Does the mind wander more while chanting Hare Krishna as compared to other mantras?
Question from Puri Ashish Kumar Prabhu, it is a regulation for the mind to wander, please explain whether it is expected to wander the most during the chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, does it trouble us to the same extent when we chant other bona fide names mantra of the supreme lord or names of demigods or lord Shiva answer, it is not that the mind wanders the most when we chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, actually the mind is simply resisting, focus on the holy name, actually speaking, when we start chanting Hare Krishna we are able to break free from many undesirable habits and we are able to follow the four regulative principles, those who are seriously chanting Hare Krishna so what to speak of just the mind wandering the mind wandering is first and then comes physical indulgence so we are able to break free even from physical indulgence by the process of chanting that itself indicates that some level of mind control has come up, so if our mind is constantly craving for some of the things that we have been able to break free from, then we would sooner or later succumb to it the very fact that we are able to resist it and over a period of time develop a higher taste by which we will forget many of the material things that we had indulged in the past, all this indicates that the mind is coming under control so it is not that the chanting of the Hare Krishna Mantra provokes the mind and makes it wander more than usual rather, when we chant Hare Krishna the mind does become disciplined, but the fact is that because we are trying to discipline the mind we are trying to purify the mind it opposes that and that opposition we notice more than usual just like if a horse is wild, unbridled how wild it is is not noticed, but when a person tries to tame and bridle the horse, at that time one starts noticing how ferocious and uncontrolled the horse is, so it is not that putting on the bridle made the horse ferocious rather putting on the bridle revealed the ferocity of the horse similarly, it is not that chanting Hare Krishna causes the mind to wander the most or it is not that during chanting Hare Krishna, the mind wanders the most, it is just that the mind is constantly wandering not only is it wandering, it is also making us indulge in wrong things, but when we chant Hare Krishna, we actually try to bring the mind under control and at that time we start noticing how much out of control the mind is now regarding the chanting other bona fide names, mantras of the supreme law, we will certainly benefit by chanting other mantras also and sometimes, we can also chant them if we get some taste in those mantras, however at our level the taste may be more cultural and sentimental than spiritual or devotional because of certain kind of upbringing we may have had more exposure to Lord Ram, so Lord Ram's names and his pastimes, they seem a little more attractive to us than Krishna's this is just an example so we shouldn't assume that just because we are able to absorb ourselves more in the name of Lord Ram, we should chant that name instead of the name of Krishna because the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra is a recommended yuga dharma for this age and that is the best mantra for us to chant because it will purify us most potently, most effectively because we also have the mercy of Shri Krishna Mahaprabhu and Parampara and Shri Prabhupada and our spiritual master, when we chant the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra, so if we feel agitated, we can surely chant other mantras and if we get some taste in that that is also one way to absorb the mind and somehow that we have to fix the mind on Krishna somehow that we have to fix the mind on Krishna that is a regular principle at the same time, if you want to make serious spiritual advancement, if you want to practice sadhana, bhakti then there is a regulated way in which to fix the mind on Krishna and the recommended mantra is the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra so even if initially because of either some cultural or sentimental attraction we find it easier to concentrate on some other holy names over a period of time, when that sense of newness or cultural affinity wanes as all material factors do wane over the passage of time then again we will find that we don't have much taste in, then again we will want some new mantra so that will be an indication for us that actually we are chanting the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra at the material level not at a spiritual level or for that matter any other mantra also so rather than just trying to shop for new mantras in the hope of acquiring taste, we need to focus on trying to struggle and concentrate in the chanting of Hare Krishna Maha Mantra and over a period of time thereby develop taste in chanting by rising from the material to the spiritual platform, now the names of different gods like Lord Shiva, there are many Shiva bhaktas who do chant the names of Lord Shiva with devotion and in the Chaitanya Bhagwat it is described in the Chaitanya Mahaprabhu saw Shiva playing with a dhambru and playing a dhambru and chanting the name of Lord Shiva, he became very ecstatic and Vishwachitra Mahaprabhu in that sense respected devatas also so it is not in that sense wrong to chant the names of Lord Shiva as say it is chanted in the name of Om Namah Shiva but because Lord Shiva himself is not entirely transcendental, he cannot grant his liberation by himself whenever any benedictions are given they are given by the Supreme Lord therefore Vishwachitra Mahaprabhu has recommended that we just ekele ishwar krishna arasa bhavritya that Krishna alone is the lord and it is best that we chant his names sometimes we chant the name of Lord Shiva especially if we hope to get some material benefits by the chanting of the holy names then some people may be able to chant the names of Shiva also with fervent devotion sometimes it may appear that devotion is more than that which we have for Krishna's names however what is motivating that devotion is not purity of heart but actually greed for material gains so such a chanting is not really going to liberate us from material existence therefore instead of looking at material concepts and material alternatives for gaining taste we can focus on spiritual purification and ascend to the spiritual level where we will get not just taste but endless ever increasing enjoyment at the spiritual level.