Mukunda Mala Stotra 32 – 7: The holy name empowers us to stick to our resolutions

shreyah prapti karau aushadham “[The holy name is] the medicine that helps us attain life’s greatest gain”

Transcript

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Mukund Mala Stotram Verse 32, Part 7 Shreya Prapti Karushidham So the holy name is the medicine that enables us to attain Shreya. Shreya is long-term gain which is contrasted with short-term gain called as prayers.
So prayers is sense gratification. Shreyas is spiritual advancement culminating in love of God. Now intellectually, if we study the philosophy, we understand that the short-term gains of sense gratification are short-lived.
Whereas the long-term gains of Krishna consciousness are not just long-lived but they are eternal. So naturally if we deliberate on the philosophy, we will want to turn away from the prayer to the Shreya. All the animals can also chase the prayer, they can also chase after eating, sleeping, mating, defending.
But only in the human body does the soul have the privilege to strive for Shreya, for long-term gain, for eternal happiness. So although we intellectually understand this, the mind doesn’t accept it. And because of that the mind keeps rebelling against the intelligence and keeps hankering for and chasing after material pleasures.
So this is an ongoing tussle for every sadhaka. And in this verse, Kulshekar Maharaj assures us that if we take shelter of the Holy Name, we will emerge triumphant in the inner struggle. We will find that the shelter of the Holy Name will enable us to muster the inner strength and the inner willpower by which we can say a firm no to the prayers, no matter how loudly the mind screams for it and persevere till we actually get the Shreya, till we actually experience the taste in the Holy Name and in the remembrance of Krishna at large.
And that remembrance becomes a constant background or foreground feature of our consciousness and therefore keeps us constantly satisfied. So what we resolve to do intellectually to turn towards Shreya, the Holy Name will give us the power to implement practically. Many of us find that we make resolutions and generally most resolutions involve giving up some short-term pleasure for some long-term gain.
But most of us find it quite difficult to stick to our resolutions because the mind weakens and saps our determination. However, if we take shelter of the Holy Name, then the Holy Name will become like an inner boost for our determination. Of course, we need some determination to chant itself, but the struggle involved in chanting is far lesser than the struggle involved in battling with the mind once it gets agitated by the thoughts of temptations.
So, if we can deal with the mind while chanting and force ourselves to hear the Holy Name, then automatically from within our heart, Krishna will guide us so that we can make decisions by which we will pursue our Shreya and not our prayer. So in this way, the Holy Name subconsciously as well as consciously empowers us towards Shreya, towards long-term, eternal gain. Shri Harinam Prabhu Ki Jai