Shri Karnananda
CHANTING 64 ROUNDS (100,000 NAMES) DAILY
In Karnananda, First Niryasa by Shrila Yadunandana Dasa, the glories to chanting 64 rounds of the maha-mantra (100,000 names of Krishna) have been described:
tabe sei kalanidhi chattaraja nama, sada harinama jape ei tara kama;
prabhu kahe tumi caitanyera priyatama, laksha-nama japa tumi kariya niyama.
“Kalanidhi Chattaraja, the disciple of Shrila Shrinivasa Acarya Thakura performed the sole activity of chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. Thus Shrinivasa Acarya told him that he was the dearest devotee of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and instructed him to make a rule of chanting 100,000 names of Krishna (64 rounds) daily.”
kancanagadia grame prabhura bhaktagana, ekeka laksha harinam karena niyama;
divasa na laya nama ratrikale vasi, keshe dora cale bandhi laya nama vasi.
sabei prabhura prana sabara prana prabhu, ati priya sthana sei na chadaye kabhu.
“Every single devotee of Shrila Shrinivasa Acarya Thakura residing in Kancanagadia used to chant 100,000 names daily. If they did not use to finish this quota of chanting in the daytime, then they would chant in the night. At night they would sit and chant and would tie up their shikhas (tuft of hair on the back of the head) to poles to ensure that they don’t fall asleep. Due to such determination for chanting , they were the life and soul of their spiritual master and Shrila Acarya Thakura was life and soul for them. Thus Shrila Acarya would never leave this place and always reside there.”
tahara dharani sucarita buddhimata, shri ishvarira kripapatri ati sucarita.
laksha harinama tinho karena grahana, kshane kshane mahaprabhura caritra kathana.
“Shri Sucaritadevi, the wife of Bhavaka Cakravarti was an intelligent and qualified disciple of Shrimati Isvaridevi, the wife of Shrila Acarya Thakura. She used to chant 100,000 names daily and constantly (every second) recite the pastimes and qualities of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.”
harinama jape sada kariya niyama, laksha harinama vina na kare bhojana.
“Shri Vallabhi Kavipati, another exalted disciple of Shri Acarya used to chant 100,000 names daily with a vow to that effect. He would not accept any kind of foodstuffs until he completed this vow daily.”
Purport by Shrila Bhaktiratna Sadhu Maharaja:
This is called ‘dridha-vrata’ or real determination in spiritual life. When determination is used to complete the chanting of a fixed number (especially 64) of rounds daily, it is the ultimate perfection of determination. If one is not able to complete the vow of chanting then one should perform some austerity (of not eating or not sleeping etc.) so that he or she will not miss fulfilling the vow again. Very sincere devotees like Shri Kavipati (in this verse) and Shri Rasikananda take the vow of not eating until they finish chanting 100,000 names. Some may take a vow of chanting 32 rounds before eating anything in the day and chanting the remaining 32 rounds before sleeping at night. Because if one is distracted and performs other activities while chanting, then it is very difficult to complete this quota of 100,000 names daily. Even the bare minimum of 16 rounds becomes a burden for such a person. Thus the 16-round chanters should try their very best to complete their chanting at one stretch in a peaceful place with full concentration preferably before beginning any other activities in the day. This concentrated effort in chanting will gradually inspire them to increase the quality and quantity of their chanting.
laksha harinama jape sankhya je kariya, sankirtane nritya kare sukhavishta haiya.
“Nimai Kaviraja, brother of Rupa Kaviraja (disciples of Shri Acarya) would chant 100,000 names daily while maintaining a count. He would then dance in sankirtana overwhelmed with ecstatic love.”
laksha nama laya name ta vishvasa, badai rasika tinho samsare udasa.
“Shrimanta Cakravarti (disciple of Shri Acarya) would chant 100,000 names daily. In this way, he developed so much faith and attraction to the holy name that he became totally indifferent to this material world.”
shri shyamasundera dasa sarala brahmana, laksha harinama tinho karena grahana.
“Shri Shyamasundera dasa (disciple of Shri Acarya) was a very simple and pure brahmana. He would chant 100,000 names daily.”
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