How to follow chanting amidst tight schedules in daily life?
Two women devotees (Name hidden) asked like this:
(1)
“Hare Krishna prabhu ji. I work in Private sector and I find it very difficult to find time for chanting because company is short of employees and I have to work over time. Please guide me.”
(2)
prabuji i am regular reader of your page. I was a devotee, I dont know if still I am..I have my 10 month baby. I live alone with my husband. I also have helping maid. since I delivered my baby I have not got any time to do chanting, reading, hearing. not even daily ritual lamp offering to lord. I have sleepless nights coz of baby, sleepless days, house chores, then also from buying every day stuff for home. my husband come late from work. every day is a challenge for me. my baby has suddenly stopped eating food for 2 months. I have fallen into depression coz I cant handle such busy life. I cant handle that I have no time for lord Krishna. when I was pregnant, my everyday started and ended with shrimad bhagvatam shlokas. I was in peace just being with Krishna. I cry everyday now. I’m thankful to Krishna for baby, but what about my life and my devotional service for krishna? I have changed as a person. I don’t laugh, smile, I don’t tok to anyone infact very rude with my loved ones. I think often for suicide too. I also take help from inlwas and my parents ,but that very very limited help. like a Leech I stick with mu baby for food and everything. I cried so much today coz she has now stopped taking water also now..doctors dosnt have solution to my prob
REPLY:
I understand that most of the people are busy now a days.
But chanting has no excuses. If you are unable to chant even 4 rounds a day, it is not good. If some one is unable to spare even 30 minutes for chanting, I won’t accept. Chant atleast while doing household works.
But, answer my questions:
Do they miss any breakfast/ lunch / dinner because they are busy?
Do they miss calling and texting the relatives/ lover/ spouse just because they are busy?
Do they miss late night serial in TV just because they are busy?
Do they miss paying Electricity bill, telephone bill, broadband bill just because they are busy?
Do they miss going to toilet or bathroom or comb the hairs or dress neatly just because they are busy?
I do not like to continue the list. We do all our regular assignments everyday without omission. Then, why do we find it difficult to find time to chant?
(If a Sick Patient is unclean while chanting, will it be forgiven? READ HERE!)
Because, all the above points give instant benefits like this:
(1) Breakfast/ lunch / dinner satisfies their tongue instantly. They feel the taste and enjoy. So, they do not like to avoid food.
(2) Calling/ texting to others give a boost to our ego because they appreciate us, praise us and call us as hero. So, our ego gets instant satisfaction. But they do not realize that these relations are temporary and ends when we die.
(3) Late night serials make them forget their real life/ pains temporarily. So, they watch. But, they do not realize that the pains resume after the end of the TV serial.
(4) If they do not pay Electricity/ telephone/ broadband bills, their connections will be cut by the concerned departments and hence they can not enjoy comforts and entertainments. So, they pay bills.
(5) If they do not go to toilet, he will die or can not do any other work. And if they do not bath, no one can come near him and he loses all relations. Even his wife will divorce him if he does not bath in life. So, they bath and use toilet.
(If you are unable to chant because of job, Should you change the job or drop chanting? READ HERE)
So, man performs all actions JUST BECAUSE OF the following reasons:
Satisfying senses.
Pleasure of appreciation and hence satisfying ego.
Forgetting pains.
Fear of punishments
Fear of disease or death.
If you stop chanting because of severe problems you face in life, What will happen? READ HERE!
But, if he does not chant, what will happen? Do they think of the effects? Only because they do not realize the effects of NOT CHANTING, they do not include CHANTING in their UNAVOIDABLE ASSIGNMENTS.
What are the effects if they do not chant?
(1) They have to face punishments for all the present offences in the next birth. So, a painful next birth.
(2) They have to struggle within the womb of mother for 9 months again and again.
(3) They have to come out to this world from the mother’s body with so many struggles.
(4) They have to depend on parents for their well being till they reach 16-18. If the parents happen to be bad cultured or bad family, then, the children have to suffer throughout their life.
(5) They have to read the same lessons and face many exams again and again in every birth.
(6) They have to mingle with the people having cheating mentality and feel for getting cheated.
(7) They have to marry again and give birth to children and protect them. If the spouse happen to be torturing nature, then they have to face torture.
(8) Eventhough they get plenty of pleasures from spouses, they have to feel for the short life of just 5 minutes for those pleasures. He has to beg to spouse for more and more pleasures.
(9) They have to face diseases, and hence body pains and treatments, surgeries, etc.
(10) They have to become old in every birth and become dependant to others in old age. DIfficulty in breathing, seeing, eating and walking.
(11) He has to face death definitely that is painful equal to the bite of 1000s of scorpions. When we die, we are leaving all the persons and things with whioch we were associated so far. Our degrees, certificates, awards, pride, spouse, children, wealth, etc, everything is cut from us and we leave empty handed.
Think of these dangerous events if we take birth again and again. Now you will know the seriousness of chanting and stopping the further births.
Once you REALLY realize the seriousness in chanting, you will start to automatically allot time from every day’s 24 hrs. Because, no one is ready to face these pains again in the next birth.
So, my advice is: Live this life and also take efforts to stop next birth. Surrendering to Krishna is the PRIME duty we have and CHANTING is the FIRST DUTY for every day.
Some tips:
(1) Wake up one hour early from the time followed now or in Brahma Muhurtha time.
(But you may ask: I feel sleepy after chanting in Brahma Muhurtha time. What to do? READ THE REPLY HERE! You may also ask: I feel lonely if I chant in brahma muhurtha time. What to do? Read the reply HERE!)
(2) Chant 7-8 rounds of chanting in that one hour every morning.
(3) Chant the balance rounds in the gaps while working, washing clothes, cooking, etc.
Problem solved. I am managing my sadhanas like this only. You too try.
Wish to chant SINCERELY and pray to Krishna to give you clarity and time. Evaluate your schedules and extract some time of a few minutes from every duty. Thus, you will derive time for chanting.
All the best.
(Still you do not know how to properly chant Lord’s Names? READ HERE!)