A letter on chanting and sadhana...

[Jahnava Nitai Das]

Today I came across a letter I had written to someone last year and thought it may be fitting to post here.

 

Dear ...,

 

Hare Krishna. Dandavats. Jaya Srila Prabhupada.

 

Actually seven years back when i came in contact with ISKCON i took up

KRISHNA CONCIOUSNESS very seriously and i was even chanting 16 rounds then. Through time one thing i have noticed is this that maintaining stability in KC is very tough and that there are no immediate results when

one takes up chanting seriously.

My experience is that when one first starts chanting Hare Krishna he feels very happy, and is very fired up to chant. As time goes on his enthusiasm dies down, along with the happiness he experiences from it. Eventually chanting becomes a chore, where one must work hard to chant without actually enjoying it. Without experiencing happiness when chanting Hare Krishna, one's entire spiritual life becomes dull.

 

Again, from my experience, this loss of enthusiasm and happiness is due to a number of things, but most importantly our cynicism and criticism of other devotees. Once we begin to advance a very little in spiritual life we unfortunately develop pride. Either we think we are very advanced, very pure, or very knowledgeable, and others just don't match up to us.

 

When we first take to spiritual life we are very humble, and we automatically accept other devotees as very advanced. This is mostly due to ignorance of what advancement is, but in this case our ignorance actually helps us progress in spiritual life. As we develop knowledge and discrimination, we lose respect for those general devotees, who are actually sadhakas, and think that we are further along on the path of advancement then them. Actually what we have mostly gained is academic knowledge, not spiritual advancement. We can test this practically by seeing how much our mind is controlled. See how long we can sit quietly alone in a room. Just sit quietly, even without meditation! This is like kindergarten level that we are talking about, but we fail. Try spending one day observing mauna vrata, don't speak to anyone or make noise for one single day. If we try these simple exercises we will realize how entrapped in the material consciousness we are, and how uncontrolled our minds really are. Yet, in such a pitiful state, we thought small of every single soul who attempted spiritual life. They may have even been less advanced then us, but we failed to realize they were sadhakas, lost souls attempting spiritual life. It must be expected that they will have some flaws and faults. Out of millions of people, there is hardly one sadhaka - so even with all of his flaws and faults he is great.

 

From Krishna's view, when he looks upon all of us, he doesn't see the flaws, because the flaws are the standard in the material world. He sees the exceptional quality, that we have attempted something.

 

But from our perspective, when we see other devotees, we see the flaws. "Oh that person is a devotee but still he is like this, still he did that. Devotees are supposed to have all good qualities, but he is acting worse than a nondevotee."

 

Our mistake was that we failed to see him as a sadhaka, and instead tried to compare him to the standard of bhakta. Bhakta is a very advanced stage. just like we say "Bhakta Prahlada". It refers to the pure devotee. Srila Prabhupada had us call all new devotees as "bhakta" so that we would be offering respect to them, and they would feel themselves as servants of Krishna. He wanted to protect us from criticizing the sadhakas. We should respect the new sadhaka as a bhakta, but we should not try to measure him to the standard of a bhakta, for a true bhakta is a liberated soul.

 

To further protect us from this most common block on the spiritual path, Srila Prabhupada instructed us to offer obeisances to each devotee every morning when we first see them. But such practices have either stopped or become mere rituals. The use of the words "bhakta" and "prabhu" have become meaningless. Bhakta is now a term used to refer to an inferior class of devotee, and prabhu is just a word we use to address each other.

 

Humility is the only qualification to advance in spiritual life, but it is the most difficult quality to develop. As we become knowledgeable we begin to think we are advanced. As a result we pose as teachers, gurus, and ever-well wishers. We begin accepting people's obeisances instead of returning obeisances. We should note that the great saint Srila Bhakti Pramode Puri Maharaja, godbrother of Srila Prabhupada, would many times offer obeisances to the new devotees who would come to see him, despite himself being over 100 years old, and he would request them for blessings! This is the sign of advancement. The rest of us, who try to pose ourselves as knowledgeable and advanced, actually lack true devotional substance and practice. We may speak like eloquent scholars, but we are as lost as the rest of the outside world.

 

Still, an intelligent sadhaka will not even criticize us! The truly advancing sadhaka must be able to analyse the situation in truth and realize that those posing as advanced are also sadhakas stuck on their own level. They must be glorified for being sadhakas, and their faults should be seen as a natural product of this material world.

 

We are all coming out of the gutter, naturally there will be dirt on us. We cannot be criticized for being dirty, rather we should be glorified for choosing to climb out of the gutter. At the same time, the intelligent sadhaka must relate to each person according to their true level of advancement. He shouldn't blindly follow others despite knowing their aproximate level of advancement. We must adopt a standard of respecting all while following none. Of course this is a very crude way of explaining it. In other words, we must follow the exemplary saints whose life style is perfectly in accordance with the scriptures. Srila prabhupada is our own perfect example, whom we can internally compare others to. This comparison is not to criticize or to belittle, but to analyze. If someone falls short of the comparison, we offer them all respects and in our heart consider them to be a more advanced sadhaka on the spiritual path. But sadhakas should not follow sadhakas! A sadhaka needs a saint, this is the order given in the Nectar of Instruction. We may recieve some comfort and advice from other sadhakas, both beginners and advanced. But true absolute guidance can come only from a saint.

 

In the Shikshashtakam Sri Chaitanya says:

 

trnad api sunicena taror api sahisnuna amanina manadena kirtaniyah sada harih

 

If you want to chant Hare Krishna constantly you must become tolerant like a tree. Why a tree? Because everyone is offending the tree. Someone is snatching its fruit, someone is pulling its leaves, someone is breaking its branches, someone is taking its flowers. Now we may say, "How can I allow people to walk on top of me like this?" The point is if you want to chant constantly (kirtaniyah sada harih) then you must be on this platform, like Haridas Thakur. He allowed people to beat him with sticks. After beating him, they were unable to kill him, so they requested to him, "You please die, otherwise the king will punish us." So to satisfy them he died, and later came back to life. This is tolerant like a tree. Such a person can chant 24 hours a day. Artificially we cannot become so tolerant, but according to our level of tolerance we will be able to chant. If someone is only a little tolerant, he will only be able to chant a little bit. If he tries to chant more he will find it too difficult to chant.

 

So we must increase our tolerance and humility, not artificially but naturally and slowly. Once the humility is increased, then we will see that it becomes easier to chant.

 

In the beginning of spiritual life we have no pride, and due to ignorance we offer all respects to other devotees thinking everyone to be a saint. Thus we have no impediments in chanting. But as we increase in knowledge, our humility decreases and we begin to judge devotees, forgetting that they are in reality sadhakas. At that time we are suddenly faced with a block, it becomes difficult to chant Hare Krishna. Only when we bring our self back to our original level of humility, accepting everyone as more advanced then ourselves, will our chanting again become pure. Devotees are always looking for the 'good old days' of ISKCON, but they fail to understand what made those days good. It wasn't a time period, it wasn't just the presence of the Founder-Acharya, it was our own humility and respect for all. As soons as there is pride, one loses the spiritual taste, and the 'good old days' are gone.

 

Yours in service,

J.N.Das

 

[dasanudas]

Jaya J.N.Das Prabhu,

This rings a bell for me, or strikes a cord at the heart of our lives. To me humility(amanitvam) has-is-always will be the essence of spiritual life. Without it, there is no hope of progress, it opens all doors, dissolves all walls, and makes all real relationships more real. It is synonymous with honor for when we are genuinely feeling lower than the dirt on others feet, we look up to all with respect, this keeps us in harmony with our environment, and there is no loss in this, we don't become less for it we actually start to grow. The paradox is that in the spiritual dimention humility acts like dynamic lifter, it endears us to all, while simultaneously deflating or dissolving our false ego (I am #1) to ashes while the real ego or identity, (I am servant of the servant of God, which also means everything and everyone) will bloom and grow in that most sacred soil.

Everyone else is Prabhu but we are the only das, and every other unit in that divine environment is seeing likewise, this is the conception that Srila Sridhara Maharaj gave in seeing 'the land of gurus' where we are to walk on our heads, for even the conscious dust of that world is alive, worshipable and teaches us the art of humble posture, as the water teaches the art of flowing to the lowest level and therefore nourishing and supporting all life, a life of

life-giving service to the environment. If we can be a part of this honorable in-carrying currant of dedication rather than the suicidal out-going units of exploitation, then the painful burdon of mal-adjustment will be eased.This is the beautiful life of devotion, that a devotee is attracted to initially, for deep within we want to be a part of that world, giving not taking, the taste of bhakti that many in this material dimention of usery can't understand.

I just yesterday went to a Govindas restaurant and saw many fairly fresh devotees so overwhelmingly exited about their daily contribution to their local temple, their guru, to each other,and their Lord,it was definately infectious and i'm sure so many are coming forward thru this practical example.So many businessmen and women were so comfortable there probably feeling some refuge from the ruthless atmosphere they are used to.

And it struck me that these young sadhakas were probably oblivious to the world outside, the controversy, the internet, the raging debates. It was very encouraging, inspirational, a real beehive of devotion serving a constant flow of souls coming to taste a little food of life. I've watched this restaurant grow over the years on it's own seva, from strength to strength, to the point of overflowing, and one can truly see here how bhakti begets more bhakti 'the more you give, the more you get.'

My dilemna is that I've lost this dynamic spirit, having previously run such a restaurant, I know the feeling of utilizing every precious moment in serving till you drop each night. A well spent 18 hours a day. But these days that spirit is playing very elusive and hard to get, now I'm wondering how it will visit this complacent soul again.

[JRdd]

Thank you both for these wonderful thoughts. Humility it seems for me sometimes has to be worked at, when really put to the test, and your reminders of the resultant gifts of humility are enough to inspire even me. How attractive the idea, to become lower than the straw in the street, and to chant with such an attitude of acceptance of others. I was thinking today how I sometimes allow myself to be irritated with others' inconsiderate actions, when actually it is not business of mine what is in them that caused them to be neglectful. I thought if I could only correct the neglect left behind without resentment, and truly see it as an opportunity to practice increased love and acceptance of others. To be able to do so seemed a far way off as i thought of all this, and still does, but your posts help me to see the possibilities that are in store.

 

I pray I may have your kind of association in my life increasingly.

 

your aspiring servant,

Jayaradhe dasi

[Praghosa dasa]

Thank you J.N.Das. It was a good idea to post this letter again. Very enlivening. It's the full explanation of Lord Caitanya's verse. Exactly what I needed to hear.

 

Your servant, Praghosa dasa

[leyh]

Originally posted by JRdd:

Thank you both for these wonderful thoughts. Humility it seems for me sometimes has to be worked at, when really put to the test, and your reminders of the resultant gifts of humility are enough to inspire even me. How attractive the idea, to become lower than the straw in the street, and to chant with such an attitude of acceptance of others. I was thinking today how I sometimes allow myself to be irritated with others' inconsiderate actions, when actually it is not business of mine what is in them that caused them to be neglectful. I thought if I could only correct the neglect left behind without resentment, and truly see it as an opportunity to practice increased love and acceptance of others. To be able to do so seemed a far way off as i thought of all this, and still does, but your posts help me to see the possibilities that are in store.

 

I pray I may have your kind of association in my life increasingly.

 

your aspiring servant,

Jayaradhe dasi

Dear JRdd:

I agree very much with your points about humility.I think the greatest danger in the

practice of any spiritual tradition is spiritual pride.Pride can be so subtle.Maybe when we find ourselves becoming attracted to the idea of being lower than the straw in the street,we might very well start becoming proud of our "humility"!

 

Maybe it would help if we see that everything is the Lord's mercy.It is through God's mercy that we can even have the chance of knowing about spiritual life.We are nowhere without Divine Mercy and Grace.

 

Here is a quote that I copied from a library book today which I would like to share with you and all the other Forum Members:

 

"If you ask me what are the ways of God,I would tell you that the first is humility,the second is humility, and the third is still humility.Not that there are no other precepts to give,but if humility does not precede all that we do,our efforts are fruitless."(St Augustine)

Yours Very Sincerely

leyh

 

 

 

 

[amanpeter]

"If you ask me what are the ways of God,I would tell you that the first is humility,the second is

humility, and the third is still humility.Not that there are no other precepts to give,but if humility

does not precede all that we do,our efforts are fruitless."(St Augustine)

 

Yours Very Sincerely

leyh

Thank you, leyh prabhu, for so kindly sharing your gentle and sincere soul here with us. Peter/valaya

[dasanudas]

"I dreamed I saw St. Augustine alive as you or me.

Tearing thru these quarters in the uttmost misery."

B.Dylan

 

I have a very vague idea what he may have felt like at times, it seems the closer one gets to the centre of life-Krsna, while still in this world, even tho it may well be a very enlivening experience simultaneeously the further one will feel away from Krsna. Still a real lover of Krsna is para dukha dukhi feeling no pain for themselves but they may empathize with the suffering predicament of others and thereby become heavy laden, taking on others sinful dilemna even tho they may well be liberated from karmic reaction. This will tend at times to give the feeling of being a fish out of water, 'I don't or can't fit in this world'

Hence leading to extreme humility when one has no taste for the party of this world that all are throwing themselves into.

Whereas those who want to enjoy Krsnas position feel quite at home in this society, where we see enjoyment devoid of Krsna and his beloved servants is the goal.The more successfull one becomes in these worlds, right up to that of the Devas, can often make for a bonfire of pride, which will be diametrically opposed to the healthy and humble position of a devotee of Krsna.

 

And that enjoying attitude comes in many gross to subtle moods. The problem is the difference between Real love and refined lust is so subtle, that even pursuers of spiritual life can get lost in the perverted reflection. Which, when wittnessed by genuine saints, just adds more to their humility.

That is, it pains their heart to see others independance from the lord in their heart. What is night to the spiritualist, is day to the materialist.

Of course Krsna has also stated, "One should not lament for the living nor the dead" but the learned and gentle sadhu will always be rejoicing within, while externally they may appear sad.

 

JR bin spending some time out with the kids thanks for the very encouraging Email will get around to replying soon.

 

Have a humble day. Don't think it will sell as a car bumper sticker

affectionately

Yf dasanudas

 

[This message has been edited by dasanudas (edited 07-05-2001).]

[leyh]

Originally posted by amanpeter:

Thank you, leyh prabhu, for so kindly sharing your gentle and sincere soul here with us. Peter/valaya

Dear Peter:

Thank you very much for your encouragment...I appreciate it very much.But I'm not sure about the "gentle and sincere" part.I can be so demonic at times.It is my good fortune to associate with all of you here.May Krishna bless all of you for compassion!

 

Yours Very Gratefully

leyh

 

 

 

[ethos]

This appears to be a heartfelt tune. Let's play it again.