SB 5.11.7 Chanting is not a ritual but a route to rise to reality beyond the reach of the mind

Transcript

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Shreemad Bhagavatam, 5.11.7 तावान अयम् विवारः सदान् शेत्रत्यसाक्षो भवतिस्तुनसूक्ष्णहि तस्मान्मनोनिंगमदोवदन्ति गुणागुणत्वस्यपरावरस्य So, here it is described how the mind is the ultimate cause of our bondage. तावन अयम् विवारः So, here विवारः refers to what we call as the practical wave in which we live, which is actually temporary and it is ultimately disconnected with the spiritual reality. So, we stay at the विवारः level.
The word विवारः is used by Mayavadis to refer to what is a lower reality, what is they say is an illusion and they say परमार्थिक is actual. But विवारः can also mean practical, not necessarily in terms of the Mayavadi terms but just we act at the bodily level, but we stay stuck at the bodily level सदावी, always that bodily level, our consciousness manifests that. छेत्रग्यसाक्षो भवतिस्तुलसूक्षमह So, the soul is actually the साक्षि, the witness of all these things.
स्तुलसूक्षमह So, Jada Bharat has been accused of being too fat, too thin and so incapable of carrying the palanquin of Maharaja Yuga. So, he is responding over here by saying that these kind of designations which belong to the body are assumed by the soul because of the mind. तस्माद मनो लिङ्गम अधोवदन्ति Therefore, because the soul assumes this because of the mind, so मनो लिङ्गम, the mind is considered of the cause, वदन्ति and गुण अगुणत्वस्य So, the mind, the person becomes absorbed in material modes or the person goes beyond the material modes.
विचेरवेत्वस्य परावरस्य of lower and higher conditions of life. So, basically, as long as we don’t get the mind under control, till that time, we will have to continue on in the cycle of birth and death. There is no way out of it.
And just like a person watching a movie and experiencing the emotions that are going on in the movie as one’s own, similarly, the soul captivates our consciousness and binds it to the body and the things connected with the body and, therefore, causes us to undergo the miserable material existence. So, as souls, we are observers, we are साक्षिः but गुण अगुणत्वस्य, we stay under the modes as long as we are subject to the mind. So, the purpose of chanting is not just to utter some sound vibrations and get it over with.
It is to understand that the holy name is Krishna descending from the spiritual level of reality to lift us up again to that level of reality. So, we need to take up the ladder that Krishna is offering. Offering doesn’t climb up.
That’s why when we say we have to be conscious of Krishna, it is not just a ritual. It is a route by which our consciousness rises from the material level of reality to the spiritual level of reality. And that involves fixing the mind.
If the mind doesn’t become exposed to the holy name, it won’t become purified. And if it doesn’t become purified, then it will keep us trapped in material existence. Therefore, recognizing that the sound of the holy name is an opportunity for us to rise above the reach of the mind, to break free from its bounds, we can force ourselves firmly and lovingly to receive the holy name attentively.
And the more we receive the holy name, the more we remember Krishna manifesting as a sacred sound, the more we will be able to become purified and experience the higher reality as the actual reality, the reality where we belong. And there we will eternally be happy. And as long as we don’t make this resolve to rein in the mind and to turn it towards Krishna, we sentence ourselves to stay at the material level and suffer under illusion.
That’s why, knowing that there is no alternative to the necessity for mind control, we can do what is necessary right away and start reaping its benefits from the present moment onwards.