Chant, Chant and Chant!

 

Lalita is very much intrested in worshipping deities and not so much intrested in chanting. So here are few points that I prepared to pursue her to regulate her sadhana.

1. From durashrey to Eternal shelter and finally Higher Taste - For life times after life times we were under the leadership of false shelter wealth, power, body, athiestic influence na mam duskrtino mudha... {BG7.15} and because of this our soul has become forgetful of Krsna. We try experiencing happiness in all these material things but have failed to do so. But still after recieving this universal defeat, it doesn't dampen our intermediate hope that we will win and will one day have our happily ever after. We underutilize our intelligence and misuse our energies for the lost cause. To break this pattren we need to focus our energy on spiritual advancement to find our eternal shelter. And to do so, there is the process of Krsna Consciousness which can make us permenently happy. Hence we need to use our intelligence to get the higher taste and give up the lower taste. The only way possible to break out of old habits of multiple lifetimes is by following the process of Krsna Consciousness which is sincere chanting of the holy names.

2. Poison in the beginning and nectar in the end- It may appear that the endevour for serious chanting is a difficult task. It may seem tedious and non intresting initially but if we sustain through it, we may eventually reach the nectar of the holy name. It is also confirmed in Bhagvad Gita 18.37, that in beginning it may be just like poison but at the end it is just nectar. Since we are used to instant pleasures of material activities, spiritual activities look so tedious but again Bhagvad Gita 18.38 confirms that even though material process seems gratifying initially but soon and surely will have poisonous effects.

3. Desire of senses to desire of Soul- Material happiness is temporary and false. You see around that how people say that they don't have pleasure because objects they have for enjoyment are not good enough. Even if they have best of the objects they can't feel satisfied. Reason being, one, capacity to enjoy is limited and second, since material energy is temporary, hence it's charms are also temporary. Hence we are always in state of hankering. Also confirmed in Bhagvad Gita 5.22. Therefore it is clear we should seek for spiritual happiness. As soul is eternal, so the happiness it gets serving the lord will also be eternal, {Bhagvad Gita 6.28}. So the process to get that supreme happiness is to get connected with Krsna which is only possible by chanting the holy name. This connection that we establish with Krsna via chanting is not a physical touch but at the level of consciousness which is only possible when we are attentive during chanting. As we contact Krsna Via chanting, he gives us more and more taste for chanting and we become constantly happy.

4. Chanting is not just a material activity- Though tongue and ears are involved, but chanting is not just a verbal or aural activity. It awakens the Soul, who is living in dreamy state of pseudo reality, the play of this material world. Chanting involves the heart, the residing place of soul. When the heart piteously calls out for Krsna, the contact with Krsna is established and soul awakens to it's true identity of being Krsna's servent. Jivera swaroop haye krsnera nitya das. Further greater the contact with Krsna, greater happiness experienced by soul.

5. From disease to health- We have to understand that our present state in this material world is of diseased. In our this diseased state we keep hankering for material enjoyment. Even if we get things which we hanker for, it doesn't live up to our expectation of enjoyment and even if does than it's temporary. So it appers to be lost cause, a reuined project. Hence we need to find an alternative for it. And that alternative is spiritual happiness which is so exclusive that it is available only to us, the human species. Moreover it's alway increasing as we contact more and more with Krsna, more happy we feel. It is not dependent on external material things of this world. All we need to do is chant the Holy name of lord with our tongue and listen to it. When we feel this nectar of Holy name has reduced the burning of material distress we share it with others too and bring auspiciousness in their life too. But when a person have Jaundice, he finds sugar candy which is naturally sweet as bitter. Similarly in our this materially diseased state {avidya- ignorance} has perverted our ability to relish the transcedental nature of holy name. Despite this disease , if one with great care and attention chant the holy name, his disease will be destroyed and he will be relieved of all misconception {ceto darpan marjanam} and his tongue enables to taste sweetness of holy name.

6. With Conviction and Comittment- Like when we are diseased, we go to Doctor for the treatment and when we are convinced that this doctor has rightly diagnoised me and now if I take his treatment I will get back to health. Similarly now we know that we have material disease {avidya and ahankara- false ego} and we go to Guru for the treatment of it and we are convinced that following Guru's instruction of chanting prescibed number of sixteen rounds of holy name on my beads will Cure me. But only conviction alone can't bring cure, we need to have steadiness in following the treatment per say. By this comittment only we can have transformation of heart and with this practice of chanting the holy name we become perfect.

7. Result- Stage of Bhava- When by chanting of the holy name one is cured of his avidya and his mind and conciousness are cleaned up, he not only relieved from the fire of material existence but he reaches the pure stage and is immediately liberated. This is called bhav-maha-davagni-nirvapanam. There is preliminary awakening of dormant love of godhead, which is called Bhava. At such time one can understand who supreme personality of godhead is and what maya is. Although maya be present but it can't disturb the devotee once he attains bhava stage because devotee can see the real position of maya. As confirmed in Caitanya caritamrita madhya 22.31, Krsna surya sama, maya haya andhakar....., krsna is compared to sunshine and maya is compared to darkness. Whenever there sunshine, there can't be darkness.