When we face problems in our spiritual life, is chanting extra rounds the way to solve all those problems?

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Any other questions? Question. When we face problems in our spiritual life, is increasing our chanting, chanting more rounds the solution to those problems? Answer. Chanting is definitely the yoga dharma and it can purify, clarify many issues and help us to tackle the problems.
So chanting is an extremely potent weapon. But at the same time, the ultimate test is whether it works for us. In 9.2 in the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna describes that it is directly experienced in our own lives, what is that result? That we feel happy.
So there are many devotees who insist that everybody should chant more rounds and that is definitely a good suggestion and often it is made with a good intention. But then we have to ultimately understand that the underlying principle of bhakti for doing everything is Anukulyasya Sankalvapati Kulyasya Varjanam. What is favorable for our devotion, we accept it.
Whatever is unfavorable, we put it aside. So we have to check for ourselves whether chanting of the holy names, especially beyond our prescribed rounds. Some devotees think that if I am facing some crisis in life, let me chant 64 rounds every day or let me chant 32 rounds every day.
So this desire itself is good. But at the same time, we also have to see the effect. So is it actually helping me to improve my consciousness? Is it helping me to gain more clarity and purity by which I can deal with the situation, respond to the situation, transcend the situation, whatever is best needed in that circumstance.
Is it helping me to do that? But this is something which each one of us has to check individually. And if we find that chanting far from removing the burdens that we are facing itself becomes a burden and we don’t feel like chanting, then chanting is not really helping us at that particular level of consciousness. The holy name is always potent and whenever we chant, we will be purified by it.
But ultimately our goal is not just to chant. Our goal is to love Krishna. Chanting is Krishna manifesting as his holy name and we need to develop our love for Krishna, the person.
And for that also means developing love for Krishna as the holy name, Krishna as the scriptures, Krishna as the devotees and so many other manifestations of Krishna. So importantly, the test for deciding whether something should be adopted or not is what is favorable for our devotional service, what helps us make spiritual advancement, what makes us break free from those problems and move closer to Krishna. So in general, when we face problems in our spiritual life, we may respond in two ways.
We may increase or intensify our practice of standard practices in Krishna consciousness or we may individualize means that we may decide to do more deity worship. We see some senior Shila Prabhupada disciples have their own personal deities which they worship and travel with. Or we may decide that we want to go deeper into scripture and we may decide that memorizing verses, understanding the Acharya’s commentaries that may give us strength.
Or we may find that some devotees like to do more of chanting of traditional mantras and doing some sort of yajnas and intensifying the purification in that way. That’s what they may find giving them strength. So individualization is also something that we see the different senior devotees do as far as what inspires them personally in their spiritual life.
So the point is that we are fighting a war and we have to see what works. We can’t just make a blanket prescription for everyone that whatever problem you have chant Hare Krishna, that problem will go away. What if that person finds the problem still there? Now we all have to experience Krishna and that experience of Krishna and the higher fulfillment which comes by that experience will purify us, will elevate us, will enable us to go beyond temptations, go beyond agitations.
So how Krishna will give that experience depends on him and also depends on our psychophysical nature, our kind of conditionings or in what way we will be able to best receive and relish that experience of Krishna. So when we are fighting a war, we have to see which weapon works. We are fighting a war against the mind, against the senses, against the ego.
And if we find that we just chant and our mind still keeps going crazy, it still keeps troubling us, then we may have to see that it’s not that the Holy Name is not potent. But at that particular time, we may not be able to access the potency of the Holy Name because of our disturbed consciousness. Certainly, we should chant our prescribed rounds that are given by our spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada.
But beyond that, whatever extra devotional service we do, we have to understand that there are 9 processes of devotional service. And beyond that, there are 64 items of devotional service as given in the Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu. So what this means is that we have to see what helps us individually in our practice of spiritual life and we do that.
So some devotees find that writing a personal journal and introspecting that way helps them understand their situation better and it helps them connect deeper with scripture and get guidance from the Supersoul within about how they should go ahead in spiritual life. So those who find shelter in extra chanting and get strength by that, that is wonderful if they get that. But that doesn’t mean that they should impose that on anyone else nor should we feel insecure or guilty if we are not chanting extra rounds.
We have to see what gives us strength and if chanting gives us strength, well and good. If extra chanting is not what gives us strength, then legislation doesn’t work as far as inspiration is concerned. When a war is going on, the warrior will try this weapon, that weapon, whichever weapon works against the enemy.
So we can try studying more, we can try taking darshan of the deities, we can try doing deity worship or we can try remembering and reciting verses, we can try hearing kirtans, we can try consulting devotees. Ultimately it’s a war and we have to see what works and we do that. By trying to legislate inspiration, we will simply alienate people and alienate ourselves from devotional activities because over a period of time, if we try to chant a lot and we don’t get a higher taste in chanting, we may even become offensive towards the Holy Name.
Why do I have to chant so much and I am chanting so much and why am I not getting taste? So the defining criteria is what enables us to gain strength in devotional service, we do that. So we will have to pray to Krishna, seek His guidance within and by that we will learn what it is that helps us, what it is that gives us strength and we do that and by that we move forward in our spiritual life. So therefore, this individualization, if somebody feels inspired to do that, then this person should not feel discouraged that I am not chanting extra rounds, I am doing other things.
No, it’s a war and whatever weapon works, we have to use that and by whatever weapon works, we mean that it is within the precincts of devotional service. Journal writing is also smaranam and kirtanam. It is we are contemplating and we are writing down.
We are writing down based on what we have heard from the scriptures and understood ourselves. So similarly, chanting extra rounds is a limb of devotional service. It is the central part of devotional service, no doubt, but ultimately the goal of life is not just to chant.
The goal of life is to develop a relationship with Krishna, to love Krishna and relationships are never mechanical. It is not that somebody chants 128 rounds, that person will develop pure love of God by that. Now we have to offer our heart to Krishna and whatever way we can best offer our heart, that is best known to us and to Krishna.
Now the spiritual master gives us some specific instructions, we can follow that. But the ground reality of ISKCON is such that the spiritual master don’t get to spend so much time, know the disciple precisely and then give specific guidance custom made to this disciple. So the whole process of chanting extra shouldn’t become an excuse for not taking responsibility for our relationship with Krishna.
What this means is that developing love for Krishna, developing a sense of connection, intersection of our emotional world with Krishna’s emotional world, that means we feel concerned about what Krishna feels concerned about, that is our responsibility. Chanting is the most powerful means because it is the Yuga Dharma, but chanting is not just utterance of the sound, chanting is a calling out to Krishna and that calling out may not always be possible for us beyond our 16 rounds, whatever is prescribed by the spiritual master. So we can’t make a legislation like that.
The important point is how can we develop our relationship with Krishna? So the important point is that we take up responsibility for developing our relationship with Krishna and if chanting is the means by which we find our relationship with Krishna developing, that’s wonderful. But if you find that there are other processes of devotional service, other activities by which we develop our relationship with Krishna, then we can do that also. Thank you.