REFLECTIONS/JAPA MEDITATIONS
You can develop love for Kṛṣṇa by chanting japa on the order of the spiritual master. If you have love for the order of the spiritual master, then that is the same as love for Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa will see you and say, “This devotee is so nicely struggling to chant because his spiritual master told him to chant.” He will be pleased by that love for your spiritual master’s order. So do not minimize the importance of the holy name.
******
In the Eighth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, Arjuna asks, “What should one think of at the time of death?” So Kṛṣṇa says, “You should think of Kṛṣṇa at the time of death.” And then purport after purport, Śrīla Prabhupāda recommends the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, which he then prints in text after text. So this, he said, is the way to think of Kṛṣṇa. Immediately, by the name of Kṛṣṇa, it is the quickest way; it is the best way. Everything is there—His energy, His pastimes, His form. Everything is in His name. Nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇaś caitanya-rasa-vigrahaḥ. The name Kṛṣṇa is not different from Kṛṣṇa.
******
If by looking at the pictures you become distracted into different thoughts of intricate relationships between the Lord and His eternal associates, then it is not as good as simply chanting like anything. So it does not matter whether you look at a picture of Pañca-tattva or Kṛṣṇa or the Gosvāmīs, just as long as you chant and hear. The main thing in japa is not looking at pictures but chanting and hearing.
******
As you already know, the best way to cure anxiety is to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Often when I am traveling there are long delays, sometimes there are difficult conditions in some of the countries with the immigrations officials, sometimes we are detained, etc. Whenever there are long detaining situations or situations that demand tolerance, I always go on chanting in my mind, deliberately and steadily repeating the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.
******
In chanting you must submit your time, the attention of your mind, and your voice to the sound vibrations, and then eventually more and more submit your whole self to the holy name. You can simultaneously hear and also think of the prayer, “O Lord, please engage me in Your service.”
******
At the end of the list of ten offenses in The Nectar of Devotion , Prabhupāda has written, “Anyone who claims to be a Vaiṣṇava should be very careful about guarding against these offenses.” So if we claim to be a devotee, intellectually we must admit that this chanting is very, very important—especially in the time of danger. But when is that? That time is every time. Padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadām na teṣaṁ. At every step you chant the holy name.
******
Chanting is the heart of bhakti. It cleans the heart. The chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa is so powerful— śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ / hṛdy antaḥ stho hy abhadrāṇi vidhunoti suhṛt satām (Bhāg. 1.2.17). The Lord is in the heart, and when one chants Hare Kṛṣṇa, he becomes pious. It is the most pious activity; it is not just a matter of atonement to cleanse away what sins you have. When you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, the Lord in the heart cleans away all sinful activities, and everything becomes auspicious.
******
As we chant more and more we realize that this chanting is keeping us within the spiritual energy. Also we can take the words of authority—Lord Caitanya said, “All glories to the saṅkīrtana movement which cleanses the heart of all the dirt accumulated for many lives.” By chanting, the fire of conditional life—repeated birth and death—is extinguished. “The saṅkīrtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large, and it spreads the rays of the benediction moon.” This means that as the moon starts out as a small sliver and grows to a full moon, so you start chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa faithfully (without offenses), and you will realize the full moon of love of God. “The life of transcendental knowledge increases the ocean of bliss and gives us a taste of the nectar for which we are always anxious.”
