About Kirtan
Бхакти Вигьяна Госвами · Ришикеш · 2024
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Opening prayers and introductory chant
Oh Mahyana Timirandasya, Jyanam Jana Shalakaya, Chakshwilidamya, Tasma Shri Guravenam. Hekrisna Karuna Sindhu, Dinabandhabath, Gopesha, Gopikakanta, Radakantana Musud Taptakanchana Gurangi Radhi Vrindavanishwari,
Vrisabamu Suta Devi, Pranamani Hari Priya Shri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhupitananda Sri Advaita Gadathara Sri Vasadigora Bhakta Brinda Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama
Rama Hare Hare Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Ramahari R Ramam, Swasya Studiesakala, Prasidatam, Nyrantu Budani, Shibam Mithold Yamashabadam Pajatata Bhakshacha So
it's indeed a very great honour for me to address you this evening after this beautiful kīrtana. And it doesn't really require too much talk. By talking about kīrtana we just spoil everything.
Kīrtana is not about talking, kīrtana is about chanting. But to say a few words about the philosophy behind this process is always appropriate. The Sanskrit word mantra means manātrāyate yasmāt iti mantra parikīrtitaḥ.
What is mantra? Mantra is something which trāyate protects us from mananāt, from too much thinking. Believe it or not, the main problem of a human being is that they think too much.
We always hear this dialogue or whatever, this chat within our head. And it never stops. It continues even during the night. For a short while, during the deep sleep, it may subside,
Mind concentration and expanded consciousness
but then it starts again, and then when we wake up, it's already full speed. So this chat within the head is the problem which deprives us happiness.
Because according to the yogic scriptures, the happiness only comes, the experience of happiness only comes when our mind is completely concentrated.
The yoga scriptures explain that when the concentration of mind takes place, mind expands. It may sound a little counterintuitive, but it's a fact.
The expansion of consciousness only takes place when the consciousness is completely one-pointed. And subjectively we experience happiness when the consciousness expands.
You know, as much as when our consciousness is narrow. Like for example, if you take a glass of water, it's very easy to disturb the glass of water, the water in the glass of water, because it's so small.
In the same way, when our consciousness is congested, when it's really narrow, it's very easily disturbed. But then you try to disturb mother Ganga.
You may throw there big boulders, but mother Ganga is samame, nothing happens. So in the same way, when the consciousness is expanded, the external situations do not disturb this expanded consciousness.
And again, subjectively, when the consciousness is expanded, we feel happiness. The experience of happiness is nothing but this experience of elation
and this elation in Sanskrit is called ullasa, ullasa means ut, the prefix ut means up, and lasa means the prefix las means, uh, like, uh, alasya, laziness. Ullasa means when you're enthusiastic. Ulasa means when you're enthusiastic.
So, uh, mantra is specifically targeted for this purpose. Mantra is needed to concentrate your consciousness in order to expand the consciousness. And in expanded consciousness, you naturally feel happiness.
You know, you know, I can explain to you that you feel happiness, but you know, you experienced it yourself. You don't need me to tell you that you're happy. It's the process of mantra and it's a very natural process.
Purifying effects of chanting mantra
It's a very spontaneous and very natural process which is going on on its own when we concentrate on the sound of mantra. And the sound of mantra has the purifying effect on all levels.
You know, all the practices which we do, whether it is pranayam or asana or whatever it is, they purify certain parts of our being.
You know if you are in uh dog downward you know dog posture or whatever it's called, adho mukha svanasana, it purifies certain parts of your being. It doesn't purify your whole being. But mantra purifies your whole being.
Mantra purifies your mind first and foremost, and when the mind is pure, everything else is also pure. But mantra also purifies your breathing, because your breathing according to the sound and vibration of the mantra.
Mantra purifies your body because the vibration of the mantra also has this purifying effect. And mantra, the most important, mantra purifies your speech.
The very contaminating factor in our life is this contamination which is coming from the bad, foul speech.
But when we chant mantra, by the natural process, by the natural purifying influence of the mantra, our whole being is being purified and this purification is felt also as the integration.
In our normal life, we are disjointed. Our heart wants something, our mind wants something else, our tongue wants something totally different. And you know what to speak about other parts of our body.
It's a complete discord. You know, there are different desires in our mind, different desires in our heart, different desires in our intelligence.
The mind says I want pizza, the intelligence says no, the fifth one is already too much, you know, you already had enough, or something like this.
But what mantra does, when you're completely devoted to the sound, mantra integrates you back into the whole being. Your mind, your heart, your intelligence becomes harmoniously united with the sound of mantra.
And there's no other desire, there's no other needs. You know, I was amazed.
I was told that I will be talking after one hour of kirtan, and when the kirtan ended, I looked in my watch and I indeed realized that one hour passed. But I didn't notice how this one hour passed. Why?
Overcoming inner conflict through kirtan
Because of this, because of this amazing, miraculous effect of mantra which joins us together. It is actually explained in the scriptures that this phenomenon of being divided inside, And we all experience this.
Sometimes you know we have this battle inside. The whole Bhagavad Gita is explained during the battlefield. But the battle is nothing but the metaphorical description of the battle which is going on within our heart.
This dividedness, this disjointedness if there is such English word, I don't know. I'm not a good speaker in English.
But this sort of dividedness within, this division within which we all experience is a result of our past sins.
The sinful activities which we created, the bad deeds which we created bring about this phenomenon of not being united, not being in harmony with ourselves.
But this is the miraculous prize which we get, this is the miraculous result of kirtan. We become wholesome being again just by chanting Hare Krishna mantra.
And it happens automatically, you don't need to do anything, you don't need to preach to yourself, do it, otherwise you will go to hell. No, no.
You just do it naturally, as spontaneously as you breathe. And mantra is so natural that people all over the world chant this mantra.
You know, when I first heard this mantra, I didn't know who is Hari, who is Krishna, who is Rama. I just heard this sound and I liked the sound. And I didn't know why I liked the sound.
And I still don't know why I like this sound. 40 plus years later.
Self-evident power of Vedic mantras
But it is explained in the Vedic scriptures that the mantras of the Vedas, the mantras of the ancient Vedic literature they are svataḥ-pramāṇa? Svataḥ-pramāṇa means self-evident.
They don't need anything else to prove its truthfulness, its real nature. As much as the sun doesn't need any source of light to prove that the sun exists.
You don't need a, you know, your mobile phone on the, you know, with the special mode to find out whether sun is there or not. Sun is self-evident, sun is svataḥ-prāmāṇya.
In the same way, the sound of mantra is svataḥ-prāmāṇya. You don't need to be preached about this, and therefore it's better if I stop now and we will continue doing this very wonderful
process of chanting Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, and in this way we have a hope to silence the inner voice which always brings about problems in our life.
Thank you very much, Hare Krishna.