Japa Retreat—Chanting with an Open Heart—Part 01

Giriraj Swami: On Saturday we discussed the role of japa in bhakti and we began with the definition of bhakti given by Srila Rupa Gosvami in Śrī Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. Now in the Eleventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in Lord Krishna’s instructions to Uddhava, He discusses different paths: karma-yoga, jnana-yoga, and bhakti-yoga. And in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Srila Rupa Gosvami discusses what makes someone eligible for bhakti. We preach widely, we distribute books widely, we hold festivals, we do so many things but not everyone can actually take to the process of bhakti-yoga or stick to it. So what makes someone eligible? yadṛcchayā mat-kathādau jāta-śraddhas tu yaḥ pumān na nirviṇṇo nāti-sakto bhakti-yogo ’sya siddhi-daḥ. yadṛcchayā is a very significant word which is sometimes translated “somehow or other, by good fortune” mat-kathādau means topics of Krishna. jāta-śraddhas, śraddha, that is the beginning—adau śraddha; tu yaḥ pumān, if such a person awakens faith in my topics.

Now there are people who have faith in Krishna’s words, in the Bhagavad-gītā, in words about Krishna but still, they are unable to fully take to Krishna consciousness. And I think any introspective devotee will see his own lacks in Krishna consciousness or her own deficiencies in Krishna consciousness, and can trace those difficulties to this next point. Rupa Gosvami says, somehow or other, by good fortune having awakened faith, chanting and hearing the glories of Krishna, naḥ nirvāṇo, nirvāṇo means disgusted, nor too attached, bhakti-yogo ’sya siddhi-daḥ, can achieve perfection through the process of bhakti-yoga. So this may be a surprising statement, naḥ nirvāṇo, not too disgusted with the material world, nāti-sakto, nor too attached to the material world. If one is too disgusted with the material world, too negative, then he will become inclined towards jnana, jnana-yoga, impersonalism. And if one is too attached, one will become inclined towards karma, karma-yoga, fruitive work. But a pure devotee, as we discussed in the basic definition, jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam, pure devotional service is not covered either by jnana or karma or any other process.

Now after listing the sixty-four items of devotional service, Rupa Gosvami discusses some items that one might think should be included in the list, which he has excluded from the list, and he explains why. One of the items that he excluded is the cultivation of knowledge and renunciation. Now that might seem odd because, in Krishna consciousness, we talk a lot about knowledge and renunciation. So why does Rupa Gosvami exclude them, specifically renunciation? He gives the answer that bhakti by nature makes the heart soft and the essential process of bhakti, which is chanting and hearing about Krishna like we did yesterday, makes the heart soft if it is done without offences. Whereas the cultivation of renunciation has a separate goal, or the performance of artificial austerities, make the heart hard. Now if renunciation is not an item of devotional service, does it mean that enjoyment is; material enjoyment, proprietorship? No. The example is given in the shastra that by going west you can’t come up in the east. So by going towards materialism, you can’t end up with devotion. We can’t be too detached and we can’t be too attached. We can’t strive to enjoy the world and we can’t strive to renounce the world. So what is left? Can anyone guess? Yes.

Devotee: Devotional service.

Giriraj Swami: Correct. Service, devotional service; bhakti and specifically yukta-vairāgya. And the definition of yukta-vairāgya is essential for any devotee to understand and apply. It begins anāsaktasya viṣaya, anāsaktasya means without attachment, and viṣaya means to the objects of the senses. If the devotee sees something that has relationship with Krishna, nirbandha Krsna sambandhe and he uses it in the service of Krishna, yukta-vairāgyam ucyate, that is considered appropriate renunciation. And as opposed to yukta-vairāgya is phalgu-vairāgya, which you could say is false renunciation or artificial renunciation. Phalgu is a river in Bihar and on the surface, it looks like sand but underneath there is a whole river; a whole strong current underneath the surface.

So impersonalists, and again we should know like Prabhupada said, what keeps us all from becoming pure devotees is the tendency either for material enjoyment or impersonal speculation. So in this mood of introspection, we should see how these statements could apply to us. Underneath that show of renunciation or that effort to renounce, there is a strong current of material desire. So we want the heart to be soft to chant and hear, and when we do chant and hear without offense the heart will become softer, become more open to Krishna. And both artificial austerities and sense gratification make the heart hard. There is the story of Dhruva, I am sure most of you know the story of Dhruva. He was playing on his father’s lap on the throne and his stepmother said, “You cannot sit on the throne, you are not born from my womb.” And the father, can you imagine, he put his son off of his lap; his own father. And later the father lamented that, “Because of my excessive attachment to my co-wife, I acted in such a hard-hearted way, even with my own son.” So chanting with an open heart, yes, it is something that we try to achieve while we are chanting and much of the retreat is devoted to processes or techniques that will help us to chant with an open heart. But a lot also has to do with the heart that we bring into the retreat or bring into the japa session. And so we should work on the condition of our heart all the time, and we shouldn’t allow things to make our heart harder, which includes separate endeavor for renunciation, which of course is sense gratification.

I was thinking of that nice quotation that mother Archana Siddhi read from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s talk in Calcutta, about beating the mind with shoes and broomsticks. And he said it means admonishing the mind: “Don’t find faults with other devotees and don’t try to present thyself as a great devotee, which thou art not.” Now within this admonition, there are actually two elements which are very significant for us. One is envy; we are envious so we find fault in others, try to bring them down in their position or bring them down in other people’s eyes. And as Archana Siddhi Mataji said, we are in the material world out of envy because we envied Krishna and wanted to take His position, we are in the material world. And naturally, with so many little Krishnas trying to be the Supreme, they are going to be envying all the other little Krishnas and trying to get them out of the way. So that is envy. And then the other one is pride. Pride is a major stumbling block; these two actually—envy and pride. And pride, of course when we identify with the body, we have so many things to be proud of. In the material sense, janma, aiśvarya, śruta, śrī; janma, like a high birth; birth in a good family. Aiśvarya—wealth, śruta—learning, education, knowledge, and beauty; personal beauty. If we identify with the body, we can be proud of all these things, no matter how much or how little we have. It is said, a pauper is proud of his penny. And being associated with ISKCON, being accepted as devotees, as preachers, as leaders, we can easily become even more proud. I am a devotee, I am a leader, I am a teacher, a preacher, and that is an obstacle, a major obstacle to genuine chanting—amanina manadena. 

So we have to be aware of this illusion and we have to do whatever we can to become free from it. Lord Krishna describes the process of knowledge in the Bhagavad-gītā beginning amānitvam adambhitvam—pridelessness, humility, and at the end of the list he says, “and I declare that all else is ignorance.” So if you are proud, it really means you are in ignorance. How ironic; I am proud, I am a devotee, I am a leader, I am a teacher. You are in ignorance, identifying with the body. And in his commentary on the Śikṣāṣṭakam, the third verse, tṛṇād api sunīcena, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, says that, if someone takes pleasure or feels proud in giving instruction to other Vaishnavas, that will absolutely destroy his spiritual life. It is completely opposed to the principle of tṛṇād api sunīcena. So how many of us take pleasure in instructing Vaishnavas? How many of us feel proud? “Oh, so-and-so came to me for advice; so, and so takes instruction from me.” That destroys our spiritual life. To really chant the holy name, one has to be humble, amāninā, not wanting any respect for oneself and, manadena, ready to offer respects to others.

Now there is another type of pride; of being associated with ISKCON, a member of ISKCON. I am proud I am a member of ISKCON. Of course there is a more benign form of pride in association, but we are discussing the more malevolent kind. “I am a member of ISKCON, I am initiated; first initiation, second initiation. I am a sannyasi. This is another feature, don’t mind, but a lot of very senior devotees spend time in South Africa. These devotees are very hospitable and generous and they put on good shows; they organize good events and festivals. So a lot of senior devotees come and they are very generous, very magnanimous. So that can lead to another pride. “So and so Maharaja stayed at my house; so and so Maharaja takes prasāda at my house; so and so Maharaja invites me to go with him when he does such and such.” And if we have that illusion, which is quite typical of neophytes, of thinking we are more advanced than we are, that illusion can actually be reinforced by, well it is not their behavior that reinforces it but, the way we take their merciful behavior at all. I am “palsy walsy” with the Maharajas, as if I am on the same level; that is their mercy, that is their kindness. But just because you take prasāda with them, drive in the car with them, go shopping with them, whatever, doesn’t mean you are on the same level.

I guess what I am saying here is that we have to have the heart of devotees to chant, and of course chanting offenselessly will help us develop the heart of devotees. And it takes an openness to our own state, an openness to where we actually are. Sometimes we hear the psychological term “in denial.” When you chant and really just use the holy name and your mind, you see what is in your mind; it is humbling. And if you are not humbled by chanting, I think you are not really making the effort to chant without offense. So many of our acharyas make statements about themselves; how fallen they are. Like Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, “I am lower than a worm in stool.” Prabhupada says it is not artificial, he actually feels like that. So many of the songs of Narottama dasa Thakura, Bhaktivinoda Thakura. It is a paradox that the more neophyte you are, the more advanced you think you are; the more advanced you are, the more fallen you feel you are. So whatever we do should be genuine especially at the japa retreat, but everything we do should be genuine. It shouldn’t be artificial; it shouldn’t be to make a show; it shouldn’t be to project ourselves. There is always a little projection, not even projection, but sometimes we do have to modify the way we present ourselves according to the audience. But we should be genuine, especially in the japa retreat, which you all are trying to be. And that means being open to seeing what is really there inside of us.

I had a very interesting discussion with Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu. The question comes up that devotees say that if we just chant Hare Krishna, all of our problems will be solved, which is true. So they take it that if they just chant Hare Krishna, all their problems will be solved. They take it as a slogan. But actually, they chant Hare Krishna, but their problems aren’t being solved. But they say they don’t want to make a separate effort to solve them because they have faith in the holy name; that if you just chant Hare Krishna, your problems will be solved. Now Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu answers that, although they present it as if they have faith in the holy name, faith in Krishna, actually they don’t. They are afraid to enter into that inner realm where they may have to confront some things that they don’t want to confront, where they may have to deal with some things that they don’t want to deal with. So to avoid it, they say just chant Hare Krishna and all your problems will be solved. Which is true; if you chant consistently without offense, it is true. But if it is not true of you, then you should deal with it. That is a sign of faith in the holy name, faith in Krishna, faith in the process, that you are actually ready to see what is there—the good, the bad, and the ugly, and deal with it. And yes, part of dealing with it is chanting; part of dealing with it is reading; a part of it is also opening your heart to others, guhyam ākhyāti pṛcchati.

And there is a question; if you are not able to open your heart to Krishna’s devotees, how will you open your heart to Krishna? We have to be able to open our hearts to Krishna’s devotees, of course, the right devotee. That is another topic, but someone who is mature and Krishna conscious, and who cares for you, those would be the basic qualifications. Someone who can help you and someone who wants to help you, and that is really important. And that need; one philosopher, sage, he said the two basic human needs are to love and be loved. And as devotees, I think we want to give love and receive love within the society of devotees. But those needs are so basic, that if we are unable to meet those needs with devotees, we can go outside the association of devotees to meet those needs, which is very unfortunate. So we have to cultivate this openness in our relationships and that is a matter of finding a suitable person to whom you can open your heart to. But it is also dependent on your own willingness to open your heart. You can even be dependent on your own willingness to open your heart to your own critical inspection. Some devotees they don’t even want to. “It is okay.” Or if one does get a glimpse at what is in there and it is not being cleansed sufficiently just by chanting and hearing about Krishna, then one should open one’s heart to a Vaishnava and that is also part of devotional service. It is also part of chanting and hearing about Krishna, really.

I am having a sense we should take a two-minute break, maybe to open the curtains. Yes, open the curtains, get some fresh air, maybe stand up and get refreshed.