When we are unable to focus on chanting, what can we do?
Answer Podcast
Transcript
This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
so sometimes when we chant we can’t absorb ourselves we just don’t feel any connection so what can we do at that time it is like when we are chanting it’s like a war against the mind because the mind goes away from Krishna and in a war we cannot go with a stereotype strategy sometimes the enemy attacks in a particular way and say if he decides I will go and fight with a sword but if the enemy is attacking with arrows even before I reach the enemy I will be wounded so chanting is important but the point of chanting is to focus on Krishna so if the mind is wandering too much then at that time we can take a little break and we can try to stimulate a connection with Krishna in some other way that means say we can sing the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra a few times or look at a picture of Krishna or verbally pray to Krishna so what may work for us for us individually will vary from person to person usually also reciting some prayers speaking our heart prayerfully to Krishna that helps a lot basically the holy name is spiritual but at our level our mind gets caught sometimes and Krishna is here we are here and the mind comes in the way so we have to find some way just like a river keeps moving towards the ocean even if there is a block some way up, down, round, left, right so like that we have to find some way and usually if we take inventory of our own spiritual practice if we look at whatever things that invokes spiritual emotion in us sometimes we like some kirtan or sometimes we like some darshan or sometimes we just heard some point in a class which we liked very much we can note it down in our phone or somewhere and basically these are called in Sanskrit as Uddipana Uddipana is spiritual stimuli so basically we have to so what will be a spiritual stimuli for you as an individual will vary from me and from others so each of us has to find out what are the most potent spiritual stimuli for us and we once we come to know of those stimuli then we try to make them as easily accessible as possible so if some kirtan tune we like then we can store it in our computer or our phone or whatever and hear that so that way even if we take a break for 2-3 minutes 5 minutes in the chanting and try to get that connect with Krishna and then resume the chanting we will find that we will be able to chant better the point of chanting is not just chanting the point of chanting is connecting with Krishna and if you are not connecting with Krishna then just chanting can become like a big burden so better take a little break and try to establish connection and then chant ok thank you Hare Krishna yeah