Unfortunately, my mind robs me of much of my japa time by dwelling on useless memories and imaginative trails. For example, this morning while saying the holy names, I was imagining what life may have been like onboard the U.S.S. Saratoga in the war against Iraq. That prolonged thought eventually led to something else and something else, all outside the range of devotional service. In such cases, prayer may be too gentle a means. We have to grab the mind back to hearing the sound of harer nama.
For a pure devotee—or rather, for an ideal disciple—chanting the name of Krishna sparks off a chain reaction of meditation on the many aspects of Krishna consciousness, all amid the internal energy. Srila Prabhupada writes, “As soon as there is the chanting vibration, Hare Krishna, immediately Krishna’s paraphernalia, Krishna’s name, Krishna’s fame, Krishna’s abode, Krishna’s associates— everything—all of a sudden become manifest within because He is present. . . . To remember by reference to a context means that as soon as one hears a code word, one at once remembers all the information behind that code. Similarly, when our minds are attracted to Krishna and then everything about Krishna simply by hearing a little glorification of His qualities, that is the beginning of pure Krishna consciousness.” (SSR, pp. 287–88)
When will the day come when we can chant like that, with the code word ‘Krishna’ setting off explosions of blissful remembrance? My dear mind, I beg you to cooperate. Only if you agree can this come about. I hope, dear mind, you will be overwhelmed with happiness in chanting so that you will admit it is not your own doing, but Krishna Himself and His internal energy who are appearing on our tongue. But let us cooperate to invite Krishna to appear. He won’t agree to appear if all we offer Him is a place of stale, material memories and fantasies. Let us worship Krishna so that He will be inclined to appear.
(_Begging for the Nectar of the Holy Name_)
JAPA POEM
My mind slides away from my “japa retreat”
by dwelling on
random, insatiable
memories and daydreams.
It is a great loss.
“. . . Prayer may be
too gentle a means.
We have to grab the mind back
to hearing harer nama.”