Sunday Feast on Japa

Giriraj Swami: So tonight’s topic is japa. In the Bhagavad-gītā Lord Krishna says, yajñānāṁ japa-yajño ‘smi, that of all sacrifices or yajña I am japa. Japa is the practice of chanting the holy name of the Lord, mainly for one’s own self to hear. There are two methods of chanting—one is japa and the other is kirtan. We are in the present age of Kali-yuga, and in Kali-yuga it is recommended,

harer nāma harer nāma

harer nāmaiva kevalam

kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva

nāsty eva gatir anyathā

One should chant the holy name, chant the holy name, chant the holy name of Hari Krishna. There is no other way, no other way, no other way for success in the present age. This repetition—harer nāma harer nāma harer nāma—is for emphasis. You must chant, you must chant, you must chant. And the repetition of there is ‘no other way, no other way, no other way’ means not by meditation which was possible or recommended in Satya-yuga, not by performance of Vedic sacrifices which was recommended in Treta-yuga, and not by elaborate temple worship which was recommended in Dvapara-yuga, but in Kali-yuga, harer nāma is the only way.

Now there are many statements in the scripture that describe the benefit of chanting the holy name. In fact, it is stated in shastra that by once chanting the holy name of Krishna one becomes freed from the effects of more sins than one is able to commit. Now this is an authorized statement of the revealed scriptures and it is true, but it also depends on the quality of the chanting. In her prayers to Lord Krishna Queen Kunti says that those who are on the path of material progress, trying to improve their material condition in different ways, they cannot approach Krishna with full feeling. Krishna can be approached by one who is akiñcana, akiñcana gocara, one who is without material possessions. Now the idea of being without material possessions might seem a little difficult to apply, not only difficult to apply it might seem like something we wouldn’t want to do. But this word akiñcana, without material possessions, can mean without material possessions or without a sense of false proprietorship. Here, in the temple, we have everything that other people have and more. We have a big building, we have a sound system, we have computers, we have cars and vans, we have a big kitchen, we have so many material things or what one could call our material things but they are not an impediment to our realization of God or Krishna as long as we do not consider them to be ours.

And the same principle can apply to you at home. You may have many of the same things that we have here and there is no harm as long as you don’t have the sense of false proprietorship that you are the Lord of all you survey, ahaṁ mameti—I, me, and mine. I am this body, this is my house, this is my wife, these are my children, this is my car, this is my business. I, me, and mine concept. I am this body and everything related to this body is mine. As long as we are free from that false conception we can approach Krishna with feeling and we can attain the shelter of Krishna. And we do need a shelter. Everyone in this world needs shelter. The material world is the hard struggle for existence. As spirit souls, we are by nature sat or eternal. Sat means eternal, it also means truth or real. The Bhagavad-gītā says that which is eternal is real, and that which is temporary is unreal. So the soul, our actual identity is eternal but the body is temporary. And everything else in the material world is also temporary. So we are in an extremely difficult situation because we are eternal, we want to live eternally and by nature we are eternal, but the body that we are in, the car we drive, the house we occupy, are all temporary. And the bodies that are so dear to us beginning with our own body but extended to the body of our spouses and children and parents and siblings, they are also temporary. They are bound to perish. So we want to live eternally but we are placed at present in an atmosphere that is not eternal and we are always struggling to maintain our existence here. sac-cid-ānanda—we want to live eternally, we want knowledge and ultimately we want bliss.

So we are struggling to exist in the atmosphere of non-existence, we are struggling to be happy. The individual soul is part and parcel of the Supreme Soul, God or Krishna, and the Supreme Soul is blissful. The Vedānta-sūtra says, ānanda-mayo ‘bhyāsāt, the Supreme Soul is by nature full of bliss and because we are His part and parcel, we also want to be blissful. By nature we are blissful but our original nature is covered by this material body. Material body is the opposite. We are by nature sac-cid-ānanda and the body is by nature asat—temporary, acit—full of ignorance and nirānanda—miserable. So we are struggling. It is a losing battle. Ultimately, we will perish. Srila Prabhupada used to give the example, it may not be a very palatable example these days but he used to give the example that, suppose you invest in the stock market and during the day your stock goes way up, and during the midday trading you are a millionaire, you are a billionaire, but then at the end of the day the stock crashes and you lose everything. Now, is that a great achievement that at midday you are a millionaire, a billionaire but when the trading closed at the end of the day you had nothing? Is that something to be proud of?

So, we may work to acquire some wealth, prestige, power, position, influence, but what is the use because at the end of the day we are going to lose it all. We are going to lose the body and with the body everything that was with it. So to invest so much time and energy in the body and in things related to the body, is really misguided. It is really foolish because it is just a matter of time the body will be gone and everything related to the body will be gone—the house, the spouse, the children, the car, the bank balance, everything will be finished. So we should really invest our time and energy in what is the eternal, what will last, and that is the soul and the relationship of the individual soul with the Supreme Soul. And that is the purpose of Vedic civilization, that is the purpose of the Krishna consciousness movement. To help people realize their eternal identities as spirit souls who are eternal servants of the Supreme Soul or Krishna. And as mentioned, in Kali-yuga, in the present age, the process by which we realize our eternal identities as spiritual beings who have eternal relationships with the Supreme Being, is chanting.

harer nāma harer nāma

harer nāmaiva kevalam

kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva

nāsty eva gatir anyathā

And the two processes of chanting, as mentioned, are japa and kirtan. Kirtan can be experienced in a very profound way by singing, playing instruments, dancing. Srila Jiva Gosvami in Śrī Bhakti-sandarbha says, that kirtan has an exceptionally powerful influence to awaken spiritual sentiment. So kirtan is very important. In some places, Srila Prabhupada has mentioned that Lord Chaitanya and His associates would perform kirtan for three hours every evening. And Srila Prabhupada has recommended that devotees in ISKCON should perform kirtan every evening for three hours. And japa is also important, very important. The basic principle of vaidhī-bhakti or regulated devotional service is, as stated in shastra, to always remember Krishna and never forget Him. That is the basic principle. In fact, the whole Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was spoken in response to the question. “What should be the activity of a person who is about to die?” King Parīkṣit had been cursed to die in seven days. He could have counteracted the curse, he was a mahā-bhāgavata—great devotee, but he took the curse as the arrangement of Krishna, as the mercy of the Lord to bring him back home, back to Godhead sooner. So he chose not to counteract the curse but he accepted the curse as Krishna’s mercy. And he went to the banks of the Ganges to inquire about the purpose of life—What is the duty of a person who is about to die? And in reply, Śukadeva Gosvami answered that, “To be fearless at the time of death one should always hear about and glorify and remember the Soul of souls, Sri Krishna.

Now, someone might think, Well he had seven days to live, that was good for him but what about us? But do we know how long we have to live? He knew he had seven days, we don’t know that we have seven minutes. We don’t know. So it is the duty of everyone who wants to be fearless in the hard struggle for existence to hear about and glorify and remember Lord Krishna. And that is the basic principle of vaidhī-bhakti—to always remember Krishna and never forget Him. But practically, as Srila Prabhupada mentioned in his purport to that verse, “Always remember Krishna never forget Him,” that such remembrance is possible only if one chants the holy name of Krishna, and in particular, if one chants a prescribed number of rounds every day. When we chant japa we do so on these beads, japa-mālā. If anyone has been to Vrindavan, how many of you have been to Vrindavan? Some have and some haven’t. Anyway, if you go to Vrindavan you will see all devotees, they have their japa-mālā and they are chanting,

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Actually I was friends with one scholar at the University of California in Santa Barbara, and she became very interested in Gaudiya Vaishnavism, in Krishna consciousness, and she took up a project on Vrindavan, a scholarly project on Vrindavan. And up until she went there, she really liked the devotees and she liked Krishna consciousness but still as a scholar she was thinking we might be different from the original Vaishnava in India. So she went to Vrindavan and she saw that in all the temples in Vrindavan they do the same thing that we do, they have kirtan, chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna. And all the residents of Vrindavan, they also chant japa like we do, they have their japa-mālā, they chant Hare Krishna.

But of course, the facility that we have provided for pilgrims in Vrindavan is better than other places. We have our Krishna-Balarama guesthouse and we also have our MVT guesthouse. She stayed in the MVT guest house and she was very impressed, very impressed. But still she had this idea, ‘Well, let us see what is out there, what else was out there.’ And she had to for her research, for her scholarship. So she went to the Radha-Vallabha Temple, and she wanted to meet the head priest, pujari, Mahant. And he met her, he was polite but in the end, basically, he felt that she was unqualified to understand these topic, she was unfit to understand this stuff. And afterwards she said, “Anyway, we don’t need these people. We have ISKCON.” And she is almost a devotee now.

So yes, we have kirtan in the temple and we do our personal japa. But again, there is a question of the quality. And again Jiva Gosvami in his Sandarbha has advised us that we should avoid certain offenses, ten offenses against the holy name when we chant. And the ten offenses are mentioned in the Padma Purana. But the main one is called pramāda which means inattention. We chant but our mind wanders. The control of the mind is the central point in the practice of yoga, any kind of yoga—ashtanga-yoga, also, the mind is the central point and that applies to Krishna consciousness as well. In the Bhagavad-gītā Krishna says, mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ, that one should practice yoga with mind attached to Krishna. Sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayor that is Krishna consciousness- to absorb the mind in Krishna. So we have to practice. Also in the Bhagavad-gītā Arjuna says to Krishna that the mind is very restless and turbulent. it seems to me more difficult, it is difficult to control the mind as it is to control the wind. Nobody can control the wind. So many of hurricanes are coming, hundreds mile-per-hour winds, nobody can control them. So the mind is like that. But Krishna says that it is possible by practice, abhyāsa-yoga-yuktena, by practice. So we have to practice. This japa is a practice. Kirtan also, the mind should be fixed on the holy name. And there are techniques, of course, the basic principle is given by Krishna in the Gītā that whenever and wherever the mind wanders due to its unsteady nature you should bring it back to the self. So that is the basic principle, that if we are chanting and our mind wanders we should bring the mind back to the sound of the mantra.

But there is a whole theology to the holy name, there is a whole system that our acharyas have developed how to chant the holy name and fix the mind on the holy name when we chant. The practice involves the body because the body affects the mind. We all know the mind affects the body and the body affects the mind. So how to position the body in the best way when we chant, how to control the mind. It requires practice but there are techniques that one can learn that will help one. And ultimately how to chant from the heart. All the techniques are meant to be practiced but ultimately we want to chant from the heart. I gave the example at the recent retreats in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia, that there was once a very gifted pianist, a young man, very gifted pianist, and he was sent to a very rigorous music school. And as part of his graduation he had to perform a piece, and he chose a Rachmaninoff piano concerto, which is extremely difficult to play, hardly anyone would dare to play it in a public performance. But he chose it and he practiced and he practiced and he practiced, technically very difficult piece but his goal was to master the technique of playing this piece on the piano, so that when he came to perform it he wouldn’t even have to think about the keys on the piano but he could put his heart into the performance. So that is a real goal. We learn how to sit properly, back erect and it is a technical science, but how to keep the mind fixed, how to become conscious when the mind wanders and bring the mind back, but more to purify the mind so it is more peaceful and tends to stay with the holy name. But then to chant with the heart, that is real quality that we want.

So as our announcer mentioned there will be a japa weekend, October 17th to 19th, something like that, at some place in Dallas. There are periodic retreats. Japa weekend means you go during the day and participate. I think it will begin Friday evening, then Saturday, say from about 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., something like that. And then the organizers provide lunch and dinner, and then same on Sunday except that it might be a little earlier on Sunday at 4:00 so you have time to come to the temple. And then there is a retreat, the retreats are wonderful. In the retreat you go away somewhere. We went to the Blue Ridge Mountains in Georgia and we stayed for five days. And no cell phones, no computers, no business, nothing except Krishna, the holy name. So these workshops or weekends and retreats have really helped devotees a lot. They have helped me personally. So I do recommend them. But even otherwise, you can chant at home, chant in the temple. It is very effective to chant in front of tulasi. I don’t know how many of you have tulasi plants but it is very beneficial to chant in front of tulasi. The nāmācārya, Haridasa Thakura, he would always chant in front of tulasi. So these are things you can do at home, you can do anywhere actually. But by hearing, even the shastra says it is good to hear about the holy name; hearing about the holy name, hearing about our actual identity, hearing about our relationship with the holy name, with Krishna. All these things serve both to purify our hearts and also strengthen our determination. And then we can make real steady progress, strong progress.

And with all the crises in the world the illusion of security in the material world, it was always an illusion but it is easier to see through the illusion now. So that is also God’s mercy. We shouldn’t be like the people on the Titanic- the great ship. It was advertised that it could never sink, great ship. And on its maiden voyage all these multimillionaires, the elite of the world, they were on the ship, and it hit an iceberg and opened a hole and it sank. And almost everyone on board went down, were drowned. But up to the end they were dancing, listening to music, dancing in illusion. Of course, we also want to sing and dance when we go down but that is a different song and a different dance. But they were in complete illusion, they were completely unprepared for the reality. So we shouldn’t be caught by surprise. We should note from the very beginning that death is coming. As sure as death and we should prepare for it by hearing about Krishna, chanting Hare Krishna and learning to remember Krishna at every moment, so that at the time of death we will also remember Him. And, yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ, whatever you remember at the time of death will determine your next life. So if you think of material things you will come back to the material world and suffer again, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi, birth, death, old age, and disease, that repetition- samsara chakra. But if you remember Krishna at the time of death then you go to Krishna and you are liberated from the cycle of birth and death, you enjoy your real life which is eternal, full of bliss, and full of knowledge. And that is our goal and it can be achieved simply by chanting Hare Krishna.

One of the first books that Srila Prabhupada wrote was called Easy Journey to Other Planets. He actually published it in India before he came to America. But when he came to the United States he printed it again. We had our own press, ISKCON Press in Boston. And Srila Prabhupada instructed the artists to paint a picture for the cover of the book, of a devotee with shaved head and sikha flying through the sky. This book, Easy Journey to Other Planets, is how by practice of yoga one can transfer oneself to other planets. But the only way to get out of the material universe to the spiritual kingdom of God is by bhakti-yoga. By other yogas, ashtanga-yoga, one can travel to other planets within the universe. But even in the other planets, ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ  punar āvartino ‘rjuna, even from the highest planet of Brahma, down to the lowest, all our places of misery where the repetition of birth and death take place. But if one goes to the Supreme abode of Krishna, no more birth and death. So the cover, this was Prabhupada’s instructions, the cover depicted the Earth, and then the sky with so many stars and planets, Saturn and Jupiter and the galaxies in the background, and then at the top was the Supreme planet of Krishna- Krishnaloka. And the devotee was like flying through the sky heading to Krishnaloka with his japa-mālā. Yes, he was being propelled to Krishnaloka by his japa-mālā. That is how Prabhupada wanted it to be depicted. And then later, when the devotees showed Prabhupada the picture, he said, “Yes, the beads by the bead.” So that is our ticket back home, back to Godhead.

Hare Krishna.

So are there any questions or comments? But 7:30, I am not sure what the schedule is but it seems like a good figure for something. Chaitanya Chandra Prabhu?

Devotee: Why is it recommended that we chant a prescribed number of chanting, because sometimes we don’t have time to do this and that. What is the benefit of a prescribed number of rounds?

Giriraj Swami: Very good question, Chaitanya Chandra Prabhu is asking, what is the necessity to chant a prescribed number of rounds?

Well, in any practice, like exercise, they recommend you start with a certain number of practices and then you can gradually increase and that way you build up your strength. So even if one can’t come immediately to the standard of sixteen rounds you can start with four rounds, and then do four rounds every day and gradually build up his or her spiritual strength, and then eight rounds. But another explanation is that the holy name of Krishna is Krishna. Chanting the holy name of Krishna really means developing a relationship with Krishna and we want to show Krishna that we are serious about our relationship with Him. At the japa retreat in Georgia, His Holiness Sacinandana Swami gave the example that suppose you meet someone and the person is very friendly just to spend a lot of time with you, and really show interest in you and care for you. You think, Wow, this person really wants to be friends with me. And then the next time you see the person, the person just walks right by you. It is as if he never saw you, it is as if you didn’t exist, completely gives you the cold shoulders. And then you think, Well, what is going on here. It is like that two or three times and then again he greets you and it is like you are his best friend on earth. So it gets confusing, you keep getting these mixed messages; does this person want to have a relationship with me or not?

So it is like that with the chanting. Okay, one day we chant not sixteen, we chant twenty, we chant twenty-five, we chant thirty-two, so Krishna thinks, Wow, this person really wants to have a relationship with Me. And then the person sets aside the bead bag, and Krishna thinks, What is going on here? I thought this person wanted to have a relationship with Me, now the person is completely ignoring Me. So we should be consistent in our relationship with Krishna.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:43:59–00:44:30].

Giriraj Swami: Our devotee here says that there is a scientific explanation, that anything you do for three weeks becomes a habit. So if consistently for three weeks you chant four rounds or eight rounds or whatever number six or ten, it will become a habit. Very good.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:45:05–00:46:05]

Giriraj Swami: Very good question. What is your name?

Devotee: Gokula Nanda.

Giriraj Swami: Gokula Nanda. Gokula Nanda Prabhu says there are eight material elements earth, water, air, fire, space, mind, intelligence, and false ego. And the intelligence is higher than the mind. But sometimes it seems that the mind carries a person away from the intelligence, so which is stronger, the mind or the intelligence?

Well again, the Bhagavad-gītā says one should control the lower self with the higher self and one should control the mind with the intelligence. When we say wherever the mind wanders due to its unsteady nature one should bring it back to the self. It is the intelligence that brings the mind back. Now which is stronger? There is a competition. But Srila Prabhupada said that if you use your intelligence it will become stronger. It is just like any muscle, if you use it, if you exercise it, it will become stronger. So we have to exercise the intelligence to control the mind. And that is the practice of attentive japa. You are using the intelligence to control the mind.

The Upanishads give the example of a chariot or a carriage, that there are five horses which are the five senses. They are pulling the chariots, which is the body. And then there is the driving instrument which is the mind. The mind is supposed to control the senses. And then there is the driver, he is supposed to control the driving instrument, the reins. If the driver lets go of the reins then the horses will run wild, they can carry the carriage into the ditch. The driver is the intelligence. So the driver should control the mind, the driving instruments. The driving instrument controls the horses which are the senses, and the passenger tells the driver where he wants to go, and the passenger is the spirit soul. So we the spirit soul, we decide, “I want to go to Krishna.” So then the intelligence takes control of the mind which takes control of the senses and the whole system is mobilized to go to Krishna. So yes, we must control the mind with the intelligence.

Devotee: Maharaja is it important to chant in front of a tulasi plant or a picture of the tulasi plant, because some of us may not be fortunate and be not able to grow a tulasi plant in our home?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, is it feasible to chant in front of a picture of tulasi if you are not fortunate enough to have a tulasi plant. It is. Somethings better than nothing but still tulasi plant is better than a picture. But yes, picture is something.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: How does Tulasi Maharani help in our chanting?

Well, Tulasi is a pure devotee, and by the association of a pure devotee our consciousness is elevated. And she is a pure devotee who is more easily accessible.

All right, it is also recommended to chant in front of the deities, it is also beneficial. It is recommended to chant in a holy place like Vrindavan or Mayapur, Jagannatha Puri, they all help but tulasi is easily accessible, easily approachable. So even if one has no means to worship the deity, no means to go to the temple, no means to go to the holy dhāma, but one can have a tulasi and chant in front of tulasi and achieve perfection.

All right, thank you very much.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!