How to chant all the 24 hours a day as said by Sri Caitanya?
That means, As said by Srila Prabhupada, you should have no other business except chanting to chant all the 24 hours of the day.
See, we should not take all the advice of the scriptures and acharyas as it is.
They should be customized according to your backgrounds.
If possible, one can chant any number of rounds beyond 16 rounds.
(MIND CONTROL TIPS WHILE WORSHIPING KRISHNA OR CHANTING! READ HERE!)
Srila Prabhupada said in Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.24.70 purport:
“That is the instruction given by Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in His Shikshashtaka 3. Kirtaniyah sada harih: [Cc. adi 17.31] “The holy name of the Lord should be chanted twenty-four hours daily.”
“Actually one has to chant twenty-four hours daily, just like Thakura Haridasa, who was chanting the Hare Krishna mantra three hundred thousand times daily. Indeed, he had no other business.”
We forget that Sri Haridas Thakura was a fully surrendered devotee who had no other business except chanting, as said in the above quote by S.P.
We should not confuse with the quotes said for full time devotees. For those who are the studying or working devotees, you can chant atleast the minimum recommended rounds of chanting, follow the regulative principles and studying or working keeping Krishna in mind.
This too is said by Srila Prabhupada in many places:
Shri Chaitanya-caritamrita Antya-lila 3.137 purport:
“Surrender is the ultimate instruction of the Bhagavad-gita, but for one who cannot surrender to the lotus feet of Krishna, it is better to chant the Hare Krishna mantra constantly, under the instruction of Haridasa Thakura. In our Krishna consciousness movement we are teaching our followers to chant the Hare Krishna mantra continuously on beads. Even those who are not accustomed to this practice are advised to chant at least sixteen rounds on their beads so that they may be trained.[…] Sada means “always.” Haridasa Thakura says, nirantara nama lao: “Chant the Hare Krishna mantra without stopping.” […] One’s real duty is to surrender to the lotus feet of Krishna, but if one is unable to do so, he should adopt this process, as introduced by Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His most confidential servant, Namacarya Shrila Haridasa Thakura. This is the way to achieve success in Krishna consciousness.”
(Should an initiated devotee of other sampradhaya chant Hare Krishna too? READ HERE!)
Thus, these advice to chant all the 24 hours can be followed by the full time devotees.
When we keep chanting throughout the day, we will start to sleep at night with the thought of Hari nam. So, we will be chanting even during the sleep, ie, the vibrations of chanting will still remain during the sleep..
So, if you are studying or working , chant minimum of 16 rounds a day.
The point is that you should not fully concentrate in materialistic acts after chanting 16 rounds. You should reduce the material attachments gradually and learn to work as a duty. If you keep on increasing the materialistic desires and attachments while chanting, you can never find any growth in your devotional level.
A senior mataji told me showing a 20 years old girl devotee: “Prabhu…do you know, she is chanting 64 rounds a day”
I wondered seeing that young girl devotee. How could she do 64 rounds while studying? I thought within myself.
(ACHARYAS ON CHANTING THE HOLY NAMES OF KRISHNA! READ HERE!)
I offered my pranams to her and said:
“You are younger in age than me but more dedicated than me. I get inspired from you. I too should increase my round. Keep it up”
After 4-5 months, I heard that the same girl devotee who said that she is chanting 64 rounds a day had loved a neighbour boy and ran away with him.
After that, she never came to the temple.
See, this is not the right way of chanting. Had she really or properly chanted 64 rounds, she would not have ran away with that materialistic boy. So, her senses finally succeeded as she was not sincere in chanting.
So, in the chanting process, how sincerely we chant is more important than the number of chanting rounds.
The purpose of chanting is to keep you in the thoughts of Krishna all the time. You can do it by following vidhi bhakti sincerely. By chanting sincerely for a few hours, you can keep Krishna in mind in the remaining time.
Be in the thoughts of Krishna all the time if you are a student or worker. Keep Krishna in mind and do your duties after finishing 16 rounds. This is the simple way to remember Krishna.
Hope you are now clear about whether it is compulsory to chant 24 hrs a day as said by Sri Caitanya.
(How to chant 1 lakh Hari Namas a day as said by Sri Caitanya? How Haridas Thakkur chanted 3 lakh Hari Nams a day? READ HERE!)