About Chanting the Holy Name (rus-eng)
Bhakti Vijnana Goswami · Mayapur · 2014
Chapters
I'm extremely pleased and honored to be with you this morning.
And as Devgoranga Prabhu said, I sacrificed a lot by sleeping out of the g c meetings. Well, I guess it's recorded. I will be reported to the s p executive committee. Anyway, GBC, there are much more, I mean, are other people who whose presence makes difference. My presence in the meetings doesn't make any difference. So I thought I would better come here. Maybe my presence here would make some difference.
Tracking daily japa and sadhana
So, first of all, I would like to thank Sacinandana Maharaja for starting this kirtan academy in Śrīdhāma Māyāpur. It's a very beautiful initiative and I hope he is going to continue this in Brahdadesh this year and next year.
И Devgoranga specifically Prabhu gave me the topic of today's talk about chanting. So I start from one little thing, I think is still very important. There is an American saying whatever matters to you, you count. Yeah, if something matters to you, you count it. Like we all know, money is important for us. And we all know what will happen if we don't count money. Somehow rather it disappears in the air. Through the hole of our
Вот I want to say, что если вы хотите something, and if something really matters to us, we have to be, you know, very conscious of what we are doing. And one manifestation of being conscious of this is to count what we do. Something like this.
Three essential elements of sadhana
Very difficult to understand what is being translated. Anyway, what I want to say here is that there is another saying, which I also wanted to share with you. Are what you do every day. And that's all about sadhana. We want to achieve certain goal.
The very word sadhana means the systematic practice to achieve sadhya, certain goal. And Patanjali Muni says that there are three elements of this sadhana. First of all, it has to be done for a prolonged period of time. Dirga Kal. Second of all, it has to be done without interruption uninterrupted. And
And the third aspect is sat-sāra. You have to do it consciously, with a lot of consciousness put into the practice and with some respect towards what you're doing. Without these three elements, if we do something and it doesn't have these three elements in it, it cannot be considered as a sadhana.
In other words, such a practice if it's interrupted, interrupted, if it's for a short period of time, and if it's done without conscious endeavors of doing it, without a lot of respect towards what we're doing, And it basically for any sudden if we do something we have to do it every day, we have to do it for a long time, we have to do it conscientiously. Then, to the statement, you what we do, what you do every day it becomes a part of your nature!
So, we, basically, we want to change our nature. So, it means that we have to do it every day for a long time, without interruption and with a lot of endeavors.
In my youth I read a book, which actually struck me very much. This was a book, Life. And what
was strange about the life of this particular scientist was that he was very meticulously counting every minute of his life. So, and by this, by doing this, by very conscientiously spending his time, he really, you know, he really showed to Krishna that time matters to him.
Chanting Hare Krishna with fixed counting
We all know that this is, you know, that even one moment if we waste it, it's just, you know, we changed his whole life and achieved a lot and so on and so forth. Вот I want to say is that when it comes to chanting, we have to be very conscientious and we have to count. It's interesting, the book which I have in front of me is Bhajanarahasi by Bhaktivinat Thakur. And it basically starts with the verse from saci sunvastaka.
И, here, he says, that Lord Chaitanya, he made all Bengali devotees his own. He made all the Bengali his own family. And then he told to his close relatives: Bengali devotees, what to do!
He said that hare kṛṣṇeti evaṁ gaṇanā-vidhinā kīrtayīta sadā. You have to chant this hare krishna mantra by counting it. Ganana vidhina, by ganana vidhina, by carefully counting how much you chant.
And then, when Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was giving his general instruction to these Bengal devotees.
Basically, Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī refers to this episode from Caitanya-bhāgavata, where Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave his first instruction how to chant Hare Krishna mantra to the devotees from here, from Navadvīpa.
So, he said: You do this japa, do this chanting of Hare Krishna mantra.
Meaning of nirbandha and resolute determination
Kore nirbandha visnirbandha. And I'm sure you've been studying this verse, and you know, what does nirbandha mean? Nirbandha also means, among other meanings, there is a lot of meaning in this word nirbandha.
One of the meanings of nirbanda is that you count, you carefully count, count, count. Nirbandha also means determination, unswerving determination.
Nirbandha means connection, nirbandha also means a lot of determination within your mind.
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, he quotes next to this verse, he quotes the verse from Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, a verse which is originally from Nārada Purāṇa, where it is said: yasyāṁ nirbandhinī matiḥ.
This is the nirbandhinī, this is the definition of, not definition, but you know, if you have this nirbandhinī-matiḥ, resolute intelligence, then acirāt eva sarvārthāḥ siddhyanti teṣām abhīpsitāḥ.
Whatever you do with this nirbandhinī-matiḥ, with this resolute intelligence, very quickly you will achieve any result.
Whatever siddhyanti teṣām abhīpsitāḥ, whatever you desire, whatever perfection you desire, if you do it with this intelligence, you will very quickly achieve, acirāt.
Sarva-artha, Sarva-artha. Whatever artho you want to achieve. Sarva-artha. Yeah. Whatever you desire, you will achieve if you have this nirbandhinī-matiḥ. The very idea! Please listen carefully.
It's very interesting because nirbandha means, both, resolute intelligence and also means count.
Keeping a daily japa diary
So, what does it mean in connection to our daily practice of what we do with Japa and everything? What I personally do. I have my little diary And then I also write there how many rounds altogether I chanted during the day.
And it really helps you to get little more resolute in your mind. I finish it pretty early, but when I have to write there, usually I finish it by six, 6:30 latest. In the morning, 16 rounds.
But there are special days, you know, when you have to write this at 7 o'clock pm. And you feel really ashamed by writing this. And I'm not yet something like this.
So, what I want to say, if you count these things, it will help you to be more resolute in your intelligence, in your approach, and be more conscientious at what you're doing.
Whenever I have to put some really either very late figure or very small figure at the end, you know, how many rounds I chant it all together, you know, I feel little ashamed and some resolution comes in my mind.
Tomorrow I will do it better! And, actually, it's a very good way to, kind of, reward yourself. If you put there, you know, you've finished your 16 rounds by 5.30 in the morning, feel like I'm doing okay!
Anyway, this is one notion which actually Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu expressed from the very beginning: If you want to be resolute, please count, count, count. Don't be lazy in counting this.
Это amazing, because we know that Госвами Совриндаван, they didn't only count their rounds, they only basins during the day. We know that Рагунатх дас Госвами, he would pay basins 2,000 times a day.
I wonder how he counted it. It must be a very long counter! I try to count my rounds. Sorry, not my rounds, my basins. It's very difficult to count them. You kind of get confused. But what it really means, it's sadhana.
Sadhana means you do it and you count it. If you want to achieve something, you really have to have criteria and it should be measurable criteria!
So, my next thing is that I do want, what I do want, I do want to, you know, every month to see what is the average amount of rounds, this and that.
And it's just, you know, for my own understanding this is the bookkeeping. And perhaps when, you know, when I come to Yamarac I will show him this is the bookkeeping, you know.
And there is nothing wrong with it, because sometimes we feel this is something not spiritual. Spiritual means: Ah! If you count it's not spiritual. No! It's not really like this.
The proof is that Чайтанья Махапрабху, he was on the highest level of ecstatic love. Still, he was counting his rounds every day.
So, that's one thing which I wanted to share with you and every one of you can, you know, and basically I not only count my rounds, I also count some other things and, you know, somehow make a little note of what I'm doing.
Now we reverse the rolls! Yeah, if you don't do it again, again wanted to stress this thing because it cannot be overstressed. That for a long time without interruption, with a lot of consciousness which you enter into it.
Working with the mind during sadhana
And you will feel the substantial changes, which are taking place in your heart. Then the next point, which I wanted to make in this little presentation, is how to work with your mind.
Сачинандана Махарадж likes to quote the statement by Man means mind. We know that the English word mind comes from this manushyad.
And manas manushyad manushyad means man, manas means mind, and this is coming from the same root. And basically, sadhana means to work with the mind. Sadhana
Because we are the combination of the gross body, subtle mind and spirit soul. And gross body you cannot change. Well, you can change, but not so soon.
What I mean to say is that gross body is gross body, there is not much you can do about gross body! Unless you commit suicide! But that's radical way of delinquency, the gross body! To change one's gross body!
Can it be a daily sudden of committing suicide? So, body you cannot change, the soul you cannot change either, luckily for us, soul is unchangeable. But there is something which we can change. This is what?
Observing the mind versus identifying with it
Mind!
So, body is a result of our prarabda karma, and therefore you cannot change. Prarabda karma means prarabda karma. It's already fixed in your body, the body is fixed in your DNA, in some other means. Soul is unchangeable, but the mind is the object of all our endeavors!
We all know how difficult it is to work with the mind. And there is one very important reason why it is difficult to work with the mind.
The only reason, why it is difficult to work with the mind and really change the mind is that we identify with the mind. Until and unless you identify with the mind you cannot do anything with it.
You can control the mind if you're identifying with the mind. You can't do anything, you know. Main thing, you know, to with the mind means to be separate from the mind and to observe the mind.
And, of course, we all know that chanting of HKM mantra is the great means and the great way of observing the mind. As soon as you stop observing the mind, you're becoming the mind, and the mind carries your way!
But when you're observing the mind, it means already that you're somewhat controlling the mind! And, basically, when we chant the Hare Krishna mantra. And not only when we chant the Hare Krishna mantra.
We have to be observant what's going on in our mind. It's painful, it's little difficult, it's somewhat, I mean, it's not a very pleasant exercise to always keep watch of our mind because the mind is really dirty fellow.
I'm not softly expressing it. But what I want to say to you that if you become the observant of your mind, and again it's something to the first notion of counting, if you really become observant and conscientious what's going on in your mind, you will notice what is detrimental to your sadhana and what is helpful, what is favorable to your sadhana.
Anukulyasya Sankalpa Pratikulyasya Varjana. Sādhanā. Anukulyasya Sankalpa Pratikulyasya Varjana.
That we have to accept whatever is favorable to our spiritual practices and we have to reject whatever is unfavorable to our spiritual practice.
So, what I want to say, if we are observant and conscientious, we will be able to notice what badly affects our mind during the japa period and what is beneficial to our mind during our japa practice.
And we can analyze what did I do wrong, what did I do right. And increase something which is right and decrease something which is wrong. I'll give you a very nice example, which will help you to understand what I mean.
That's my own experience, and because Dalgoroan asked me to share my own experience, I'm saying on my own experience.
Influence of diet on mental clarity
Вот, I personally noticed, that the mind, you know, there are certain things which you can do and your mind becomes really amazingly deep and slow and inclined to meditation.
We all know, Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks about the influence of the food upon your mind. And that is the Upaniṣadic statements. In Chāndogya Upaniṣad it is said: ĀHĀRA-ŚUDDHIḤ SATTVA-ŚUDDHIḤ. ŚUDDHIḤ. SATTVA means mind.
And means whatever you take inside, it does not only refer to the gross food which we take, but it also refers to the food for the ears, to the food for the nose, to the food for our eyes.
So, this Upaniṣadic statement is very interesting here. It said that if your heart, if your food is pure, then your mind becomes pure, sattva sudha.
And then it is said that if your sattva, if your mind is clear, then your smṛti, your remembrance is established, you have very good memory.
And basically, it means that you will be able to remember your goal, you will not forget, the goal will not slip out of your mind.
And then, this Upaniṣadic statement says: If your smṛti is dhruvā, if your smṛti is very solid and not shaking, then sarva-granthi-vipramokṣaḥ.
All the granthi, all the all the knots, all the desires which are there, all the knots of your karma which are there, which binds you to this world vipramoksha, you will be delivered.
All the difficult things which are in the mind, will be untied, so to speak. And we all know, of course, food should be prasadam, right? There is different prasadam.
You know, you may take very nice prasāda at 11:00 at night! And it's mahā-mahā-prasāda! Still, it will affect your mind the next day.
I personally found, and that's very interesting, I really was very surprised when I found this.
Effects of fasting on lunar days
An absurd in my mind. Upanishad also say that for food to influence the mind, it takes some time. The effect may not be immediate.
Like, for example, do you know why it is recommended for us to fast on ekādaśī? It's actually recommended for us to fast on ekādaśī, so that we are safe in Purnima Day. Да, Purnima, О, Amavasia!
So, the Amavasia and Purnima are the most troublesome for the mind! Also, chaturdissi and trayodissi, they're very-very... It's a very turbulent tithes, The mind is in bad condition on this particular lunar days.
But we fast on ekādaśī, why? Well, they're safe. If you want to be on a safe side, you should also fast on purnima and amavasya too.
But if you fast on ekādaśī, then your mind will be stable during this turbulent time caturdashi, and especially purnima. Again, the effect is somewhat prolonged, the effect is somewhat postponed.
Это different from person to person. Some people are more prone to this lunar influences, some people are less prone to this lunar influences.
But, you know, there are some people like, for example, if well it's astrological information I don't know if it's relevant but if you're born while the moon is rising while the moon is how you say it I don't really know what is waning moon, what is waxing moon.
Waxing? Waxing is rising. Rising, yeah. So, if you are born when the moon is waxing, you are more prone to these influences.
If you are born in shukla paksa, in bright half of the month, then you're much more prone to these lunar influences. If you're born in diminishing moon, then you're less prone. And so on so forth.
So, what I, you know, I found that if you really observe ekādaśī very nicely, if you fast on ekādaśī or at least try to reduce it to the minimum and try to, you know, I'm not trying to institute something, you know, necessary here.
But if you really try to reduce to the minimum your food conscientiously, you know, not on the next day, but on you already will feel a very and if you observe your mind, how you chant, what is how your mind behaves during chanting, you will feel that the mind has become very-very controlled.
The effect of your fast, it will take some time before the effect of your fast will reach your mind, but it will be there. You will see that the mind is much much more peaceful and less disturbed.
Because actually food is a very disturbing element. Know, the food, Another name for food in Sanskrit is Anna. Например, And, Anna means what you eat, and Anna also means in What eats you.
So when you eat, please remember that there is another process which is going on at the same time. Whatever you eat will eat you at the same time!
In other words, eating is not that I mean, it's nice if you eat pizza, but, you know, at the same time pizza eats you! Для того, when you eat pizza, eat pizza.
And if it's a big pizza, it's capable of eating a big chunk of your life. And if you fast, it means that, you know, there is some break in somebody eating you, so you're a little more safe.
What I found, if you really observe ekādaśī properly, it may be a little difficult, but if you observe ekādaśī properly, in a couple of days you will have your mind which is so peaceful and so, you know, so concentrated and so, you know, you practically can cut this mind and, you know, like a cake, you know, if it's literally you can give this piece of your to somebody and say this is for you!
Therefore, Lord Caitanya said that, you know, this is the most beneficial practice observing tithi, madhava tithi, bhakti-janani. Because it's very powerful
Mindful eating to tame the mind
Yes, so And I wanted to share you something, which is not on my own experience, but which I heard and which I am yet to try.
It's a very difficult practice, but it revealed to me by one devotee who chants every day at least 16 rounds.
That if you want He's He very strict, he says: If you want to make any progress in devotion practice, you have to chant at least sixty-four rounds a day!
And then he said, and if you really want to do the progress, then you have to chant 64 rounds, and then after that another four rounds, in case you miss something. You know, at least 68 rounds!
But he himself chants at least 2 lakhs, if not more. Normally he chants 3 lakhs, like Haridāsa Ṭhākura. You will be surprised from the advice which he gave to me.
He said: The main thing to do is one thing and you will be surprised. We're To be able to do this, you have to eat very slowly. One may wonder, you know, you have the chance to relax a day and then eat very slowly.
Will there any other time to do anything? But what he says, please listen carefully. He says that the mind will completely change its nature.
If you chew each bite of what you eat, while at the same time chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra 8 times. So don't be in a hurry, just to tell you now!
What he says, again, this is not my experience, but he says: If you do this practice for one month - then your mind will completely change your nature and from being a wild beast it will turn into a nice nice pet!
Obedient to you and will totally change its nature. In this way, will, more or less, tame your mind. Because, again, the food affects the mind.
And when we eat, the way we eat, we usually, when we eat, we eat in a very, how shall we say it, in a very polite way. We eat in a very passionate way.
Really, you know, even though we say, you know, that I honor, I'm not eating, I'm honoring, but in reality we're not honoring, we're devouring.
In reality, when we eat prasāda, this is Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda's instruction, he said that when we eat prasāda, it's not that we should enjoy prasāda. We should be enjoyed by prasāda.
I still have to figure out how to do it! Почему? He is the enjoyer! We are enjoyed! We are the object of his enjoyment! So, when we eat prasadam, this is the relationship which we enter with prasad.
So, when this advice is given, that we eat in a very slow and respectful manner, in being very conscious of God, you know, if we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, then basically there is less chance to enjoy at that time.
So his advice is just to chant, of course not, you know, loudly chanting. It's not that we are chewing and chanting, harikush harvekushtaksh.
Within your mind you chant the mantra and at the same time chew very carefully prasādam. Then your mind will be affected in a considerable way, in a very strong way. Anyway, that's what he says.
He says that the mind will completely change its nature if you do this practice for one month. It may slow down your eating process. you may Maybe you eat less? Yeah, definitely.
Harmful effects of critical speech
There will be a side effect. You will definitely eat less and become a little more slim. But again, my point which I'm trying to make is that please, be very absorbent of your mind. And try to see what affects the mind positively and what affects the mind negatively. The most detrimental thing for the chanting.
The most, by far, the most detrimental thing for our real chanting. is to speak badly about people, is to speak badly about the audience. You can try and he's confirmed, yes.
So, this is Krishna himself. He wanted to stress this point for every one of you. So,
if you try to do this, if you just, you know, if you give a vow of not speaking bad about anyone else or only just praising other people. Then observe how it will affect your mind.
For some time it may not have again immediate effect, although I must say that if you say something bad about people, it will have immediate effect on your mind.
It will definitely contaminate your mind and it will deprive your mind the ability to concentrate on the Holy Name.
We all know that if we're very much agitated, and if we feel offended by somebody, and we think ill about a person, We can't chant, we only think about this person.
And the mind is totally, completely wild and not peaceful.
Again, you know, again and again and again we have to observe the mind and that in itself means that I'm not the mind, working with the mind and helping the mind to do the service to the Holy Name.
No-no, it's a good speculation. Okay, what else can I say?
Method of chanting in Bhajana-rahasya
And then there is something else which I wanted to say.
Sure you are of this book, Śrī Bhajana-rahasya. And as Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura proclaims, this is the last book which Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura wrote in his sojourns in this world. Therefore, it's called rahasya.
Rahasya means secret. He reveals his own method of chanting the Holy Name. And there is a lot which can be said about this particular thing, but I will say just one thing.
As you know, this book is divided into eight sādhanas, or eight periods of our sādhana. According to the eight verses of Śikṣāṣṭaka. And the first sādhana is about the first verse of Śikṣāṣṭaka.
The meditation on the first verse of Śikṣāṣṭaka. Meditation on the first verse of Śikṣāṣṭaka.
One of the introductions to Bhajana-rahasya edition it is said that, you know, while people are beginning to chant the holy name they for a few days have to meditate on the first verse of Śikṣāṣṭaka and the subsequent verses which are the expansion of this verse of Śikṣāṣṭaka which Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura gives in this first chapter of the book. And then go to the second verse.
Anyway, for a few years I'm meditating on the first verse of the first chapter of Bhajana-rahasya. For me, by far, it's not a few days.
So, by the first verse, which Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura gives after quoting the first verse of Śikṣāṣṭaka. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇaṃ śreyā-kairava-candrikā-vitaranā... so on so forth.
Basically, as we know, this first verse of Śikṣāṣṭaka describes the phase, the initial phase which śraddhā, which a devotee has, when he steps on this path of bhakti, that everything can come just by chanting of the Holy Name. This initial enthusiastic phase that I don't need anything else, all other practices are waste of time, it's just in vain.
Non-difference of Krishna and holy name
Everything, all the desired results can come just by this paraṁ vijayate kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam, that kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam can, you know, really overcome all the problems and give me everything! That
Immediately after quoting this first verse of Śikṣāṣṭaka, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura gives the seventh verse of Nāmāṣṭaka by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. Śuddhāśrita-janārtiharāya, ramya-cid-ghana-sukha-svarūpiṇe, nama gokula-mahotsvāriṇe, kṛṣṇa-pūrṇa-vapur-bhuve namo namaḥ. So that's his initial meditation on this first verse of Śikṣāṣṭaka and on the whole process of chanting of the Holy Name.
And this verse means: śuddhāśrita-janārtiharāya.
Sudhita ashrita janarti janaarti рашае. Even, you may have the hips of suffering, джанарти. But if you take shelter of the Holy Name, then all the heaps of sufferings disappear from your mind.
Then the next Ramya cit gana sukha svarupine, the holy name is Ramya cit gana svarupine. It's the concentrated form of spiritual happiness.
Гана-сукха means concentrated sukha, happiness. Sukha означает очень концентрированная sukha. And then Nama Gokulamhahotsawa это the name is Gokulamhahotsawa is the festival of Gokul.
Nama Gokulamhahotsawa это фестиваль Gokulamhahotsawa. Krishnapurna
While saying that I'm meditating on this verse intensely, while chanting the Holy Name, I mean to say that again and again I come to this verse because the very essential meaning of this verse is the statement that the Holy Name is non-different from Krishna Himself.
In one book, I don't remember exactly where, I believe it's Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, he says that all our problems, all the spiritual problems which we may have as spiritual practitioners come from not enough understanding that the Holy Name is not different from Krishna.
This is the essence of faith, which we have to have from the very beginning. That the Holy Name is non-different from Krishna, it's Krishna himself. Krishna purna vapushena monamaha.
Вы may not realize it, and we probably don't realize it to the fullest possible extent, that Кришна and the Holy Name are non-different.
But in order to chant the Holy Name properly, we have to have this very firm face, that it is the fact.
Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says that this is the source of all problems, all the problems, all the troubles come, because we do not realize this fact that Krishna and Krishna's Holy Name are non-different from each other.
So, our journey to bhajan, to this realm of bhajana, to this relationship with the holy name starts from this point, from establishing very firmly this is the This holy name, which is Krishna himself, and it descends on my tongue. It's not that I'm chanting, it descends on my tongue! That's the beginning of my journey to the realm of bhajan.
This is my own practice which helps me to become more properly situated towards the Holy Name that I always remind that this is what it is, this is what is going on.
I remember this verse and I try to chant while entering some emotions which are there in this verse of namāṣṭakam. This holy name can destroy the mountains of suffering! The holy name is concentrated bliss!
The holy name is the festival of Gokul is there, and the Holy Name is Krishna himself. So, this is the emotion which is there in this verse.
And while chanting the holy name, I try to chant the holy name with the same understanding or with the same emotion, with the same mood, which is there in this verse.
Of course, sometimes, you know, there are some other remortions maybe there, you know, the feeling of remorse and the feeling of some unworthiness and it may be there, they're all there in Bhajana-rahasya, but I think this is the foundational verse which we have to really clearly understand and remind ourselves again and again and again.
Because again all the troubles, all the problems come from not understanding this point about the non-difference between the Holy Name and Krishna Himself. Anyway, I don't want to continue this.
It's already quite late and I thought I will say something else but because this class is kind of a little torturing exercise of being translating back and forth. So I think we should stop it now. Thank you very much.
I really don't like to give class when it's with translation, but what can we do? Attending the academy. After three months of attending the academy, he's now speaking. Yeah.
Just every day listen something then after a few days you will be able to speak with Krishna. She'll do it every day. It's five to one. Maybe there's one or two questions. So Krishna is not different from his name.
So suppose while we are chanting from us, maybe smatra-larami, the associate of Krishna, maybe the cow of Krishna, but Krishna cannot come into that mind. So you said, is that follow? Actually, being in this world and being separatist, being separated from Krishna by our false ego, we experience to the fullest possible extent the principle of Bhedda, of being separate.
And the more we are spiritually advanced, the more prominent in our mind will become the principle of Abhida, the principle of non-difference. Bedda is our material experience, right?
And therefore, when we chant the Holy Name, we tend to approach the Holy Name with the same material consciousness and it basically would mean that Holy Name is Holy Name, and Krishna is Krishna. There is difference between them.
But when our spiritual experience will become more and more profound, we will And if these things are coming to our mind, it means that they are not different from Krishna. They are not different from Krishna.
This understanding of abheda, something being non-different from Krishna, is very difficult for our material mind to really grasp. We tend to take it in a very gross way, in a very fanatical way.
Anyways, a lot can be said about what you said.
Determination in achieving sadhana goals
But basically, if this is some thoughts which are genuinely coming from Krishna, then there will be understanding that this image of spiritual master is the one who is non different. He is the external manifestation of the super soul and he is guiding me towards Krishna. He is very dear to Krishna.
-Maharaja, was is it important to have the determination to achieve some desires or what? As I said, sadhana means a systematic practice to achieve certain goal. And suddenly implies there is a lot of determination because otherwise we will not achieve any goal by this practice.
You know, if your sadhana is like this, you know, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Hare Hare, it's nice. But it may not bring you closer to the desired goal.
Sadhana means, you know, the practice within a certain frame of mind.
Separating identity from a disturbed mind
And that's what Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says, where he says: should sadā kori' nirbandhe [you should do this japa with nirbande, with this resolute determination, with this understanding of the goal].
I said this one devotee asked that I have a disturbed mind and, you know, I cannot chant the holy name and tell. But that what is the question of the mind?
You just chant with your tongue and hear with your ears, where is the mind?
And I asked how it is correlates, how it comes together with what he was learning today with Mahārāja. It's basically the same thing said in a much more powerful way.
Because when Prabhupada says what does it have to do with your mind? Chant!
He means to say that while saying that I cannot when he says I cannot chant because my mind is disturbed he doesn't say it properly because what he wants to say he wants to say is that I cannot chant because I am a disturbed mind. The point is that if I identify with the mind, of course, what is the question of chanting? There is no question of chanting.
The mind is always disturbed. The point is that I am different from the mind, therefore I'm chanting, and the mind is happily chanting together with me!
When I said that it's a very important point that we are not the mind and we are observing the mind what is happening in the mind and we are it means that I understand, I the soul understand. I'm chanting, I need to chant.
You know, the mind, you know, he doesn't have any option, he doesn't have any choice not to cooperate with me. And if I'm the mind, you know, I have so many options! So many!
Yeah, I like it now and I don't like it in the next moment. That's the nature of the mind, the basic nature of the mind. He doesn't like to do what he's doing now. He always wants to do something else!
But as soon as he does something else, he wants to do something else! So, if you are the mind, you always do something else! And you will never chant! Because you will do something else! So, that's the nature of the mind.
Balancing speed and focus in japa
You're controlled by the mind as long as you're identifying with the mind. Meditation means to be quiet, peaceful, sit in one place, you know, something like that.
But the race for the big number of makes me too rush and try to combine my chanting with doing other things. First of all, it's a gross exaggeration to say that the chance 16 rounds is a big number.
We have to understand that this is a total complete concession by Srila Prabhupada who understands our restless nature. And there is a very simple way to understand this.
Just to chant 64 rounds for a few days and then 16 rounds will become really easy cake! Meditation. That will be really an easy walk in nature!
It's just an excuse, you know, I have to turn 16 rounds and therefore I have to, you know, and it's so long and therefore I have to do 100 other things at the same time. This is ridiculous!
So it's a very slow, easy, relaxed meditation to chant your 16 rounds every day! But I have to say that when those people who chant two laks They do it in a very, I mean, with certain speed.
Somebody told me that there is one devotee, I don't know, probably not one, more than one who says that if you really want to concentrate on the Holy Name you have to really chant one round for eleven minutes or something like this.
Not less than eleven minutes. If it's less than eleven minutes, then it's not really, you're not really concentrating.
My answer to this is that, you know, if Haridasa Thakura would chant every round 11 minutes, please count, it would need for him around 36 hours a day to chant relaxed.
One lakha he would need 11 hours plus another 4 hours. So, those people who chant big numbers, they chant with a good speed. And the good speed is not an impediment, because good speed also helps to concentrate the mind.
I don't, you know, because our practice is, our basic practice is 16 rounds a day, so we don't have to rush too much, you know, and as I said it's really not a big rush to chant 16 rounds.
But if you want to chant more, you will have to chant faster and faster chanting. Not necessarily affects the chanting negatively.
If you do it properly it affects your chanting positively because you will be really concentrated, you will really have to make it, you know, for the, you know, to be on time for prasadam.
There is a lot of holes in our chanting. If we seal these holes by the concentrated mind, it will only help. It gives you much more enhancing and much more rewarding experience of chanting.
And definitely, we should not do anything else while chanting. If we do so many other things while chanting, well, you know, we're really not paying attention to Krishna.
We really don't understand that Krishna and His Holy Name are not different. Okay, I guess it's late. Thank you. Thank you very much.