How by our behavior, we give pain to the Lord in our Heart
The Medicine for this age is to chant the Holy Names-AFTER the ways of the great Authorities.
How to chant? This article is about that very process and the science or form behind it.
June 6 1974 Geneva
In the Bhagavad-gītā, the author of the Bhagavad-gītā is announced as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the Hindus, especially the Vaiṣṇavas… Vaiṣṇava or not Vaiṣṇava, Kṛṣṇa is accepted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Our Indian spiritual life is guided by the ācāryas, sampradāya ācārya, the Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, Viṣṇu Svāmī and Nimbārka. There is… Whole Indian spiritual culture is dependent on the guidance of these ācārya. And in the Bhagavad-gītā also, in the Thirteenth Chapter, it is advised, ācārya upāsanam: “One should follow the instruction of the ācārya.” That is our Vedic civilization. And in the Bhagavad-gītā, also, it is said in the fourth chapter, evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ [Bg. 4.2]. The science of God… Imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam [Bg. 4.1]. This is a yoga system, this Bhagavad-gītā.
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(my comment)-So in the above statement by Srila Prabhupada we can see how actual spirituality comes down to the common man, at any time in the history of the world-thru the chosen representatives of the Lord Himself, who are called Acaryas, or bona fide Spiritual Masters. When these persons descend into this world, they bring with them the power and authority of the Supreme Being-Krsna.
Today, we see that many millions of people accept that God is known as Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Where a problem could begin is when we do not understand what those chosen Acaryas or Spiritual Masters give to us as their teachings. Srila Prabhupada often gave the example of a Doctor giving his patient some medicine or prescription which is written on the bottle. If the patient takes the medicine, he will get well. If he concocts or makes up what “he thinks” he should do for his recovery, then success is not guaranteed.
Most of those who do chant Hare Krsna mantra are very fortunate because at least they understand they should chant, and that certain benefits will come if they continue to chant. What many do not understand is thatthis chanting of mantras, is a great science, and there are certain things that one should look out for if we want to receive the fruits of this chanting, namely, Love for God.)
SB 2.1.11 Translation-O King, constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord after the ways of the great authorities is the doubtless and fearless way of success for all, including those who are free from all material desires, those who are desirous of all material enjoyment, and also those who are self-satisfied by dint of transcendental knowledge.
PURPORT-…Here it is mentioned that one should constantly chant the holy name of the Lord after hearing it from authorities. This means that hearing from the authorities is the first essential. Hearing of the holy name gradually promotes one to the stage of hearing about His form, about His attributes, His pastimes and so on, and thus the necessity of the chanting of His glories develops successively. This process is recommendednot only for the successful execution of devotional service, but also even for those who are materially attached. According to Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī, this way of attaining success is an established fact, concluded not only by him, but also by all other previous ācāryas. Therefore, there is no need of further evidence.
Feb 25 1977 conversations
Rāmeśvara: … sometimes when we interview these people who are chanting, they speak from their own realization, and it is not exactly the version of Śukadeva Gosvāmī, it is not…, but it is their own realization, whatever little bit they have realized.
Prabhupāda: No, no. They may chant, but they must understand that the chanting process, that will be more effective. That they must know. Chanting is open. Anyone can chant, but they must know it, that “If I chant in the proper process, then it will be effective.”
Rāmeśvara: It must be clear to them that the goal is love of God, not something material.
Rāmeśvara: We want then to chant more.
Prabhupāda: Yes. But we must… They must know the science also.
Rāmeśvara: Just like this Alice Coltrane. She has done her small part. She made this record album with Govinda Jaya Jaya and Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Prabhupāda: That is… That will be a good thing. But when he (she) does it properly it will be more effective, because there is… If one does not chant in the process, then gradually it degrades. The offense will increase. There is chance.
(My comment)-This is a very nice instruction by Srila Prabhupada where he tells us that one must chant “in the process”, otherwise the whole thing will degrade due to the offense of not following that very process. This chanting of the Lords name is similar to coming, by your good fortune, into the presence of a great King, whereby you can expect some wonderful blessing or benediction from him, if you treat him right and don’t irritate him in any way. Chanting the names of God will give to us great benefit on so many levels, if we perform it properly.
Granted, Lord Caitanya said there are no hard and fast rules, but what does this mean? We all know there are 10 offenses to avoid while chanting Hare Krsna, the Lords Holy Names.. Are these not rules? No hard and fast rules means all the methods given in the Vedas for the other three ages,(Satya, Treta, Dvarapa) namely austere meditation, great and costly sacrifice, and opulent rigorous temple worship-all of these methods for self realization demanded great rigor and determination upon the aspiring person, none of which anybody can follow today.
We also know (from our bona fide Acarya Srila Prabhupada) that if we break the pious regulative principles, then we are sinful and a sinful person can hardly expect to get the Lords mercy when he knowingly commits sinful things.
So here below is just one statement by Srila Prabhupada regarding that form or process of chanting. This kind of chanting is like lighting a fire and then pouring water on that same fire we are trying to ignite.
Madhya 19.157 By contacting nondevotees and engaging in nondevotional
activities, a so-called mature devotee will fall victim to the mad elephant offense.
Whatever growth has taken place is quickly uprooted by such an offense. One
should therefore be very careful to defend the creeper by fencing it
in-that is, by following the regulative principles and associating
with pure devotees…. However, unless one follows the spiritual master’s
instructions and the regulative principles governing chanting and
hearing the holy name of the Lord, one cannot become a pure devotee.
By one’s mental concoctions, one falls down. By associating with
nondevotees, one breaks the regulative principles and is thereby lost.
(My comment)--I personally find this one to be very instructive because he tells us so much in one short paragraph. If we make it a habit to associate with non devotees (this association can take many forms-internet, TV, magazines, etc) and do some actions which have absolutely nothing to do with God consciousness or in other words, pleasing the Lords senses by direct devotional service, then Srila Prabhupada, who is a pure devotee, tells us that even a so called “mature” devotee falls victim to the worst of all offenses-the mad elephant offense (which means disobeying or offending the guru or Vaisnava) and whatever spiritual growth we have made, it is all torn up by a crazy elephant running all over our devotional creepers. So severe is this warning that Srila Prabhupada tells us that due to just bad association we are breaking the regulative principles and then we become “lost”. Lord Caitanya when asked by some householders as to what was their duty? He immediately replied, “asat sanga tyaga ei vaisnava acara”.. which means give up unwanted association, and only associate with devotees..
So does this means we totally ignore everybody who is not a “devotee” ? No, it simply means we treat all of those of this type only with formality and external hospitality, but never get into an intimate relationship with them who do not want to hear about the Supreme Lord, or His pastimes, but only want to tell you all about their most recent material affairs. How do we know who these people are? Just start talking about Krsna for a few minutes, and then they will change the subject or walk away. Then we know , they are asat sanga-useless for our dedicated self realization business and furthermore dangerous to it as well. The sastra tells us that it is better to be surrounded by fire, or snakes than to associate with materialistic people-it is THAT dangerous. So many who chant Hare Krsna will not believe these statements in sastra, which means they will have to wait a while longer before they go back to Home. Only the pure souls who do not disobey the guru are allowed entry into Vaikuntha. And this is just one instruction regarding the chanting.!
Madhya 12.135 purport-If a devotee at all wants to cleanse his heart, he must chant and hear the glories of the Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa (śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ). This is a simple process. Kṛṣṇa Himself will help cleanse the heart because He is already seated there. Kṛṣṇa wants to continue living within the heart, and the Lord wants to give directions, but one has to keep his heart as clean as Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu kept the Guṇḍicā temple. The devotee therefore has to cleanse his heart just as the Lord cleansed the Guṇḍicā temple.
…When one takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and engages himself in the devotional service of the Lord-beginning with chanting and hearing the glories of the Lord-the cleansing of the heart begins. When the heart is actually cleansed, one can clearly see the Lord sitting there without any disturbance. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (9.4.68) the Lord confirms that He sits within the heart of the pure devotee: sādhavo hṛdayaṁ mahyaṁ sādhūnāṁ hṛdayaṁ tv aham.Impersonal speculation, monism (merging into the existence of the Supreme), speculative knowledge, mystic yoga and meditation are all compared to grains of sand. They simply cause irritation to the heart. No one can satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead by such activities, nor do we give the Lord a chance to sit in our hearts peacefully. Rather, the Lord is simply disturbed by them.
SB 9.4.68 purport-Since Durvāsā Muni wanted to chastise Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, it is to be understood that he wanted to give pain to the heart of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for the Lord says, sādhavo hṛdayaṁ mahyam: “The pure devotee is always within the core of My heart.” The Lord’s feelings are like those of a father, who feels pain when his child is in pain. Therefore, offenses at the lotus feet of a devotee are serious. Caitanya Mahāprabhu has very strongly recommended that one not commit any offense at the lotus feet of a devotee. Such offenses are compared to a mad elephant because when a mad elephant enters a garden it causes devastation. Therefore one should be extremely careful not to commit offenses at the lotus feet of a pure devotee.
(my comment)–Another dire warning for us-if we want to disturb or give pain to the Lord in our hearts, then do all the things mentioned above without care. Here below is a few more warnings given in that same purport….)
…Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura explains that even though one may become free from the desire for fruitive activity, sometimes the subtle desire for fruitive activity again comes into being within the heart. One often thinks of conducting business to improve devotional activity. But the contamination is so strong that it may later develop intomisunderstanding, described as kuṭi-nāṭi (faultfinding) and pratiṣṭhāśā (the desire for name and fame and for high position), jīva-hiṁsā (envy of other living entities), niṣiddhācāra (accepting things forbidden in the śāstra), kāma (desire for material gain) and pūjā (hankering for popularity). The word kuṭi-nāṭi means “duplicity.”
Some Conclusions-So to sum this all up-it means we try, as devotees, to chant Hare Krsna always and be AWARE (thru the instructions/vani of guru) of what we are doing all the time so as not to offend the spiritual master,or the Lord in our hearts, but in fact are always trying to please him with our corrected behavior. BG 8.28 purport-…Study of the Vedas is not meant for the recreation of armchair speculators, but for the formation of character.
We do not want to give pain to the Lord in our hearts, but instead give pleasure to Him, and then He will see that we are sincere,and serious, and will grant us His Personal Darshan . When we see Krsna, the whole world will seem vacant or empty- if we lose sight of Him. Once we see Him, and can talk with Him, nothing material will ever satisfy us again. This is the perfection of all our lifetimes of work and is the supreme goal of life-Krsna prema pumartho puman-Love of God !
Hare Krsna
damaghosa das
