{"id":5744,"date":"2008-05-07T12:06:06","date_gmt":"2008-05-07T11:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=5744"},"modified":"2008-05-07T12:08:54","modified_gmt":"2008-05-07T11:08:54","slug":"chant-and-be-happy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=5744","title":{"rendered":"Chant and Be Happy?"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nYasoda Mayi devi dasi shares her experience from the recent Japa Retreat in the Catskill Forest of NY.<\/em><\/font><\/p>\n

By Yasoda Mayi Devi Dasi<\/strong><\/p>\n

Devotees hear this all time. (If we are lucky), there may be some irritating and persistent know-it-all who constantly reminds us that, \u201call you have to do is chant, Prabhu!\u201d But what about the real world? What if our kid is failing in school? What if we are struggling to make the monthly mortgage payment, or that our health is seriously challenged? What if we are constantly stressed out, irritable, angry or depressed? Can all that be miraculously solved simply by chanting Hare Krishna? Just chant and be happy? <\/p>\n

Maybe we feel like we are wandering in the desert of life looking for something to revive us. Maybe we are tensed-up, stressed-out, depressed, bored, hopeless, trapped, or simply unhappy. So many people in the world feel this way, and yet we are devotees\u2014shouldn\u2019t it be different for us? We already know that drugs, alcohol, mindless television, complete absorption in a mundane job, or any number of other distractions do not, and will not ease the pain. The only solution, (we are told), that can bring any relief to the bleakness of this existence, is to re-connect with the \u201cName,\u201d\u2014Krishna in His most accessible and merciful form\u2014and thus ultimately with the Source of everything.<\/p>\n

But can japa really, I mean really be the solution? Well if you attend the japa etreats and workshops being offered by Bhagavat Life, and participate honestly in the process, the answer will be yes. It may not be a cloud-booming, earth-shaking, sky-splitting yes. For me, it was the kind of yes that starts like a trickle in the deepest part of your heart, with the promise that, given time and care, it will turn into the torrent you have been waiting for. A torrent able to quench the thirst that has been racking your body seemingly forever.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t matter how long you have been chanting; one month, one year, ten years, thirty-nine years. If you are not experiencing deep realizations every day. If you are no longer seeing miracles in your life every day. If you don\u2019t feel that the universe is conspiring on your behalf. There must be a disconnect somewhere. A disconnect which the hard-working, loving, compassionate team of devotees that make up Bhagavat Life, can help you to rectify. Their motto is: \u201cTowards Krishna Together,\u201d\u2014and I actually believe they mean it. <\/p>\n

To be perfectly honest, the process of transforming, \u201cmindless muzak Hare Krishna babble,\u201d\u2014which is what my japa had deteriorated into\u2014into deeply heartfelt, personal, calling of the Holy Names of Sri Krishna, is not likely to be accomplished in a five-day retreat. It takes time, and a lot of hard work and determination. It also takes knowledge and desire. Knowledge of how your japa became what it is, and a desire to want to do something about it. You have to really want to go deeper into your japa and you have to believe it is possible for you to achieve the ideals we have been reading about for years. <\/p>\n

At the close of the retreat what was accomplished for me was not just the deep realization of why my japa was like it was, but also the uncovering of beliefs that I wasn\u2019t even conscious of. Most importantly, there was a renewal of the desire to actually want to do something about changing it.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t`
\nThe beautiful Menla Retreat Center in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York provided a gloriously beautiful backdrop to five days of deep inner exploration and self-examination that is the foundation of transformation. In his new book Nama Rahasya; The Confidential Secrets of Chanting the Holy Name in Perfection, H.H. Sacinandana Swami, (who has dedicated his life to helping devotees not just to chant better rounds but to help them on their way to complete perfection), illuminates a point made by Srila Bhaktisiddanta Sarasvarti Thakura in a letter to an enthusiastic chanter when he says:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Holy Name is a seed that carries within itself complete spiritual reality. This reality is revealed gradually step by step and it is not only Krishna that is revealed but our own true selves.\u201d <\/p>\n

There was a deeper, more enlightened, understanding of myself that accompanied a renewed strong desire to better my chanting which was the final product of the five-day retreat. The masterful presentations, exercises, and well-timed sessions, as well as the deep commitment, and compassion of the presenters created an atmosphere that made diving deep simultaneously heart-wrenching and pleasurable. I have spoken to many devotees since I returned home, and in the telling of my experiences have somehow managed to pass on a little of the excitement and happiness of finding my self reconnected to my japa. I heartily recommend that whoever you are, whereever you are, if you have the chance to attend a japa retreat or workshop that you take it! <\/p>\n

Check out their website at www.Bhagavatlife.com and take the plunge. I hear Japa Retreat Level Two is even more powerful than Level One. . . I can\u2019t wait. <\/p>\n

Yasodamayi dasi<\/p>\n

Yasodamayi dasi a disciple of H.H. Bhakti-Tirtha Swami was initiated in 1986 and has served in West Africa, the United States and Central America. Even though she has spent most of her life as a sankirtan devotee, she has written many short plays, dramas and magazine articles. She lives in the Gita Nagari Farm Community situated in central Pennsylvania with her three children, and is currently working on her first book, entitled \u201cConfessions of a Japa Retard.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"HareBy Yasoda Mayi Devi Dasi<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAll you have to do is chant, Prabhu!\u201d But what about the real world? What if our kid is failing in school? What if we are struggling to make the monthly mortgage payment, or that our health is seriously challenged?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-iskcon-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5744","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=5744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5744\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}