Giriraj Swami addressed a group of yoga students attending a morning class.
“Hearing, chanting, and remembering — these are things we all do, but we have to change the subject. In bhakti-yoga, our subject is Krishna — remembering Krishna and things related to Krishna. So, in that sense, the change is very subtle, but it is very deep. In other practices, one can perform the external activities superficially. One can be sitting in some pose yet thinking of material things. But bhakti-yoga works directly on the consciousness. The change may be subtle, but it is very profound. Physically, or externally, chanting and hearing and remembering are easy. We don’t have to perform difficult postures or exercises, as in hatha-yoga or other processes. Of course, if executed in the right consciousness, such processes can help in certain ways. But to make tangible spiritual progress, we should have a clear idea of who we are, who the Absolute is, what our ultimate goal is, and how to attain it.”
