Does chanting all 16 rounds at one stretch lead to greater concentration?

So, is it that if we chant all the 16 rounds at one time, there is greater concentration by that or say we chant in intervals so that there is greater concentration? Normally, our dealing with the mind is like a war.

In a war, you cannot go with a stereotyped single strategy all the time. When the enemy attacks in a different way, I can't say that, yesterday I used this weapon and it was successful. But today the enemy has got a counter for that weapon and now what do I do? I just keep using that weapon? No, it doesn't work like that.

So, it's a dynamic war. So, when a war is going on, we have to find out the weapon that works and use it. So, that means, normally speaking, we would like to absorb ourselves more and more in chanting.

And the whole idea of mantra meditation is to actually experience a higher reality. We are having this sensory reality around us. But the holy name has the capacity to transport us to a higher reality.

So, Shaitan Mahaprabhu, when you chant, you would experience Vrindavan. Now, we may not experience Vrindavan, but we can experience a greater sense of peace, a greater connection with something higher. At our level, what is our experience? If a child is sleeping and the child is sleeping, it's very cold.

So, when it's very cold and maybe there is a fire in the room, the fire has become extinguished. The child starts freezing. Then somebody comes and starts the fire again.

The child starts feeling warm. The child's eyes are still closed and the child is not aware of who is there. But the child knows, Oh, I'm not feeling warm.

Earlier I was feeling freezing, now I'm starting to feel warm. So, although the eyes are not open and the person is not able to perceive what is the source of the warmth, but one feels the warmth. So, like that, at our level, when we start chanting the holy names, we don't perceive Krishna directly, but we start feeling that peace, that calm, that warmth, that sort of deeper pleasure.

We don't know what it is actually. We may not perceive, because our spiritual eyes are still closed, we don't perceive the Tribhangalya, the form of Krishna. But just that sense of peace, that sense of calmness, that sense of clarity, that sense of power that comes by chanting, like the warmth of the fire.

You know, somebody is there who is chanting the fire and that's why now the room has become warm. So, like that, there is someone because of which this holy name is giving me this effect. So, at our level, the experience of the potency of the holy name may not be direct.

We will not see the holy name is different from Krishna, but still we experience its effect. So, our goal is what? The sleeping person wakes up and says, my father is there, the child wakes up and says, my mother is there, my father is there. They are tending to this and they are keeping me warm and comfortable and safe.

So, like that, we wake up spiritually and then we realize, oh, Krishna is right here next to me. So, our goal when we are chanting is actually to rise to a higher level of reality. And the best way to rise to a higher level of reality is if we chant continuously.

So, if we chant continuously, substantial amount of time, then it's easier to rise to that higher level of reality. But the important point is rising to the higher level of reality. So, if I am very distracted, if I am not able to concentrate, mind is troubling me too much, then it's better that, okay, instead of chanting 16 rounds, I chant 8 rounds, 10 rounds, then maybe I wash my face or recite some verses.

Actually, sometimes you want to recite some more. Although the holy name is the best weapon, but still, sometimes it may be helpful to use some other weapons so that you calm the mind down a little bit. Otherwise, just keep chanting, chanting, nothing happens.

If the mind is just wandering too much, just calm down, take a few deep breaths and slow down and calm down. And then again begin using the holy name, chanting the holy name and controlling the mind. Or sometimes just wash the face a little bit.

There are different ways. The holy name is supremely powerful, but sometimes the mind prevents us from accessing the power of the holy name. Once I access the power, the mind will become controlled, but the mind doesn't allow me to access the powers and gifts.

So then, I may have to use some other things. So, sometimes reciting some verses about the holy name, what that does is, that brings the intellect into the picture. So, you can control the mind at the spiritual level through the holy name, but you can also control the mind to some extent at the intellectual level by chanting.

So, when you control the mind at the intellectual level by chanting, then by that, you recite some verses about the holy name, something from Shikshashtakam, something from scripture, about how potent the holy name is. It calms the mind down a little bit. And then, we are able to access the power of the holy name.

So, our focus should be on making sure that we connect with Krishna. So now, what is the way to connect with Krishna? That is not a stereotype thing. That some devotees in every Ekadashi, they will chant 64 rounds.

Some devotees, they will chant 192 rounds. And they make it a rule. Now, it's good to chant extra rounds if one can.

But you know, one has to see, am I remembering Krishna? If I am not really remembering Krishna, if my chanting is just becoming a number counting exercise, then it's better that I engage myself in other ways. Because, of course, we want to chant 16 rounds, because that's our initiation vow. But beyond that, extra chanting may not always be beneficial.

Because the point is not just counting the number of the holy name. The point is connecting with Krishna. And sometimes studying the philosophy, sometimes doing the practical services, or discussing with devotees, or taking darshan of the deities, singing Vaishnav songs, there are many other ways in which we will be able to connect more effectively with Krishna.

That's why we see that there are, although the Yugadharma is chanting, there are nine forms of devotional service. And Dr. Goswami used 64 items of devotional service. So, even among the 64 items, the holy name is important, but she used five potent forms of devotional service.

So, there is no rule. In general, if we are staying in the ashram, we have a time for chanting. And generally, if we are in the ashram of devotees and we are chanting, it's good to chant at that time itself.

But the important point is that we connect with Krishna. So, for connecting with Krishna, if we feel that maybe some devotees, after three or four rounds, they take a little break, and then they recite some Shikshashtakam, it's to get the mind back on focus. And then to remember the glory of the holy name.

Then you chant. So, it's a war. Whatever works for us, we have to use it.

We have to adopt that strategy. We can't go into the war with a stereotype strategy. This is how I am fighting.

We have to see what is the way the mind is distracting us, and what is the way to counter the distraction connecting with Krishna and act accordingly.