daily routin

[Guest guest]

Every time i take a shower, I have a smal ritual, which is praying to brahma vishnue shiva my forefathers Sri Radhe and Sri Krishna.

 

I use a prayer that I made myself, and i been using it for a good year now and it kinda goes like this

(it changes day by day)

 

(Lord brahma you are the beginning of the universe u have created us all, u have created me and this enitre uniserve and everything that is in it, your the starter of it all, the first being in this universe, your are my farther and my creater, this is why I offer you my obedican My respect my love and my devotion.

 

(Lord Vishnue, im praying to you, because you are the preserve of this universe, u preserve us all, you preserve me and this enitre universe and everyone that is in it, without you we would all rot like a baby without his mother, without u we would all rott, like a apple fallen from a tree, without we would dry like a water fall wtihout is constant resource of water, this is why i offer u my obedican my love my respect and my devotion.

 

(lord Shiva, im praying to u because ur the destroyer of this universe one day u will destroy us all, including me, there will be no mercy upon anyone, as u will kiss everything in this universe, this is why i offer u my obediance my love my respect and my devtion.

 

Hare krishna hare krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare rama Hare Rama rama rama Hare Hare

 

My forefathers, I pray to you, as you let me borrow your blood to sustain this excitence. Please listen to me chant, as it will free you from any binds your spirtual bodys might have been bound too in this material world.

 

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare rama Hare rama rama rama hare hare

 

Lord Rade, Im praying to you, as you are the lover of lord krishna, you love lord krsna with all ur heart and soul, and lord krsna knew this and came and took u with him to his supreme abandon where u resign next to him, in absoulet spirtual bliss and transdencels,you are the most beatuifull, most unique , most incrdblie human ever excistenc on this earth as u attracted god to you.

Please forgive my sins, and give me the strength to become a better devotie.

 

Please accept my obediance my love my respect and my devotion

 

Lord Sri Krsna, god of gods, supreme will of all, you are the god of godhead, the ultima destionation, the supreme, of all. Your will is, you are the creater the preserve and the destroyer, you are the lover and the loved ones, u are death and reborn, you are hate and destruction, u are desires and this entire material space, not a single grass blade can move without ur will, out of my senses, you are my mind, out of my consinuness u are my soul, out of fear and hate, you are the comfort and care, you are wisedom and ignorance, out of all lies u are the truth, and out of all questions u are the answere, out of all answeres u are the question. My lord krishna as i go on my knees, i ask u to forigve me for my stupidinty, my ignorance, my dumbness, my idiotce, my lack of self control, my lack of self will, as i go on my knees, i surrend my self upon u and ask u pull me up from this bottom i dug my self in. I ask u to interfear and help me walk a path u choose for me. I ask u to free me from this material pain and bliss me with ur knowledge. Forgive me lord. Lord krishna, please accpet my mahe mantra, which I will chant 16 times as recommend.

 

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna HAre Hare Hare rama Hare rama rama rama hare hare. (16+more)

 

Thank you for listing to me, i thank you for letting me chant ur holy mantra, i thank u for coming towards me, and giving me this knowledge of the Bhagvada Gita, which i used to approch you. I thank you lord for everything, I hope you will remeber the things I done for you, as forever in my soul, are locked in the things u have done for me. My lord krishna please accept my obedicane my love my respect and my devotion.

 

As You clean my body my lord, you also cleansed my soul..

 

 

 

My questions is to the devoties, are there any mantras, i can chant, instead of saying that everyday? Which would please the lord more?

 

 

[jagatpurush]

this is a common Vaisnava mantra purification. it is used in ritualistic ceremonies and can be used while bathing also:

 

OM ....APAVITRO PAVITRO VA, SARVA VASTHAM GATO 'PI VA

 

YAH SMARET PUNDARIK AKSAM, SA BAHYA ABHYANTAR SUCIH.

 

SRI VISNU, SRI VISNU, SRI VISNU.

 

 

"Whether one is purified or unpurified, or been through all manner of walks in life, if one remembers the lotus eyed Lord one is automatically purified both within and without."

 

 

[Guest guest]

i have read that you are chanting 16 rounds of japa everyday... so there's nothing to criticize in your routine

 

in mahamantra all invocations to krsna, his associates, devatas, saints and forefathers are included, so you can recite your prayer or simply chant hare krsna, no difference

 

i find your prayer correct and very poetic, sign of a good heart and a good shastric knowledge.. only a point:

 

srimati radharani is not human.. she is krsna in his manifestation of the supreme servant, supreme lover

[jagatpurush]

well that explains why we should not write our own prayers. because they may contain rasabhasa (incorrect mood). Caitanya Mahaprabhu liked to hear sastra explained by Svarupa Damodara, because he had such a perfect understanding of Krsna Consciousness. so we should recite the prayers of previous acaryas and it will be pleasing to the Lord. otherwise so many faults will be there that prevent the prayer from being relishable, like sand in the sweetrice.

 

it is not that we can't have an internal dialogue with the Lord. but that is different from formalized prayers. thanks, Hari bol

[theist]

 

it is not that we can't have an internal dialogue with the Lord. but that is different from formalized prayers. thanks, Hari bol

 

 

This is an interesting subject. I have found that for me, just reciting all the standardized prayers became like an empty habit. Especially just repeating the sanskrit and Bengali as I understand neither. Oh I would come to know a few words here and there but overall it seemed more like an empty ritual to me.

 

I know this not everyone's experience but I have very little capacity to learn other languages and this deficientcy became a real roadblock on my spiritual path, my internal path, that is, the real one.

 

For me the solution was switching to the english translations and occasionally reciting the sanskrit and/or Bengali.

 

So which would be better in that case, a heartfelt but imperfectly composed prayer or a perfectly composed prayer recited without feeling or understanding?

 

Of course, they both are flawed.

 

I am intrigued by your reference to internal dialouge with the Lord. It seems that type of private communion with the Lord receives little emphasis. Although I would imagine that properly chanted japa would naturally lead to this.

 

Could you speak more to this please Jagatpurusha?

[Guest guest]

"well that explains why we should not write our own prayers. because they may contain rasabhasa (incorrect mood)"

 

do not be so harsh... our friend, in a very long prayer that it is very poetic and inspired, has only made a mistake that he can easily correct

 

nowhere is written that we have not to pray with our own words.. we have only to do it correctly

[jagatpurush]

Hari bol Theist Prabhu. Dandavats. i would like to hear other devotees' realizations, like jndas Prabhu and stonehearted Prabhu, about informal prayer and mood of prayer, because surely they are more immersed in prayer than me.

 

but here is my thinking on this subject: internal prayer is a way of personalizing our communication with God. when we pray this way, instead of praying the same mantra, we have to apply our knowledge to pray according to the events in our life. a clear-cut example of this would be praying for a devotee's health.

 

i feel presumptuous to compose prayers of praise to God. i usually more ask for spiritual benedictions. eg. to become an instrument of His divine will.

 

Srila Prabhupada also said that we could pray for certain things. it comes to mind there was a letter Prabhupada wrote to a brahmacari about how to control sex desire. and he says that we should pray to Krsna to overcome sex desire. so that would be an example.

 

Prabhupada said that he prayed that he would never fall down. and of course he mentioned many other things that he prayed for. so it seems only natural that as spiritual life becomes more real for us, Krsna Consciousness will manifest itself in ways other than the formulaic way. i would like to hear more senior devotees realizations plz... /images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[jagatpurush]

>do not be so harsh... our friend, in a very long prayer that it is very poetic and inspired, has only made a mistake that he can easily correct

 

maybe i have been hanging out too much at .?

[theist]

Your ideas on prayer make alot of sense to me. Afterall who is closer, loves us more, knows us more fully than Krsna?

 

The whole idea is to awaken our personal relationship with Him, yet we choose to keep Him at a distance while we "work the process" in a supposed effort to reach Him.

 

"we have to apply our knowledge to pray according to the events of our life,..."

 

Yes. Unscripted like a child walking through life holding his father's hand or a friend with a friend. "Krsna it is amazing to me that you created the sun, please help me see You in the sunlight." Krsna will not be judging our simple prayers and utterances on the basis of the rules of composing poetry or even common grammer. I often think of Him hearing the intent of our reaching out to Him, the silent meaning behind our words.

[Guest guest]

Well, I think it is very good that you do some prayer. If you still feel concerned about this matter I would write a letter to you Guru. Or if you don't have one, write a letter to some Guru even if you are not his disciple and ask for some guidance so that you can get to the stage to be a disciple. We are most fallen souls and unqualified, better to ask someone who is always remembering Bhagwan and is a servant of Srimati Radhika.

[stonehearted]

Since you have specifically asked me, let me offer a couple of thoughts from the top of my head. Prayer should be heartfelt, not just mechanical. However, I've found that immersing ourselves in the moods created by the prayers of siddhas such as Narottama, Visvanath, etc., can help us form our hearts in a way that we may pray for real progress in life.

 

When I was a boy, I belonged to a young-men's service organization. I served for two years as the state chaplain for this organization in Virginia; my duty was to open and close quarterly statewide meetings and an annual statewide conclave with prayer. It was really hard to write prayers; I had to draw deeply on whatever understanding and faith I had. I fussed over it for years afterward, and when I met the devotees in 1969 and saw Kunti's prayers in the 1st Canto of the Bhagavatam (all we had then), I was elated. Here I could learn how to pray. Then we were gradually given Dhruva's, Prahlada's, Gajendra's, Brahma's, and Indra's prayers. These are treasure-chests of devotional sentiment and knowledge. One point made in Gajendra's story is that he was able to recall prayers learned in his previous life as a human, and his earnest prayer resulted in his receiving the Lord's mercy.

 

Short version: Study deeply these prayers in the Bhagavatam, the prayers of acharyas such as Narottam, Visvanath, Rupa, Raghunath das, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Srila Sarasvati Thakura, Srila Sridhar Maharaja, and Srila Prabhupada, and ultimately prayer will become the core of your life.

 

There's a wonderful line spoken by C. S. Lewis in the film based on William Nicholson's play Shadowlands: "I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God; it changes me." Think about prayer in that way, pray in that way, then get back to us.

[jagatpurush]

>It doesn't change God; it changes me.

 

this concept of prayer transforming us into better people led me to the realization that, it is good to practice religion not because it gives us things, but because it changes the nature of our consciousness and therefore makes us happier and more elevated.

 

it has been well noted that most devotees are not very comfortable financially. they are in continuous financial distress, despite Krishna being the Lord of Lakshmi. that is what seems to make Krsna Consciousness unattractive to the material point of view: it does not bestow material benefits. but for one who tastes the nectar of KC, it makes all the difference in the world. that is why certain Prabhupada disciples are practicing KC very nicely, even independently of any institution. i would like to serve such people who have a taste for serving the Lord.

 

 

[stonehearted]

Here's a nice one from Brahma, found in Chapter 14 of the 10th Canto:

aho bhagyam aho bhagyam

nanda-gopa-vrajaukasam

yan-mitram paramanandam

purnam brahma sanatanam

 

How greatly fortunate are Nanda Maharaja, the cowherd men and all the other inhabitants of Vrajabhumi! There is no limit to their good fortune, because the Absolute Truth, the source of transcendental bliss, the eternal Supreme Brahman, has become their friend.

 

 

 

[jagatpurush]

it even sounds very nice. see, Theist Prabhu? there *is* an advantage to the original language.

[krsna]

In Nama Bhajana, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura tells how to become absorbed in chanting japa:

 

“While chanting the name you should continuously remember His characteristics, and also explain the meaning of the name to your mind. While recollecting the meaning and the form of the name you should pray to Krsna with heart-rending lamentation. This practice will attract the mercy of Krsna and lead you forward on the path of devotion. The repeated remembrance of the meaning of the holy name will gradually purify the heart of all material contamination. Then the name will appear in person before the spiritual eyes of the devotee. When the svarupa of the name fully appears, it is identical with the blissful form of Lord Sri Krsna. The appearance of the svarupa of the holy name is the appearance of the svarupa of Lord Sri Krsna.

[theist]

Is it more spiritually potent? I don't know.

 

But certainly I can see many advantages to a native Bengali speaker singing a bhajan in Bengali and understanding the lanuage then to me just parroting the sounds.

 

One something is translated into another lanuage you can lose alot. The original prose, the meter and perhaps most importantly there is no guaruntee that the language it is being translated into will have equivilant means for all the words in the original.

 

English is not so spiritual. Sanskrit has so many nuances and subtlities for spiritual concepts that English doesn't. So that we who understand only English need the special grace of the Lord in the heart to help us see the fullness of the prayers. Of course that is true anyway for the inner meaning.

 

I like to read the translations even more than just trying to sing along mimicing the group as I mostly do at the temple.

 

But some songs like Jaya Radha-Madhava I can sing along with and get something out of because it is so short and I get the gist of the word meanings even though I don't understand sentence structure. Kind of like a parrot who learns to associate "Polly want a cracker" with getting a cracker. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Guest guest]

HareKrishna to all!

When you say that Krishna devotees are not well off financially, do they stay like this forever or their situation changes. I have heard that if you chant Krsna's name you never run out of material necessities - food, clothing and shelter. Is this true? Also, it is said in scriptures, specifically in Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead that Indra seeing that the residents of Vrajabhumi had become very opulent due to worshiping Krsna, thought that they had indeed become proud by not worshipping Indra and hence Indra, the King of heaven decided to shower rain in Vrindavan and flood this. Also, it is said in Navadvip Mahatmya that people in this land are never in want of material things as everyone is prosperous and the Supreme Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu automatically has created a land of splendor. Could some one please clarify? HareKrishna!

[jagatpurush]

thank you for your nice question. there are a couple of considerations here:

 

>When you say that Krishna devotees are not well off financially, do they stay like this forever or their situation changes.

 

>It is said in scriptures, specifically in Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead that Indra seeing that the residents of Vrajabhumi had become very opulent due to worshiping Krsna, thought that they had indeed become proud by not worshipping Indra and hence Indra, the King of heaven decided to shower rain in Vrindavan and flood this. Also, it is said in Navadvip Mahatmya that people in this land are never in want of material things as everyone is prosperous and the Supreme Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu automatically has created a land of splendor.

 

here we are talking about pure devotees. when they are present on earth, they may be either in opulence or in great material difficulty, depending on the lila they are involved in. the demon Hiranyakasipu tried to kill the devotee Prahlada in so many ways, such as boiling him in oil. such lilas are meant for our instruction--to show how a devotee can be Krsna conscious in the greatest of material difficulty.

 

>I have heard that if you chant Krsna's name you never run out of material necessities - food, clothing and shelter. Is this true?

 

yes this is true--although it's not quite the same as material opulence. Prabhupada gave the example that during the man-made famine in Bengal in the 40s, those who were bhaktas were able to manage somehow or other, while others starved.

 

someone may receive material opulence by worshipping Krsna, but generally Krsna shows His mercy on the serious devotee by taking away His material opulence so that the devotee will remember Him more intensely:

 

"yasyaham anugrhnami harisye tad-dhanam sanaih." [srimad Bhagavatam 10.88.8]

 

["The Personality of Godhead said: If I especially favor someone, I gradually deprive him of his wealth. Then the relatives and friends of such a poverty-stricken man abandon him. In this way he suffers one distress after another." ]

 

we can see this in the life of Srila Prabhupada. he was never very successful in business or marriage. again, this lila is for our instruction, to take inspiration.

 

however, you need not fear to take up Krsna-bhakti on this account. Krsna will never give you more than you can handle. whatever tests He gives you (proportional to your level of advancement), He will also give you the means to overcome them.

 

thanks, hope this helps. i would like to also hear more realizations on this point.

[jagatpurush]

"If you live your life for sacrifice, sacrifice of yajïa, then you will never be unhappy. You'll never be in want. We become unhappy for want of things which we require. This is practical. This is practical. Anyone... You will be surprised.

 

I have taken practical information. In 1942 there was a manufactured famine in Bengal by the manipulation of the then government. It is for the first time we experienced that India... In our childhood, when we were children, at that time the first-class rice was selling three dollars for 82 pounds. Can you imagine? Three dollars. Not three dollars, I mean to say, dollar is exchange. Say, for less than one dollar, three-fourth dollar. Three rupees. Three rupees. The exchange of dollar and rupees is: five rupees make one dollar. Now, it was selling at 3.8. So about, I mean to, 75 cent. 75 cent for 82 pounds of best rice. I have seen it in my experiencing of life. When I was a boy in India it was selling. Can you imagine that? But that rice all of a sudden rose in 1940, ten dollars. Now, just imagine if something, the price of something, is raised from 75 cent to ten dollars, how difficult it becomes for the public, for general mass of people. So so many people were in difficulty, and so many people died for want of food, diseases, famine, because when there is want of food... But you will be surprised... I inquired in 1942. Persons who were in our line, I mean to say, engaged in devotional service... I also purchased at the same time. I had... In my family life at that time, I had some responsibility: my self, my wife, my five children, servant, and so many, about ten people. And I was purchasing rice. So anyway, management was going on. But so many people died. But you will be surprised. Those who were in some way or other in touch with the devotional service, I inquired from them individually, and I was satisfied that they were not in difficulty even in that famine circumstances. Even from the villages I inquired that "Were you in difficulty?" They replied, "No, we have no difficulty. Some way or other, we are managing." So this is practical. Anyone who is engaged in the devotional service, whose life is dedicated for service of the Supreme, you will see practically that there will be no want, there will be no unhappiness. This is a fact. This is a fact. So

 

devän bhävayatänena

te devä bhävayantu vaù

parasparaà bhävayantaù

çreyaù param aväpsyatha

 

This Vedic injunction is also like that, that "You do sacrifice for the Supreme. Then you will never be unhappy. You will never be in want." Now, mind that, that the work is not stopped. The work in which you are engaged, that is not stopped. We have discussed in the previous verse that niyataà kuru karma tvam. The work which is entrusted to you, or the work in which you are now engaged, that is not to be undone. You work as you are doing. But you engage your, the result of your work or life for the matter of sacrificing for the Supreme Lord." Bg. 3.8-11, NY 5-20-66