The Abode of Unlimited Nectar
By the grace of that most merciful Supreme Lord Sri Krishna, we are back to home, back to Vrindavan. If we have any home in this material world, it is here in Vrindavan. Although Vrindavan appears to be an eighty-four-square-miles tract of land ninety miles southeast of Delhi, it is actually a replica of the supreme Goloka Vrindavan that exists eternally in the spiritual sky.
Just an embassy of a foreign land is a manifestation of the country within another nation, Sri Vrindavan Dham is the Lord's transcendental abode descended into this material existence to provide a launching pad for our easily attaining the supreme destination, the original Sri Vrindavan Dham in the spiritual sky.
We will visiting a few of the unlimited holy places here in this abode of unlimited nectar. Stay tuned in for further updates.
My problem now is that my father is not happy. He says that its useless to chant 16 rounds as you are not doing your duty seriously, i.e. not doing any job for last 2 months. He says that when you are not able to perform your duty sincerely there is no use of chanting, you will not get any benefit from chanting.
He also says that one should remember God from inside, from the heart and that it is not necessary to chant names of God and show to others that you chant this much of rounds.
My father does not chant anything. On asking him the reason he says that God is in his heart, that he remembers him from inside daily, and since he is performing his materialistic duties it is not needed for him to chant.
Kindly guide me on this.
an aspiring devotee
According to the authoritative Vedic literatures your father's understanding is very incorrect. According to the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it is our duty to chant His holy names as much as possible every day. 16 rounds daily is the minimum standard.
Many people claim to be constantly remembering God on the inside while we see that externally they are fully absorbed in material attachments. If we could see what was actually going on their minds, we would see that they hardly think of God at all.
The fact is that anyone who is constantly thinking of God will also be constantly chanting His names, bowing down to Him, and rendering service unto Him. Those who refuse to chant His names may claim they are God conscious, but their "God consciousness" will tend to be to think that they are God and that by serving themselves they are serving God.
So so-called God consciousness may be very popular with those who want to continue their material attachments while at the same proudly think that they are already liberated, but it will not liberate us from this material world. It will keep us entangled in the cycle of birth and death.
We have been doing materialistic duties for millions of lifetimes. And where has it gotten us? We are still caught up in the repetition of birth, death, old age, and disease. If we want to escape the cycle of birth and death we must maximize hearing and chanting and do our materialistic duties only insofar as is required to cover our basic material necessities.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Just an embassy of a foreign land is a manifestation of the country within another nation, Sri Vrindavan Dham is the Lord's transcendental abode descended into this material existence to provide a launching pad for our easily attaining the supreme destination, the original Sri Vrindavan Dham in the spiritual sky.
We will visiting a few of the unlimited holy places here in this abode of unlimited nectar. Stay tuned in for further updates.
Answers According to the Vedic Version
Request: Kindly Guide Me...
I am regularly chanting 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra daily and following other principles also. My wife is also doing some rounds daily. For the last 2 months I am jobless, and I have not gotten a suitable job in spite of my best efforts.My problem now is that my father is not happy. He says that its useless to chant 16 rounds as you are not doing your duty seriously, i.e. not doing any job for last 2 months. He says that when you are not able to perform your duty sincerely there is no use of chanting, you will not get any benefit from chanting.
He also says that one should remember God from inside, from the heart and that it is not necessary to chant names of God and show to others that you chant this much of rounds.
My father does not chant anything. On asking him the reason he says that God is in his heart, that he remembers him from inside daily, and since he is performing his materialistic duties it is not needed for him to chant.
Kindly guide me on this.
an aspiring devotee
Answer: Hear from Your Original Father...
Sometimes Krishna puts His devotees into difficulty just to increase their feelings of dependence upon Him. But He will never let them starve. You don't have to worry. Something will open up for you.According to the authoritative Vedic literatures your father's understanding is very incorrect. According to the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it is our duty to chant His holy names as much as possible every day. 16 rounds daily is the minimum standard.
Many people claim to be constantly remembering God on the inside while we see that externally they are fully absorbed in material attachments. If we could see what was actually going on their minds, we would see that they hardly think of God at all.
The fact is that anyone who is constantly thinking of God will also be constantly chanting His names, bowing down to Him, and rendering service unto Him. Those who refuse to chant His names may claim they are God conscious, but their "God consciousness" will tend to be to think that they are God and that by serving themselves they are serving God.
So so-called God consciousness may be very popular with those who want to continue their material attachments while at the same proudly think that they are already liberated, but it will not liberate us from this material world. It will keep us entangled in the cycle of birth and death.
We have been doing materialistic duties for millions of lifetimes. And where has it gotten us? We are still caught up in the repetition of birth, death, old age, and disease. If we want to escape the cycle of birth and death we must maximize hearing and chanting and do our materialistic duties only insofar as is required to cover our basic material necessities.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
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