Correction to last Monday Morning Greetings
Dhanurdhara Swami June 12th, 2025
I received a lot of feedback from my last Monday Morning Greetings, “Is Chanting Sixteen Rounds a Principle or a Detail?”
Some corrections:
In my last Monday Morning Greetings I wrote:
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhanta himself took strict vows of chanting and encouraged his disciples in chanting the holy name. But there is no history of him demanding a pledge of a minimum of sixteen rounds to demonstrate a firm dedication to His mission by harināma initiation.
Further research indicates I was wrong:
“Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī considered chanting a lakh of names more important for gṛhasthas than for maṭha-vāsīs, because maṭha-vāsīs are always engaged in Kṛṣṇa-sevā whereas most householders’ focus is on earning for family maintenance. He said that in the evening after their daily work, gṛhasthas should attend the Maṭha, and that if it were necessary for completing one lakh of names, they should chant throughout the night. But the majority of householders could not live up to this ideal.
“Understanding the plight of many gṛhasthas, Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura advised some who had taken harināma but not dīkṣā, and who did not live at the Maṭha, to chant at least four mālās; and he instructed others just to chant, without specifying any particular number of mālās. He exhorted that tulasī beads should not ‘fast’; every day they should be chanted on. Usually householders were simply given beads and told to chant as much as possible. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda stated that in his household life he chanted sixteen mālās daily.
“Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī further explained that simply to complete a quota was not the objective, for a devotee must also strive to remain attentive while chanting and to become free from offenses to the holy name. Regarding a sannyasi disciple who repeatedly exhorted others to chant japa attentively, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī remarked, ‘He himself does not hear properly when chanting, but is preaching to others about the same fault.’”
(Excerpt From Śrī Bhaktisiddhānta Vaibhava Vol. 1 by Bhakti Vikāsa Swami)
I also wrote as the theoretical argument for change:
In contrast, Śrīla Prabhupāda didn’t even develop a congregation. He essentially brought all the members of ISKCON into the temple/ashram and that standard continued for some time after he left. Even married people lived near the temple and were engaged in full service to the mission under the authority of the local ISKCON leader.
One reader wrote:
“Prabhupada initiated many who had ‘9-5’ jobs. Gopal Krishna Goswami was working at Pepsi! Atreya Rsi Prabhu at Ernst and Young. Brishakapi Prabhu was supporting his family of wife and three kids in Chicago at the time of initiation. Ambarisa Prabhu was not living in a temple (maybe a palace!) Sauri Prabhu was a businessman in Toronto. Brahmatirtha Prabhu was working. Of course, the examples of Satsvarupa Goswami, Brahmananda Prabhu, and Jayananda Prabhu are well known. Visval Tattva, Subha Vikasa, Dhriti did, and numerous others are examples that were no exception to the vrata of sixteen rounds despite having responsibilities of jobs and family.”
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