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Archive for December, 2023

Monday Morning Greetings 2023 #52 – Is Sankirtan Better Than Kirtan?

December 25th, 2023

Is Sankirtan Better Than Kirtan?

Yes. Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī compares the two and says sankirtan, congregational chanting, as compared to kirtan, glorifying Krishna by oneself, gives special feelings of bliss.[1] When I originally read this in Śrī Bhakti-sandarbha a question naturally arose: “Why?” Recently, a second questions arose when reflecting on Jīva Gosvāmī’s comparison, “If devotees seem to become more easily absorbed in sankirtan than japa, then why is a certain amount of sankirtan prescribed at initiation instead of japa? Wouldn’t that be better for most struggling sādhakas? In this post I will try to answer these questions.

 

Why is sankirtan better than kirtan?

  1. Music enhances emotion: The superiority of any yogic process is the facility it gives one to connect or become absorbed in the object of one’s meditation. In bhakti-yoga, one’s connection with one’s object of meditation, which is the holy names of Śrī Krishna, is an emotional connection, which is our devotion to Krishna. As raga (melody) and tāla (rhythm) are connected to deep parts in the psyche that increase one’s emotion, couching the holy names in proper music (sankirtan) naturally enhances our devotion.[2]
  2. Shared bliss is greater than individual bliss: A proper community, like those joined together in sankirtan, is a place where shared interest is higher than individual interest and thus a place that helps remove the egocentric or limited concept of “I” or the false ego. As it is this ego that covers us from our loving connection with God, then naturally sankirtan or community kirtan, which facilitates removing the ego, helps give the sincere participant in such kirtan “special feelings of bliss”.[3]
  3. Group petition is more powerful than individual petition: Bhakti is the path of grace. We attract grace by entreaty or the humble petition for mercy. Group petition is more powerful than individual petition and thus the congregational chanting of the holy name powerfully attracts grace for a sincere participant.[4]

 

Why japa?

  1. Ultimately there is no hierarchy in the main devotional practices: The main rule on the path of bhakti is to remember Krishna and never forget Him. There are different ways to do that. What is better for one depends on one’s taste. In that sense, although we may say that one practice is better than another, there is no absolute hierarchy in devotional practice.
  2. Chanting alone is a more efficient way to access the holy name: The goal of devotion is to chant always, which is much more easily accomplished when not dependent others. How much could one fill his day or week with the holy name if required to do it with others that have a certain level of devotion and musical ability?
  3. Chanting alone deals more with control of the mind: Japa meditation is classic yogic meditation, which traditionally gives one a special facility to help control and strengthen the mind, which is essential in developing the ability to rise to the higher levels of meditation required for fully remembering Śrī Krishna’s pastimes.
  4. There is a special flavor to being alone with Krishna: As glorifying Krishna with others has a special flavor, being alone with Krishna in terms of japa affords one a special opportunity to individually and intimately express one’s own heart and develop one’s personal relationship with Him. So yes, the shared experience that one can have in kirtan gives special feelings of bliss, but so does the experience in a slightly different way of being with Krishna alone during japa in the form of His holy name.

 

So, is sankirtan better than japa? Yes, there are some unique aspects to sankirtan that help us become absorbed in the holy name that give special feelings of devotion, but we are meant to chant always, to learn to control the mind and to focus on developing a personal relationship with Krishna. For that the chanting of japa is more conducive. Our goal is to always think of Krishna and never forget Him. Our ācāryas have recommended several essential practices to help us accomplish this and they are all important. Sincere devotees may gravitate to a particular form of devotion and certain practices may be emphasized, but they do not minimize or neglect any of them recommended and followed by our ācāryas, as they all have in their own way the potency to enhance devotion and move us towards our goal, krishna-prema.

 

 


[1] This statement that compared to kirtan, sankirtan gives special feelings of bliss, is found in Śrī Bhakti-sandarbha in the section where Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī elaborates on each of the nine main practices of devotional service and describes the practice of kirtan.

[2] The relationship between music and the psyche in relation to kirtan is described in the following article, which I feel is the best I’ve read, that describes the dynamics how kirtan influences the psyche: Sat Hari Singh Khalsa, “Kirtan: The Sacred Music of the Sikhs,” Journal of Vaishnava Studies, Volume 17, No. 2 (Spring 2009), 169–184.

[3] The idea of the power of shared bliss comes from rasa theory that states for an audience to experience rasa from an appropriately composed drama the audience must hear it as if in one mind and such an experience is transcendentally uplifting. In Greek dramaturgy this is called catharsis.

[4] The power of group petition is described in the story of the birth of Krishna when Lord Brahma goes to the milk ocean accompanied by the demigods to petition Krishna’s descent. The commentators explain that he went with the other demigods because of the power of group petition.

 

Monday Morning Greetings 2023 #51 – Who Can Hear the Rasa-līlā?

December 18th, 2023

When I go to Vrindavan every couple of weeks, I teach Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta in the morning in my room. We are up to the Second Chapter of the Madhya-līlā, “The Ecstatic Manifestations of Śrī Caitanya”, where Śrīla Krishna das Kavirāja summarizes Śrī Caitanya’s aspirations to imbibe the mood of Śrī Radha. As Śrīla Prabhupāda and his guru issued strong cautions about prematurely hearing such elevated subjects, an important question naturally arises as to who can hear these subjects, and if so, how should they be presented? Sivaram Swami, in his new book, Part Two of his commentary on Vilāpa-kusumāñjali, answers this question in a thorough analysis of Śukadeva Gosvāmī’s instruction to Mahārāja Parīkṣit, where he states that the qualification is faith.

 

“Anyone who faithfully hears [śraddhāanvitaḥ anuśṛṇuyāt] or describes the Lord’s playful affairs with the young gopīs of Vṛndāvana will attain the Lord’s pure devotional service. Thus he will quickly become sober and conquer lust, the disease of the heart.” (Bhag. 10.33.39)

 

I can’t do justice within limits of a weekly post to properly summarize Sivaram Swami’s detailed and well thought out analysis of exactly what such “faith” means, but I can, in a cursory way, explain how I understand and explain what faithfully hearing means when I teach those subjects in Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. It goes something like this:

 

One of the main objectives of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is to qualify its reader to be able to properly understand Śrī Krishna’s pastimes, especially His playful affairs with the young gopīs, so they will inspire us in devotion and elevate our desires beyond the mundane. Otherwise, we will hear them as ordinary and degrade our consciousness. Obviously understanding those pastimes, or understanding anything, does not entail just hearing them, but having the faculties of intelligence and heart to comprehend them properly. For example, from the intellectual platform we may hear something, but lack the context or frame of reference to comprehend it, or we may read something, but from the heart prejudge it based on our previous experience and miss the intended meaning. Similarly, faithful hearing of the rasa-līlā, denoting that we accept and see it for what it is—the highest selfless devotion and joy—means having the ability to appropriately, intellectually, and emotionally to recognize that.

 

In that regard, the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is progressively composed to achieve exactly this objective. Before we reach its tenth canto, where the rasa-līlā is described, we are first equipped with the proper intellectual and emotional state of mind to appropriately understand it in the previous nine cantos. In other words, by such study we will be educated to hear the romantic affairs of Śrī Krishna as transcendental and not fantasy and be purified in heart so that the pastimes inspire us as the height of selfless devotion and not something mundane. This type of hearing, where we can experience the rasa-līlā as real and pure, is exactly what the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam refers to as faithful hearing and can help one rise, even when still on the material platform, to the level of pure devotion where the taste to satisfy lust is eradicated.

 

One more point: The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam has a consistent theme from the beginning: it progressively describes pure devotion in all its forms. When by such study one develops a certain level of devotion, one seeks and becomes inspired by all impetuses for devotion, whether it’s the holy name, the devotees of God, the holy dhāma, the stories of Krishna, and so on. In this consciousness, when hearing about Radha and Krishna, one’s devotion will first naturally be incited before one’s lust can be aroused.

 

So, who is qualified to hear the rasa-līlā? Simply one who has the intellectual and emotional bandwidth to be devotionally inspired by it and not confused or sensually provoked. Choosing to study and hear it is therefore first a matter of personal integrity. Experienced devotees therefore neither limit these subjects nor present them carelessly, but rather treat them with reverence and study and share them selectively and appropriately.[1]

 

 

 


[1] There is a liberal and conservative approach to hearing the rasa-līlā. For example, in Bhag 10.4 Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, “Therefore when those who are after sex life in this material world hear about Krishna’s pastimes with the gopīs, they will relish transcendental pleasure, although it appears materialistic.” He also spoke conservatively about prematurely hearing these subjects. I thought about how to reconcile the two, but it would take another post to do it justice. What I can briefly say is the above quote from Śrīla Prabhupāda seems to be a paraphrase of Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī’s commentary on this verse (Bhag 10.4). In the same purport Śrīla Prabhupāda paraphrases 10.33.39 and adds that faithful hearing means to submissively hear for spiritual authorities, so there he was more representing his guru mahārāja, who appeared six generations after Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī and was responding to a general degradation in India, which was then under British rule, and the abuse of Gauḍīya philosophy to promote sahajiyism and even sex cults, which diminished its reputation.

 

 

Monday Morning Greetings 2023 #50 – A Beggar’s Journey

December 11th, 2023

I have very little responsibility imposed upon me, like a job, a family, or any management commitment. I thus sometimes joke that I am unemployed, but isn’t that age appropriate for me? When we get older shouldn’t we be free from work and family obligations so that we can chant God’s names? That’s mostly what I try to do—focus attentively on the holy name—but naturally, realizations come when chanting on how to deepen one’s meditation. Two came today. I wrote them down afterwards:

 

Realization One

 

I spent Puruṣottama Mas (month) and Kārtika Mas focusing on my spiritual practices, specifically on chanting the holy names. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says “mādhava-tithi bhakti-jananī,” that the observance of the days of Lord Hari, like Ekādaśī and special holidays, give birth to devotion, so what to speak of the power of observing special months of Lord Hari in terms of giving birth to devotion. I felt that. My chanting, my taste for the holy name, substantially improved by observing these two special months. Just like in childbirth something suddenly appears that wasn’t there before, similarly a greater taste for the holy name manifested by strictly adhering to these special observances. It was quite mystical and that led to my first realization from these months. It goes something like this:

 

The distance between the step we’re on in devotion and our next step in devotion always seem impossible to broach by our qualification, at least it appears that way. That distance therefore can only be covered by mercy, which can only be petitioned by begging. I thus beg for the mercy of the holy name. Practicing devotion in that humble way is our main sādhana at every step of devotion.

 

The beggar’s journey: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna. I look at my next step. I’m humbled. Way beyond me. Some confidence arises. Attainment is possible by the mercy of Krishna. I beg for the mercy of the holy name.

 

Realization Two

 

I was walking to the Govardhan Retreat Center for the morning kirtan by the side of Śrī Girirāja. Somehow I thought of the crowd and some negative thoughts came, not really critical but also not sufficiently respectful. I was surprised. I continued to watch my mind. How judgmental! We have conceptions of good or bad based on our modes. That’s not Vaiṣṇava. A real Vaiṣṇava does not ultimately judge another Vaiṣṇava by who they are now and not even by their past, but by their future, knowing the power of devotion and the pure destination of those who are gathered to sincerely chant the holy name.

 

A beggar’s journey: Krishna, Krishna. Only those who offer all respects to others by rising above being petty and judgmental can attain the full mercy of the holy name. In that humble mood, I beg for the mercy of the holy name!

 

Monday Morning Greetings 2023 #49 – “Where There is No Circumference, the Center is Everywhere” and Other Kārtika Realizations

December 4th, 2023

Kārtika ended yesterday. Some realizations from the month:

 

How to reconcile that on the highest levels of love of God (prema), the greatest suffering is also the highest ecstasy.

 

During Kārtika I taught chapter two of the Madhya-līlā of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta: “The Ecstatic Manifestations of Śrī Caitanya Mahaprabhu” and the seventh chapter of Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta: “Pūrṇa” (complete devotional perfection). One of the main themes of both chapters was that the emotions of intense suffering that the gopīs feel in their relationship with Krishna is counterintuitively the greatest ecstasy. Here’s a description of such love from Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta:

 

“But this anguish of separation is praised as greater than the happiness of enjoying with those one loves. Separation is so pleasing to the mind that it cannot be described. It always transforms at last into an abundance of pleasure. Only experts in tasting these moods can understand how this happens.” (7.126)

 

In both classes questions were asked about how to reconcile this apparent contradiction between the gopīs’ ecstasy being the greatest joy and the greatest suffering at the same time. The answer rests in the fact that the highest joy is love of God and thus the gopīs’ apparently painful emotions in deep separation from Krishna only increase their love and therefore their ecstasy. Still having trouble reconciling the two? I did also, until I thought of an analogy illustrating how painful emotions and joyful emotions can exist at the same time:

 

Just as in viewing a well written tragedy (drama) one deeply experiences the feelings of tragedy while at the same time enjoying the drama, in the same way the gopīs can experience the pain of separation and while at the same time enjoy the devotional ecstasy it engenders.

 

 

Destiny is the language of God.

 

In the story “The Passing Away of Bhīṣmadeva”, Bhīṣma answers his grandson Yudhiṣṭhira’s inquiry as to why he greatly suffered although he was so righteous by explaining to him the benevolent purpose behind the law of karma. Destiny is benevolent because it is directed towards each individual by the will of God to teach a specific lesson in one’s spiritual evolution provided one responds to it appropriately according to sacred wisdom texts under the guidance of those who have realized them. From that I came up with the above phrase, “destiny is the language of God,” in the sense that God is specifically talking to us by how He moves the world around us, and thus an important part of our spiritual development is understanding what essential lesson He is in fact teaching us, especially in the most trying of times. The worst mistake one can make in such instances is playing the role of a victim, because by excessively externalizing the cause of our suffering we lose sight of what God is telling us in terms of changing something in ourselves internally. In Kārtika I tried to use the clarity of consciousness resulting from a deeper sādhana this month to understand what God was telling me by how He was moving the world around me so that I could move forward with stronger faith in whatever direction that takes me.

 

 

Where there is no circumference, the center is everywhere.

 

This is an anonymous quote from the Liber XXIV, a medieval text consisting of twenty-four “sentences”, “aphorisms”, or “definitions” of God.[1] I can’t remember where I first heard this particular aphorism, but I kept on referring to it when in my teachings we would come upon a philosophical point or story expressing  that we are not separated from God by a physical distance but by the quality our consciousness or a faith. I found this realization very helpful in not seeing the spiritual world just as some place we need to travel to, but as a place we could access anywhere by deepening our spiritual life.

 

I bow my head to Kārtika, the most favorable of all months, which enthuses the heart with auspiciousness!

 


[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_the_24_Philosophers