Satsang 6 : Efforts required to increase quality and quantity of chanting

We will now understand about the efforts required to increase chanting both quantitatively and qualitatively.

1. Praying

An important aspect of sadhana while chanting or doing any good work is Praying to God! Because of prayer, one develops the attitude of a mendicant that helps dissolve the ego. One should pray to one’s deity of worship before chanting in the following way – ‘O God, I am about to start chanting, please get it done from me. Let this chanting be done properly by me without any obstacles, this is my prayer unto your Holy feet’. When one prays with a sense of surrender to God, it helps one chant properly without any obstacles.

2. Synchronize chanting with one’s breath

One can synchronize one’s chant with one’s breath in order to chant with concentration. We are alive because of breathing; hence it is important to focus on one’s breath. For that, in the beginning, one can sit quietly and focus on one’s breath and then try to synchronize chanting with it. For example, if one is chanting the name ‘Shri Gurudeva Datta’, then one can chant the words ‘Shri Gurudeva’ while inhaling and ‘Datta’ while exhaling. One can adjust one’s chanting according to the speed of one’s breath. Those for whom chanting happens automatically, there is no need to synchronize it with the breath. Since breathing is a process in our body that goes on uninterrupted, for chanting to become uninterrupted, we can try to synchronize it with our breathing. It is important to note here that we have to adjust our chanting according to the pace of our breath. We should not slow down or speed up our breathing according to the pace of our chanting.

3. Chanting with speed

If one experiences unwanted thoughts during chanting, then one can try chanting speedily. Chanting with speed helps to focus the mind on chanting. As the mind becomes more focused on chanting, one can reduce the speed of chanting. Finally, one should synchronize chanting with the pace of one’s breathing. If the speed of chanting reduces even further, then that is also good. Once a pace is set, chanting becomes even better.

4. Chanting devoid of the ten offences

It is also important to pay attention to one’s behaviour when one starts chanting. If on one hand, one is chanting and on the other hand, one is behaving audaciously with others or insulting others, then will chanting give the desired benefits? Hence, it is said that chanting should be done devoid of the ten offences, that is, one’s behaviour should be good while chanting. Criticising saints, disobeying Gurus, criticising scriptures, religious texts and Vedas, committing sins with the power of chanting, etc., are a few out of the ten offences.

The one who is chanting God’s name should avoid these offences that are unsavoury; otherwise, one’s sadhana is wasted in negating the effects of these offences and one does not progress spiritually. For example, if one utters one abuse word, thirty malas of chanting is wasted and if one takes bribe, then 500 malas of chanting is wasted. Hence, while doing sadhana, it is not just sufficient to do chanting, but it is also important to take efforts to get rid of undesirable habits, personality defects and ego.

5. Chanting while doing our activities

In order to imprint the name of God upon our subconscious mind, we can develop the habit of associating chanting with our day to day activities. For example, a housewife can chant while cooking. If one chants while cooking, then the satvik vibrations are attracted in the food and the one who partakes that food also gets benefited. One can chant while bathing, doing personal activities, watching TV or mobile. If someone is doing a job, he can chant while traveling to work or while getting groceries. One can also chant for 5 minutes before going to sleep.

Some of you might be thinking, how can we chant while doing some other work? The answer for this is easy, and that is, actually trying to do it! Even in everyday life we are able to do 3-4 tasks at the same time and sometimes we actually do so. For example, let us say we are walking on the road. While walking, we tend to look on the sides and if we hear someone sounding a horn, we move to the side of the road on hearing it. At the same time, our attention goes to the shops on the roadside, we might be talking to someone, or we might be thinking about and deciding what we will be doing on reaching home. If we can do all these at the same time, then it is possible to associate chanting also with day to day activities. In the beginning, we might have to do the chanting deliberately and with determination. Once the chanting gets imprinted on our mind, it becomes spontaneous and uninterrupted.