“Therefore, with one-pointed attention, one should constantly hear about, glorify, remember and worship the Personality of Godhead, who is the protector of the devotees.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.2.14)

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तस्मादेकेन मनसा भगवान् सात्वतां पति: ।
श्रोतव्य: कीर्तितव्यश्च ध्येय: पूज्यश्च नित्यदा ॥

tasmād ekena manasā
bhagavān sātvatāṁ patiḥ
śrotavyaḥ kīrtitavyaś ca
dhyeyaḥ pūjyaś ca nityadā

“You hear this said about children. Parents get report cards from school. There might be a special night designated early on in the school calendar for meeting with the teachers. The parents get to learn how their children are doing, without bias.

“They might be told that such and such child has a difficult time sitting still. They don’t pay attention. Their mind drifts elsewhere. When they should be learning, they are daydreaming. If given assignments to work on, they will procrastinate, waiting until the last possible moment to begin.

“This makes sense when applied to children. It is not out of the ordinary. What about for adults, though? I know some people who would have trouble walking in a straight line, if you asked them to. Something simple like dinner plans can’t be carried out in the absence of issues. They always need to be doing something. They create artificial diversions. They need to be distracted.

“It is as if they are afraid to be alone with their thoughts. They don’t want to have to contemplate higher matters. This is troublesome when you are trying to gain acceptance for the science of self-realization. It is realization, after all. It is realizing something. This automatically requires contemplation.

“I believe the Sanskrit word is dhyana. How is someone expected to meditate when they can’t even sit still? They intentionally introduce chaos into their daily life in order to have something to do. They are so afraid of the very meditation that will benefit them the most.”

Someway or another, a person has to make the effort. If they are okay to simply sit down and hear, that is the best process. Focus the hearing on the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There are no limits in this area.

That is to say, the activities are as endless as the person performing those activities. The lila is ananta. The lila is blissful to hear. Hearing is the first step. The content enters the mind. The mind can then further contemplate.

If a person requires guidance in this area, a basic way to contemplate is to compare. For instance, we can take the pastime of Shri Rama leaving Ayodhya for fourteen years. We hear the information from sacred texts like Ramayana and the many Puranas.

We hear how Rama is dedicated to dharma. This is righteousness. Rama always tries to do the right thing. In return, He gets wronged. It is an egregious error, sourced in people who know how to manipulate things so that they are guaranteed to make their desires come true, satya-sankalpa.

After hearing the information, a person can contemplate as such:

“I can’t believe how kind Shri Rama is. He really considers all points of view. He is not selfish. He always follows the righteous path, to the best extent possible. He takes no insult to heart. He understands that there is jealousy sometimes within a family.

“I don’t think I could ever be as forgiving. He must be God to have so many well-wishers, to have such strong support during the most difficult moments in life. He is obviously worthy of worship, based on the exhibition of vairagya alone.”

This kind of contemplation is dhyana. Whether it occurs while seated in a classroom, driving a car, laying sheetrock, or hard at work at the office, it is dhyana, all the same. It is contemplation on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is advancement of the consciousness. It is auspicious activity.

This highlights the potency of the hearing process. We see that people take up causes based on hearing the subject matter for only a few moments. Suddenly, they are into supporting a particular candidate. They are champions for the downtrodden. They are on a mission to eliminate corruption at the highest levels of government.

Just a little hearing about Bhagavan can create a sense of urgency for continued glorification. Let this life be dedicated to Shri Rama and family. Let those already supporting Him be made to feel that they are in the majority, that they are following the highest calling in life. Let at least the immediate vicinity be purified through even the most basic glorification, such as chanting the holy names: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

In Closing:

This life now to use,
For Hari-katha to choose.

That even if difficult to sit,
In determination not to quit.

With regular routine to hear,
For impurities to clear.

And then higher matters to ponder,
In holy lake of qualities to wander.

Categories: questions

Tags: boredom, god, hare krishna, hinduism, poem, poems, poetry, religion