How to Chant

1. Begin simply

Choose a time and place where you can chant with reasonable quiet. Recite the complete Maha-Mantra and make a conscious effort to hear each name. If the mind wanders, gently return your attention to the sound. Japa is personal, soft chanting; kirtana is chanting aloud, often with others.

2. Using a japa mala

1. A standard japa mala described in the cited ISKCON resource has 108 chanting beads and one larger Krishna/guru bead.
2. Hold the beads in the right hand and gently move one bead for each complete recitation of the Maha-Mantra, following the guidance taught by your ISKCON teacher.
3. After chanting on all 108 beads, one round is complete. Do not chant on the larger Krishna bead; turn the mala around and continue in the opposite direction.
4. A bead bag can help keep the beads clean and protected. Handle them respectfully.

3. Counting with fingers

If you do not have beads at hand, fingers can serve as a temporary counting aid: after each complete mantra, move to the next finger segment or use a simple, consistent finger-counting pattern that you can remember. Keep your attention on hearing the mantra, and record the total afterward if needed. This is presented here as a practical counting aid, not as a specific formal ISKCON prescription. When following a particular temple or teacher’s practice, use their instructions.

4. Using a Sakshi Mala

The name “Sakshi Mala” can refer to a locally used counting aid, but the exact method may vary. If by Sakshi Mala you mean a separate strand or marker used to count completed rounds, move one marker only after finishing a full 108-bead round on the main japa mala. Keep it separate from the beads used for each mantra. Please confirm the name and method with your local ISKCON temple or spiritual teacher; the cited ISKCON/Prabhupada sources below describe the standard japa-mala method, not a universally prescribed Sakshi Mala procedure.

5. Build a steady, attentive practice

• Choose a realistic daily target and follow it steadily.
• Chant the complete mantra on each bead; do not rush merely to finish a count.
• When distracted, return patiently to hearing the holy names.
• For formal vows or temple-specific procedures, ask an authorised ISKCON teacher.

Courtesy and source links

This introductory page is paraphrased from the official ISKCON meditation resource and Śrīla Prabhupāda’s published teachings hosted on Vedabase. The finger-counting and Sakshi Mala notes are explicitly presented as practical/local aids, not as quotations or formal instructions attributed to those sources.

• Courtesy: ISKCON — Hare Krishna Maha-Mantra / The Practice of Meditation
• Courtesy: Śrīla Prabhupāda — “How to Chant” (Vedabase)
• Courtesy: Śrīla Prabhupāda — Initiation Lecture, San Francisco, 10 March 1968 (Vedabase)