Is chanting with beads or in holy places more beneficial than chanting without beads or elsewhere?

From: Puri Ashishkumar

Please explain the importance of chanting in a bead bag & is there really any difference in credits that one gets in chanting at different places e.g.in Mumbai,Vrindavan,Mayapur,Tirupati.etc.Also surprisingly as yet we have no Iskcon temple in Ayodhya whereas there is one in Nashik?

Transcript

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Puri Prabhu Please explain the importance of chanting and bead bag and is there any difference in credits that one gets in chanting at different places like Mumbai, Vrindavan, Mayapur, Tirupati and surprisingly I see we have no Iskcon temple in Ayodhya whereas there is one in Nashik Answer The whole principle of Krishna consciousness is remembrance of Krishna and chanting is one of the most potent ways of remembering Krishna and chanting with the bead bag helps us to increase the intensity the concentration in our remembrance of Krishna because generally our consciousness is externally directed and when we have some external aids for focusing on the mind and Krishna that helps so if we have the bead bag in our hand and we are fingering the beads that also helps in the concentration but just fingering the beads is not enough it is the conscious endeavor to try to remember Krishna that is important and that which is aided by the beads As far as chanting in different places is concerned we should not have a mathematical attitude while chanting we should have a devotional attitude so it’s not that we think oh now this place chanting is more effective so let me chant over here and other places oh it’s not so effective today the holy name is not so powerful because I am in this particular place ultimately it is a matter of the heart and if we are sincerely calling out to Krishna whether we are calling it in the metropolis of Mumbai or whether we are calling in a holy place like Vrindavan or Mayapur Krishna will reciprocate so we should not let mathematical considerations override the universal overbearing devotional principle that is the devotional call of the heart that attracts Krishna’s reciprocation having said that yes the scriptures do say that there are certain holy places where Krishna manifests his mercy in far greater proportions and that is because Krishna has performed his pastimes there so many Vaishnavas have lived there so many great Acharyas have lived and preached over there and walked on the dust of those places so all the spiritual vibrations because of the presence of the Lord and the presence of the great devotees and Acharyas are there which create a very vibrant spiritual potency so that’s why when we are in holy places if we happen to get the opportunity to go there we should try to use every single moment that we have for chanting the holy names and for attracting ourselves to Krishna in those holy places at the same time while doing this we should have more of a attitude of serving Krishna more and not the attitude of trying to extract more benefits from Krishna our attitude will be not that oh here chanting the holy name gives me 100 times more benefit therefore let me chant more no I mean even if it is like that even if the scriptures do say like that and even if it is like that that attitude of having a business man’s calculative motive is not the best platform for devotion of course anyway if we chant the holy names more that is always beneficial at the same time if you want to optimize maximize the benefits then we can have a more conducive consciousness that actually Krishna is so merciful to me that in spite of all my anarthas and all my shortcomings Krishna has allowed me to come to a holy place like this and now that he has allowed me to come here let me try to express my gratitude to Krishna by serving him to the best of my capacity with all my time that I can possibly have with all the attention that I can offer with all the devotion that I can muster let me try to serve Krishna as diligently as possible and naturally if we serve Krishna more than what we are doing Krishna will also be pleased with us and give more of his mercy and certainly more of his mercy is available in the holy places so our mood should be not to have a mathematical or business like profiteering attitude our mood is to have a devotional serving attitude and with that attitude we think that Krishna has allowed me to come to a sacred place let me use this by rendering maximum possible service to him be it by chanting or in whatever other form of devotional service that I can do and regarding the temples in various places scone grows organically wherever devotees become inspired to practice Krishna consciousness that is where a temple comes up so yes there were devotees who went to different holy places like Tirupati and they pioneered the temple and in future by Krishna’s mercy and by the devotees initiative surely a temple will come up in Ayodhya also so there were devotees who went to Nasik and they did the preaching over there and that’s how the temple was built over there so ultimately it’s a matter of individual initiative Sri Prabhupada also said that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s prophecy is going to be fulfilled but how it will be fulfilled that will depend on how the devotees take initiative so there are some devotees from Mumbai went to Nasik and started preaching the local people of Nasik responded wonderfully and now we have a vibrant center there so similarly that will happen in future Ayodhya also thank you