By Vraja Bihari Das
“I have brought medicine to awaken every living being from perpetual sleep. Please receive the holy name of the Lord, the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra, and awaken.”
(Arunodaya Kirtana-II, verse four, by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur)
Today I woke up at 3.00 am humming a Bollywood number that I don’t remember hearing or singing even once in the last twenty years. From where did the song pop up suddenly? Even during the day, I caught myself remembering the song, and the movie in which the protagonist and the heroine romantically express their love for each other through this song. I have absolutely no emotional attachment to this song or the movie; either now or even two decades ago, I never went gaga over this song. There is no logical reason for me to remember this song. Well, I now conclude this is the invincible power of the mind. The mind has stored up all the various impressions I have gathered in all my millions of lifetimes. If even this lifetime impression is so deep rooted, little wonder then that the mind refuses to surrender to Krishna; it has unlimited memories of sense gratification spanning over a million lifetimes. What a formidable challenge indeed it is to go back home, back to godhead in one life time!
The Holy Names are compared to a medicine that awakens us from our deep slumber of ignorance. Some of us may be taking this medicine for few years now, yet the ignorance may appear to have not vanished; old conditionings may still haunt us. During such times, one may doubt the efficacy of the medicine.
But I do have hope; I have hummed the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra thousands of times over the last fifteen years. Hopefully as I am leaving this body, I will remember this Hare Krishna song, in its various melodies and I pray I can remember to chant with feeling. If a mundane song can occupy my mind space, and the file isn’t deleted despite fifteen years of devotional service, the only hope for me now is to fill my consciousness with the Hare Krishna chant. Yes let the mind conjure various thoughts and fantasies for enjoyment. That’s the nature of the unchaste and wicked mind; it knows no other business. I shall however continue to focus more on filling my mind and heart with Krishna’s beautiful Holy Names.
Although Krishna is most merciful, and we need to have faith that He shall indeed reciprocate with a sincere devotee at the time of death, we also need to guard against complacency. I can’t foolishly assure myself that I am going back to godhead and will certainly remember Krishna at the time of death. No! Today morning maya has gently reminded me that she hasn’t gone away; she is just round the corner, and she has unlimited baits stored up to lure me away from Krishna. This should make me more determined to chant attentively, knowing that the fight is on; it’s real and will last a lifetime.
Srila Prabhupada implores us to depend on Krishna and be alert and ever cautious while executing our Krishna conscious duties:
“Kunti devi was asking Krishna, “Do not leave us. Don’t think that we are safe now. We are not safe. Without Your protection, we are always unsafe.” This should be the position of the devotees. We are actually in a dangerous position, this material world. At any time, maya will catch, at any time. As soon as we are a little inattentive. “Now I have done my duty. Now let me take rest little.” No, there is no rest. We must be always alert…” (Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam, Los Angeles April 29’ 1973)
Therefore our only hope is Krishna and Srila Prabhupada assured us if we are sincere, we’ll surely succeed, by Krishna’s mercy. In one lecture in December 1968, Vishnujan dasa asked Srila Prabhupada how one could chant Hare Krishna when the mind is clouded with so much thoughts and impressions. Srila Prabhupada’s answer is hope giving, “At the same time, chant. Two things will go on, and this will conquer. As maya is forcing you to drag you from this Krishna consciousness, you also force maya by chanting Hare Krishna. There is fight. And maya will go away”
Hopefully when I near death, Krishna would be pleased with my sincere efforts, and help me remember Him. But for now, I am present with the most merciful form of His Holy Names, which is the real panacea and medicine for the suffering soul. I now chant with sincerity, being present, and with feeling, begging the Lord for enthusiasm and taste.
Vraja Bihari dasa holds a Masters degree in International Finance, and a MBA from Mumbai University. He is serving full time at ISKCON Chowpatty, and is an active teacher of Bhakti Yoga and a prolific writer on Krishna consciousness. He blogs over a dozen websites, and you can read his daily reflections on www.yogaformodernage.com
Vraja Bihari das has simply and brilliantly described what we all experience…the stream of constantly changing images in the mind. This is a good opportunity to discuss, not only the ultimate desire to develop love for Krishna (one is constantly thinking of their Beloved), but also the art of practicing yoga. Arjuna declares that it is more difficult to control the mind than to control the wind! Krishna says that it is possible.
We may hear different approaches from devotees. The primary realization is that as we become detached from our gross and subtle “bag of karma”, we can perceive that we are different from the body and the subtle mind. In fact, it is a painful realization when we find ourselves chasing the mind, becoming victims of our karma. It is ultimately our personal choice! In practicing the moment to moment discrimination needed to practice yoga, we must analyze the elements involved. Like the example of the chariot with horses, reigns, driver, passenger soul and sanctioning Supersoul (from the Upanishads), we can try to remain aloof or transcendental to the mind-stream, and then with feeling of sacrifice and hopefully devotion, use one’s free will to bring your attention back to Krishna in some way. In the Bhagavad gita when Krishna says: Bhoktaram yajna tapasam, “I am the enjoyer of all sacrifices”, then we can visualize that we are trying to please Krishna by sacrificing independent sense gratification (gross or subtle), and surrender to Krishna praying for His divine shelter. And in that same sloka, Krishna declares: suhrdam sarva bhutanam, “I am the dearmost Friend to all living beings”. Thus, Krishna will not undermine or defeat our sincere efforts to take shelter of Him. We must know this, for without that faith we are doomed. Now, Lord Chaitanya has made approach to Krishna so easy through the sankirtan of the Holy Names. When we awaken to our confusion with matter on the mental plane, then we can easily draw our attention back to Krishna by remembrance of the Holy Names.
It is a wonderful topic of the art of yoga that we are engaged in. If we are losing the taste for lording over matter, it is a simple exercise…but, one that goes on moment to moment throughout our life. Pusta Krishna das