What does it mean to remember Krishna while chanting?

Transcript

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Question. What does it mean to remember Krishna while chanting? And how to do it practically? Prabhupada says that Sankirtan and Smaranam are not different. So, if you’re just chanting and hearing, that itself is remembering.
So, do we need to do anything apart from that? You mentioned that Smaranam is the essence of Bhakti. So, what exactly does it mean to do Smaranam? Is it different from chanting? That is, we all experience that there is something called mechanical chanting. Where we are uttering the words, the beads are being fingered by the hands.
But there is no focus on Krishna. I will be thinking about our job, our family, our health, our finances, whatever. The mind goes everywhere and then such sort of chanting is not very… even from the practical point of view, we don’t feel very enlivened to chant nor do we feel spiritually inspired or energized by the chanting.
So, that there is a difference between attentive chanting and inattentive chanting is something which we all experience in terms of the process as well as the result that we experience after the process. So, at the basic level, just uttering the sound and hearing the sound that itself is remembrance because Krishna is non-different from his holy name. Now, in specific situations to intensify or stimulate our remembrance we make a picture of Krishna.
We may recite some verses before praying and if the mind starts wandering maybe go back to those verses. Maybe focus on some quotes or chant in front of Tulsi or whatever. So, now these are other manifestations of Krishna which may stimulate remembrance of Krishna more quickly and once such remembrance is stimulated, after that we may be able to remember Krishna as the sound of the holy name more, better.
So, that means now, is it that remembering Krishna is something distinct from the sound of the holy name? No, not necessary. Although, primarily we hear the sound of the holy name attentively but that attention, we cannot make it, we cannot assume that it is there. So, just as Krishna is non-different from his deity at the same time, it is not that everyone is perceiving that non-difference and a pure devotee who sees Krishna’s deity feels a far greater level of enlivenment, far greater presence of Krishna there than does someone who does not have that realization.
So, just as the non-difference of Krishna with the deity is a spiritual fact but is not universally materially accessible and different people depend on their mood of devotion, their prayerful attitude, their attentiveness, their attempts to stimulate the remembrance of Krishna non-different from the deity, that will determine how much spiritual enlivenment, spiritual absorption, purification will happen by their taking darshan of the deity. So, similarly for us also, with respect to chanting the non-difference of Krishna and his holy name is a spiritual fact. At the same time, we have not yet realized it and we certainly, depending on how attentively we hear the holy name how much we try to draw our thoughts towards Krishna that will determine how much enlivenment, empowerment, purification we feel during and after chanting.
So, the point of saying that Smaranam is the essence of Bhakti is not to minimize chanting but to recognize that chanting is not just the utterance of the sounds. Bhaktivinoda Thakur says that japa is not meant to be lip deep. It is meant to be heart deep.
That means we don’t just utter the sound with the tongue but also we remember, we call out to Krishna Vidya, that means we remember Krishna. So now, it is not necessary to think about other things other manifestations of Krishna like Krishna’s pastimes, Krishna’s duty or anything like that. But if we feel, if we find it very difficult to focus on the holy name and the mind is dancing anywhere and everywhere anyway and we are struggling and failing in trying to control the mind then better let it go to some devotional manifestation and from that devotional manifestation we can bring it back to the sound of the holy name.
So, remembrance of Krishna essentially means being aware that it is the spiritual sound, the divine sound that is manifesting, it is Krishna manifesting and being attentive to that sound and when that is not possible then trying to remember Krishna in some other form and bringing the mind back to the sound of the holy name. So, this is what is the meaning that we should try to remember Krishna and by trying to focus on the sound or some other divine manifestation we can try to implement it practically. Thank you.