Loud japa vs soft japa
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Dear Gurudev, Nityaananda ! Gauraanga ! Hare Krishna ! Dandavat Pranaams !
Shrila Haridas Thakur said that loud japa(Vachika) is 100 times better than soft japa. Can you pls guide me that by saying soft japa did he mean Upanshu or Manasa ? If it is refered to as Manasa then when he said loud japa did he mean Vachika or Upanshu ?
ys,
Mihir.
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by ghadgech on Dec 22, 2009 at 21:38 Reply Top
Nityaananda ! Gauraanga ! Hare Krishna !
Mihir Prabhu ! Please follow this link.
Aspiring to Serve Your Lotus Feet
Chhotoo & Family
by Srinath on Dec 23, 2009 at 10:48 Reply Top
Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna! I must add that loud chanting is 100x better than silent chanting as far as the Holy names are concerned. Other mantras like Gayatri mantras, bija mantras etc… must be chanted silently for maximum benefit but the Holy name is an exception to the rule.
Actually chanting japa loud enough is practically not different from kirtana. As a matter of fact, kirtana means to chant the Holy names audibly and loudly. And kirtana in my experience is 100x more powerful than even the most potent japa and congregational sankirtana is even far more powerful still. Lord Chaitanya insists that His is a sankirtana movement first, japa is #2 on the list. And it is declared by all our acharyas that kirtana is more powerful than japa. Naama sankirtana is the word used in all the scriptures as well.
The reason why chanting the Holy names is more powerful when done audibly or loudly is because it spills into kirtan territory and becomes kirtana so is not strictly japa anymore. Please note though that other mantras meant for japa chanting will give maximum benefit only for manasika japa. The Holy name though is meant for kirtana!
Apart from that the other benefits are that chanting loudly is far more complete engagement. In japa only the mind is engaged which is very difficult to do now-a-days. But in kirtana the mind, voice, ears, tongue and body are all engaged so it is much more engaging.
I admit I am not being technically correct here, but practically it’s a fact and I hope it clarifies the problem of loud chanting vs silent chanting.
by Srinath on Dec 26, 2009 at 13:35 Reply Top
Colloquially speaking, Haridas Thakur chanted 100,000 names in kirtana, 100,000 in japa and did Silent Meditation of another 100,000.
Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna!
Srinath