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Hare Krsna Prabhuji
Dandavat pranam
Prabhuji your conviction and faith in chanting of Hare Krsna Maha Mantra for spiritual progress is very evident from many of your responses on this forum. I have also chanting for quite a few years, but currently, I am stuck up at the most basic level to overcome sleep during chanting and the mischief of the restless mind. Sometimes it feels like is there any hope of making any spiritual progress with this condition.
Since you have been practicing for a very long time (practically decades) can you please give some recommendations from your treasure of experience on how to overcome these basic difficulties? How can I understand if I am progressing? What are the different necessary and sufficient conditions of progress?
Your answer will be very helpful to make progress.
YS.
Spiritual progress is just like eating food. As you eat food, the hunger subsides, and the feeling of fullness comes. We cannot separate the process of eating from the subsiding of hunger or the feeling of fullness after eating. They come together.
The only unique thing I have done is dedicating myself to one service. We cannot continuously engage the mind in the mantra because it is repetitive in the beginning. So we have to engage the mind is something variegated. It should be a service to Krishna. By that, the mind is slowly purified even while not chanting.
Most people are not progressing because they are not doing any service. They do some chanting where their mind wanders. Then they read something and their mind is filled with many thoughts. They chit-chat to kill time and overcome loneliness but it is all nonsense. If you look at their life day by day, then their net contribution is zero. They are doing nothing to serve Krishna. Meanwhile they keep fighting with each other for any number of reasons. In this way, they cannot progress.
The basic thing for spiritual progress is to commit to some service to Krishna. Find something suited to your ability. I don’t know if this is the only way, but this is the only thing I have done and it has worked. Because I occupied myself in this way, I avoided wasting time chit-chatting and fighting with others. Every night I ask myself: Was the day worthwhile? Have I contributed something useful today? Was I of some use to Krishna today? Or did I just waste my time in survival routine? By asking these questions we develop eagerness to do more and this is how we progress.
Most people are not progressing because they are not doing any service. They do some chanting where their mind wanders. Then they read something and their mind is filled with many thoughts. They chit-chat to kill time and overcome loneliness but it is all nonsense.
Thank you for pointing it out prabhuji, I notice these things in me.
Spiritual progress is just like eating food. As you eat food, the hunger subsides, and the feeling of fullness comes. We cannot separate the process of eating from the subsiding of hunger or the feeling of fullness after eating. They come together.
Is it correct to say that this is the necessary and sufficient condition for progress?
But prabhuji in practice I many times noticed that I may feel satisfied and happy sometimes, but it doesn’t last for long it is like coming and going. I wanted to clarify, how can I differentiate the satisfaction of mind that comes from Sattva Guna (Overall the practice and schedule of devotees automatically increase Sattva) and that which comes from spiritual progress. Is time the only parameter?
The basic thing for spiritual progress is to commit to some service to Krishna
In order to avoid any speculation from my end, I want to confirm whether it is correct to say, “commit to a service” is equivalent to “commitment to serve the instructions of a pure devotee of the Lord”
YS
Is it correct to say that this is the necessary and sufficient condition for progress?
I don’t know about necessary and sufficient condition for progress. You asked me a question and I told you about what I have done. I cannot talk about everyone. Others may progress in other ways. Bhakti Rasamrit Sindhu (1.2.4) states tasmāt kenāpy upāyena manaḥ kṛṣṇe niveśayet, which means “therefore, by hook or by crook engage your mind in kṛṣṇa”. Everyone can engage their mind in different ways. I gave you one way that I do. You can also do the same thing or something else.
But prabhuji in practice I many times noticed that I may feel satisfied and happy sometimes, but it doesn’t last for long it is like coming and going. I wanted to clarify, how can I differentiate the satisfaction of mind that comes from Sattva Guna (Overall the practice and schedule of devotees automatically increase Sattva) and that which comes from spiritual progress. Is time the only parameter?
You will not be able to distinguish between the modes of nature and spiritual state unless you experience the spiritual state. It is like telling about the taste of ginger to someone who has never tasted ginger. We can say, “it has a sharp astringent taste”, but that says nothing. In the same way, we can say that it is beyond the three modes of material nature but you will not understand anything. Therefore, try to cultivate sattva-guna and slowly you will understand. Impatience is not the same as eagerness. You are impatient and you think that it is the same thing as eagerness.
In order to avoid any speculation from my end, I want to confirm whether it is correct to say, “commit to a service” is equivalent to “commitment to serve the instructions of a pure devotee of the Lord”
Yes by the grace of the pure devotee, everything is achieved. Without the grace of the devotee nothing is achieved.
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