SHOULD WE MEDITATE WHILE CHANTING?

[The following is a darśana with Śrīla Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Gosvāmī Mahārāja on May 28, 2016 at East of Kailash, Delhi. Editors’ input: Additional text has been included in square brackets to facilitate the flow of content.]

Prītī Didi: It is said that we must meditate on Bhagavān when we chant or that the meditation should come when we chant. When does this occur? I mean, although I have read that Kṛṣṇa looks like this, He has lotus eyes, and so on but I did not get association of Śrīla Gurudeva, Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja, I did not hear about these descriptions from his lotus mouth. Either I have read about it or heard about it. So how does it happen? And secondly if this world is a shadow, then how can we imagine that which is transcendental with our gross material senses? So how should we chant?

Śrīmān Sanjaya Prabhu [paraphrasing the question to Śrīla Mahārāja on behalf of the devotee]: She is saying that while chanting we must meditate on the nāmī (the one whose name is being chanted). How will meditation happen? Although we have read and heard about Him, but while being in this material world [and with material senses], how can we meditate on that acintya vastu – inconceivable entity.

Śrīla Mahārāja: What will be the benefit of meditation? What is meditation? To focus our citta (mind) on the object of our meditation by any means, is called dhyāna; that in itself is meditation. So how can meditation be done separately? [This can be explained by the following example.]

How will an offspring look at birth? Will it look like [it is naturally shaping up] inside the egg, or if we decorate the external shell of the egg, will a wonderful offspring be born [as per our decoration]? Which one?

Śrīmān Mādhavapriya Prabhu: The one that is inside.

Śrīla Mahārāja: Right, the one that is inside. So what impact did your external decoration make?

Śrīmān Mādhavapriya Prabhu: None

Śrīla Mahārāja: So similarly, when someone chants the holy name, the name itself will reveal His form, qualities, etc. dekhāya nija rūpa guna. [Endnote 1] The Name itself will show; you don’t have to see it [imagine it]. How will you see? The Name is not subservient to you.

That is why, when you continue to chant, then the Name will manifest to you. The Name does not manifest in the same way to everyone. The Name manifests only as per the eligibility of the individual.

So, no one can ‘chant’ the Name. The Name is svādhina vastu – independent entity. The Name will appear on your tongue. You will not chant the Name. If you can ‘chant’ the Name, then that would make you superior to the Name. The Name will appear on your tongue [of His own accord].

That is why Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has said –

nārada-vīṇojjīvana! sudhormi-niryāsa-mādhurī-pūra!

tvaṁ kṛṣṇa-nāma! kāmaṁ, sphura me rasane rasena sadā

Nāmāṣṭaka (8)

[O life of Nārada’s vīṇā! O crest of the waves upon the transcendental ocean of nectar! O condensed form of all sweetness! O Kṛṣṇa-nāma! By Your own sweet will, may You always appear on my tongue along with all transcendental rasa.]

O holy name, may you manifest on my rasanā, tongue. I cannot make you manifest.

Then why is there a need to chant the holy name [in our conditioned state]? There is a need to repeatedly pray to the holy name. And that is why it has to be done in a regulated way. Not that you chanted today but not yesterday.

When you continue to chant like this [in a regulated, prayerful manner], then the holy name will bestow its mercy. The Name and Named - holy name and Kṛṣṇa - are non-different. So the mercy of the holy name is the same as the mercy of Bhagavān. It is not different. With this consideration, we must chant harināma. Keeping chanting harināma.

We have traversed through 8.4 million species after which we have received this human birth. All the impressions from the other births are also being carried in this human birth. That is why sometimes humans act in such a way, that it is worse than animals. And sometimes they also act in such a way that it is even superior to the demigods.

In whose dynasty did Prahlāda appear?

Devotees: Demons

Śrīla Mahārāja: Was that taken into consideration by the Lord? Garūḍa - was his food and lifestyle ok? Still, he was able to serve Bhagavān. Hanuman - did he clean up after passing stool? He has no sadācāra [conduct based on Vedic lifestyle].

Bhagavān doesn’t see these things. These are just faults arising out of their acquired nature [nisarga doṣa]. Bhagavān doesn’t show hatred towards anyone based on nisarga doṣa. Bhagavān only takes sevā into account. Why doesn’t He have such hatred? Because He has love towards the living entities. He loves His children.

[Just like one loves his or her own child.] Do we feel any discomfort while cleaning the urine and stool of our child? But when it comes to someone else’s child, then we will feel uncomfortable. So what is the difference? This is also a child and that is also a child. The only difference is that we have a sambandha (relationship) with our child, and we don’t have sambandha with the other child.

Even if someone else’s child is very nice, and our child is not so nice, which child will we love? Only our own child.

Devotees: Yes.

Śrīla Mahārāja: We will appreciate that other child, we will even say, “Oh he is so nice!” but we will only develop affection towards our own child. Similarly, when there is sambandha, then affection develops. Without sambandha, there is no affection. Did you understand?

Only by sambandha jñāna [knowledge of one’s relationship], love develops. So if we have any sambandha with Bhagavān and if we engage in glorification of Bhagavān; to the extent we do it, to that extent we will develop rucī [taste].

Take for instance, that your son stays abroad and someone who works at the same office and stays together with your son, is visiting from there. The one who is visiting is South Indian. So whatever he will convey to you [about your son], he may not be able to convey properly [due to the language barrier], even still, will you not have rucī to hear what he is saying?

Similarly, one will develop rucī for narrations about Bhagavān, no matter who speaks them, if we have sambandha with Bhagavān. That is why, despite it being [the same] Bhagavān, a devotee of Rāma will not derive as much pleasure by hearing about Kṛṣṇa as he does upon hearing about Rāma. A devotee of Kṛṣṇa will derive pleasure from kṛṣṇa-kathā. Are Rāma and Kṛṣṇa different? They are not different [by tattva]. If They are not different, then why don’t you develop taste towards Their kathā? Even though They are not different [by tattva, but the rasa differs].

Suppose different people are seated together to eat. Many preparations have been made, including all the six rasas like sour, bitter, astringent, and so on. And four kinds of eatables have been prepared – which are to be chewed, sucked, licked and drunk. Are all preparations ok for everyone? Will the preparations which are to be chewed suit someone who has no teeth?

Devotees: No.

Śrīla Mahārāja: But the cook made it with so much love. In our Hyderabad Maṭha, there was one saint, he didn’t have teeth.

Śrīmān Mādhava-priya Prabhu: Mahārāja Jī, I will explain this anecdote. Mahārāja Jī explains that one time there was a festival at Hyderabad, and one person had diabetes, one saint did not have teeth. The cook prepared the feast very nicely by adding peanuts, almonds and so on. So that saint who had no teeth asked, “What can I eat? Please tell me.” So Mahārāja Jī is saying, that we should cook in such a way that everyone can partake of it. Similarly Bhagavān has made all the rasas [mellows]. So as per one’s eligibility, one will accept a particular rasa.

Śrīmān Sanjaya Prabhu: There is one more question, but also today there are a few who want to take harināma.

Śrīla Mahārāja: Ok, I will end it here.

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Endnotes

Endnote 1

īsāt vikaśi punaḥ dekhāya nija-rūpa-guṇa

citta hari laya kṛṣṇa pāśa

pūrṇa-vikaśita haiyā vraje more jāya laiyā

dekhāya nija-svarūpa-vilāsa

From 'kṛṣṇa-nāma dhare kata bala', by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura

When śrī nāma is even slightly revealed, it shows me my own spiritual form and characteristics.

It steals my mind and takes it to Kṛṣṇa’s side. When śrī nāma is fully revealed, it takes me

directly to Vraja, where it shows me my personal role in the eternal pastimes.