Japa Room Stage 5 Transcript

Recently we had a very interesting and inspiring session in Stage 5 of the Japa Room - a very nice discussion about the importance of prayer and our dependence on the Lord.

RasaRasika: Haribol GD

GD: Haribol. I hope I didn't miss the japa room

RasaRasika: it's OK we are typing today here...my audio won't work properly

RasaRasika: this week is Stage 5, talking about praying to the Lord for assistance

GD: ok

RasaRasika: We can talk about praying to the Lord
RasaRasika: I do this myself everyday

GD: hmm something of your own or
some ready made prayer from acharyas

RasaRasika: I pray to my spiritual master and the Lord to help me overcome the offenses and also to attain good quality attentive Japa
RasaRasika: it's my own prayer
RasaRasika: I find it's a nice way to start Japa understanding that the Lord can help us with this and I also pray to my Deities and chant in front of them....asking Jagannatha to be merciful unto me

AD: I have noticed praying helped me in chanting this week. Increased my efforts to attain offenseless chanting

RasaRasika: OK nice AD
RasaRasika: It's something that we may not be used to doing...praying like this but it is good to do that to recognise within ourselves how we depend on the Lord for everything

GD: I feel that with one's own prayers give a kind of an intimate tinge to the relationship with the Lord although I've heard the recommendation of using the prayers of acharyas

AD: I completely agree prabhu

RasaRasika: yes we can use those also if we feel like that....both can be there
RasaRasika: The mood of the advanced devotees are contained in their prayers

GD: I'd say humility is a big key word in the prayers

RasaRasika: yes it's very true

AD: But in my case I use my own prayers helps me also, because it strenghs my personal relationship with Krsna that needs to be uncovered

AD: I mean they help me also

RasaRasika: I find that when we are reminded of our dependance on the Lord, this gives us a sense of humility
RasaRasika: certainly we need to seek the blessing of the spiritual master and the previous acaryas and that can be personal prayers or reciting the other prayers also. Main thing is to realise our dependance on the Lord for everything

GD: Sri Siksastakam is a good basis

RasaRasika: yes these prayers are very important - it shows us this mood of dependance on the Lord....like in the last sloka

GD: yes and the third

RasaRasika: yes, so this is the mood that we are trying to develop then humility comes....it's nice to know that all we need to do is depend on the Lord completely - also with our chanting, that we depend on the Lord, through the spiritual master, for any advancement and the taste and purification

GD: hmm it reminds me of the 5 factors of action...we do our best but result is dependent on the Lord

RasaRasika: yes good point
RasaRasika: the Lord decides in the end but we can be sure that the result will be good for our advancement whatever that may be that the Lord can test us sometimes directly or through the material energy
RasaRasika: Sometimes a seemingly negative situation materially can actually be a positive one spiritually if we can see the Lord's hand

GD: yes Siksastkam 8

RasaRasika: yes that prayer

RasaRasika: and Srila Prabhupada mentions that the Lord will take away material things in our lives so we can make advancement so it may come like this or otherwise but the point is clear that the Lord can make any arrangement for our advancement via the material energy or directly through the spiritual energy

GD: That verse "...I bless such a person by taking everything away from him..."

RasaRasika: yes this verse
RasaRasika: so if we can see these things in relation to the Lord and not lament on the material platform but it's only possible by proper purification by chanting....chanting as well as we can and the Lord reciprocates

GD: ok

RasaRasika: The relationship that we are developing with the Lord it's very personal and the Lord can give us the vision to see all this going on and it starts with the purifying process of chanting quality Japa

RasaRasika: Hare Krsna MD

RasaRasika: welcome back

MD: Haribol prabhu

RasaRasika: so it's amazing actually when we can see the Lord in our lives like this - how he works in our lives and with a strong sadhana, including quality Japa, this vision can be developed or rather Krsna gives us this according to our efforts

GD: Yes many verses are running in my head about these

RasaRasika: yes Krsna has given us the information to apply in our lives, not that it's an artificial way of thinking- sometimes we can use this as an excuse for our laziness or lack of taking personal responsibility..."The Lord will arrange everything" so therefore we don't have to do much

GD: we should only try to understand the transcendental nature of Krishna's appearance and activities

RasaRasika: Yes and that will be possible with purification by good quality Japa and sadhana, otherwise it will remain theory or just knowledge

GD: in other words dry...

GD: I think the verse from namamrita applies to this topic also...I mean the one I meantioned last time...nama sankirtana...

RasaRasika: Yes please quote it

GD: "ei chay gosai kori carana vandana yaha hoite krsna nam abhista purana yaha hoite vighna nama"
GD: By offering my obeisances to these six goswamis all obstacles to devotion are destroyed and all spiritual desires are fulfilled

RasaRasika: Nice thank you

AD: Quality chanting, means offenseless chanting, chanting with feeling with the heart, no only a mechanical process, how can we hanker for it naturally and not try to immitate previous acharyas

RasaRasika: OK thanks AD
RasaRasika: this natural hankering for the Holy names comes from this reciprocation that we were discussing, when the Lord gives us a taste for the chanting, then we naturally hanker for that more - if we feel the purifying effects of our chanting then we hanker for tha....so it comes down to our own effort....the Lord reciprocates with our effort - the Lord awards us according to this effort, then we develop this hankering for the Holy names and we look forward to chanting, it's not just a process anymore...or a ritual that we do every day because we HAVE to do it....we chant because we WANT to chant and this can only come from feeling the purifying effects by the Lord's grace

AD: thank you

MD: reminds me from the point that the process is not static, you always have to surrender again or have to have that desire

RasaRasika: yes it's definitely dynamic
RasaRasika: we need to go beyond a mechanical process, like a ritualistic act everyday that we do mechanically without much thought or feeling
RasaRasika: here is a nice quote

RasaRasika: "....Practically we see that as we sincerely try to improve our chanting for the pleasure of Krishna, Krishna reciprocates and we feel our greatest pleasure which is devotional service to the Lord. So, you may continue with this method, it is very nice and approved by me."
Letter to Syamasundara - November 24, 1968

RasaRasika: this is nice because Srila Prabhupada talks about our efforts to improve our chanting for the pleasure of the Lord then we feel the effects because the Lord reciprocates

GD: Yes

RasaRasika: which is actual devotional service....service done with devotion

GD: One point also...If you don't feel like chanting then you can excuse your mind for doing it for somebody else good trick for the mind

RasaRasika: yes good trick

MD: this dynamic...maybe there are different levels, I mean some newcomers maybe doing seva and chating very dynamically, but efforts are maybe not that steady, elders maybe very steady, but not externally very dynamic...

RasaRasika: Thanks M good point
RasaRasika: there are different levels...and you notice that when our enthusiasm is strong, like when we see this in the beginning stages, the Lord will give us this reciprocation- like the first time you feel the taste....I remember that in the early stages...then as time goes on we can become familiar with the process and that enthusiasm and taste may fade
- so we end up with mechanical following like a ritual, so we may be steady but mechanical...so we need to remain steady but also make an effort to absorb ourselves in the sound vibration - for each mantra we need to do this

MD: it was mentioned yesterdays class that external execution of bhakti is sambandha, actual experience of bhakti is on the level of abhideya

RasaRasika: yes so that sambhandha is developed through our efforts to develop our relationship with the Lord, then the reciprocation from the Lord will come and He may give us the vision to see how He is working in our lives and our bhakti grows more from this vision...but it starts with our efforts...like if Krsna was in the room with us, and we ignore Him and do other things then where is the question of a relationship?

MD: yes

GD: Main symptom of being mechanical is inattentive chanting I guess

RasaRasika: yes, so if we ignore the Holy names by not hearing them properly, then how can we expect the Lord to reciprocate? We are not taking a step towards Him, we are moving away with our inattention - like music in the background, our Japa can be like this and the mind is wandering all over the universe and it's hard to bring the mind back from that state - but it can be done if we simply hear properly

GD: Satsvarupa Maharaja gave one analogy about this in one BTG

RasaRasika: yes please tell us and then we will break and then the Gita room

GD: ..."You are in a recording studio with 24 track recorder - every track has some sounds going on, talking, music etc. on one track there is chanting japa...you just pull the volume down from the other tracks and leave the japa track on

RasaRasika: great example...ignore the ramblings of the mind

MD: nice, somewhere he said that if there are 8 tracks you just fill all them with maha-mantra

RasaRasika: yes great example again - keep the mind on the sound of the words and then it won't wander
RasaRasika: OK we will take a break now and I will invite you back into the Gita room
RasaRasika: thanks for all your comments and questions
RasaRasika: see you in 10 mins time

AD: Hare Krsna