Tips for reducing the mind diversions while chanting! Tips!
A male devotee ( I have hidden name) asked like this:
“when I start chanting bajans and holy name of my Rama and Krishna the first day is too pleasure and the second day I continued but some idiotic thoughts had intervened and it collapsed my peace. what can I do now? The thought is about Ramanaya story. Why it happens? I am feeling that due such thoughts God will hate me because without him i am zero. He did a lot for me and my family but I can’t chant his name with pious soul . I need my Krishna to be always with me who give strength to face this world . I can’t share it with anyone. thoughts collapses me. how to chant pls help me.
Sorry I am disturbing u always but when u give solution as u r devotee. I am blessed to hear whose close with God will get me rid of chilly things. sorry if I disturbed u often my dad told that if elders bless, it is a gift given by God bless me and pray for me”
REPLY:
This is natural for everyone. Only if you do not have any disturbances, it is unnatural.
I tell you, no one became perfect in chanting in short period of time. Most of the devotees have been facing these types of interferences in their chanting process.
Rose blossoms in the mud only. Shadows co-exist when something is under the sunlight.
(TEN OFFENSES AGAINST CHANTING THE HOLY NAME OF KRISHNA! READ HERE!)
Similarly, chanting and disturbances mostly co-exist for most of the people.
I do not justify these disturbances, but, I just tell you that these mind diversions while chanting are natural during the initial days.
Many devotees attain perfection in chanting only in their later period of life.
We are not sanyasis and most of us practice devotion amidst our family and personal problems. We started devotion only in our age of 20 or 30 or 40 or beyond. Till this age, we have led a life with full of problems and offences. So, these disturbances will also exist when we start devotional practices like chanting. That is why I said that such disturbances are natural.
You need not feel guilt for facing such disturbances. Only if we are not taking any steps to reduce and clear these disturbances, it is wrong.
Why these disturbances come?
In general, the things to which we give more importance and attachment in life dominate our thoughts.
(Avoiding offenses against Chanting the Holy Name of Krishna! Tips! READ HERE!)
If a boy loves a girl, he gives more importance for that girl only compared to other thoughts.
When a person is aiming to buy a house, he gives more importance for that only in his life till he buys a house.
If a friend is giving too much of disturbance to us, we give more importance for how to tackle with him or to cut his friendship. Only when we finish that, we get peace.
If an ant enters our ear, what we will do? Will we concentrate in chanting? It will be impossible. We will not do anything else till we remove that ant from ear and get relieved from the pain.
Another silly example. If a small piece of food stuff like a piece of nut or vegetable is caught between two teeth, will you be peaceful? Until you remove that piece of nut or vegetable, you will not concentrate in any other activity.
If you feel urgency to urinate, you can’t focus in any other activity till you empty your bladder.
(Encouraging Tips for Chanting without Offenses! READ HERE!)
Hope these examples indicate that we are forced to act only by following the priorities in life.
Similarly, we usually give more importance for immediate & pressing problems of life than normal problems. Am I right?
Thus, many of us are pressed by many problems in our day to day life and hence we are unable to concentrate more in Krishna.
How to bring down the importance for these problems?
We are facing the problems because of our own past activities and Krishna is cleansing us. Only when we realize this fact, we will stop crying for problems.
Problems will come and go. When the problem is solved naturally in its own course, we will feel shy why we cried that much for those problems. Any problem will seem serious immediately after it comes. But, it will seem solvable, only after sometime.
And, the disturbance of lusty thoughts will also go when we marry and realize that these are all temporary pleasures after which pains follow.
And, when we 100% trust Krishna, we will face all the issues with a balanced mind thinking that Krishna will take care of all our welfare and these problems and disturbances are just temporary.
So, put your full faith in Krishna and let the problems and disturbances come and go. Just take sincere efforts to solve problems and accept whatever result comes as the wish of Lord who has given those problems for our betterment only.
Hope you are now clear about reducing the mind diversions while chanting.
(Will Offensive Chanting give Heavenly life instead of Goloka Life? READ HERE!)