Laziness in devotional sadhanas – How to avoid it?
A Girl devotee (Name hidden) asked like this:
“Hare Krishna Prabhuji…Sadhuvad Pranam. Prabhuji thank you for always guiding me. I need your guidance regarding few things.
1. I always feel sleepy while chanting. Issue is as soon as I complete my rounds and keep my beads I am all okay as if I can remain awake but as soon as I start chanting I feel so sleepy that I am even unable to chant properly. Pls guide me what should I do?
2. When we hear or read scriptures we learn so beautiful lessons that we should practice, we want to practice but when we are about to implement our mind says postpone today, do tomorrow or it is okay if you are busy to do less devotional practice you can do tomorrow. That tomorrow doesn’t come and it becomes very difficult and I feel guilty also that I have time for everything but not for my practice.
What should we do in these circumstances?”
REPLY:
Feeling sleepy while chanting can be avoided if you read the replies I have already given in our site under “Chanting Tips”.
For example, read this post:
(How to avoid Diversions and Yawning while chanting? READ HERE!)
Willingly postponing devotional sadhanas shows that –
(i) You may be lazy to take up and follow serious sadhanas.
(ii) Or, you may like to enjoy material life for still more period. So, you may think that following these devotional sadhanas seriously may take away your interest in enjoying the material life.
I can’t just say that laziness alone may be the reason for willingly postponing devotional sadhanas. The second reason may also be there.
You like to know many things about Krishna, Scriptures, etc. But, you don’t show willingness to follow them.
I can say this even from your not involving in our site’s service opportunities.
(How to avoid Negative thoughts while chanting? Causes & Solution! READ HERE!)
And, you could not even comment for our posts. This shows your carelessness or laziness.
So, either laziness or fear to lose the material taste may make you postpone following serious devotional practices.
Why laziness comes?
You feel lazy because you do not find doing a particular thing attractive or emergency.
Yes, following Krishna Consciousness is like emergency treatment.
(Is Taking Onion and Garlic while Chanting with Tulasi beads permitted? READ HERE!)
Because we have only 70-90 years of age. Unless we take emergency steps to get Krishna in this birth, we can’t escape from further painful births, deaths, old age and diseases again and again.
If you are caught by a tiger, will you remain lazy?
If you watch a movie of your favourite star, do you feel boring?
If you are caught by a serious disease, will you think of postponing taking medicines?
This material life is also a serious disease for us and we are all patients.
We have been caught by the disease of material attachments that is giving all the pains for us.
So, we need an emergency treatment of following serious devotional practices and satisfy Krishna.
This will relieve us from the material attachments and take us to our original destination of the kingdom of Krishna.
(Using intoxicants or other Violations while chanting – Will Krishna accept? READ HERE!)
Therefore, understand your emergency condition and avoid willingly postponing devotional sadhanas.
In fact, the purpose of this human life is to go back to the Godhead Krishna. Our primary duty here is to maintain ourselves by working and to take steps to go back to Krishna.
If one doesn’t know the precious nature of Gold, diamond, etc, they are also like other metals or stones for him.
Similarly, If you don’t know the greatness and the most precious nature of of getting Krishna Himself, you can’t get enthusiasm to follow devotional sadhanas for Krishna seriously.
So, you may be postponing devotional sadhanas.
Getting Krishna is the ultimate boon one can get in his lifetime.
When Krishna offered Himself and His army to the Pandavas and Kauravas respectively, the Pandavas chose to have Krishna alone with them. So, Kauravas got the army of Krishna.
Pandavas were aware of the fact that where there is Krishna, there will be success.
Therefore, know and feel the greatness and necessity of getting Krishna in this birth.
Also think of the repeated four miseries (Birth, diseases, Old age & Death) of this material life if we don’t go to Krishna soon. It will naturally encourage you to follow the sadhanas to get Krishna.
Be aware if we take birth again, we will have to start again from Big syllabus of KG Classes to IIT JEE, NEET, IAS, etc, marriage, understanding issues, getting and raising Children, protecting them, property issues, getting cheated, getting old, body pains, then painful death as a gift for a short time pleasure of sense gratification.
So, we are under compulsion to get Krishna as early as possible to avoid the above miseries.
If we understand that compulsion, we will never sleep at all beyond need.
Hope you are now clear about Laziness in devotional sadhanas – How to avoid it.
(Mind Control Tips for the devotees while Chanting & Praying! READ HERE!)