How can we get the impetus to chant seriously?
Transcript
This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So, yes, good point.
Actually, I did not address the issue. So, the question is that, when we have some distracting situation which needs physical attention, then we are forced to be attentive. Don’t get carried away with the mind.
So, in chanting, what can we do? Generally, when we do something because of three reasons. Attraction, Conviction or Association. I like to do it, I feel like doing it, that’s attraction.
Conviction is, whether I like it or not, this is important, I have to do it. Association is, oh, somebody else is watching me, I am expected to do this, let me do this. Somebody else is doing it nicely, let me do it.
So, basically, the attraction in chanting is not consistent. It will be there sometime, it will not be there sometime. Jiva Goswami says that, for the siddhas, for those who are purified, their priti will keep them in bhakti.
They love Krishna, so they will serve Krishna. But for the sadhakas, it is their buddhi, which will keep them in bhakti. So, buddhi is important.
That’s why, if we hear something about the importance of chanting, if we read something about the importance of chanting, that will inspire us to focus. So, in general, it is good to intellectually nourish ourselves before we chant. I mean, just read some verse about the glory of the holy name.
Read something about the importance of controlling the mind. Something of purification, something which gives us conviction. And third is association.
Say, somebody else is chanting, then we feel inspired. Okay, let me also chant attentively. So, we have to, we can’t create an artificially distracting situation because we will get distracted.
As if the mind is distracted, and chanting does not have any immediate physical consequence. Not doing anything attentively. There is, of course, a consequence that we lose taste.
But that is such, it is not immediate. So, we have to create some stimuli. Create some impetus through either of these attractions.
So, attraction we can stimulate maybe by having some pastime of Krishna, which we like, may keep a picture of that. There is a verse which we love about the holy name. Maybe just recollect that, recite that before chanting your japa.
If we have some picture of the deity that we like. This is the lord I am calling out to. So, we have to find out which will work, attraction, conviction or association.
Ultimately, as we become purified, then the mind will get attracted to Krishna. But till then we have to, we have to struggle. Bhakti as sadhaka is an effortful process.
It will become effortless, but right now it is effortful. And if you don’t put in the effort, then we become a fool.