How can we control the hyperactive imagination during chanting?

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
This question is from Ankit Prabhu.
How do we deal with the hyperactive imagination of the mind when it distracts us during chanting? The process of Bhakti Yoga is all about dovetailing. It is not about suppressing or rejecting. So, Prabhupada tells in one lecture that how when a devotee does Manas Puja, the devotee visualizes how Krishna is situated in my heart.
There is a song about how Krishna comes and sits on a throne in the heart. And Prabhupada says that this is not just imagination. Because it is directed towards Krishna, and because it is the aspiration of a devotee, so it is actually Bhakti Yoga.
Normally, we have this contrast between reality and imagination. But when we do visualization in the service of Krishna, although it may not be the reality right now, just by visualizing that Krishna is coming and sitting in my heart, it may not happen. But that visualization is also a way of performing devotional service.
So, if we are finding our imagination hyperactively taking us away from Krishna, then it is good to find out some things that will trigger our imagination towards Krishna. That means, if there are certain pictures of deities that we like very much, or there are certain verses which inspire us a lot, certain Vaishnava songs which infuse a mood of devotion within us, then having them with us, and contemplating on them, and letting them trigger our imagination can be very helpful. I mean, keeping a picture of the deity, or if the mind is wandering too much, reciting some verse, may be Chetudarbana Maharajanam, or some other verse like that, some sweet-sounding words, or even if we like the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, a particular tune, reciting that tune is also okay.
What we can do is, after one or two rounds, or even between a round, if the mind is wandering too much, we can take a small break, and recite those things, or recollect those things, or look at the picture of the deity. So, ultimately we would remember that each of us are individuals, and each of us have to fight our own individual war against the mind. So, we can’t just go along a stereotype formula.
That means, if the mind is troubling us too much, trying to struggle to chant Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, and nothing is helping us, then we have to show our sincerity to Krishna, by using our God-given intelligence, to connect with Krishna in some other way. Just like if I am trying to climb up somewhere, and I am slipping and falling, then just trying again and again to climb is not enough. I have to look somewhere where I get a foothold or a handhold, and by that I can pull myself up.
So, like that we are trying to raise our consciousness towards Krishna, and we have to find out something which will act as a foothold or a handhold for us. So, there is a point of concentration, and there is a circle of concentration. The point of concentration is the sound of the holy name.
The most fragile chanting is when we just think about Krishna, and we don’t think about anything else. Just hear the sound of the holy name, and then at an advanced level, from the sound, the thoughts of Krishna spontaneously emerge. But when that concentration on the point is difficult, then rather than let the mind wander all over the universe, we create a circle around the point.
That means, we think of things which are related with Krishna, and with which we have some emotional or intellectual connection. Let us say a picture of a deity, a tune or a verse, and try to keep our mind around that. And by that, over a period of time, the mind will come back towards Krishna.
So, just like when a person wants to hit the bullseye, now initially it may be impossible to hit the bullseye, and the person may get completely discouraged. That’s why what they do is, around the bullseye there are concentric circles, and with that the person can judge, how close I am coming to the bullseye, or how far I am going completely. So, we shouldn’t think of chanting in terms of attentive or distracted, because this is not just digital electronics, it’s analog, it’s not discrete, it’s continuous.
So, on that continuum, whatever can help us to go towards the holy name, it is unkown, and we accept that. And what that will be, that may vary from individual to individual. So, it’s our responsibility to find that out, and then to use it to improve our concentration in chanting.
And over a period of time, we’ll find that, we’ll use it, and then we’ll outgrow it. That means we will not feel the necessity for it also, because as the taste for the holy name develops, then we may not need that specifically. But till, especially if the mind is distracting us, then using this kind of visualization, of something that triggers our imagination towards Krishna, is very helpful in concentrating.