Ritual of Mantra recitation narrated by Shree Hari.
Suvrat said:-
O king, on the twilight of the ninth day of the bright half of the month (of Kartika), the doyen of the Brahmchary named Vasudevanand, asked Him (Shri Hari) who was sitting in the midst of the assembly, ‘I wish to listen to the ritual of the Krishna-mantra, which when practiced everyday will bear fruit. 1-2.
Narayan Muni said:-
O chief of the Brahmins, I will tell you in brief, the ritual of the muttering of the Krishna-mantra, as laid down in the scriptures. 3.
(The reciter of the Krishna-mantra) should be chaste, should take a bath, must be calm in his spirits, and should be devoid of anger and worry. He should recite the chant granted to him by his preceptor. 4.
The seat fit to be used by the ascetics, for chanting should be circular like a shape of a tortoise. The seat to be used by others, may be a square-shaped and having four feet. 5.
A seat or mat made of deer-skin, tiger skin, jute, silk, wool or grass is always beneficial and effective in getting the desired effects of the chanting. 6.
A seat made of cow dung, soil, Peepal leaves, Palasha leaves, iron, Bamboo, stone or torn mat are forbidden. 7.
A seat made of splintered wood or one with iron nails and which is not suitable for sacrifice should be avoided. But in emergency except impure things any seat can be used. 8.
Differences in Mala. A rosary made by basil wood, gooseberry wood or lotus seeds is considered holy. 9.
Similarly, rosary made of crystal, holy beads: Rudraksha, knots of holy Kusha grass and sandal-wood is considered holy. 10.
All rosaries turn pious with the touch of Lord Vishnu’s feet. A person should use them, as they are very good for chanting. 11.
A rosary in which beads are tight, broken, old, rattling or a rosary tied in tattered string should not be used. 12.
A rosary touched by an atheist or a sinful person or a wicked person or an indecent person and one not sanctified should be considered as giver of bad dream and as bad omen. 13.
A rosary having one hundred and eight beads is considered as the best. A rosary having half beads of best rosary (fifty four beads) is considered as medium rosary and a rosary having one fourth beads of best rosary (twenty seven beads) is considered of lower level. 14.
By alphabetical order, letters: A to Ksha, are to be placed on the rosary, starting from the prime bead, while chanting Mantra. 15.
Chanting the spell, in ascending and then descending order of alphabetical sequence is the correct way of chanting. 16.
Starting with the ring finger, rotating in rightward direction, via middle finger and finally reaching up to the bottom of index finger, one should mutter the chant, revolving the beads of the rosary. 17.
One should poise in Swastika Asana-posture or in Mukta Padmasana (loose lotus-posture) and with mental concentration, one should remember God. 18.
With chanting of every Mantra one should touch a bead of rosary and chant the Mantra in definite number. 19.
One should never touch the thread of rosary with little finger. One should touch the rosary with middle finger or ring finger and thumb while chanting the ave. 20.
A rosary should not be touched by left hand or should never be dropped while chanting the Mantra. 21.
If by mistake, a rosary falls on the ground, one should mutter the chant, for hundred and eight times, to remove its ill effects. 22.
While chanting the ave, the rosary should never touch the ground or sole of one’s feet. While chanting the ave, one should never shake his hand or head. 23.
One should never chant the ave, loose hair, or covered with a dirty cloth or with dirty hands. 24.
One should never use rosary, with covered hands or with clenched nerves. One should never use rosary, when feeling worried, anxious, angry, confused or hungry. 25.
One should never recite the chant, without taking seat, or while sleeping, moving, getting up, wearing shoes, travelling in a vehicle or on the bed. 26.
A person who worships Lord Vishnu (Vaishnava) should never chant the ave, while sitting in an awkward position, with legs lifted upwards or with stretched legs or in ‘Kakasana’. 27.
One should never mutter a chant, hastily or while laughing or while hastening.‘ one should never look here and there, make any signs by (his) hands or eyes. 28.
One should not chant an ave on the road, at a dirty place, in the dark mal-odorous place or in the company of bad people. 29.
Fruitless Mantra recitation. Sleep and laziness are the two enemies of chant-muttering, difficult to conquer; but one should overcome these two; otherwise the ave will be void. 30.
Whatever is chanted with the tip of the finger or by skipping the prime bead (Meru-mani) or without counting the number, all that muttering would become void. 31.
In normal situations, a wise person should never follow the forbidden methods; and one should always chant the Hymn, with total application of mind. 32.
Mind control, devotion, reticence, meditation, concentration on the meaning of Hymn, serene mind and continuity is necessary to get effectual fruitfulness of recitation of a Hymn. 33
At all the three times (Trikal : morning, afternoon and evening), a devotee should chant ‘Lord Vishnu’s’ name and worship the God with the help of external objects or with mind power. 34.
If while chanting happens to touch a rat or cat; or gets angry or farts, one should keep the rosary on cloth. Then, should do sipping of holy water (Achmana) and Pranayama (breathing exercise.) 35-36
Three types of Japa.
Chanting (recitation) is of three types: 1. done in vocal tones 2. done secretly 3. done mentally, which is supposed to be good, better and best respectively. Knowing this, one should follow the best type. 37.
A recitation which is done in three octaves (high, medium, low) with clear pronunciation of letters in words is called first type: verbal, of chanting. 38.
Chanting which is done in barely audible tone, in slow speed and with lip movement is considered as a second type of chanting: Upamshu. 39.
A chanting where all activities of recitation of the entire range of alphabet comprising vowels and consonants are done within mind is called third type of chanting: mental. 40.
Compare to Vachika, i.e. vocal chanting (first type), mere soundless-chanting, i.e. Upamshu chanting (second type), is ten times better. Mere tongue chanting is hundred times better than Vachika chanting and Manasa, i.e. mental chanting (third type) is thousand times better than vocal chanting. 41.
Chanting done at home is supposed to be neutral; done at cow shelter is ten times better than done at home. Chanting done at home garden is hundred times better than home-chanting. Chanting done in forest is thousand times better than that done at home. 42.
Chanting done on the mountain is ten thousand times better than one done at home. Chanting done at river bank is hundred thousand times better than one done at home. Chanting done by sitting in the vicinity of God Shri Hari in a temple is ten million times better than at chanting done at home. 43.
A chaste woman devotee of Lord Vishnu: either married or widow, can chant the hymn (Mantra). 44.
A man should not chant with a rosary without taking bath. In case of emergency, one should take mental bath and then do a chanting. 45.
In case of mental chant-recitation, there are no rules to be followed; so also for singing the praise of God, without use of rosary in chanting. 46.
One should never touch the rosary with dirty hands. One should never drop the rosary on grounds; nor touch a woman while chanting with rosary. After recitation rosary should not be hanged somewhere. 47.
Those, who chant in this manner and belong to Uddhava sect (followers of Lord Vishnu like Udhava) shall attain the ultimate pious abode called Golok of almighty Lord Vishnu. 48.
Suvrat said:-
O Ruler of the earth, after hearing this method of chanting of the names of Lord Vishnu as was told by ancient sage, he felt contented and he along with other saints, being pleased bowed to Lord Vishnu, in order to attain ultimate bliss. 49.
Thus ends the thirtieth chapter entitled, ‘Narration of description of ritual of uttering of the Krishna-mantra,’ in the third prakaran of Satsangi Jivan, the life story of Lord Narayan, also titled as Dharmashastra, (the rules of the code of conduct). 30