By Lokarama Dasa
\nmac-citt\u0101 mad-gata-pr\u0101\u1e47\u0101 bodhayanta\u1e25 parasparam
\nkathayanta\u015b ca m\u0101\u1e41 nitya\u1e41 tu\u1e63yanti ca ramanti ca
\n\u201cThe thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are fully devoted to My
\nservice, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss from always enlightening one
\nanother and conversing about Me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u015ar\u012b K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101 10.9
\n\u201c\u015arava\u1e47am means hearing from the authority and again repeat it. This is our
\nbusiness, \u015brava\u1e47a\u1e41 k\u012brtanam vi\u1e63\u1e47o\u1e25 \u2014 about Vi\u1e63\u1e47u, not for any politician or any
\nother man. \u015arava\u1e47a\u1e41 k\u012brtana\u1e41 vi\u1e63\u1e47o\u1e25, about K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a or Vi\u1e63\u1e47u. So that is success.
\nHear and repeat, hear and repeat. You haven't got to manufacture. Any one of
\nus, simply if you reproduce the purport which I have given in the Bh\u0101gavata, you
\nbecome a good speaker.\u201d
\n\u015ar\u012bla Prabhup\u0101da, Conversation with disciples, Los Angeles, June 20, 1975
\nIn this document we will briefly explore three principles to guide us in serving Krishna by
\nspeaking about Him, as well as some additional \u201cpro tips.\u201d
\n1. Be your spiritual master\u2019s mouthpiece.
\nKrishna is the best at everything. He\u2019s the best dancer, the best comedian, the best
\nlover, and the best orator. Krishna has already given the best teachings in the form of
\nthe Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101 and the \u015ar\u012bmad Bh\u0101gavatam. If we plainly and sincerely present the
\nmessage of these books, as we\u2019ve received it from our spiritual masters, Krishna will be
\npleased with us.
\nIf we think we have something \u201cnew\u201d to offer to the table, an original angle, or a deeper,
\nmore sophisticated understanding than what our \u0101c\u0101ryas have already given, then we\u2019re
\nin for trouble!
\n2. Share your realizations and experiences in bhakti.<\/p>\n
The goal of sadhana-bhakti \u2014 which includes hearing and chanting Krishna\u2019s names,
\ntalking about His pastimes in His various incarnations, discussing His teachings, etc. \u2014
\nis to awaken love, prema. Prema is but the mature fruit of \u015braddha, faith. So our efforts
\nin Krishna-katha are simply meant to nourish and strengthen our faith and the faith of
\nour fellow bhaktas. This is the sole aim of Krishna-katha.
\nKrishna-katha is not enhanced by any kind of scholarly presentation or fancy rhetorical
\nstyle. All we can do is humbly share what we have understood about Krishna and the
\nprocess of bhakti-yoga.
\nSometimes the mode of presentation will help the audience receive the message. A
\ndoctor may insert medicine into a sweetball so that a child will take it. However, the
\nsweetball does nothing to enhance the efficacy of the medicine. Similarly, the potency
\nof Krishna-katha will act regardless of the style in which it is presented.
\n3. Empathize with yourself and your audience
\nKrishna manifests to the receptive hearer, one who desires to know Him as He is. As
\nservants of Krishna-katha, we must be genuinely interested in the spiritual welfare of
\nourselves and others. If we ourselves are not eager to meet Krishna in His katha, then
\nwe can hardly hope our speaking will arouse much eagerness in the hearts of our
\naudience.
\nIf you care about your audience then Krishna will speak to them from within your heart.
\nThe most appropriate phrases, anecdotes, verses, and so on will appear on your tongue
\nas if by magic.
\nAdditional Tips
\n\u25cf Smile.
\n\u25cf Be yourself.
\n\u25cf Dress to impress.
\n\u25cf Wear tilaka.
\n\u25cf Have a few notes prepared.
\n\u25cf Have a \u201ctake home\u201d for your audience, a thought or feeling you\u2019d like to leave
\nthem with.
\n\u25cf Leave about 50% of the allotted time for reflections from the audience and Q&A.
\n\u25cf Speak to the level of understanding of your audience, and a little higher.
\n\u25cf Keep a prayerful mood before, during, and after.<\/p>\n
In Conclusion
\n\u201cInstruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord \u015ar\u012b K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a as they are given in the
\nBhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101 and \u015ar\u012bmad-Bh\u0101gavatam. In this way become a spiritual master and try
\nto liberate everyone in this land.\u201d (CC Madhya-l\u012bla, 7.128). Every Vai\u1e63\u1e47ava is a natural
\npreacher. They enjoy talking of Krishna, thinking of Krishna, and being with Krishna\u2019s
\ndevotees. Their character is a living advertisement for the bhakti path. Don\u2019t worry
\nabout giving a good class; just try to be a good devotee. If you can be a faithful and
\nhumble disciple of your spiritual masters, your Krishna-katha will be first-class.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cThe thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are fully devoted to My
\nservice, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss from always enlightening one
\nanother and conversing about Me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[93],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-thoughts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=102429"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102429\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102431,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102429\/revisions\/102431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=102429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=102429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=102429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}