Should we chant and wait for feeling to come or chant with feeling?

Transcript

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consciousness. So, the question is, that sometimes we are told that we should just chant without, and gradually the feeling will come, but other times we are told that we should chant with feeling, otherwise it will just simply become mechanical. So, actually both are valid.
So, our feelings and our activities are not entirely disconnected. They are, as I mentioned in the word also, they are symbiotic. So, when I initially start my devotional activities, it’s not that I am expected to have a lot of feelings.
You know, I start off because we are doing Vaidhi Bhakti. Vaidhi Bhakti means, I am doing this as rules and regulations which the scriptures are telling. But by doing Vaidhi Bhakti, some devotional feeling will come and we cherish that feeling.
So, as we cherish that feeling and then reinvest that feeling in the devotional activity that we do, then Krishna sees that we are valuing what we are getting and then he gives us more. So, the idea is that we don’t be feeling centered or feeling motivated. We be service centered and service motivated.
But one aspect of service is also to invest our feelings in Krishna. That means, if I am say going in front of the deities and taking darshan, there is one way I can take darshan is, I can just casually move my eyes across the deities, may fold my hands, bend down and just move away from there. Another way is that I can try to focus, maybe I can try to remember some prayers or I can look carefully and whatever little devotion I have, I try to muster that and with that I pray to Krishna.
So, the idea is that when we are doing devotional activities regularly, it is very easily possible that they may become mechanical. So, they should not become mechanical means that wherever we are capable of investing some feelings, we should not be negligent of those feelings because of lethargy or apathy. We should try to invest the feelings.
So, when we, the basic principle is that we want to serve Krishna, one aspect of serving Krishna is also that we try to invest our feelings and as a reciprocation from Krishna, the feelings will come steadily as we advance and for us, the two injunctions are not contradictory because whether we have feelings or not, we do service to Krishna anyway, we chant anyway, that is fine but when we are chanting, we can be intentionally negligent and pay no attention and somehow utter the words or we can, whatever little feelings we have, we use those and that way we can increase our devotion. Suppose somebody has somebody has got a fracture in the hand and the hand has become completely immobilized and then the person is told now you exercise your hand and then the person says okay I try to exercise but I can’t even lift even one finger what is the use of exercising but then the doctor will tell okay can you just move the upper part of the smallest finger maybe just one millimeter above the ground above the bed on which you’re sleeping yeah I can do that much okay do that much even if you’re not able to move the hand doesn’t matter just move that much and then what will happen is by that the muscles will start getting activated the nervous and the nerves will start working and then the person will be able to move the finger and then maybe move all fingers then start moving the palm then start moving the full wrist and then maybe the forearm and then the full arm and gradually the person will regain mobility so similarly the idea is initially even if we don’t seem to have any feelings still we should start bhakti we should start doing the devotional activities and over a period of time as we keep practicing bhakti the feelings will grow and when we have the capacity for feelings at that time we should not neglect and just do the activity mechanically whatever little feelings we have we should invest so the essence of the both the reconciling factor for both the injunctions is that we be service centered not feeling centered but one aspect of service centeredness is also to invest whatever feelings we presently have in Krishna’s service thereby showing him that we value the feelings that he is giving us and then Krishna will enrich us with deeper and sweeter devotional feelings. Thank you.