Devotional practices during exams or busy works – Best tips to manage!
ACTUAL QUESTION (From a girl devotee):
Hare krishna pamho Agtsp Prabhu ji i left fb few months ago but just joined it again to read ur posts. I am looking solution for a question. Pls help. My question after my graduation i have started my preparation for ssc (government exams). But i am facing difficulties. I mean in college time i used to attend all the temple festivals but now as i am preparaing for a competitive exam i have to reduce this. Because every next day there is a festival in temple, if not festival then a seminar… Like that… I am very confused what should i do. To what extent i reduce attending temple festivals. I am also suffering with my sadhna means how much time should I devote to reading n hearing. I have to and i want to clear this exam. 2018 is my target year. I have time of one year. I have to study with determination n dedication. Pls pls my humble request pls suggest me a way to manage these things.Looking forward for ur reply. Pls help. Pamho. Hare Krishna
REPLY:
Devotion does not depend on how long you are in the temple.
It depends on how deep you are attached to Krishna.
See, the temples have devotion as their only activity. So they will be arranging different programs every day.
(Should a devotee vote in elections and select wrong candidates? READ HERE!)
They may even preach that the devotees should attend Bhagavatham class every morning.
They may celebrate functions during working days.
Since they are full time devotees, they can attend them daily.
But, studying or working or shift job devotees can not attend all the programs daily.
So, my first advice to you is:Â ATTEND THE TEMPLE PROGRAMS WHENEVER POSSIBLE ACCORDING TO THE NATURE OF YOUR STUDIES OR JOB.
You need not attend all the programs unless you are free at home.
Visiting the temple and taking part in the sathsangha, kirtans, service, etc, will definitely help you develop more dedication to the service of Krishna.
Unless one has sufficient sathsangha regularly, he can not grow in devotion.
(How to think of Krishna even in the Classroom where only material education is taught? READ HERE!)
Of course, Â devotion is a private affair between the devotee and Krishna.
However, the devotee will always be bombarded with the material inducements by maya until he is in this material world.
Therefore, he is in a compelling position to fight with the maya.
To fight with maya, he needs to ascertain himself that he is safely engaged in his devotion to Krishna without dilution.
When he takes part in sathsangha with other devotees as much as possible, he can get a moral boost in his following devotion.
How?
If you take a class room in a school, every student will get a boost to study well, seeing the other top ranking students in the class.
If he develops more association with those top ranking students, he too will get encouragement to study well.
(Are the careers of Politics and IAS suitable for a Devotee? READ HERE!)
If a student associates with the students who are not interested in studies, he too will become less interested in studying.
Similarly, if a devotee associates with other sincere devotees, he can discuss with them about Krishna. He can watch how others are showing their dedication by involving in their devotional services.
Thus, he can develop dedication to Krishna.
This is how sathsanga, ie, devotee association plays major role.
The resident devotees in a temple have no other responsibilities like earning, studying, family, etc. Therefore, they can celebrate all the events all the 24 hours.
However, for working or studying devotees, managing Devotional practices during exams or busy works by being with the devotees all the time is not possible. They have to study well to lead his life in this material world.
(USING OUR STUDIES AS SERVICE TO KRISHNA! SIMPLE TIPS! READ HERE!)
That is why, we have to make use of holidays alone.
You can attend the temples for about 3 hours during Sundays and during festivals. During these 3 hours, you should very sincerely attend the programs.
For the busy students and employees, as far as other devotional practices at home are concerned, they may spare atleast 1 hour daily either in the morning or in the evening to chant the Lord’s names for about 30-45 minutes, read about Krishna for about 15 minutes, worship Krishna for about 5 minutes.
Then, they can spare all the remaining 23 hours for preparing for their exams. 23 hours daily is more than sufficient for preparing for exams.
(How can a student excel in devotion and studies simultaneously? READ HERE!)
They can split these 23 hours as below: Read or work for two hours; Take a break and chant or read about Krishna for ten minutes. Again read/ work for two hours, and chant or read about Krishna for 10 minutes. Repeat this process. Thus, you can change your mood and relax while studying, since continuous study will reduce the efficiency.
Thus, you can chant or read about Krishna during the 10 minutes breaks while studying or working.
By following this process, you get two benefits:
(i) You effectively study or work to take care of your life;
(ii) You complete the sadhana bhakti and remain in the thoughts of Krishna all the 24 hours.
(Is targeting both Krishna and studies to be a top ranker wrong? READ HERE!)
Thus, you are doing well in both the body and soul maintenance, ie, Devotional practices during exams or busy works.
Do not allot the time for Krishna less than an hour. Without His mercy, how did you get this opportunity to study and get job?
If you spare some time say, just about an hour for Krishna even amidst your studies and work, Krishna will definitely recognize it and show His blessings.
Hope you are clear now about managing Devotional practices during exams or busy works.
(Does more involvement in devotion affect the studies? READ HERE!)