— Chapter Twelve —

Chanting Inattentively is Offensive

All glories to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; all glories to all devotees of the Lord. I can perform congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord by their causeless grace alone.

Pramada or inattentive chanting

SRILA HARIDASA THAKURA further explained, "O Lord Caitanya, You instructed Srila Sanatana Gosvami here in Jagannatha Puri, and Srila Gopala Bhatta Gosvami in South India, that the holy name must be chanted attentively. Inattention in chanting is namaparadha. One may carefully avoid all other namaparadhas, yet still not experience the of the pure name. This is an indication of another type of namaparadha known as pramada, which restricts the natural growth of pure devotion.

As a yogi, you see the body that covers you—the pure atma or self—as being made of layers of material energy, from the subtle to the gross.
Chris Butler Speaks

Inattentiveness is negligence

"Inattentiveness and negligence are synonymous. Negligent chanting sows the seeds of ananhas, which soon fructify. Inattentiveness is of three kinds. The first is called audasinya, or apathetic devotional service, meaning a lack of fixed resolve in sadhana. The second type is jadya, 'laziness' or even 'inertia'. The third kind is viksepa, which means 'distraction' or misplacing one's attention in engagements not directly connected with sadhana-bhakti.

One must chant attentively to develop anuraga

"By a special stroke of good fortune, jiva develops enough sraddha to take shelter of the holy name. By regularly chanting a fixed number of holy names with special care and attention, he