The doctrine of nama-rupa holds that the name of God and God are not different, because in the absolute there is no gap between a thing and the word for it. Chanting is therefore contact and not commemoration, which is why the count matters, why the beads are kept in a bag away from the ground, and why devotees will chant in a subway car in front of people who find it embarrassing. It also explains the movement's confidence in street chanting: on this theology, the passer-by who hears the name has received something whether or not they wanted it.