iMonk | September 2007

Johannesburg, South Africa — Friday, September 14th

Chanting

During my first two weeks at the Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Ashram here in Lenasia, I have been emphasizing how important it is for us to always try to chant our prescribed number of rounds on our japa mala every day. Many of the devotees here have since asked: "How should we chant the Holy Name? What should we think of when we chant the maha-mantra?"

In Search For Sri Krishna—Reality the Beautiful, Srila Sridhar Maharaj gives an extensive explanation of what sort of mentality and service mood we should have when chanting the Holy Name of Krishna, but recently I have received so much comfort, hope, and encouragement from this passage in Sermons of the Guardian of Devotion III:

"I am in difficulty, and this will give real relief to all my troubles. [Chanting the maha-mantra] will put an end to all the troubles I am experiencing now, as well as any I am to experience in the future. I am a bona fide student, searching for my own real inner interest. I must be faithful to my own self. I feel that I am uneasy here in this world and I must search for some 'home comfort.' If I am sincere, I know that the way forward will be open to me, and that it is not difficult: it is there in the sound aspect of the Supreme."

Sound carries news from far away, from further than the eye can see, so "for a beginner, that ear experience is a great thing." Srila Guru Maharaj encourages us to "take advantage of Divine Sound," because sound "is easily approachable for the beginners."

Of course, "to take advantage of Divine Sound" means "to make good use of the opportunity offered to us by the Holy Name," not "to exploit or make unfair use of the maha-mantra for our own selfish benefit"!

We must have faith that, "If I do this, if I attend to this sankirtan, then everything will be done." And Srila Guru Maharaj promises us that "if we cooperate with this sound aspect of the Supreme, many other aspects of the Infinite will come to help us... if our faith is heartfelt and sincere."

Tags: Chanting

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