Can Japa be Done in Public?

Question: I have seen people chanting on their chanting beads (=rosaries) in public places, and on the trains and buses. Is this practice all right?

Swami Satyananda Saraswati answers: "First of all, the practice of Japa should NOT be done in front of ANYBODY, especially a non-practitioner. It is a different matter if five or ten people are sitting together in a room and all of them ARE practitioners; then, it can be done.... it is natural law that when psychic acts are performed before others, they LOSE their POWER; therefore, the rule has always been that japa (=chanting) should be done in absolute secrecy and NOT as a show. That is one COMMON error in japa." (pg. 159, Early Teachings of Swami Satyananda Saraswati)

Note: Swamiji was a direct disciple of Swami Sri Sivananda Maharaj of Rishikesh.