“Whatever result was obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Vishnu, in Treta-yuga by performing sacrifices and in Dvapara-yuga by serving the Lord’s lotus feet can also be obtained in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 12.3.52)

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कृते यद्ध्यायतो विष्णुं त्रेतायां यजतो मखै:
द्वापरे परिचर्यायां कलौ तद्धरिकीर्तनात्

kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇuṁ
tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ
dvāpare paricaryāyāṁ
kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt

1. Turning on the radio

“This is too much for me to deal with right now. Let me find something to listen to. I am subscribed to this service, and they offer hundreds of channels. Even after paying, I still have to listen to advertisements. What’s up with that? Every commercial entices you to switch and tune to a different station. Can you just give me one channel that I can always keep on, please?”

2. Reaching for the smartphone

“This is too much for me to deal with right now. Let me see what is going on in the world. I know that I feel worse after a scrolling session. I am never happy in checking the news or browsing the items appearing in the feed. But somehow I keep checking. It is like I am intentionally avoiding something more important.”

3. Turning on the television

“This is too much for me to deal with right now. Let me see what is on television. There has to be a game on. Perhaps a movie. I like to randomly tune to a station and watch things without prior planning. I tend to enjoy the experience more that way.”

4. Heading straight for the TLDR

“This is too much for me to deal with right now. Can someone please give me a summary? No way that I can sit quietly and make it through the entire article. Even with advanced technology that can read the full story to me, though in an annoying AI voice, I do not have the patience to sit through. That is torture.”

5. Choosing intoxication

“This is too much for me to deal with right now. Let me escape from the world, if only temporarily. I need something to dull the pain. I cannot settle upon a decision. I am too sad over what has taken place recently. I think Goswami Tulsidas is correct in describing this world as shokadhama.”

तब लगि कुसल न जीव कहुँ सपनेहुँ मन बिश्राम
जब लगि भजत न राम कहुँ सोकधाम तजि काम

taba lagi kusala na jīva kahum̐ sapanehum̐ mana biśrāma
jaba lagi bhajata na rāma kahum̐ sokadhāma taji kāma

“For as long as there is not devotion to Shri Rama and the release of material desires, which are like an abode of grief, the living being should not expect to find welfare and peace of mind, even in a dream.” (Dohavali, 131)

…

The science of self-realization in the instructional sense, carrying the thorough, precise, and comprehensive explanation of sanatana-dharma, may appear overwhelming. The volume itself is like this ever-expanding formidable force. It is said that since the glories, gunas, of the object of worship continue to expand, like the infinitely widening space, so the accounting of those glories never reaches a limit. The Vedas themselves are simply glorification of the highest being of all, Purushottama, and so authentic and genuine Vedic literature can never be tied down or restricted to a single book or collection of verses.

Despite the awe-inspiring visual of a stack of books full of deep, meaningful, and profound wisdom, there is supposedly a shortcut method to reaching perfection. That method is made specifically for this period of time. If we viewed billions of years as a large circle and then divided that circle into four pieces, we are currently living in what is known as Kali-Yuga. This is the last of the four partitions, when viewed as a time continuum, but we should also understand that the universe undergoes creation and dissolution in repeating cycles. The principles of vyakta and avyakta apply here in the same way that we can understand the individual.

भूत-ग्रामः स एवायं
भूत्वा भूत्वा प्रलीयते
रात्र्य्-आगमे ऽवशः पार्थ
प्रभवत्य् अहर्-आगमे

bhūta-grāmaḥ sa evāyaṁ
bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate
rātry-āgame ‘vaśaḥ pārtha
prabhavaty ahar-āgame

“Again and again the day comes, and this host of beings is active; and again the night falls, O Partha, and they are helplessly dissolved.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 8.19)

The shortcut method is the chanting of the holy names. Simply take shelter of a sound vibration. Create that sound on a repeated basis. While chanting, try to hear. Dedicate some time to this process. Make a routine out of it through what is known as mantra-meditation: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

Goswami Tulsidas compares the power of the holy name within this Kali-yuga to the fearsome and rescuing appearance of Narasimha, who protected the devoted Prahlada against the wicked Hiranyakashipu. The presence of the same Narasimha is there in the holy name.

राम नाम नर केसरी कनककसिपु कलिकाल
जापक जन प्रहलाद जिमि पालिहि दलि सुरसाल

rāma nāma nara kesarī kanakakasipu kalikāla
jāpaka jana prahalāda jimi pālihi dali surasāla

“Shri Rama’s holy name is like Narasimhadeva to the Hiranyakashipu-like Kali Yuga. For those who chant the holy name, the Lord offers them all protections and crushes their tormentors, just as He did for Prahlada Maharaja.“ (Dohavali, 26)

How can a name offer the same protection as a half-man/half-lion figure? Moreover, how can a single sound vibration produce an understanding on the level of having studied the esoteric knowledge of Vedanta? How is sitting down to sing and respond to holy names in a practice known as sankirtana equivalent to enrolling in and attending a university of higher learning?

The only way to resolve the inconsistencies is to understand that the method has been blessed by the object of worship. In the same manner that He turned a pillar into a womb in order to take down the wicked father of Prahlada, He can invest all potency in a sound vibration. He can empower a method during a time where the average person is otherwise too distracted or too afraid to try to contemplate higher topics.

We see from the above review that there are myriad opportunities to distract the mind. We can avoid thinking in so many ways. Even if we do have the time, we might be too impatient to sit and listen to the entire proposal. We have a difficult time maintaining focus while someone is explaining the need for separating between purusha and prakriti, for seeing the imperishable nature of spirit. We simply do not want to try; this is our misfortune in Kali-yuga.

अविनाशि तु तद् विद्धि
येन सर्वम् इदं ततम्
विनाशम् अव्ययस्यास्य
न कश्चित् कर्तुम् अर्हति

avināśi tu tad viddhi
yena sarvam idaṁ tatam
vināśam avyayasyāsya
na kaścit kartum arhati

“Know that which pervades the entire body is indestructible. No one is able to destroy the imperishable soul.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.17)

We still have a chance. Even while suffering from our degraded condition, there is hope. Whereas the recommended paths in previous ages carried added difficulty, we already have enough trouble today. There used to be a quiet space for meditation. There were sufficient resources necessary for elaborate sacrifice, yajna. There was the temple itself to facilitate proper archana. Today, those processes are equally as effective, but how can the conditions be appropriately replicated? Even the houses of worship have turned into places of corruption; something like the home bases for organized crime focused entirely on fleecing the innocent attendees, who are patrons in something known as spiritual tourism.

The Supreme Lord is always thinking of ways to bring back the sons and daughters who have lost their way. Ultimately, it is their choice whether or not to return. We can make our choice known in an obvious way through dedication to the holy name, to always remembering the most benevolent one through sound.

In Closing:

Invested with potency profound,
That possible rescued through sound.

Whereas previously required,
Sacrifice or to meditation inspired.

But now so distracted to be,
Never proper focus to see.

Like Narasimha from pillar to arrive,
Empowered by holy name to thrive.

Categories: the five

Tags: chanting, dailyprompt, kali yuga, poem, poems, poetry