Last night, as usual, I was feeling too sleepy to chant. I was going to chant at all, but I didn't want to break my routine again like last time. So I started chanting, feeling terribly sleepy. I thought I'd just do one round.
"Help me chant. Let me concentrate." I said. Then I got really dramatic and for some reason, I said, "If there really is a God then help me chant!"
How absurd! I don't know why on earth I became so dramatic like that. It's kind of funny lol. Either way, can you guess what happened next?
My concentration level just soared. My attentiveness was much better than it was a minute ago. I was shocked myself! My sleepiness had gone. I was reciting the mantra rather fast, but that usually is what helps me concentrate better. If I chant with slow speed, I can barely follow. With Krishna's mercy, I had chanted my 2 rounds for the day :)
Yesterday, I was faced with a situation that normally makes me doubt and question Krishna. But somehow, it didn't bother me at all. This is very very rare. Usually I just lose my mind and start doubting Krishna and asking Him to prove and reveal Himself to me. Yesterday, I was just peaceful. Doubting questions did occur to me, but they didn't get to me, if you know what I mean. The only words resonating in my ears were Lord Chaitanya's words from the Siksastakam:
"You are my worshippable Lord."
The Lord is being very merciful to me. Lord, I thank You for holding me firm in my faith. You promised to preserve what I have and carry what I lack. You carried me out of my doubt. You helped me to chant. Lord, give me strength, give me unflinching faith. Please keep all of us in steady faith, God. Keep us in Your love.
Nice to know about ur chanting experiences(read last post too). Tat's great!
ReplyDeleteTo be steadfast in chanting is a great way to progress spritually. Actually, when I began to chant I too was worried why I couldn't concentrate whole-heartedly. Thoughts would always be arising. But then my brother told me that just try to be aware of both ur thoughts as well as the mantra. Don't stop chanting even if u get distracted...and don't ever suppress or avoid ur thoughts. Just allow them, and keep on chanting...slowly you can realise, the thoughts and other distractions by themselves will loose their hold on us, and you'll naturally be aware of the mantra alone. And this helped/helps me a lot.
We mostly give up chanting if we're not able to concentrate ...instead if we just keep on chanting, the mantra itself will help dissolve our thoughts. I had experienced this many times.
And, yup! Visualizing Krishna is a great way too. But even, at times, when we couldn't bring Him in our mental eye, we should hold on to the mantra.
There is a famous Thamizh verse of a shiva devotee, "Nattrava Unnai Naan Marakeenum, En Na Sollume Namashivayame"
Meaning: 'O Lord, even if I forget you, my lip will utter your Name!'
That's how Holy Name should be always running within us, consciously or unconsciously. Like you've said, with Krishna's Mercy, I think, we all can really attain that state.
Well, now by sharing these thoughts, I myself am inspired to chant more :-)
Happy chanting!
Shree Rama Jayam!!
Thanks for sharing that!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you when you say that we should keep chanting no matter what. The only solution to offensive chanting is... MORE CHANTING! :D
That’s how Holy Name should be always running within us, consciously or unconsciously. Like you’ve said, with Krishna’s Mercy, I think, we all can really attain that state.
With time, I have come to realize that this is the purpose of chanting. After I started chanting, I noticed that instead of saying useless words, I was taking Krishna's name. Life if I happened to slip somehow, instead of uttering words like, "Oh my gosh!" or "Oh damn!" I would instead say, "Oh Krishna!"
May Krishna write His beautiful name across our hearts!