How can we know if worldly desires come from our heart or our mind – What happens if such desires come while chanting?

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Does this answer the question? The question, if we have some worldly desires and they come up during the chanting, it’s said that if those desires come from the mind, they will come and go.
But if they come from the heart, then, we will get entangled. Because Krishna will see those desires and make the holy name by chanting them fulfilled and we will get entangled. So, how do we deal with those desires? And sometimes those desires come up during chanting itself.
The answer, I would like to talk about this in three main parts. The first is understanding the nature of the desires. Then, understanding the challenge of chanting.
And then, understanding Krishna’s mood as much as we can understand it. So, as far as our desires are concerned, which are our mind’s desires, which are our heart’s desires, it’s quite difficult to say. If you see in the ontology of the Bhagavatam, literally ontology of the nature of reality, we don’t see there is a body, there is a subtle body, the mind and the ego, and there is a soul.
Where is the heart? Of course, the word heart is used quite often. So, we could say is the heart the same as the soul? But then, is the soul filled with material desires? Not exactly. So, generally the understanding is the heart is like the seat of emotions.
The heart is where our strongest emotions or strongest desires are stored. Now, then, how do we know whether the desire is coming from the heart or from the mind? So, another way to understand is that our consciousness is like multileveled. And there are some desires that are surface, some desires are deep-rooted.
So, instead of rigidly differentiating between this is from the heart and this is from the mind, we could say there are multileveled desires and some are more superficial. That means, say if I see a sol papdi, I’ll feel like eating it. But it’s not that I’m going to order it from a shop or order somebody to cook it for me and I’ll eat it.
But if I’m strongly attached to something, I may order it. So, we could say that when surface desire is, if it just comes, we get it. A very deep desire is where we very strongly endeavor for it.
So, with respect to say sensual attraction, lust, we see somebody attractive, we might feel attractive, we might get some desire. But, that is just comes and goes. But if there’s someone we’re constantly thinking about, maybe dark fantasies about them, then that is much deeper.
So, in my understanding, whether a desire is deep-rooted or superficial largely depends on what all are we doing to gratify that desire. If you’re not doing much to gratify that desire and rather we are striving to control ourselves and not gratify, then broadly we can say that it is a desire from the mind. Now, even in the mind, desire can sometimes be very strong and can push us.
But, a deep-rooted desire will be not just a desire we feel strongly, but it is a desire which we build strongly. And we strive to fulfill it and we get into fulfilling it. And then gradually it will control us more and more and more.
So, overall if you’re trying to resist lower desires, then we don’t have to worry too much whether they’re coming from the heart or the mind. The strongest desire, the most dangerous desires are those desires which we feed and strengthen by acting on them. And as far as the past conditioning is concerned, how do you really know? In general, with respect to the mind, sometimes the question comes up, if a particular idea comes to us, is it coming from the mind, is it coming from the intelligence, is it coming from the super-soul, is it coming from the ego, how do we know that? My answer is we can’t know.
Best is don’t worry about where it is coming from, focus on where it is taking you. Is acting on it is going to take me closer to Krishna or away from Krishna? So, that way, just look at what are not, whether the desire is coming or not, but how much am I acting on that desire? That’s the first thing. With respect to mind and heart, if you want to differentiate.
Second is the nature of chanting. At one level, the Holy Name is extremely powerful and it can be extremely purifying. That is, Krishna manifests Himself with His full potency.
At another level, if we consider our own consciousness, it is often very difficult to keep our consciousness focused just on the sound of the Holy Name. The great devotees, whether they also just focus on the sound of the Holy Name, I don’t know. For them, the sound of the Holy Name spontaneously triggers the memory of Krishna.
As it is said, from the Nama, Rupa, Gudalila all emerge. And that’s how they get absorbed. For all of us, when from the Nama, from the named qualities, activities, the form is not automatically manifesting, then naturally, the mind is going to get distracted.
And the mind is constantly looking for pleasure. Not only is it looking for pleasure, it is looking for shortcuts to pleasure. And, especially when chanting, it is austerity quite often, especially if you are not getting absorbed.
And the mind will gravitate towards whatever is the shortcut to pleasure. So naturally, if there are certain desires which allure us, which have promised us some pleasure in the past, then, we will get attracted to those desires quite quickly. And they will pop up during chanting.
So, it is helpful for us to try to keep ourselves surrounded by various spiritual stimuli during chanting. If we can’t focus on the sound of the Holy Name, which is like the point of concentration, try to create a circle of concentration around it. And focus on something related with Krishna.
Maybe some picture of Krishna, maybe some printout of the Holy Name, maybe some shloka or some thought about the power of the Holy Name or the importance of chanting, whatever. So, we need to, we can’t just expect or demand that we should be able, demand even from ourselves that we should be able to absorb ourselves in the mind. And we can’t simply get disheartened thinking that I am so fallen that during chanting I am thinking of these things.
Rather, we need to accept ourselves and then create some facility by which we can stay if not directly Holy Name conscious, then at least indirectly Krishna consciousness during chanting. So, we have to be kind to ourselves. Chanting is difficult.
And the mind getting distracted is understandable entirely. So, we need to be kind and patient with ourselves and create some facility so that the mind doesn’t go to these thoughts. So, we shouldn’t get too disturbed if such thoughts come up.
But we need to be concerned and we need to make some rectifying measures. And as far as Krishna is concerned, is it that Krishna will see our desires and reward them? Well, yes and no. We do see in the 6th chapter, it is said that if the dharashta yogis, deviated yogis have some worldly desire, they go to heavens and then they gratify them.
So, there is a principle that if we have some unfulfilled desires, then Krishna will provide us a facility to fulfill them. That may be through maybe in this life itself, we might get material entangled or it might be that in the future life, we may get some sensual facilities. Having said that, Krishna is compassionate.
As Prabhupada often says that Krishna wants us to come to him more than what we want to go to him. So, Krishna is not going to necessarily look at some desire that we have, which we have had a time of chanting and say within 2 hours of chanting, if 5, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, we get that desire, we are distracted by that desire. But the remaining time we are struggling to chant.
So, is Krishna going to see that few minutes when we have been distracted and focus on that or is he going to focus on our other time we are chanting. So, here sometimes according to intent of a particular speaker, they focus on certain things. So, we have Prabhupada at one level saying that if you have a desire for gulab jamun, you will have to take birth again in this world.
Just eat that gulab jamun. But Prabhupada also says that if you just hold my roti, if you just chant and follow the 4 eggs, I will take you back to Godhead. So, now which is true? At one level, when the point is that we should not be we should not be complacent about battling our lower desires to be focused, then the first quote will be emphasized.
And when we are feeling disheartened and hopeless about how difficult our spiritual journey is, how little progress we are making, then the second quote is appropriate. So, we need to, we are our only resource ultimately. That we, even if Guru and Krishna’s mercy is there, it is we who have to take the mercy.
Even they can’t help us if we don’t want to help, if we don’t help ourselves. And the first help we need to give ourselves is to ensure that we are always encouraged. That we are not discouraged.
Or at least not so discouraged that we give up the practice of bhakti. That’s why if we are feeling complacent, we can focus on the first kind of course where I have a long distance to go, I have to become purified. But if we are feeling already doubtful and fearful and discouraged, then it is better to focus on the second category of course.
And encourage ourselves, inspire ourselves. Now, what Krishna will do in this life later or at the end of this life, that is up to Krishna. All that we can know is that if Krishna had been so judgmental, then we would never have come to bhakti also.
Whatever bhakti we have done and whatever spiritual growth we have made, my understanding is that it is not because of me, it is in spite of me. I am distracted by so many desires, I am half-hearted in the practice of bhakti, but still I am going on. So, if Krishna among the millions of souls who are lost in the material world, if Krishna has brought us this far and that too without much effort, without much cooperation from us, often you could say with much resistance from us, then surely Krishna will take us all the way.
So, there is no need to worry too much about that. We focus on doing the best that we can and we leave the rest to Krishna.