With what mental attitude should we chant the rounds?
The answer is in the Siksastakam, the eight prayers written by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Briefly:
The first two verses explain the importance of the Holy names of Krishna and the remaining six teach how we should chant Them.
The third verse states that we should chant in a humble state of mind.
trnad api sunicena
taror api sahisnuna
amanina manadena
kirtaniyah sada harih
“One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige and should be ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.”
What does “being humble” mean?
Humbleness is the natural mental state of someone who is in love. If we fall in love with a woman we do not speak or behave with arrogance or by bullying her. Our mental state is gentle. We want to make her happy.
Through knowledge, practice of the principles taught in that knowledge and consequent realization, we feel attracted to Radha Krishna, to Vrindavana and to Their wonderful pastimes. At that time nothing and nobody really matters anymore and we become lost in that world of transcendental love.
That “gentle” and “in love” state of mind is what “humble” means.
Only in that state of mind we can chant the names of Radha Krishna always, without ceasing (sada harih).
And until we are not so lost in love of Radha Krishna and therefore we are not “trnad api sunicena” (feeling lower than a downtrodden grass), nor “taror api sahisnuna” (more tolerant than a tree), nor “amanina” (without being puffed up by false pride) nor manadena (giving respect to all), what should we do?
The explanation is included in the answer of the next question.
Post view 362 times
Leave a Reply