Gauracandra Posted August 4, 2003 Report Share Posted August 4, 2003 This week’s Srila Siddhaswarupananda television program is about the protection of the Holy Name. It’s not hard. It’s very easy. Sometimes people think that spiritual life is very hard. They think “I’m not very learned.” But even those with Ph.D.s, they don’t know very much. They know how to juggle words. But they are afraid to really engage in what is needed to have a perfect relationship with God. I’ve known many highly learned people. But they are afraid of silence, of being alone, of questioning “Who am I?”, “What is beyond?”. They are afraid that if they look deeper they may fall into a pit and never get out of it. So they have this position, this false identity, and they don’t want to take a chance because they are afraid. Here Lord Caitanya is saying the process is very simple. In the previous verse He says: “Glory to the Sri Krsna sankirtana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. This sankirtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious.” We seek happiness in so many places or run away from longing through other means. So we stay on the surface afraid of going deeper lest we be sucked in. We stop from being sucked in by always keeping “busy”. If you go fast enough you won’t drown. You ever see those fish running on water? The other day I was in the water and I saw these fish trying to jump out of the water. They were trying to stay above, to skim along the water. But eventually they tired and fell back in. The materialistic person is frightened. Even spiritualists are afraid of going too deep into prayer. They are afraid of abandoning all self-protection, all those things that keep them from looking at themselves. We are all drowning. Some people will try to ignore that they are drowning by reading the newspaper. Headline: “10,000 people died in the war in Argentina”. Tsk, tsk. YOU ARE DYING!!! You must realize your actual vulnerable position. We try so many things so that we don’t have to face the reality of our drowning condition. “I’m ok, you’re ok.” They really are very empty. There is no security in your home, in your money, not in gold, not in your wife. They are afraid of going deep because they’ll realize how shallow they are. They’ll have to face their whole life and realize it was a waste of time. That’s when you realize how meaningless it all was – at death. It is all a big zero. Lord Caitanya is saying that a person can go deep without fear by taking shelter in the Holy Names of the Lord. If you go deep you are not alone. A person does not need to speculate. Not like Sartre. When I was in college there was a book by Sartre called “Nausea” where he looked at a cut on his arm. He would describe how it was turning black and decaying. And everyone thought he was a philosopher. If you carried this book, then all you needed was a pipe and you too were a philosopher. A person who tries to speculate will only get nausea. Lord Caitanya says to take shelter of the Holy Names of the Lord. This is simultaneously the shelter and the means to take shelter. It is not just any sound. If you accept the existence of God then we can discuss otherwise there is no need to discuss. If you accept God’s infinite power then we can take shelter of His Holy Names. All energy is His. Sound is His energy. For Him to appear as His names is not difficult to understand. Here it is said that God has hundreds and millions of names. Not just Govinda, Krishna, Jehova, or Allah. The entire spiritual world, Vrindavan, is contained in the names of God. As you repeat the names of God and purify yourself you will experience being in the spiritual world. This is the effect. This is the fruit. These so-called yogis who say any man can create their own mantras are atheists. They reject God. Some of these so-called gurus, like Sai Baba, say you can chant any name. Why don’t you have them chant “Reagan, Reagan, Reagan.” Or “Butter, butter, butter”. These people have been saying words all of their life. So then why aren’t they purified. When I was a kid I would drive in a car to school. There was one commercial that would drive me crazy. “Double your pleasure, double your fun, DOUBLE MINT GUM!!!” It didn’t purify me, these damn commercials. We don’t accept this nonsense that any sound is a good sound. No. It is the names of God. And there are no hard and fast rules. You don’t need to join anything. You don’t need to pay anything. Anywhere you are you can chant and take shelter of the Holy Names of the Lord. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 5, 2003 Report Share Posted August 5, 2003 ----------- You must realize your actual vulnerable position. We try so many things so that we don’t have to face the reality of our drowning condition. “I’m ok, you’re ok.” They really are very empty. There is no security in your home, in your money, not in gold, not in your wife. They are afraid of going deep because they’ll realize how shallow they are. They’ll have to face their whole life and realize it was a waste of time. That’s when you realize how meaningless it all was – at death. It is all a big zero. -------------- Yes,devotees go deep into the nectar of chanting the Holy Name.The Holy Name is everything ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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