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Govardhana narada-vinojjivana sudhormi-niryasa-madhuripura tvam krsna-nama

November 4th, 2000

Govardhana

narada-vinojjivana sudhormi-niryasa-madhuripura
tvam krsna-nama kamam sphura me rasane rasena sada

?O Krsna-nama! You infuse life in Narada Muni’s vina, and the sweetness which flows from You is the personification of the essence of waves of nectar. Therefore, I pray that You always manifest on my tongue with transcendental rasa.? (Namastaka 8)

I am inspired here. I feel like I should make this month-long vrata a life’s program. Now I am 50 years of age. It’s time to get serious. Absorption in hearing and chanting elevates the consciousness. One becomes peaceful, and a small hankering for Krishna’s service, bhakti, becomes a reality. Why live any other way? This doesn’t mean stopping the preaching, but really preaching. It means giving up idleness and prajalpa and other obstacles to bhakti. It means to really absorb oneself in Srila Prabhupada’s mission, to purify oneself and give Krishna consciousness to others. What else to I have to do by Krishna’s grace? Otherwise, what is the meaning of sannyasa?

Increasing one’s chanting does not reduce the amount of time one has for other things. It does, however:

  • create enthusiasm for spiritual life by making it more attractive and easier to do.
  • force one to use his time carefully.
  • help one to reduce one?s bodily necessities?eating and sleeping?by creating an enthusiasm for life, spiritual life.
  • force others to approach one seriously and to respect one?s time.
  • enable one to do his spiritual practices with concentration, efficiently and more quickly without sacrificing the quality of one?s practices.

With all that said, it would be difficult to maintain my vrata, because it is difficult to keep a rigorous vow for long periods of time before the mind becomes distracted or slackens. Once spiritual impetus is lost, a nama-vrata becomes a chore.

I am determined, however, to significantly increase my chanting and to maintain the schedule I have, with the exception of studying and writing during the day instead of chanting.

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