresh youths. This is of course on the spiritual platform, the plane of our factual identities. If we become Krishna conscious, we can return to our original identities. Otherwise we suffer here in this material existence misidentifying with these temporary material bodies which suffer birth, death, old age, and disease lifetime after lifetime through the 8,400,000 different species of life.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
I am in the UK and I love reading your Thought for the Day first thing in the morning to start my day. Could you please explain why the specific number of 16 rounds? And when you say 16 rounds do you mean 16 times about the string of chanting beads or 16 times of chanting the Hare Krishna mantra?
Please clarify for me and maybe for many others.
My heartily gratitude for this course ππ½π
Many thanks ππ½And Pranam
Heena ππ½
My Dear Heena,
Please accept my blessings.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
We chant the Hare Krishna mantra 16 times around the string of 108 chanting beads. This means that we chant the Hare Krishna at least 1,728 times daily.
In verse 37 and purport of the Sri Caitanya Caritamrita, Madhya Lila, Chapter 7 we read as follows:
tomΔra dui hasta baddha nΔma-gaαΉane
jala-pΔtra-bahirvΔsa vahibe kemane
Translation: [Lord Nityananda to Lord Caitanya]: "Since Your two hands will always be engaged in chanting and counting the holy names, how will You be able to carry the water pot and external garments?"
Purport:
From this verse it is clear that Caitanya MahΔprabhu was chanting the holy names a fixed number of times daily. The GosvΔmΔ«s used to follow in the footsteps of ΕrΔ« Caitanya MahΔprabhu, and HaridΔsa αΉ¬hΔkura also followed this principle. Concerning the GosvΔmΔ«sβΕrΔ«la RΕ«pa GosvΔmΔ«, ΕrΔ«la Sanatana GosvΔmΔ«, ΕrΔ«la RaghunΔtha BhaαΉαΉa GosvΔmΔ«, ΕrΔ«la JΔ«va GosvΔmΔ«, ΕrΔ«la GopΔla BhaαΉαΉa GosvΔmΔ« and ΕrΔ«la RaghunΔtha dΔsa GosvΔmΔ«-ΕrΔ«nivΔsa ΔcΔrya confirms: saαΉ khyΔ-pΕ«rvaka-nΔma-gΔna-natibhiαΈ₯. (αΉ’aαΈ-gosvΔmy-aαΉ£αΉaka, 6) In addition to other duties, ΕrΔ« Caitanya MahΔprabhu introduced the system of chanting the holy name of the Lord a fixed number of times daily, as confirmed in this verse (tomΔra dui hasta baddha nΔma-gaαΉane). Caitanya MahΔprabhu used to count on His fingers. While one hand was engaged in chanting, the other hand kept the number of rounds. This is corroborated in the Caitanya-candrΔmαΉta and also in ΕrΔ«la RΕ«pa GosvΔmΔ«'s Stava-mΔlΔ:
badhnan prema-bhara-prakampita-karo granthΔ«n kaαΉΔ«αΈorakaiαΈ₯
saαΉ khyΔtuαΉ nija-loka-maαΉ gala-hare-kαΉαΉ£αΉeti nΔmnΔm japan
(Caitanya-candrΔmαΉta, 9)
hare kαΉαΉ£αΉety uccaiαΈ₯ sphurita-rasano nΔma-gaαΉanΔ
kαΉta-granthi-ΕreαΉΔ«-subhaga-kaαΉi-sΕ«trojjvala-karaαΈ₯
(CaitanyΔαΉ£αΉaka, 5)
Therefore devotees in the line of ΕrΔ« Caitanya MahΔprabhu must chant at least sixteen rounds daily, and this is the number prescribed by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. HaridΔsa αΉ¬hΔkura daily chanted 300,000 names. Sixteen rounds is about 28,000 names. There is no need to imitate HaridΔsa αΉ¬hΔkura or the other GosvΔmΔ«s, but chanting the holy name a fixed number of times daily is essential for every devotee.
--------end of quote--------
In the beginning of ISKCON Srila Prabhupada asked his American disciples to chant 64 rounds daily. But this was too much for them. So as a concession he reduced the number to 32 rounds. But this was still too much for them. So he reduced the required number of rounds to 16. Thus this 16 rounds was established by Srila Prabhupada as the minimum number of rounds required for every ISKCON devotee.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
We Are Inhabitants of the Spiritual World
Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom
Question: Why 16 Rounds?
Jay Shree KrishnaI am in the UK and I love reading your Thought for the Day first thing in the morning to start my day. Could you please explain why the specific number of 16 rounds? And when you say 16 rounds do you mean 16 times about the string of chanting beads or 16 times of chanting the Hare Krishna mantra?
Please clarify for me and maybe for many others.
My heartily gratitude for this course ππ½π
Many thanks ππ½And Pranam
Heena ππ½
Answer: Minimization of the Actual Standard
From: ISKCON Austin, Texas USAMy Dear Heena,
Please accept my blessings.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
We chant the Hare Krishna mantra 16 times around the string of 108 chanting beads. This means that we chant the Hare Krishna at least 1,728 times daily.
In verse 37 and purport of the Sri Caitanya Caritamrita, Madhya Lila, Chapter 7 we read as follows:
tomΔra dui hasta baddha nΔma-gaαΉane
jala-pΔtra-bahirvΔsa vahibe kemane
Translation: [Lord Nityananda to Lord Caitanya]: "Since Your two hands will always be engaged in chanting and counting the holy names, how will You be able to carry the water pot and external garments?"
Purport:
From this verse it is clear that Caitanya MahΔprabhu was chanting the holy names a fixed number of times daily. The GosvΔmΔ«s used to follow in the footsteps of ΕrΔ« Caitanya MahΔprabhu, and HaridΔsa αΉ¬hΔkura also followed this principle. Concerning the GosvΔmΔ«sβΕrΔ«la RΕ«pa GosvΔmΔ«, ΕrΔ«la Sanatana GosvΔmΔ«, ΕrΔ«la RaghunΔtha BhaαΉαΉa GosvΔmΔ«, ΕrΔ«la JΔ«va GosvΔmΔ«, ΕrΔ«la GopΔla BhaαΉαΉa GosvΔmΔ« and ΕrΔ«la RaghunΔtha dΔsa GosvΔmΔ«-ΕrΔ«nivΔsa ΔcΔrya confirms: saαΉ khyΔ-pΕ«rvaka-nΔma-gΔna-natibhiαΈ₯. (αΉ’aαΈ-gosvΔmy-aαΉ£αΉaka, 6) In addition to other duties, ΕrΔ« Caitanya MahΔprabhu introduced the system of chanting the holy name of the Lord a fixed number of times daily, as confirmed in this verse (tomΔra dui hasta baddha nΔma-gaαΉane). Caitanya MahΔprabhu used to count on His fingers. While one hand was engaged in chanting, the other hand kept the number of rounds. This is corroborated in the Caitanya-candrΔmαΉta and also in ΕrΔ«la RΕ«pa GosvΔmΔ«'s Stava-mΔlΔ:
badhnan prema-bhara-prakampita-karo granthΔ«n kaαΉΔ«αΈorakaiαΈ₯
saαΉ khyΔtuαΉ nija-loka-maαΉ gala-hare-kαΉαΉ£αΉeti nΔmnΔm japan
(Caitanya-candrΔmαΉta, 9)
hare kαΉαΉ£αΉety uccaiαΈ₯ sphurita-rasano nΔma-gaαΉanΔ
kαΉta-granthi-ΕreαΉΔ«-subhaga-kaαΉi-sΕ«trojjvala-karaαΈ₯
(CaitanyΔαΉ£αΉaka, 5)
Therefore devotees in the line of ΕrΔ« Caitanya MahΔprabhu must chant at least sixteen rounds daily, and this is the number prescribed by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. HaridΔsa αΉ¬hΔkura daily chanted 300,000 names. Sixteen rounds is about 28,000 names. There is no need to imitate HaridΔsa αΉ¬hΔkura or the other GosvΔmΔ«s, but chanting the holy name a fixed number of times daily is essential for every devotee.
--------end of quote--------
In the beginning of ISKCON Srila Prabhupada asked his American disciples to chant 64 rounds daily. But this was too much for them. So as a concession he reduced the number to 32 rounds. But this was still too much for them. So he reduced the required number of rounds to 16. Thus this 16 rounds was established by Srila Prabhupada as the minimum number of rounds required for every ISKCON devotee.
I hope this meets you in the best of health.
Your ever well-wisher,
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
ISKCON Founder-Acharya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, ordered his disciples to become gurus and deliver the world. Sankarshan Das Adhikari has taken this order very seriously and is thus accepting disciples all over the world and has dedicated himself fully to the mission of making the entire world Krishna conscious as soon as possible. He requests your help in this most urgent world deliverance mission to save the suffering humanity from gliding down to the animal kingdom in their next births.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari email: sd@worldleader.com
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
The Most Urgent World Deliverance Mission
ISKCON Founder-Acharya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, ordered his disciples to become gurus and deliver the world. Sankarshan Das Adhikari has taken this order very seriously and is thus accepting disciples all over the world and has dedicated himself fully to the mission of making the entire world Krishna conscious as soon as possible. He requests your help in this most urgent world deliverance mission to save the suffering humanity from gliding down to the animal kingdom in their next births.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari email: sd@worldleader.com
Comments
Post a Comment