How does bhakti relate with being present in the present?
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Transcript
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so is it that while chanting also meaning the senses, mind and soul have to be in one line together yes definitely there is an advanced stage in bhakti where the devotee gets lost in trance in the rapture the devotee may be at one place but in a trance they will be remembering something else they may be transported to some other place but those are very advanced stages of bhakti so bhakti itself is not about being present in the present or being absent in the present bhakti is essentially about being present with Krishna so sometimes the devotees may go into a trance remembering the past or they may remember the future or they may remember something in the spiritual world also but whatever they are doing, advanced devotees are with Krishna for us when our mind goes here and there often it is going away from Krishna so when we are chanting Krishna is present as the holy name and that’s why we focus on trying to be present when Krishna is present so the essence of bhakti in that sense is being present being present in the presence of Krishna so we are invoking his presence by chanting and we try to make sure that we are present when he manifests himself and the more we do that then even if we are in uncongenial circumstances say if we are trapped in the traffic and it’s frustrating we are trapped not going anywhere so most people may just rant or curse or get frustrated at that time the present is not all that palatable so if we have trained our mind to be in the presence of Krishna we may recite some verses sing some mantras or recollect some past times of Krishna and that time we can go from the present to something which we have heard or remembered and we can be in the presence of Krishna so the important thing in bhakti is to train ourselves to be present with Krishna and sadhana bhakti that’s why we should be in the present when Krishna is present does that answer your question? any other questions?