Replete With Stinkiosity

By krishnasmercy on November 6, 2024 • ( 0 )

“The Sanskrit word mantra is a combination of two syllables, man and tra. Man means ‘mind,’ and tra means ‘deliverance.’ Therefore a mantra is that which delivers you from mental concoction, from hovering on the mental plane. So if you chant this mantra—Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare—very soon you’ll find that you are coming from the darkness to the light.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Journey of Self-Discovery, Ch 2.6)

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“I know you tend to focus on the philosophy. You run through the different Sanskrit terms, their meanings, and how the understanding shifts based on the context of the discussion. For instance, the word guna can mean totally different things depending on what you are talking about.

“Guna is a material quality, like a certain specification within the energy known as prakriti. Guna is something like a position, also, relative to others. Up, middle, or down. Guna also refers to a rope, which indicates how it is binding when in the material world. Guna also refers to good when juxtaposed with dosha, which is bad. Guna can also refer to glories, and so we say that we can sing the glories of the Supreme Lord, guna gao.

“See! You got me doing it now, too. What I am trying to say is that there are more practical issues to deal with. We should spend some time discussing those. Specifically with respect to dealing with the public. How do we get others into bhakti-yoga? How do we present it in a way that does not make us look like oddballs? How do we increase the number of attendees at the programs?

“People have debates on all sorts of nuances in this field. What kind of clothes to wear. What kind of focus to maintain. Even what kind of deities to worship in the temples. Should there even be temples? Or should the initial immersion be in something like a yoga studio, since Western people are more into that? You see what I mean? Aren’t those issues more important than the philosophy?”

Shastra explains that this particular period of time, the one in which we live, is degraded as compared to previous ages. This goes against the prevailing wisdom that man is progressing, that they are living longer, or that they have somehow found a better way to live. The sign of advancement in a single person is their ability to tolerate difficult situations. How do they deal with the slightest adversity? Do they stay cool under pressure? Do they fall from their position at the slightest sign of agitation?

“The example is given that small lamps may become agitated by a little breeze, but the greatest lamp or the greatest illuminating source, the sun, is never moved, even by the greatest hurricane. One’s greatness has to be estimated by one’s ability to tolerate provoking situations.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vol 2, Ch 34)

We see today that the disposition of the average person is getting worse and worse. If the internet service drops for a few seconds, there is chaos within the household. If the latest video we scrolled to on the smartphone does not play immediately, we are upset. There are uppers to help with work during the day. Then at night, there are downers to help with sleep. There are pills to help with anxiety. Everyone seems to be taking these pills, which means that everyone is suffering from anxiety.

The goal of the time spent within the material world is to find Vaikuntha. This is a place free of anxieties. The chances of achieving that goal appear to be limited during this period of time. There are too many distractions, and so we cannot focus on the proper end. In ages past, the technological advancements may not have been there, but the bull that represents dharma had more legs to stand on. Today, there is only one of the four legs remaining.

Due to the merciful nature of the Supreme Lord, there is a special concession for the people of this age. They can simply say the holy name, harinama, and progress towards liberation. Whereas previously the recommended paths were meditation [dhyana], formal worship [archanam], or elaborate sacrifice [yajna], today a mantra spoken to oneself [japa] or with others [sankirtana] can open the doors to the imperishable realm

परस्तस्मात्तु भावोऽन्योऽव्यक्तोऽव्यक्तात्सनातन:
य: स सर्वेषु भूतेषु नश्यत्सु न विनश्यति

paras tasmāt tu bhāvo ’nyo
’vyakto ’vyaktāt sanātanaḥ
yaḥ sa sarveṣu bhūteṣu
naśyatsu na vinaśyati

“Yet there is another nature, which is eternal and is transcendental to this manifested and unmanifested matter. It is supreme and is never annihilated. When all in this world is annihilated, that part remains as it is.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 8.20)

This connection through the holy name is one implementation of bhakti-yoga. It aligns with dharma, which is the essential characteristic of the individual. The concessionary nature to the potency of chanting the holy names extends to the implementation itself. This is a fancy way of saying that the Supreme Lord understands that there will be endless issues in trying to get something official set up, in helping others to practice genuine yoga in this age of Kali.

In the 1980s, there was a popular television sitcom in America that dealt with the challenges, obstacles, and common issues faced in modern family living. One of the characters on the show is in high school. In one episode, she tries to land a job working for the newspaper of the school. She is known for her academic skill, as evidenced by the high marks she earns. Her submission, which serves as a de facto job application, contains flowery language and is more suited for literature than journalism.

She receives negative feedback from the teacher. The student is devastated to hear that her work was not up to standard. In simple terms, the assessment is that her writing stinks. In a joke to simultaneously compliment the writer, to make her feel better about the assessment, the teacher revises his original feedback to say that the submission is, “Replete with stinkiosity.” Amazingly, the student still lands the job. This is because none of the other applicants could spell properly. Even though she wasn’t the perfect candidate, the paper would rather have her than no one at all.

This characterization seems appropriate in describing some of the formal programs that we have attended for bhakti-yoga. The people are not always from the best background. Perhaps they have a history of addiction to drugs and alcohol. The Vedic tradition is foreign to their area. They are trying their best, but the old habits are difficult to give up.

If there is any program available, where it is generally safe to attend, then there is a benefit to extract. We are chanting the holy names with others: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. For a brief moment, we are out of the world of maya. We are hopefully focusing on transcendence, and we appreciate the organizers for taking the risk. At least they are there. At least they are showing up. Hopefully the programs will start and end on time. Hopefully there will be a program in the future. Even if the whole affair is otherwise replete with negative traits, at least there is an attempt being made to fulfill the mission of the human birth.