How can one prevent other thoughts from occurring while chanting?

Just as sugar has sweetness as its quality, so also the nature of the mind is to think continuously or to harbour a certain emotion arising from some thought. In the beginning when chanting, everyone gets various thoughts due to the impressions from previous births. They are mainly due to doubts about chanting as well as due to the impressions on the subconscious mind. They can be reduced with the help of the differnt methods. One should bear in mind that to achieve concentration is the target and not the tool. Click here to read more.

• 1. Appropriate time for chanting
• 2. Where should one chant?
• 3. The constitution of the body
• 4. The pronunciation
• 5. Faith is necessary
• 6. Chanting with spiritual emotion (bhāv)
• 7. The efforts to be made to prevent other thoughts from invading the mind
  • 7.1 Practice
  • 7.2 Chanting with inspiration
  • 7.3 Autosuggestions
  • 7.4 Remembering the Deity or the Guru
  • 7.5 Factors required for continuous chanting
• 8. The method of stopping chanting of other Names
• 9. Respiration and chanting
  • 9.1 Combining chanting with the breath
  • 9.2 The benefits of combining chanting with the breath
  • 9.3 Indicators of progress
• 10. The duration
• 11. Chanting accompanied by righteous behaviour
• 12. Chanting over a prolonged period, constantly and devotedly
• 13. Increasing chanting stepwise
• 14. Some restrictions
• 15. The Name imparted by the Guru is more important than the Guru’s speech
• 16. The possible losses from chanting and the remedies
• 17. Signs of progress
  • 17.1 The sacrificial fire of chanting The God’s Name (Nāmayadnya) rather than the routine sacrificial fire (yadnya)
  • 17.2 How to recognise progress?
  • 17.3 A vision of God
  • 17.4 Turyāvasthā
  • 17.5 Chanting after Liberation (Mukti)
  • 17.6 According to the mode of speech (vānī)