from Sraddha to Prema

[Paramananda das]

You should first try to come in niṣṭhā. Do you know what is niṣṭhā? At first there is śraddhā, and when śraddhā is matured it becomes niṣṭhā. Niṣṭhā is a good, high thing. Then the mind is fixed. There is no doubt in any siddhānta—no doubt. At that time māyā will not attract. At that time we will chant harināma, yet with no taste, but we see that there is no remedy without taking the chanting of Hari’s name. So, even if there is no taste at the time of niṣṭhā, we know that there is nothing which will take us to Kṛṣṇa without His name.

May 07, 1996 Netherlands

Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja

my Gurudeva used to say if you have Nistha you can at least be fixed in bhakti , all anarthas will mostly be gone in the stage of nistha , after Nistha is ruci , then you will have a very deep taste in bhakti and start realize Sri Krsna and Sri Radha when you chant minimum 64 rounds and you will avoid all 10 offences to Sri Nama Prabhu carefully.Anartha Nirvirti will NEVER come unless one chants minimum 64 rounds daily ,Sraddha even is a very high stage, because you will hear that Lord Caitanya has asked we daily chant minimum 64 rounds then you will take Diksa and your Guru will also be chanting 64 rounds daily , otherwise why you choose a Guru that does not follow Lord Caitanyas instruction ? And you yourself must also chant minimum 64 rounds ,otherwise you will be a cheater .Who will you cheat ? YOURSELF ......

Nectar of Instruction, Verse 5, purport:

The Krishna consciousness movement prescribes sixteen rounds daily because people in the Western countries cannot concentrate for long periods while chanting on beads. Therefore the minimum number of rounds is prescribed. However, Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura used to say that unless one chants at least sixty-four rounds of japa (one hundred thousand names), he is considered fallen (patita). According to his calculation, practically every one of us is fallen, but because we are trying to serve the Supreme Lord with all seriousness and without duplicity, we can expect the mercy of Lord Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who is famous as patita-pavana, the deliverer of the fallen.

Shrila Prabhupada on a Morning Walk, November 10, 1975, Bombay:

Lokanatha: Some devotees have fixed different number than sixteen. Some are chanting twenty minimum or twenty-five.
Prabhupada: Yes. It should be increased.
Lokanatha: Is it recommended for our...
Prabhupada: But don't decrease. Don't decrease; increase. Therefore one number is fixed. "At least this much I shall do." That is sixteen rounds.
Lokanatha: But you are recommending sixteen as a minimum, and some devotees are choosing twenty as a minimum.
Prabhupada: So who forbids? Who says that "Don't do it"?
Lokanatha: They can chant?
Prabhupada: Yes. That is wanted. But because you cannot do it, therefore we have fixed up this minimum. Sankhyata asankhyata Sankhyata means with vow, numerical strength. And asankhyata means there is no limit.

The Hare Krishna Explosion, p. 63, by Hayagriva dasa, Palace Press 1985:

"Now that you have beads," Swamiji says the next morning, "you should chant sixty-four rounds every day."
"Sixty-four rounds?" To pronounce every word of the mantra distinctly, we require five minutes to chant a round. Sixty-four rounds would take over five hours. "Impossible!" we say. "We'll never have the time."
"All right," Swamiji says. "Thirty-two rounds."
"Impossible," we say. "We'll never be able to do it. It's way too much." "All right," Swamiji says. "Sixteen rounds. No less."

Srila Prabhupada tried hard to introcude his Guru Maharajas standard in ISKCON ,Lord Gauranga has stated in Caitanya Bhagavata:
shri gaurasundera balibena-"jini pratidina laksha-nama grahana karibena, tanharai grihe bhagavan sevita hana.

Shri Gaurasundera spoke as follows-"The Supreme Personality of Godhead accepts service only in the home of those who chant one hundred thousand names daily.
"jini laksha-nama grahana karena na, tahara nikate haite bhagavan naivedya svikara-dvara seva-saubhagya pradana karena na.

"Those who don't chant 100,000 names (64 rounds) daily, are never awarded the great fortune of rendering service to the Lord by offering Him naivedya (bhoga). This is because the Lord never accepts (svikara) their offerings.
"bhagavad-bhakta matrei pratyaha laksha-nama grahana karibena natuva vividha visaye asakta haiya bhagavad-seva karite asamartha haibena."

The Lord continued-"Those who consider themselves devotees of the Lord must compulsorily chant 100,000 names of Krishna everyday otherwise they will gradually but surely become attached to varieties of sense-objects and thus become incapable to rendering any kind of service to the Lord."

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada has stated in his commentary to theses words spoken by Lord Caitanya :tajjanyai shri chaitanyadevera ashrita sakalai nyuna kalpe laksha-nama grahana kariya thakena. natuva gaurasunderera udeshya pradatta naivedya tini grahana karibena na.

(Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada continues) "Therefore all the devotees who have taken shelter of Lord Chaitanyadeva perform the chanting of a minimum of 100,000 names of Krishna daily as their first and primary duty. Because they know that if they don't do so then Lord Gaurasundera will never accept the very bhoga (naivedya) which they cook for Him daily.

shri chaitanya bhaktagana abhaktera sahita sambhashana karena na. jini bhaktivyatita karma, jnana o anyabhilashara kathaya pradatta tahara sahita bandhutva karibe na.

"The devotees of Lord Shri Chaitanya never talk with such non-devotees. They never do friendship with those who are engaged in the cultivation of karma, jnana or other desires which are devoid of bhakti.

( Note Srila Bhaktisidhdhanta Prabhupada has stated not to be friends with those who can not complete 64 rounds daily and call them non devotees)

  Aindra Prabhu also used to chant 64 rounds or more daily , last I saw him he told me 120 rounds this was in March of 2010 , few month before he left his body .Mahanidhi Swami has become a babaji at Radha Kunda he has chanted minimum 64 rounds for many years now...So we must all follow Lord Caitanyas instruction and chant minimum 64 rounds ,Do not remain a fallen neophyte.
We all need to advance in Krsna consciouness
your servant
Paramananda das

PS our beloved Srila Prabhupada started to chant 64 rounds upon meeting Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada it was a must to get diksa in Gaudiya math from 1922 to 1932 before taking diksa Srila Prabhupada also chanted 64 rounds