Namaste
First of all I suppose , you do not treat both nam sankirtan and japa in the same level. If nam sankirtan and japa was considered or treated same then Krishna Das Kaviraj would have written japa in every occassion he mentioned ‘sankirtan’ in chaitanya charitamrita. I think we are not at opposit side in this regard.
2. I am not interested to bring any compare between chatanya charitamrita and Hari bhakti vilas. I think chaitanya charitamrita is most widely read , respected and accepted by the vaishnab who follows chaitanya mahaprabhu. There are many things to talk about but I just want to take you to chapter 4 of Anta Lila of chaitanya charitamrita where mahaprabhu tells sanatan goswami :
Bhajaner madhye sreshtha navabidha bhakti
Krishna prem krishna dite dhare mahashakti
Tar madhye sarva sreshtha nam sankirtan
Niraparadh nam haite haya premdhan
3. please go through chaitanya charitamrita and find the merits of nam sankirtan but I am sure you will find no merit at all of japa so far chaitanya charitamrita is concerned.
4. Lastly ,Adi Lila 4th chapter :
"sri krishna chaitanya gosain raser sadan
Ashesh visheshe kaila rasa aswadan
Sei dware prabartila kaliyug dharma
Chaitanyar dashe jane ei sav marma
Ei sav siddhanta gurha kahite na juyaya
Na kahile keha iahar anta nahi paya
Ata-ava kahi kichu karia nigurha
Bujhibe rasik bhakta na bujhive murha"
That the kaliyug dharma is namsankirtan has been mentioned thousand times in chaitanya charitamrita. No where in chaitanya charitamrita it is said that japa is the kaliyug dharma. So many things people do which have no significance at all still they are doing.It is their prerogative.
I do not know whether prescribed number of japa can fill our eyes in tears or can choak our voice with emotion or can erect the hairs of our body but , yes , nam sankirtan can do all these things ( chapter 20 anta lila of CC). This rasa can not found in prescribed number of japa.
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