Question:

How can I increase my liking for the chanting of the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra?

Answer:

Generally, the taste is strong at the beginning of the Hare Krishna chanting practice. This is because we are starting to leave the material world and this feeling of relief gives us a great taste.

Over time, unfortunately, we become familiar with the mantra and with everything related to the spiritual life (the books, the devotees, the temple, etc.), and the pleasure inevitably diminishes because the sense of sacredness that we gave to all these things diminishes.

At this point, knowledge is fundamental, because it allows us to identify the Persons named in the mantra: Sri Sri Radha and Krishna.

Jnana strengthens intelligence, helps us overcome psychological difficulties and makes us strong enough to keep chanting even when we do not have much desire to chant.

Sastra (scriptures), Guru (the spiritual master), and Sadhu (saints) abound in the descriptions of the Maha Mantra, but there is one that Srila Prabhupada often mentions, which is particularly beautiful and complete, and it is found in Caitanya Caritamrita (Madhyalila 17,133):

nama cintamanih krishnas

caitanya rasa vigraha

purna suddha nitya mukta

abhinnatvad nama naminoh.

“The holy name of Krishna is transcendentally blissful. He gives all spiritual blessings, because He is Krishna Himself, the repository of all pleasure. Krishna’s name is complete, and it is the form of all transcendental mellows. It is not a material name under any conditions, and it is not less powerful than Krishna Himself. Since Krishna’s name is not contaminated by material qualities, it is never involved with maya. Krishna’s name is always liberated and spiritual; He is never conditioned by the laws of material nature. This is because the name of Krishna and Krishna Himself are identical.”

From this verse we learn a great deal of philosophical truth about Srinama, the transcendental Names. A book could be written about this verse.

Now that we know what the Names of Radha Krishna are, we must proceed to practice.

Knowledge and practice are the two sections of the path to spiritual realization. One can know what physical exercises can improve his health, but if he does not practice them, this knowledge will be useless. However, I must clarify that this analogy is imperfect, because although it is a fact that the mere knowledge of gymnastic exercises does not provide any benefits, the mere knowledge of the Mantra will give benefits.

But kirtana and japa must be practiced in order to receive the full benefit.

The Mantra should be recited carefully, that is, hearing all the names one by one.

One of the things we notice is that we cannot maintain our concentration. We chant or recite, but after a few repetitions of the mantra our attention strays and we think about other things. This is our yoga, our austerity. When we see that the mind moves away from the mantra, we must recover it and return to meditation.

If we do this, we have taken a big step towards spiritual realization.

Question #2:

What is the value of this song?

Answer:

Giving more importance to things in our material life is a serious obstacle for the spiritual life. Actually, in a few years, everything that we think is important will vanish and we will remain with only the inner quality that we have built by chanting the mantra. Therefore, give the greatest importance to the mantra and much less to other things.

Question #3:

How long do I still need to be able to chant the Holy Names correctly and without offences?

Response:

It depends only on the quality, not on the quantity.

This is a section of the book “On a Silver Platter”.

To buy the complete book, click above

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