When we chant our prescribed rounds of Hare Krishna maha mantra on our beads, we often worry about ‘finishing’ the japa. As a result we miss Krishna, although we are with Him for over two hours. So near, yet so far. It’s like being with a person you claim to love the most, yet you spend your time looking at the watch or talking gibberish. If you love someone and that person is with you, what would your attention levels be?
The fact that we feel sleepy during our chanting or we check our messages or multi-task even as we chant sixteen rounds, shows how far we are from developing a loving relationship with Krishna.
But still, there is hope. If we can simply listen to one mahamantra – the one we are chanting now, we’d have touched Krishna with our mind. We are now no more keen to finish our sixteen rounds; we are not even concerned with this round that we are chanting. We simply want to be present in this one mantra that ‘I am chanting now.’
Unfortunately, due to past bad habits, many of us struggle to even practise this simple method. Bhurijan pr suggests we could then focus all our energy on simply the first Hare of the mantra.
The Hare Krishna maha mantra is
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
The first of the sixteen syllables of the mantra is ‘Hare.’ If we invest all our energy on the first Hare, then it’s like the engine pulling away – the other coaches of the train follow when the engine pushes ahead. If we listen to simply the first Hare, it becomes easier to practise attention in our daily Japa session.
Of course, one should remember that mere techniques won’t guarantee we develop love for God. Krishna is more pleased by our sincere attitude rather than an attempt to control Him through our mental tricks.
Nonetheless, in our sincere attempt to serve and please the Lord, we could try listening to the first Hare of our chanting and experience Krishna. It’s real and blissful. To be continued…
