03 October 2011

KKSblog.com - Conquering Krishna

KKSblog.com - Conquering Krishna

Conquering Krishna

Posted: 02 Oct 2011 04:02 PM PDT

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Helsinki, Finland, 2011)

We are chanting in a matter of routine – the same everyday…….and everyday we are not making a fresh attempt. It’s because we are affected by impersonalism, because we are chanting the holy name without appreciating that the holy name is Krishna. In the relationship with Krishna, one has to always conquer Krishna. We have to always keep in mind, that each time we want the mercy of Krishna than we have to conquer Krishna and never think:

"I did it yesterday, so I have a special relationship with Krishna. I have done all this service in the past and therefore Krishna will grant me special mercy!"

No! One has to conquer Krishna again and again! That is what we see….Krishna in Vrindavan…..he disappears from the rasa lila. The devotees have to conquer him again and again! So we also have to think like that, that everyday again we have to try a special endeavour.

It's difficult to do….it's not so easy. It is for that reason that the acaryas have selected quotes from the scripture about the special dates in Krishna Consciousness. For example, Ekadasi, and on such days we try and do something more. Or in Janmashtami, we try and do something more, in terms of chanting and service.

Those special occasions are very important, because they break the routine of getting into an automatic level of chanting. But then when we sometimes try something special, then we can break out from this mood of routine.

So Srila Prabhupada did not recommend that the devotees would regularly take time off from active service to chant very large numbers of rounds. We don't see that, that Prabhupada started a day with chanting sixty four rounds like everyday or on Ekadasi, or regularly. But Prabhupada at least recommended that one would chant twenty five rounds on Ekadasi. Prabhupada was certainly in favour in chanting more rounds. In one letter he said:

"Why sixteen rounds? Why not sixteen thousand rounds?"

So he definitely was wanting us to do more.

And at the time of initiation, we also ask devotees to chant inimum of sixteen rounds, but not just sixteen but a minimum!

So one must have the attitude of trying to chant more and especially on special occasions!

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