By Kesava Krsna Dasa
We read a BBT publication before joining Iskcon. We learn of inner tranquillity, peaceful coexistence and divine vaisnava qualities. After we join, we often discover a world of hard-hearted Bhakti in practice. Iskcon has softened up recently, but if we retain Westernised versions of renunciation and jnana, then our pursuits into devotee care and welfare will mean little to us.
Many of us left our parents, families and homes to join another family and home called Iskcon. The commune family we joined, and the lifestyle thereof was radically different. From how to cut oranges to how we dressed, all was an extreme cultural turnaround. Not everyone felt comfortable within this home away from home.
As members of Iskcon, we have a few homes. We take shelter of the holy name, and wherever we chant, that is home. We have the shelter of vaisnava association and their presence is home. We have our service to perform for Iskcon, and that is home. All these homes are within the “house in which the whole world can live.” The whole world is an incredibly diverse place. Can we accommodate such diversity?
Although communal living is challenging, on top of associating in the mix, a strong sense of detachment enabled the cooperation of teamwork, in often demanding and austere conditions. A constant, vigorous pace was kept, that assured “lazies” could not endure. The punishing austerities sometimes suited the “crazies.” In all it was a fitting place for energetic young devotees to serve the mission of Iskcon. Communal living has partly given way to congregational living.
Many devotees, who were previously “staunch” and who now care for their own homes and families, have softened up. We observe how our senior leaders soften up due to advancement in Bhakti, and caring for their own family of disciples. See how the family spirit helps. Along with this comes the need for devotee care and welfare. This will take time to filter through for several reasons, and for these to work, the family spirit has to be further extended.
Clinical Bhakti
When we chant Hare Krishna nicely, a natural sense of detachment develops. We become callous. It is a self-defence mechanism. Doesn’t Lord Krishna tell us to lament neither, for the living or dead? (BG 2.11) While living in communal life one certainly has to be detached in order to stay aloof from diverse human conditioning.
The problems arise when our callousness spills over towards our fellow devotees, and by extension to the people of “outside” world. This attitude creates an environment unsuited for soft or mature Bhakti. How many devotees presently living outside the temples would move back into a temple to embrace communal life again? If not, why? Can we imagine a soft mature devotee sharing the same facilities as new inmates who are trying to make sense of renunciation and callousness? It would be a travesty.
Yet when we visit a temple we still observe clinical elements of devotion displayed, that is different from how we introduce Krishna consciousness to our own families. Is there more love in our homes than in our temples or ashramas? If so, then the Iskcon with its detachment becomes similar to a working or office environment. In such situations, individuals have to suspend their usual likes and dislikes for the greater whole. See where artificial repression can lead to unhappiness.
If we hope to have devotee care facilities, or conduct welfare programs amid these same clinical conditions, we shall learn why those who left Iskcon due to lack of love and attention may be sceptical. Doctors are clinical or detached – they are taught to be. People do not like hospitals very much. If devotees retain the same callousness, which is jnana gone awry, then the facilities meant for administering of love and attention will remain work-like or office-like.
Redirected Jnana
When natural detachment does arise from chanting Hare Krishna, our jnana should lead us to see that our fellow devotees are not on our callous list. Perhaps more devotees should be honoured on their birthdays. Sometimes we are afraid that our own children might end up in a “callous” asrama. Is the House of Iskcon meant to be like a busy, callous workplace?
The same jnana should be orientated towards replicating home family life into our community and temple dealings. Managers literally have to be big brother, sister, uncle, auntie, father and mother figures without Orwellian notions. Westernised versions of detachment lead to impersonal and often hostile uses of leadership, when in the hard-hearted Bhakti state. Hard-hearted decisions have to be made sometimes, leaving at least one party or individual aggrieved.
Elderly Homecoming
More of our soft-hearted devotees are entering an elderly state. They won’t want to spend the rest of their days at home, but to preach somehow. They may not have disciples to care for them, but would like to stay in a temple. In Vedic family tradition, the elders are honoured.
Have we matured yet as an Iskcon family to allow our grandfather or grandmother figure devotees to live in a temple? Think of the sobriety they can lend to young asrama residents. Think of the welcome hospitality they can extend to all guests. Think of the wisdom they can impart. Are we ready for them? Of course, they will need separate amenities. Since this a family matter, does financial expediency come first?
If financial concerns are a priority over devotee needs, we are not ready to implement noble concepts of devotee care and welfare. Elderly people can cost a lot. Will the cost of caring for an elderly vaisnava be too much? Would it be sensible to have separate temples for the elderly who are still active? This scenario will materialise sooner or later.
A Career in Iskcon
Years ago, living full-time in a temple seemed a certain life-long career option. As many of us learnt, it is not so easy to live within a commune. Senior devotees now require their own space to develop individual Krishna consciousness. We are all different. The appeal for commune life has waned. Many of our temples are now sparsely populated. Pujaris often have to be imported.
Some of our senior devotees try to impress upon career-minded people that it will be well worth their time if they opt for a full-time career within Iskcon. This might be difficult, because only certain types of mentalities can withstand the rigours of simple and austere temple life. Besides, our career options are too few for an “incredibly diverse” world.
Nowadays we have expanded our range of Iskcon experience to include the homes of devotees. We generally find that there is a preference for staying in these homes. What then of the much larger house or home called Iskcon? If our temples are not homes, as to be inviting and accommodating for all but the simple and austere, does that make them again, comparable to office or workplace settings?
How are we going to attract the type of balanced people into our temples if at present, many of our senior devotees will not or cannot live or stay in them? Should we broaden the range of service interests in our temples to help with this? Perhaps we should consider that less people nowadays subscribe to the large hippy following of the 1960’s. Communal living is less appealing.
Would it be worth our while to find out why it is that devotees prefer to serve the presiding deities of their respective temples, but from a distance? Are our temples really that unfriendly? Would it be another travesty to say that our temples should be more homely? Why not… if deities can be worshipped at home, then…?
Hard to Soft
If there is a recurring management agenda topic concerning the need for more caring dealings between devotees and the community, then we must seek soft-hearted devotees to take charge. In fact, all managers should be softened by Bhakti. It is a common sense requirement. Failing this, we perpetuate a hardness that is rooted in the past that caused many devotees to leave.
If devotees continue to leave, we must bear the responsibility for both not being diverse or innovative enough, not caring or parental, not homely enough, and so on. There has to be an undercurrent of softness or maturity prevailing in all our dealings, then just like a child cannot leave its caring parents, who would be hard-pressed to ever leave Iskcon? It is not simply a matter for our callousness to claim otherwise.
Ys Kesava Krsna Dasa – GRS.
Unless ISKCON understands that Srila Prabhupada’s number one priority and prime directive was the public chanting of the maha mantra there will be so much confusion and conflict within the organization. We need a reformation spearheaded by daily Hari Nama Sankirtana from all the temples. Until this is actuated we can expect all the problems you delineate to only increase.
There is probably many more factors at work in the historical demographic shift in ISKCON — which had transformed from communal asrams full of youthful converts in the 1970s to broader congregational communities with older devotees and a large percentage of members from faithful Hindu families as we see today — than simply a move from “hard”, “callous”, “austere” bhakti to a “soft”, “compassionate” and “balanced” alternative.
That is, there are all kinds of historical changes taking place externally, some very positive, some just a natural result of devotees getting older and more realistic about how much austerity they can accept for the long haul, some just a shift in the economy, or the “modes”, the decline of hippie insouciance in the face of anxiety over economic concerns, some a result of the preaching success of the Indian yatra and the liberalization of immigration policies, etc.
While the creation of broader congregations with serious householder devotees being more integrated in the mainstream economy with respectable and lucrative professional or business engagements and responsibility in the matter of caring for children and other family dependents is a very positive thing, we do need to somehow continue to attract young people to enthusiastically embrace the simple, austere, communal lifestyle of complete dedication, at least as a formative training period for sense control that should carry with us through the later stages of life.
In the 1970s we may have over-emphasized the life of renunciation and rejection of all the trappings of family life and economic development. In the past we did not have a strong householder asram, but we do not want to run the risk of having *only* a householder asram, either. The life of devotional service is renunciation.
To have nice brahmacari asrams requires good, senior brahmacari or sannyasi leadership, to set an example and provide the required training.
We also need to allay the fear or suspicion that for a young man to spend his formative years (say, 15-25 years old) in a brahmacari asram will hurt his chances of future economic success. On the contrary, the training one gets in self control, in simple living, in having a clear sense of identity and purpose, should prepare one for success in future life (just as in many families it is thought that training and discipline in military school provides a good background).
A balanced society should display all asramas in perfect harmony.
Keshava Krishna das has written an interesting scenario to comment on. From my own experience, joining ISKCON in 1970, I truly felt the pull of Krishna, the All Attractive (Supremely Magnetic Person) Krishna. It was virtually a transcendental transaction. In the 7th. canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam, there is a description of the jiva souls as being like iron filings, and Krishna is a Supreme Magnet. The pull of Krishna was not stoppable for me. I do not think that the experience of others, for the most part, was any different than my experience. Everyone seemed to sacrifice a good deal of their former lives in order to join ISKCON. Ashram life was full and, as Keshava Krishna das alludes to, sometimes a little disheartening. When I joined, I left college close to graduation, having already been accepted to medical school, and immediately went to East Pakistan, one month before the war in Bangladesh. One either had to depend on Krishna, or go quite mad!
I know that each of us has a story to tell, and it is one filled with intense hope, and feelings of love and affection for Krishna. What a relief to find Krishna! I do not think it is fair to attempt to pick apart the negative side of life in ISKCON. We know that the environment of the Kali Yuga, the age of quarrel, is a most difficult environment. Yet, as the Srimad Bhagavatam states, there is but one good thing about the Kali Yuga…kirtanadeva krishnasya mukta…by Lord Chaitanya’s grace, approach to Krishna has been made so easy.
Now, consider the sacrifices that Srila Prabhupad made in coming to the West to offer this opportunity to mlecchas. He left Vrindaban at age 70, was threatened with heart attack, and by crazed knife wielding hippies who would try to hurt him. He virtually nurtured us, baby-sat us, brought us around to a higher state of spiritual health, gave us countless instructions, provided places for us and all to enter Krishna’s service throughout the world and in the holy places of India. We must not try to assess this with mundane vision! We must not calculate what we have lost to take to Krishna! That is ignorant and counter to true reality. Isavasyam. Krishna is the Proprietor of everything, including our very body, and our very souls. What glorious life had we sacrificed to take to Krishna. It was the life of worms in stool, truly. And we must therefore pray for Srila Prabhupad’s mercy, in whatever situation we now find ourselves. Pusta Krishna das
When I attended the last Ratha-Yatra in Durban, I had a long talk with a senior Prabhupada disciple. Aside from social changes within Iskcon, the rest of the talk centred on the “old” sankirtana days, particularly in America and UK, Europe.
His eyes brightened to reminisce about those days. These stories were of his personal experiences with known names of Iskcon. We all watch the Srila Prabhupada Memories DVD’s and marvel at the great fortune of personal interactions with Srila Prabhupada.
The sankirtana stories I heard – some known – and many others not, although pleasing to hear, were a reflection of how things were in those days. Some stories were so ludicrous one could not help but laugh. I mean ridiculous in the sense of the innocent attempts to please, sometimes by “Hook or Crook.” All the ingenious ways to cut costs… to squeeze around the law… the driving exploits… the sankirtana methods… and the rest, were not exactly the stuff to have recorded for posterity for the public.
But granted, these added to the adventure, not to speak of the purification of preaching. We cannot take this experience away from anybody. I am no stranger those short-changing competitive ways. Indeed I was jailed overnight 7 times in various cities for breaching pedestrian bye-laws on book distribution, and for having no fixed address while travelling sankirtaning in vans. A fine, or confiscation of book Laksmi was usual. Other devotees were jailed more times than I.
This is unnecessary information from my part, but for the future of Iskcon, can we perpetuate these ways? We cannot. It may seem a harsh indictment to speak of “hard-hearted” Bhakti in relation to the many sweet memories, but we have to grow up. Growing up means having an Iskcon more reflective of the experience and purity earned. The memories live on, but not in practice in all areas.
The “Intelligence and Organisation,” that Srila Prabhupada desired seeks to redress, as the public expect us to, according to what they read in his books. Devotees involved in Iskcon management deal with these issues.
Ys Kesava Krsna Dasa.
I want to challenge the terms used here: “hard-hearted bhakti”. We must know that bhakti implies a soft-heart. Simply because one may wear a dhoti, tilak, and appear externally to be a vaishnava, we cannot accept that external paraphernalia is sufficient to designate one as a “bhakta”. Bhakta means one who is maintained by Krishna. This implies that one feels fully dependent upon Krishna for everything. It may actually be a rather rare position in this world. Just as in other traditions, whether it be muslin or christian, etc, one may challenge that someone is not a devotee simply by saying so, it is also true in the vaishnava spiritual culture. So, we must not judge our experiences when disturbing in the practice of Krishna consciousness as being representative of the path of bhakti. It will lead to a loss of faith if we see that all experiences in ISKCON are to be representative of the path of bhakti. Many experiences will represent the true path, and some will not. If we misjudge those non-representative experiences as important, then we might find justification, unfortunately, to leave the path to Krishna and to resume a mundane consciousness. We will find that people who treat us nice in this world, but who do not remind us of Krishna, as more important than the aspiring bhaktas. The interactions of those who draw us away from God consciousness is a form of spiritual negligence, and the attempts to remind us of Krishna, even when imperfect, are much more valuable to the journey of the soul.
We need encouragement, reinforcement, in the journey to Krishna. Discouragement may be looked upon as a bump in the road. But, it is enlightenment not to leave that road, no matter what. Ultimately, and this is important so note, we are not in control of our situation in this world completely. Krishna is the Supreme Controller. Eko bahunam yo vidhadhati kaman. He will arrange an environment suitable for us. We are always, and in all circumstances, dependent upon Krishna. That is the fundamental condition of the “bhakta”, maintained and dependent upon Krishna. Pusta Krishna das
(2)
Here is another way to look at matters: this “hard-heartedness is not always observed. For instance, you are a senior devotee. Like many other senior devotees, you will receive all attention and respect.
Being accustomed to this attention and respect can shield one from certain perspectives. “Everything is so nice… I am really taken care of…”
The reality at grassroots level, say within an ashrama, or general interactions between diverse newcomers and so on, the “hard-heartedness” may prevail.
This is not surprising because most of us have experienced similar “rough and tumble” in our early years. It is a natural occurrence to be expected. Constant senior association can help neutralise this and give sobriety.
If however, we neglect to acknowledge that such behaviour might exist, and let it continue, then it is going to be difficult to encourage new people to come or stay, what to speak of starting care and welfare programs. The grassroots area has to be softened.
This is simply raising an issue we all know about. It might appear negative in the world of Bhakti, but to notice, and hopefully deal with it is the duty of responsible managers intent on organising our home with intelligence.
Ys Kesava Krsna Dasa.
(1)
Pustakrsna Prabhu,
Yes, you are right. There is no such thing as “hard-hearted Bhakti” in reality. It is a challenging title. I purposely chose it to highlight something.
Within the ambit of “Intelligence and Organisation” we have to acknowledge the “negatives” in order to proceed with a future vision of our Iskcon home.
It is correct to be all positive about the effects of devotion – no argument. But it would be incorrect simply to be all positive without dealing with the negatives.
What Srila Prabhupada gave as an unlimited gift is all positive. The application and use of that gift might not be. Where it might not be, we cannot be blind to it. This comes with the “Intelligence” to be aware, then “Organise” accordingly.
There are times when we need to have a good look at ourselves, and our place within the Iskcon home. Why have so many left? Why is there a “Silent majority” of devotees, including Prabhupada disciples, who keep a distance?
Many of them want to be active within our home, but certain conditions prevent this. Why? Are we to ignore it completely because “Bhakti” is all positive? Isn’t Bhakti meant to be inclusive? Or is Iskcon exclusive?
Sometimes hard questions have to be asked. Didn’t Srila Prabhupada see challenges to his fledging Iskcon, and on occasion, drastically resolve them? He saw the negative, and acted – “Intelligence and Organisation.”
What I highlighted in this article is not quite a big challenge. It is more a question of refinement for our home. You mentioned in your comment that the apparent rough and tumble was, “It was the life of worms in stool, truly.”
This sounds like a candidate for refinement. Such refinement comes with becoming soft-hearted due to Bhakti.
The Golden Rule that was taught to us as children is good to remember: Do Unto Others as You Would Have Others Do Unto You. Really, no one likes to be abused, physically or verbally. It requires a little sensitivity and insight.
Still, each of us is traversing through this human time with unique experiences and a unique perspective. The difficulty comes when faith is just developing. Then, one might more easily turn away from the path that they may have entered upon. When faith is more deeply rooted, it is less likely that one might fall away from the path of God’s service. Many people consider themselves “spiritual” but not “religious”. I suspect that is also true for some who have come to spirituality through the path of Krishna consciousness. When we consider the issues that Keshava Krishna das has highlighted here, we can see that this is a real possibility. When unqualified brahmanas, priests, or other spiritual leaders act hurtfully, there can be a reaction that is difficult to reverse. One does not want to be hurt, one does not want to be gullible, and one does not want to be vulnerable again and again. This surely is behind much of the splintering that occurred in the Krishna conscious movement especially in the West. I have witnessed how some of Srila Prabhupad’s disciples went searching for a new home in other vaishnava missions. And, I have seen some horrible behavior evolve in these other vaishnava missions as well. One is left scratching their head and wondering…”what the ______”!
It is important to depend on Krishna and believe in the guidance of Sri Gurudeva. Srila Prabhupad is very unique. Again, I will share with you something of his character. In order that I do not go over the word limit here, I shall start this in the next space. It is intended to show you how Srila Prabhupad is a transparent via medium to Krishna. I have seen how some vaishnava groups have deified the position of Guru. Yes, you can quote verses, but so can I. Mam ekam saranam vraja. Surrender unto me only (BG 18.66). Sri Gurudeva is worthy of worship and service, because he will never cheat you. When Srila Prabhupad is asked, time and again, “what do you want most of me?” His answer is always, humbly, “that you will love Krishna”. Pusta Krishna das…continued
continued…
So, I said that I would again share something with you of Srila Prabhupad’s character. I have written of this before, and I shall again herein. When I first met Srila Prabhupad in Bombay (Mumbai) in 1971, having just arrived from preaching work in Dacca, East Pakistan when the Bangladesh war first broke out, I was sitting along in the quarters speaking with Srila Prabhupad. Having revealed my heart to Srila Prabhupad, I said to him…”Srila Prabhupad, you are the only person I trust in this world”. Srila Prabhupad, with all humility said, “Don’t trust me, I may let you down. Trust Krishna, He will never let you down.” I know that there are many who may try to twist this, to deify the Guru, but I take this that Srila Prabhupad is a true Guru. Sri Krishna said to surrender unto Me, and Srila Prabhupad said to surrender unto Krishna. He never tried to steal us from Krishna. He never tried to develop a cult around himself, as I have seen some vaishnava lines doing. Srila Prabhupad had perfect faith in Krishna. Even though you may not be able to see Him, He is present, always. Our dearmost Friend. Srila Prabhupad always turned our attention to Krishna. He lectured incessantly about Krishna. Srila Prabhupad did not create a cult of Guru, but rather used his seat, the Vyasasana, to turn us toward Krishna.
You can of course find many quotes, that Sri Gurudeva, is to be accepted as my very Self. But, Sri Gurudeva is servant God, not Master/Creator God. For me, Srila Prabhupad’s behavior was always consistent and transparent. Others may create obstacles toward that flow. The Guru can be more or less transparent. More transparent…more Krishna consciousness. This is Srila Prabhupad’s character, and others will have to come to that standard, in my life, to win my confidence.
Yes, I have seen some develop Guru cults, and justify it. For them, that is fine. They may say that theirs is the path of Radha-seva, but I cannot think that Radha will be an obstacle to pleasing Krishna. She is the greatest servant of Krishna, able to capture His attention. And, if I should ever have the opportunity to ask Her, “what do you want of me?” I have no doubt whatsoever, that She will reply, “That you love Krishna.”
Pusta Krishna das
Yes, we do hear people more and more these days saying, “I’m spiritual, but not religious.”
The thing that seems to give religion such a bad name is the way it is often used as a means of domination and control. Not that people do not need to be governed, but they are very sensitive about being *over*-governed, or governed without their consent.
It’s just human nature, I guess, that we expect and demand that our own shortcomings be overlooked, forgiven, not taken very seriously. Everyone tends to see himself or herself as basically a good person and tends to define as “bad” those who oppose or dislike them and their friends, who interfere with how they are getting along.
And so, we have developed rules of courtesy and etiquette, so as not to disturb others by imposing too much on them, not invading their privacy or personal boundaries. We are very cautious and picky about those to whom we concede authority to boss us around or make important decisions affecting how we live our lives and carry out our affairs.
One fundamental idea of liberal, democratic society is that as long as people do not cause too much disturbance to others of interfere with the flow of commerce and the basic social infrastructure, everyone is pretty much free to think and aspire however he or she wants in private.
In our “old ISKCON”, serious devotees were expected to renounce a lot. We moved into asrams. Most of us were persuaded to give up any personal possessions or money we had (which usually was not all that much, because we were mostly young). We were encouraged to make everything we did an act of pure devotional service and to do nothing that was contrary to pure devotional service.
As ISKCON devotees residing in ISKCON temples, we were kind of elite spiritual practitioners who were expected to toe the line, to live up to the high standards, and we expected and demanded the same of each other. Another member of the temple who did something as seemingly innocent as listening to mundane music, seeing a movie, or eating (vegetarian food) in a restaurant was not living up to the expected standard, and was subject to a kind of moral opprobrium. We had renounced a lot of our privacy and “personal space” and subjected ourselves to the judgment of our peers.
Today’s ISKCON is more congregational and hence there is more respect for personal boundaries. We wish each other the best but do not judge one another for minor shortcomings. (cont’d….)
There were many positive things about the “old” system, but some negative things we have had to overcome or improve.
It is good to live in an asram where there is peer pressure that helps everyone stay on best behavior. Yoga requires discipline. One cannot be a yogi or a goswami unless one can subdue the senses. Living in an asram with other dedicated devotees can certainly help.
Hopefully such brahmacari and brahmacarini asrams where serious devotees can serve 24/7 and do not have to worry about how to pay rent or buy groceries will continue to flourish, and as householders we should support such asrams for the young aspirants and the old masters.
But we still have to learn proper etiquette and recognize where people’s boundary lines are drawn and how to avoid crossing them. Our real mission is to encourage everyone to chant Hare Krishna in great happiness and love, not to bring them under the control of temple authorities. At least, not unless they voluntarily make a decision to join an asram and obey the rules of the monastic order.
And yes, we also have some understanding about the actual rules of morality or “laws of God” that people in human society should follow. We would like to bring about a condition in the world where practically everyone followed the four regs, where the slaughterhouses and liquor shops and casinos were shut down, and sex outside the sacred bonds of marriage was practically unheard of.
It does require a little tact and sensitivity, though, how to convey this message to people who are addicted to sinful things, without making them feel defensive or hateful. Really, we are offering something nicer, a “higher taste”, which will help them automatically give up their cherished lower engagements.
The mood of a sankirtan devotee has to be “trnad api sunicena taror api sahisnuna”. We want to serve and bless everyone because they are Krishna’s beloved parts and parcels. We don’t dominate them.
It would be a great service if they would just chant Hare Krishna or agree to read Srila Prabhupada’s books with an open mind.
Of course it would be an even greater blessing for them to come to the point of trying to live in an asram and come up to the high standards of full-time service under strict discipline, but we cannot condemn those who cannot renounce that much of their autonomy and privacy. We have to recognize that “joining a temple” is a high level of commitment, not what we demand of everyone.
Hare Krishna Prabhus
One of the things I find no longer being emphasized is the importance of accepting Sambhanda Tattva. It is an extremely good practice to spend some daily time in deep introspection , feelingly praying for the Lord’s mercy to help us IRREVOCABLY accept that we are really spirit souls , eternal servants of Krishna( The Lord). This introspection is very very potent if it is combined with a life of active service( whether we be temple residents or community grhastas earnestly attempting to use the fruit of their endeavors to push on the sankirtan movement) .The more this ontological truth is lodged in the deep recesses of our heart, to that extent our own sense of self will gradually default towards being a servant of Krishna( as opposed to having to constantly force ourselves to induce it); correspondingly , it becomes so much easier to perform the activities of a devotee , including consistently chanting 16 rounds of the Holy Name and following the four regulative principles ( against continued conditioning). In this way we give our self a much better chance of remaining a devotee for the rest of this life.
It is a little unfortunate that when we come to Krishna consciousness we bring with us all kinds of conditioning, including a mental model ( of which we are often unconscious) of how religion should be practised. In this mental model( of the conditioned soul) which we impose on our own practise , we tend to emphasize that only God is transcendental , but sadly neglect the FACT that we are transcendental too. Thus in performing devotional service, we conceive ourselves only in terms our immediately empirical psychophysical identity. As we chanting the Holy Name with greater maturity, serve the sankirtan mission with the right attitude, and follow the four regulative principles , our consciousness becomes dislodged from the senses ; to the extent to which this dislodging happens to that extent we can willfully fix our awareness on the Holy Name, being somewhat above the busy traffic of the mind. In this state we can beg for even more mercy of the Lord to become aware of His person in the Holy Name, and to help us to have a fixed conception of our selves as spirit ( in the generic sense He describes in the Bhagavad Gita). The experiences we can have can be astounding, and make our desire to be a devotee even stronger.