```json
{
    "title": "Karittka Journal – Japa Thoughts",
    "url": "https://wavesofdevotion.com/2008/10/14/karittka-journal-japa-thoughts/",
    "datePublished": "2008-10-14",
    "dateModified": "2008-10-14",
    "language": "en-US",
    "description": "October 13, 2008 Sri Govardhana My book, Japa Meditations: Contemplations on the Holy Name, is coming out by the end of the month. It describes over seven years of Karttika…",
    "author": "Dhanurdhara Swami",
    "publisher": "Waves of Devotion"
}
```

# Karittka Journal – Japa Thoughts

**October 13, 2008**

Sri Govardhana

My book, *Japa Meditations: Contemplations on the Holy Name*, is coming out by the end of the month. It describes over seven years of Karttika “*Japa* Thoughts”. This year I wasn't planning to focus on another journal for Karttika. “How many ‘*Japa* Thoughts’ could I come up with?” I thought. Today I got an encouraging request to be updated on my stay in Govardhana. I thus reconsidered my decision. I concluded that if the journal serves as an impetus to others in spiritual life, then I should continue it as a service to the devotees.

 

**October 14, 2008**

Sri Govardhana

***Japa* Thought I**

Today I visited a friend, a serous *sadhaka*, who is here in Govardhana for Karttika. He shared his sincere objective for this month “to chant with affection.” He asked my opinion. I offered my humble realization:

> “Affection comes from the experience of mercy. Mercy requires humility. If we want to chant with affection we have to beg the *acaryas* for help and experience their mercy.”

He then shared with me Maha-nidhi Swami's advice to him:

> “The Gosvamis wrote *astakams* (prayers in eight verses) exactly for this reason. They didn't just write them for others. The *astakams* always end with a benediction that one will get devotion if they were chanted sincerely. Their actual method was to chant these *astakams* and pay full obeisances with each stanza, imbibing the meaning of the prayer and begging for mercy. That's substantiated in the sixth verse of the *Sri Sad-gosvami-astakam* where it is described that the Gosvamis ‘were engaged in chanting the holy names of the Lord and bowing down in a scheduled measurement.’ So this was their method for developing affection for *nama bhajan*.”