REFLECTIONS/JAPA MEDITATIONS
You can develop love for KαΉαΉ£αΉa 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 KαΉαΉ£αΉa. KαΉαΉ£αΉa 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.
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In the Eighth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gΔ«tΔ, Arjuna asks, “What should one think of at the time of death?” So KαΉαΉ£αΉa says, “You should think of KαΉαΉ£αΉa at the time of death.” And then purport after purport, ΕrΔ«la PrabhupΔda recommends the Hare KαΉαΉ£αΉa mantra, which he then prints in text after text. So this, he said, is the way to think of KαΉαΉ£αΉa. Immediately, by the name of KαΉαΉ£αΉa, it is the quickest way; it is the best way. Everything is there—His energy, His pastimes, His form. Everything is in His name. NΔma cintΔmaαΉiαΈ₯ kαΉαΉ£αΉaΕ caitanya-rasa-vigrahaαΈ₯. The name KαΉαΉ£αΉa is not different from KαΉαΉ£αΉa.
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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 PaΓ±ca-tattva or KαΉαΉ£αΉa or the GosvΔmΔ«s, just as long as you chant and hear. The main thing in japa is not looking at pictures but chanting and hearing.
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As you already know, the best way to cure anxiety is to chant Hare KαΉαΉ£αΉa. 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 KαΉαΉ£αΉa mantra.
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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.”
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At the end of the list of ten offenses in The Nectar of Devotion , PrabhupΔda has written, “Anyone who claims to be a VaiαΉ£αΉava 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. PadaαΉ padaαΉ yad vipadΔm na teαΉ£aαΉ. At every step you chant the holy name.
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Chanting is the heart of bhakti. It cleans the heart. The chanting of Hare KαΉαΉ£αΉa is so powerful— ΕαΉαΉvatΔαΉ sva-kathΔαΈ₯ kαΉαΉ£αΉaαΈ₯ puαΉya-ΕravaαΉa-kΔ«rtanaαΈ₯ / hαΉdy antaαΈ₯ stho hy abhadrΔαΉi vidhunoti suhαΉt satΔm (BhΔg. 1.2.17). The Lord is in the heart, and when one chants Hare KαΉαΉ£αΉa, 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 KαΉαΉ£αΉa, the Lord in the heart cleans away all sinful activities, and everything becomes auspicious.
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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 saαΉ kΔ«rtana 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 saαΉ kΔ«rtana 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 KαΉαΉ£αΉa 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.”
