Introduction to :" Vaisnava Calendar"

[Paramananda das]

Introduction:

Today on July 23 ,2017 I am starting this book Vaisnava Calendar , today is the holy disapperance day of Sril Raksaka Sridhara Maharaja, Srila Prabhupadas dear godbrother.

So I am praying for his mercy upon me to write this book .Our Srila Prabhupada, Srila AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada helped publish Srila Sridhara Maharajas book http://www.bvml.org/SBRSM/SSPJ/index.htm
Sri Prapanna Jivanamrtam 
and of course our own Srila Prabhupada and my Gurudeva Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Goswami Maharaja and my param Gurudeva Srila Bhakti Prajana Kesva Goswami Maharaja and to all vaisnavas who read this book .

The first subject I want to start with before starting with the book itself is to glorify the chanting of Hare Krsna and show how Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada pushed for chanting 64 rounds and our Srila Prabhupada wanted to also establish it in ISKCON but his disciples simply refused .

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada about Chanting 64 Rounds, and Other Acaryas
22. "Bhagavan will not accept anything which is offered by a person who doesn’t chant Harinama one-hundred thousand times daily and such a person is considered a ‘patita’.
23. By sincerely endeavoring to chant Harinama without offenses and remaining fixed in chanting constantly, one’s offenses will fade and pure Harinama will arise on the tongue."
Srila Bhakti Pramod Puri Gosvami Maharaja about his guru, Om Vishnupada Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur Prabhupada, in his Vyasa-puja offering:
“Unfailingly as a daily vow, he used to chant one hundred thousand names of the Lord (64 rounds) and his instruction to all his disciples was to do likewise. Keeping this vow intact, he would allot his times incredibly to cover all his preaching schedules and literary work, being a source of inspiration to all who came in contact with him."
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur in an article in The Gaudiya, 1934:
"Those who have chanted laksha harinama (100,000 Holy Names daily) for fifteen or twenty years should know such things (rasa-shastra, pastimes of Shri Shri Radha-Krishna). The beginners need not hear these topics or they will misunderstand."
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur Prabhupada states as quoted in the Art of Devotion and elsewhere:
“Everyone living in Gaudiya Math must make an effort to chant one lakh (100,000) of holy names (64 rounds of the Hare Krishna maha-man tra) daily. Otherwise, different types of material attachments may creep in one’s heart that will hamper one’s devotional service. In fact, the Lord does not accept food offerings from one who does not chant one lakh of holy names. One should balance his time so that he can finish one lakh of holy names per day and also perform his other allotted duties.”
“The name should be chanted keeping a careful count. One should try to increase this to one lakh of holy names daily. Not being able to do so means one is simply ‘fallen’. One should rise up from this state by chanting seriously.”
“One of the best ways to counteract bad association is to increase the chanting of the holy names. Atheists cannot present any impediments to your devotional service if you chant one lakh of nama everyday. Please try to adjust your time so you can chant one lakh (64 rounds) of holy names daily. Otherwise, one is considered fallen. One should attempt to transcend this fallen state.”
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur about chanting 64 rounds:
Sadhu-vritti, Sajjana Toshani 11/12:
tinei sad-grihastha-jini pratyah laksha-nama grahana karena, tanhara grihei shuddha-vaish nava-gana prasada grahana karibena.
“Only those devotees are sad-grihasthas (true and ideal householders) who chant 1,00,000 names of Krishna (64 rounds) daily. The pure devotees should accept prasada (foodstuffs) only in the homes of these sad-grihasthas and nowhere else
From Hari-nama-cintamani Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has stated in Harinama Cintamani :
mane habe-aja laksha nama ye kariba; 
krame krame tina laksha nama ye smariba.
mahagraha habe citte namera sankhyaya;
acire jabe jadya sadhura kripaya.
“When one’s mind desires to chant and remember one hundred thousand holy names (64 rounds) daily and furthur desires to slowly increase it to three hundred thousand and when one’s mind becomes very attached and eager to complete the fixed number of rounds daily and pushes one to complete the sankhya everyday, then it is understood that very soon the laziness or apathy in chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra will vanish by the mercy of the devotees and one’s chanting will bring one the desired fruit of pure love for Krishna.”
Srila Jagannatha Dasa Babaji
The main teaching of Srila Jagannatha20dasa Babaji Maharaja is as follows:
“If you want to achieve perfection in Krishna consciousness, you must take a vow to chant a minimum of two hundred thousand or otherwise one hundred thousand of holy names every day, and you must execute that without fail. Before you retire at night you must finish this specific number of rounds, then you can achieve perfection in Krishna consciousness.”
From Narottama-vilasa 10th Vilasa:
"Rupamala, the queen of a distant country became so happy on getting initiation from Shrila Narottama dasa Thakura that she took a vow to take 100,000 Harinama (64 rounds of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra) daily. Seeing her determination, everyone began to sing the glory of Shrila Narottama dasa Thakura Mahashaya."
Shri Rasika-mangala, Eastern part, 6th Wave:

Srila Prabhupada himself tried to introduce 64 rounds in ISKCON :
The Hare Krishna Explosion, p. 63, by Hayagriva dasa, Palace Press 1985:

One devotee send me 2 questions without identifying himself, but non the less they are good questions and deserves an answer:

Q. 1: ¨If Srila Prabhupada did not himself chant 64 rounds, then why
did he ask that of his students, in the begining?¨

¨...Of all the regulative principles, the spiritual master’s order to
chant at least sixteen rounds is most essential.¨ - Cc 2.22.113

The answer is Srila Prabhupada did chant 64 rounds for most of his life, in Tamal Krsna Maharaja diary he asked Srila Prabhupada about this and Srila Prabhupada answered since he took diksa from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada he chanted 64 rounds ,but due to preaching in the west and writting and traveling and extensive preaching that he could not do so all the time .

TKG's Diary June 10 this is from 1975 :

(Shrila Prabhupada), he was chanting sixty-four rounds,
then gradually less, until a number of years ago it was sixteen.

It is impossible that Srila Prabhupada did not chant 64 rounds in 1968 when he asked his disciples to do so .

Q. 2: ¨If Srila Prabhupada did himself chant 64 rounds, why did he not
instruct his senior students before departing from this world, to
commit themselves?¨

Srila Prabhupada did encourage 64 rounds to many disciples , for example he Srila Prabhupada stated if you feel any material desires in your heart you should chant more , not only 64 rounds but up to 192 rounds :
Prabhupada: Then he should try to chant Hare Krsna mantra, instead of
sixteen rounds, sixty-four rounds. That is the way. Sixteen round is
the minimum. Otherwise Haridasa Thakura was 300,000. So you have to
increase.

SP Morning Walk, May 14, 1975, Perth
Here is a brief history of the transition from sixty-four rounds a day to sixteen:

"In 1967 at San Francisco, Shrila Prabhupada asked [Mukunda dasa], 'What is your definition of Krishna?' I said, 'Krishna is God. he is the Supreme Being. Our duty is to worship and serve Him.' Swamiji [Shrila Prabhupada] seemed fairly satisfied, and then he said, 'You must chant sixty-four rounds per day on you beads.'

"I was shocked at this and could not answer. I did not know if there was any need to answer. I just kept looking at Swamiji, and he looked at me. After some time he said, 'Or at least you can chant thirty-two rounds a day.' Still silence. I considered it to be very difficult to chant even sixteen rounds. I was wondering how I could possibly chant thirty-two rounds. After some time, Swamiji said, 'At the very you must chant sixteen rounds every day.'" (Shrila Prabhupada Lilamrta)

SO YOU HAVE TO INCREASE (THE CHANTING). THAT IS THE ONLY REMEDY.

DETERMINATION TO CHANT 64 ROUNDS IS DRDHA-VRATAH.

(CONCLUSION: IF THE MATERIAL FEVER IS NOT BEING DIMINISHED, CHANTING
64 ROUNDS IS THE ONLY REMEDY IN THE WORDS OF SRILA PRABHUPADA IN
THE FOLLOWING MORNING WALK.)

Morning Walk, May 14, 1975, Perth:
Devotee (1): Shrila Prabhupada, how can the position be reconciled if
in Krishna consciousness one of the two, the husband or the wife, wants
to enjoy sense gratification, but the other does not? Should there be
separation then?

Prabhupada: No... They should be trained up. Sense enjoyment means
not advanced in Krishna consciousness. As soon as one is advancing in
Krishna consciousness, his sense enjoyment spirit will be reduced. That
is the test.

Bhaktih paresanubhavo viraktir anyatra ca . The test is,
how you are advancing in Krishna consciousness is the proportionate
diminishing of sense enjoyment. That is the test. Just like cure of
the disease means diminishing the fever, temperature. This is the
test.

Devotee (1): What if that fever is not being diminished?

Prabhupada: Then he should try to chant Hare Krishna mantra, instead of
sixteen rounds, sixty-four rounds. That is the way. Sixteen round is
the minimum. Otherwise Haridasa Thakura was 300,000. So you have to
increase.

That is the only remedy. If one has got determination, he will make
progress without any trouble. That determination is very difficult,
that determination, "I must be Krishna conscious fully." That
determination.

Drdha-vratah.

TRY TO INCREASE (FROM 48 TO 64) BUT NEVER DECREASE YOUR CHANTING.

IF YOU ARE ABLE TO CHANT MORE THAN 16 ROUNDS UP TO 64 IT IS VERY GOOD.

Letter to: Indira (Iris Mendoza), Ekayani (Esther Mendoza), San
Francisco, 17 December, 1967

"I am very glad to learn you are chanting 48 rounds. Actually it is
all right that one should chant 64 rounds, even 16 rounds, so if one
is able to chant more than 16 rounds up to 64, it is very good. You
fix up your rounds.

Try to increase it but never decrease it."

{Note: Indira is fairly new devotee at that time.)

VERY GOOD AND VERY NICE IF YOU CAN DO IT (CHANT 64 ROUNDS):

Letter to: Hamsaduta, Hawaii, 23 March, 1969

"Yes, it is very good if you can chant 64 rounds; this is very nice
if you can do it."

PRABHUPADA PRESCRIBED 64 ROUNDS WHEN DEVOTEES WERE IN TROUBLE WITH
THEIR SENSES:

Letter to: Bhaktijana, Los Angeles, 12 February, 1968

"I shall advise you again to chant always, increasing the counting,
namely, 16 rounds is generally prescribed, but for the time being you
can stop all other activities and increase the chanting to 64 rounds."

That is the instruction given by Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in His
Siksastaka 3. Kirtaniyah sada harih: "The holy name
of the Lord should be chanted twenty-four hours daily." Therefore in
this Krishna consciousness movement we request the devotees to chant at
least sixteen rounds on their beads daily. Actually one has to chant
twenty-four hours daily, just like Thakura Haridasa, who was chanting
the Hare Krishna mantra three hundred thousand times daily. Indeed, he
had no other business. (Shrimad-Bhagavatam 4.24.70 purport)

IF YOU CAN'T SURRENDER TO KRSNA, FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF HARIDASA
THAKURA BY CHANTING CONSTANTLY ON BEADS

Surrender is the ultimate instruction of the Bhagavad-gita, but for
one who cannot surrender to the lotus feet of Krishna, it is better to
chant the Hare Krishna mantra constantly, under the instruction of
Haridasa Thakura.

In our Krishna consciousness movement we are teaching our followers to
chant the Hare Krishna mantra continuously on beads. Even those who are
not accustomed to this practice are advised to chant at least sixteen
rounds on their beads so that they may be trained. Sada
means "always." Haridasa Thakura says, nirantara nama lao: "Chant the
Hare Krishna mantra without stopping." One's real duty is to
surrender to the lotus feet of Krishna, but if one is unable to do so,
he should adopt this process, as introduced by Shri Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu and His most confidential servant, Namacarya Shrila
Haridasa Thakura. This is the way to achieve success in Krishna
consciousness. (Shri Chaitanya-charitamrita Antya-lila 3.137)

(Note: Apart from this there are innumerable quotes by Prabhupada
throughout Bhagavatam & Cc on the necessity of constantly chanting
the holy names. A daily discipline of chanting 64 rounds is a great
boost to come up to the stage of constant chanting imho.)

FIRST INITIATION BY SRILA PRABHUPADA

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 gave a standard of minimum 16 rounds but encouraged more chanting

Lets have a futher look at Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupadas statements about chanting minimum 64 rounds:
01. Chaitanya Bhagavata on Laksha Naam

THE PERFECTION OF LIFE IS TO GET THE DEGREE OF LAKSHESHVARA FROM LORD GAURANGA MAHAPRABHU HIMSELF

In Shri Chaitanya-bhagavata, Antya Khanda 9.121-122, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu instructed everyone on whose worship and service He will accept:

(121) prabhu bale,-"jana, 'lakshesvara' bali kare?
prati-dina laksha-nama ye grahana kare"

"Do you know who is a laksesvara? He is someone who chants one laksa or 100,000 holy names (64 rounds of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra) everyday."

Purport by Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada:

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.

"bhagavan tanharai nikate bhoga-dravyadi grahana karena.

"The Lord accepts bhoga (foodstuffs) and other ingredients only from such personalities.

"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.

Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada:

"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."

Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada:

tajjanyai shri chaitanyadevera ashrita sakalai nyuna kalpe laksha-nama grahana kariya thakena. natuva gaurasunderera udeshya pradatta naivedya tini grahana karibena na.

(Shrila 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.

(122) "se janera nama ami bali 'lakshesvara'
tatha bhiksha amara, na yai anya ghara."

"Lord Gauranga continued-I call such a person a laksheshvara. I only accept meals in such a person's house. I never go anywhere else."

Purport by Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada:

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.

pratyah laksha-nama grahana na karile patita vyaktiganera visaya-bhoga pravritti vriddhi paya, takhana ara tahara shri gaurasunderarera seva karite pare na.

"Those who don't accept this vow of chanting 100,000 names daily, fall down even more although they were fallen in the first place (due to the contamination of Kali-yuga). Thus their propensity for enjoying the senses and sense-objects continually and steadily increases and ultimately they are not able to render any kind of service even to the most merciful Lord Gaurasundera.

lakshesvara vyatita gaura-bhaktira adarsa gaudiyajana kehai svikara karena na.

"This is the precise reason why the real Gaudiya-bhaktas do not accept any other ideal (adarsa) in Gaura-bhakti or Krishna-bhakti except the process of chanting 100,000 names of the maha-mantra daily.

Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada:

adhapatita va adhapete gana eka-matra bhajana-sabda-vacya shri-nama-bhajane vimukhata-vasata laksha-nama grahana karibara parivarte anya bhajanera chalana korena, taddvara tahadera kona mangala haya na.

"Those spiritual aspirants who are already fallen or will fall down from spiritual life in the future are averse to this sole means of deliverance called nama-bhajana, which is the worship of the sound incarnation of God in the form of chanting 100,000 names of the the Holy Names daily. Coming under the sway of their averseness to chant laksha-nama daily, they duplicitously invent (chalana) other means of devotional service (bhajana) to justify their not chanting 100,000 names daily but it is to be clearly understood that by this action they will not achieve anything auspicious (mangala) in their spiritual life."

Shri Chaitanya-bhagavata Madhya Khanda 15.5,

ushah kale ganga-snana kariya nirjane;
dui laksha krishna-nama laya pratidine.

Purport by Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada:

kathita ache, shri haridasa thakura pratyaha tina-laksha nama grahana karitena. jagai-madhai u pratyaha dui laksha nama grahana karitena. yanhara pratyaha laksha nama grahana karena na, tanhadera nivedita kona vastui shri chaitanyadeva grahana karena na. shri caitany-carananucara-gana pratyaha atyalpa pakshe laksha-nama grahana avasyei kariya thakena, natuva shri krishna tanhadera naivedya grahana na karaya bhagavad-ucchishta praptira vicare vyaghat ghate.

"It is well-known that Namacharya Shrila Haridasa Thakura used to chant 300,000 names daily. Jagai-Madhai also used to chant 200,000 names daily after being delivered by the Lord. Lord Chaitanyadeva does not accept any kind of offering (or vastu) from those who don't chant 100,000 names of Krishna daily, The followers surrendered to the lotus of Lord Chaitanya compulsorily chant a bare minimum of 100,000 names daily. If they don't do so Lord Shri Krishna will not accept any of their offerings and thus they will be obstructed or remain unsuccessful in their attempt to obtain the transcendental remanants (prasadam) of the Lord."

Shrila Prabhupada-lilamrita Chp. 49:

"Then a devotee said, 'In America they are trying to chant more, twelve hours a day, trying to get a twenty-four-hour kirtana schedule.' 'Yes, everywhere,' Shrila Prabhupada said, 'this chanting should go on. Instead of meetings, resolutions, dissolutions, revolutions, and then no solutions, there should be chanting.'"

If the leaders are immersed in the nectar of chanting the maha-mantra, it will minimize most of the problems which arise in the society of spiritual sadhakas. It will also prevent the problems from arising in the first place. Even one or a handful of preachers who have reached the platform of offenseless chanting by the process of constant chanting (minimum 64 rounds), are sufficient to flood the whole world with the pure message of Krishna consciousness as taught by Lord Shri Gauranga Mahaprabhu and Shrila Prabhupada.
In Shri Chaitanya-bhagavata Madhya Khanda 23.77, Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu instructed all the people of Navadvipa:

prabhu bole,-"kahilan ei maha-mantra;
iha japa giya sabe koriya nirbandha."

"Please hear this Hare Krishna maha-mantra. Everyone please chant this maha-mantra daily in 'nirbandha'*. Then you will surely achieve all perfection."

*Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains the meaning of 'nirbandha' in his classic book Hari-nama-cintamani as follows:

caribara mala phirile eka grantha haya. eka grantha niyama kariya kramasah vriddhi karite karite 16 granthe eka laksha nama nirbandha haibe.

[To chant one round (on mala of 108 beads) means to chant 108 times the full Hare Krishna maha-mantra]
One grantha = 4 rounds
One nirbandha = 16 granthas = 64 rounds of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra = 100,000 Total Holy Names of the Lord.

"All the previous mahajanas (great devotees) without exception have achieved success only through this process of chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra in atleast one nirbandha (64 rounds) daily."

So according to Shrila Thakura Bhaktivinoda, Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu is instructing everyone to chant atleast one nirbandha (64 rounds) of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra everyday, to ensure the achievement of perfection in this harinama-sankirtana yajna in Kali-yuga. Complete perfection has been achived by all the great devotees in the past specifically by strictly following this order of Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu of completing the chanting of a minimum of 100,000 names of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra daily without fail.

this is by his disciple Srila Bhakti Pramod Puri Maharaja:
chanting a Lakh Names
by Srila Bhakti Promode Puri Goswami Maharaja
We attempt to speak about Krishna, but what can we really say? We memorise a few verses and recite them like a parrot, and that is the extent of our glorification of the Lord. Where is our inner feeling? Everyone goes around talking about raga-bhakti, but where is that spontaneous feeling that is the meaning of raga? Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu told us to follow some simple rules, the rules of vidhi-bhakti. He said to chant the Holy Name, to chant a lakh every day.
This happened in Puri when all the brahmanas there started to invite Him to accept dinner at their homes. So Mahaprabhu answered that He only ate at the houses of millionaires, which in Bengali is lakha-pati. All the brahmanas were disappointed to hear Mahaprabhu say this, because they were all very poor. Then Mahaprabhu laughed and said, “You know what I mean by a lakha-pati? I mean someone who chants a hundred thousand Holy Names every day.” The brahmanas were immediately relieved and said, “Is there anyone more merciful to us than You? You devise strategies like this to get us to chant the Holy Name. Of course we will chant a lakh every day, but please accept our invitation!”

Srila Prabhupada also told us to chant a lakh every day. Many of our godbrothers went to him and said, “But Prabhupada, we have to do so much service. How can we chant a lakh every day?” Prabhupada never said, “Just chant as much as you can. That is enough.” He said, “Make the time. Somehow or another, find the time.” I heard him say this myself. But we don’t. We can’t find the time to chant. This is the extent of our capacity to do bhajana. And yet we still think that we can talk about raga-bhakti. All these Western devotees who come here hear about something called raga-bhakti and immediately think that they understand everything there is to know about it. But they really know nothing about the qualifications that are needed to attain raga-bhakti. They don’t understand. This is why I have spoken about all these matters from the Srimad-Bhagavatam.

At the beginning of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, the following statements were made:

srinvatam sva-kathah krishnah
punya-sravana-kirtanah
hridy antahstho hy abhadrani
vidhunoti suhrit satam
“Hearing and speaking about Lord Krishna is a most pure activity, for as you engage in such activities, the Lord Himself enters your heart and destroys all the causes of inauspiciousness that are obstacles to your spiritual life. This is how Krishna acts as a friend to the pious.”

nashta-prayeshv abhadreshu
nityam bhagavata-sevaya
bhagavaty uttama-sloke
bhaktir bhavati naishthiki

“When all causes of inauspiciousness or anarthas are almost completely destroyed through regular service to the devotees and hearing the Srimad-Bhagavatam, then one comes to the stage of steadfast devotion to the Supreme Lord, Who is glorified in the best of poetry.”
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.17-18)

You have to hear the Srimad-Bhagavatam under the guidance of advanced devotees, who are also known as Bhagavatas. As one does so, one will gradually attain “steadfast devotion to the Supreme Lord, who is glorified in the best of poetry.” What is the nature of such steadfast devotion? That is explained in the commentary to the Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu with the words avikshepena satatyam: “constancy without distraction.” It is not enough to carry beads in your hand and to finger them from time to time. You have to achieve constancy in chanting without allowing your mind to be distracted. Bhaktivinoda Öhakura writes in his Hari-nama-cintamani:
laksha nama haile purna sankhya mala gani
hridaye nahila rasa bindu guna mani
“One may complete chanting a lakh of Names on his japa-mala, O Lord, but still not get a drop of the Holy Name’s ecstatic taste.”
(12.14)

The reason is that while chanting, the mind is wandering all over the place, thinking of so many different things. What is the point of chanting the Holy Name a million times if you still don’t experience krishna-prema? Is this raga-bhakti? Is this what raga-bhakti looks like? Will a raga-bhakta have no taste for chanting the Holy Name? Where is the attachment to chanting the Holy Name? You can’t catch a worm and yet you think you can go cobra hunting?
You talk to these people about developing affection for the Holy Name and they treat it as though it were irrelevant. They are attracted to the stories of girls, but they don’t realise who these girls are. Radharani is Krishna’s personal potency, and the gopis are all Her expansions, extensions of Herself. Therefore it is said that Krishna is not engaged in dalliances with anyone but Himself. He is the self-sufficient Supreme Lord, and all these gopis are not separate from His essence. There is no falldown, no question of material lust. The Bhagavata (10.33.25) uses the term avaruddha-saurata to indicate that no gross sexual activity is involved in the rasa-lila. Therefore, Sridhara Svami concludes that the rasa-lila is Krishna’s lust-conquering pastime. There is not the slightest trace of material lust in the activities shared by Krishna and the gopis, not the slightest tendency to selfishly seek the gratification of their own senses. We will not be able to understand this. Therefore, we must listen carefully from our spiritual masters in order to understand what qualifications are needed to enter into the Lord’s joyful world of play.

Mahaprabhu Himself relished such matters in private in the Gambhira with His intimate associates Svarupa Damodara and Ramananda Raya. There were no worldly-minded people present when these discussions went on. But what are these people doing? They say this is Radha-kunda, Radharani’s realm, but how many of us can really live in Radha-kunda? How many of us are even able to take the dust of Radha-kunda on our heads? We have to take these things into account. Do we dip our hands in the holy water of Radha-kunda only to shake it off again?

Srila Prabhupada used to tell a funny story about an opium smoker. The sun was setting and this addict felt the need to satisfy his addiction, but he was on one side of the river, while the village where there was fire to light his pipe was on the other. Our situation is something like this. We want to be united with Krishna, the Lord of Goloka, but we are separated by a raging river of disqualifications. We have to bear all this in mind. We can dive into Radha-kunda as often as we like, drink the water, submerge ourselves in it, but that does not mean that we have really bathed in Radha-kunda. What we really have to do is plunge into the waters of Radharani’s mood of spontaneous devotion, and to do that we must first develop enthusiasm for Krishna’s Name. Without such enthusiasm, nothing further will be gained. This is the teaching of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

When the sun of prema rises, then all the darkness of sin and suffering dissipates. This means lust and all it entails. This is how Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura awards eligibility for entering the rasa-lila, but that does not take place until one has attained raga-bhakti. Muslims are also listening to the rasa-lila while puffing on a bidi or some other weed. Such people are heard to applaud and ask the speaker for an encore, “Keep on speaking. Keep on speaking.” What is going on here? It is their material lusts that are being awakened, not any real mood of devotion.

One cannot steal one’s way into the highest stages of spiritual life. We must earn the right to enter the realm of Divine Love."

This is from Prema Vilasa:
Shrila Lokanatha dasa on Laksha Naam

SHRILA LOKANATHA GOSVAMI TO HIS DISICPLE SHRILA NAROTTAMA :

From Prema-vilasa Chapter 11:

(Note: Both Shrila Prabhupada and Shrila Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada have accepted Prema-vilasa as a bonafide scripture in their commentaries to Shri Chaitanya-charitamrita Adi-lila 13.60 purport.)

je vaishnava haibe laibe harinama;
sankhya kari nama laile, kripa karena gauradhama.

"Those who are Vaishavas must chant the Holy Names in a particular number everyday. Then Lord Gauranga, the supreme Abode of love will be merciful to them.

WHAT IS THAT NUMBER?

purva abhipraye sabe laha harinama;
keha laksha viseshatah mukhe gana.

"Everyone should specifically chant or sing the name loudly 100,000 times a day (64 rounds) with the mood I have described earlier.

EMPOWERMENT:

narottama laksha nama laya sankhya kari;
nama laile gaurangera sarva sakti dhari.

"O my disciple, Narottama! Please chant 100,000 names everyday while maintaining their count. If you chant in this way then you will become empowered by all the potencies of Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu."

:

kali-kalera dharma--krishna-nama-sankirtana;
krishna-sakti vina nahe tara pravartana.
(Cc Antya-lila 7.11)

"The fundamental religious system in the Age of Kali is the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. Unless empowered by Krishna, one cannot propagate the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.

So from the above two verses, it becomes very clear that if one has to widely propogate the glories of the Holy Names, one has to get Krishna-shakti or Gauranga-shakti which is acquired when one completes the chanting of 100,000 names daily, according to Shrila Lokanatha Goswami.

ACHIEVE THE LOTUS FEET OF KRiShNA:

krishna pada prapti laksha laile harinama;
granthi purna haile eka karibe pranama.

"I again repeat that if you want to achieve the lotus feet of Lord Krishna, then you have to chant 100,000 names daily. After chanting four rounds (one granthi) or one round, you should offer obeisances to the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.

Shrila Narottama dasa on Laksha Naam

From Prema-vilasa Chapter 17: Shrila Narottama to Shrila Kaviraja on the direct process to achieve love of Krishna:

prabhura achaye sankhya tina laksha nama;
eka laksha bhaktagane kaila kripa dana.

"Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu standard was to chant 3,00,000 names everyday. But He very mercifully awarded His devotees the process of chanting a minimum of 1,00,000 names of Krishna daily.

shri rupa kaila laksha granthera varnana;
tathapiha karila laksha nama grahana.

"Shrila Rupa Goswami has explained and quoted from over 100,000 different scriptures. Even though he was such a great scholar and devotee he himself chanted 100,000 Holy Names daily.

dasa gosvamira ache laksha pramana;
ei mata sarva bhakta kare harinama.

"Shrila Raghunatha dasa Goswami also rigidly followed the instructions of Lord Gauranga by chanting 100,000 names daily. In this way all the devotees chanted the Holy Names of the Lord daily without exception.

gauranga shrimukhe rupe kahila vaishnave;
laksha nama sankhya kari avasya karibe.

"Lord Gauranga gave the following instructions to all the Vaishnavas Himself and also through Shrila Rupa Goswami: Please compulsorily chant 100,000 names of Krishna daily."

SHRILA NAROTTAMA AND HIS FOLLOWERS:

yakhana avasara takhana layena harinama;
ei mata laksha sankhya achaye pramana.

"Whenever they used to get an opportunity throughout the day, all of the devotees used to chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. In this way they used to complete the chanting of 100,000 Holy Names of the Lord daily.

From Prema-vilasa Chapter 18: Shrila Narottama instructs his disciples:

adhanya manaye narottama apanake;
suna sishya bandhugana kahiye tomake.

"Shrila Thakura Narottama considering himself worthless in his natural humility, called all his disciples, followers and friends, and spoke to them the following important instructions.

MOST IMPORTANT FINAL INSTRUCTION:

prathamei krshna-pada prapti laksha jara;
se laiba laksha-nama sankhya apanara.

"Those whose top priority in this life is to achieve the lotus feet of Lord Gauranga-Krishna should voluntarily chant 100,000 Holy Names of daily."
I have written a commentary to Sri Kali Santarana Upanisad based on the importance of chanting 64 rounds:

Kali Santarana Upanishad

In the Kali-santarana Upanishad (1-11) (One of the 108 principal Upanishads), the maha-mantra is established as the only means of deliverance in Kali-yuga:

hari om. dvaparante narada brahmanam
jagama katham bhagavan gam
paryatana kalim santareyam iti. [1]

"Hari Om! After travelling all over the world, Shrila Narada Muni approached Lord Brahma (his own father and guru) during the time when Dvapara-yuga was about to end. He asked him, “O Lord! How will all the living entities be able to deliver themselves from the most degraded age of Kali which is about to begin.”

sa hovaca. brahma sadhu prishto’smi
sarva shruti rahasyam gopyam tac
chrinu yena kali samsaram tarishyasi.[2]

Lord Brahma replied, “You have asked the most important and relevant question for the benefit of humanity. I will tell you now the most concealed secret of the Vedic literatures, with the help of which everyone can easily cross this most dangerous age of Kali.

bhagavata adi purushasya narayanasya
namoccharana matrena nirdhta kalir bhavati [3]

“Simply by chanting the transcendental names of the original enjoyer and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Narayana, all the sins will be cleansed in Kali-yuga.”

narada punah papraccha tan nama kim iti.[4]

Narada Muni again asked,“Which are those specific names of the Lord which are most effective in Kali-yuga?”

)

sa hovaca hiranyagarbah
hare krishna hare krishna, krishna krishna hare hare.
hare rama hare rama, rama rama hare hare; [5]

iti shodashakam namnam, kali-kalmasha-nashanam;
natah parataropayah, sarva-vedeshu drishyate. [6]

Lord Brahma replied, “The sixteen words-Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna
Krishna, Hare Hare; Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare-are especially meant for completely destroying all the contamination of Kali. To save oneself from the contamination of Kali-yuga, there is no alternative in all theVedas except the chanting of this sixteen-word mantra.

)

iti shodasha kalasya jivasyavarana vinashanam;
tatah prakashate para brahma medhapaye
ravi rashmi mandali veti. [7]

“This maha-mantra consisting of sixteen names of Krishna is the destroyer of the (16-layered) illusory covering of all the living entities. Only when the coverings are destroyed, Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will appear in the heart of the living entities, just like the sun appears with full intensity when the clouds are removed.”

punar narada prapaccha bhagavan kasya vidhi-riti [8]

Shrila Narada again inquired from Lord Brahma-“What are the procedures and rules for chanting this maha-mantra?”

tam hovaca nasya vidhi-riti
sarvada shuci-ashucira va pathan
brahmanam salokya samipya
sarupatam sayujyatam eti. [9]

Lord Brahma replied, “There are no rules and regulations to chant this maha-mantra. It should be chanted always irrespective of whether one is in a pure or impure condition.

yadasya shodashikasya sardha trikotir japati.
tada brahma hatyam tarati vira hatyam.
svarna steyat puto bhavati. pitrideva
manushyanam apakarat puto bhavati. [10]

“When one chants the 16 names of the maha-mantra 35 million times (sardha trikotir), he absolves himself of the sins of killing a brahmana or a kshatriya, stealing of gold or engaging in harmful activities towards one’s forefathers or other living entities.

please note to chant 35 million times with 16 rounds a day will take 55.5 years, 64 rounds one will do so in 15 years,Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada mentions that unless one chants 100.000 names
of the Maha mantra daily (around 64 rounds) ones mind will be full of Jnana and karma, it is in his purports to antya lila chapter 9 of Caitanya Bhagavad, and such a person he compares to a nondevotee, that is heavey.
I am chanting 64 rounds after I read this .
I hope this does not disturb anyone, but it is a serious matter for those eager to advance in KC
sarva dharma parityaga papat sadyah sucitamapnuyat. sadyo mucyate sadyo mucyate ity upanishat. [11]

“By chanting the maha-mantra, one becomes quickly purified from all sins accumulated due to rejecting all of one’s duties in our past lives. Thus the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, is the only means, the only means, the only means of thoroughly and immediately purifying oneself in Kali-yuga. Thus ends the Kali-santarana Upanishad.”

Srila Prabhupada tried to introduce 64 rounds in ISKCON but some devotees where bargaining with Srila Prabhupada so he reduced it to minimum 16 to facilitate his neophyte disciples,thus it has become the minimum standard ,Srila Prabhupada always encouraged more chanting

Om Tat Sat