You sit down with your beads — and often don't know why you're repeating the same sound again and again, as if wandering aimlessly. Gurudev calls this a project: japa has a path, not just marking time. First — smarana, simple remembrance of the Name and Krishna, in whatever measure you can. Then — dharana: you pull your attention away from everything else and hold it steadily on Krishna's form and qualities. And further — dhyana: Krishna's form begins to appear in your settled mind, reflected there as in the mirror of still water. You are not inventing this path — you are simply walking it, step by step, with these same beads in hand.