"Sit PROPERLY!" - Q: on Prabhupada's japa tape instruction

I am sure alot of us have heard it countless times...

Does anyone know the story behind it? Whom He was addressing?

And, what exactly is sitting properly, and how far can it be adjusted for comfort?

For those unfamiliar:
On a japa tape of Srila Prabhupada chanting with His congragation, He stops in the middle of it and boldly commands, "Sit Properly"...and then continues on.

My guess would be to sit with one's spine staight in the half-lotus position (a commonly assumed yogic posture for meditation) so as to keep one alert as this promotes good circulation and thus wakefulness. I imagine the culprit was slouching back against the wall or leaning forward with elbows resting on the knees of which both postures promote "nodding out."

Sri Chaitanya says;

" Many people have many different desires and You are so kind that You have revealed many different names. One can chant the holy name while eating or while lying down, there is no restriction to time and place. It always grants perfection. You have invested all Your powers in Your holy name, but I am so unfortunate that I have no attachment to them."

My favorite is the hot tub.

Keshava made a very interesting post about that tape. While it doesn't answer your question exactly, it provides some background I was unaware of...

Thanks... I was actually going to read that thread and see if maybe I should post there... I should have followed my gut...

I was wondering if any Prabhupada disciples or likewise have heard who was getting addressed. I think whoever he was was very fortunate to be chastised by Prabhupada like that. Must have felt like a hot knife cutting that anartha right out.

That is interesting what Keshava said, too. I always thought perhaps prabhupada would sit and chant with everyone all the time. I always wondered, though, there seems to be only one Japa tape, then there is the recording of Him slowly chanting one round....that is very nice to chant with, playing it on a loop.

Ask Sit Properly

"Sit properly!"
Photo of the Temple President taken the day after

Chanting 'Hari-Nam' requires no hard and fast rules as outlinded by Sri Chaitanya himself.
'Vipassana', on the other hand, does require one to 'Sit Properly' as seen in the above photo.

namaskar,

Pratap Bangli

I saw something on the Web a year or two ago. A devotee, in Italy, I think, died, and those eulogizing him said that it was he being told to sit properly. As I remember, he was something of a character. Maybe I can do a search at VNN some time.

Bhaktivedanta Swami was very soft. Once when I was dozing during zen meditation, the teacher shouted at me and hit me on the back.

From the above mentioned website.

Don't get the wrong idea..he was simply pushing you into a 'Satori'

It's nice to finally know more, and I'm glad he was found with his beads in hand!

Yeah, what is that story about the thumb? Oh yes... (correct me if I make any mistake here...)

In this rinzai zen monastery the disciples would be asked questions on which to meditate (usually of such frustrating nature as "what is the sound of one hand clapping?") and at a certain time of day they were to go report to the master and tell the answer upon which they had decided.

One particular disciple kept answering his question incorrectly. Every time he would give an answer, his master would simply hold up his right hand with the thumb sticking up. Finally after many days of the same occurrence, the disciple was overcome with frustration.

This time, when the master asked the same question he had asked many times before, the disciple simply held up his right thumb as his teacher had done, hoping this was the correct answer. The master then took a knife and cut off the disciple's thumb. At that very moment the disciple attained satori!

that may not be the correct story, but that's how I remember it anyway... any zen enthusiasts feel free to correct me here...

(BTW that sounds fun and all, but I like Krishna much better )

on chanting...

There is a new guy that is considering moving into the temple. He has been chanting with us in the morning. Being a week into it, he will assimilate what we do. Sometimes standing, sometimes sitting, sometimes pacing.

Me, I am a pacer, sitting only to cool off for a second. I am not at the temple everyday, but when I am there, he always seems to follow what I do, pace or sit, he'll do it too.

So this morning, there was someone sitting sort'of in my usual path, so as not to distrub him, I changed my course to a somewhat diagonal pace, compared to the others paces...then I noticed, and it broke my concentration and made me smile, but it was nectar, this guy was pacing diagonal too... just enough to be noticeable. Another devotee noticed too and we just kinda smiled at his innocence.

I remember when I first chanted at the temple. all I could do was examine everyone. It was so different than what I imagined chanting together would be like. I pictured everyone quietly sitting Indian style... I started pacing...when I heard it was a good way to keep from nodding out

This is the story you referred to:

There was a Zen master who answered any question about meditation by holding up his index finger. His young servant saw this many times. One day the master was away from home, only the young servant was there. A sadhaka knocked on the door and said that he wanted to see the master. The young boy told him, "Oh, I know everything that the master knows, just feel free to ask anything you want, I can give you the correct answer, no problem." The man was very happy and agreed. The boy put on the master's robe, sat on his seat, and asked the man: "So, my friend, what is your question?" "Please tell me what is the absolute truth?" The boy slowly held up his index finger, as he saw from the master. The man was very happy, thanked him for the teaching, and left. On his way back home he met the master, and told him what happened. As soon as the master arrived home, he asked his servant, "So, what teaching did you give to that man?" The boy held up his index finger, and the master suddenly took a knife and cut it off. The boy ran away, screaming in pain. The master shouted at him, and he looked back. The master raised his index finger, and the young servant attained sudden enlightenment.

Oh yes, I forgot that element... thanks!