Krishna Consciousness Revolution

Today, 14 February 2008, there was another mass shooting in the USA. A frustrated person shot 18 people in a lecture hall during a class on a university campus and then shot himself dead. As I am writing this, five deaths have so far been reported. Why are people so frustrated that they do such things? What has gone wrong with the human society that such events are becoming quite common?

The reality is that we have lost our sense of identity. We do not know who we are. This is why people are so frustrated. We are thinking that we are these bodies. It is this false sense of identification that is the very source of our frustration. We want to live forever, but we are foolishly misidentifying ourselves with a perishable lump of matter. All we have to do is realize who we really are and then act fully in terms of that realization. This will bring an immediate end to all frustration and bring a new era of peace, happiness, prosperity to the entire world.

So what is the world waiting for? Why doesn't everyone take advantage of this knowledge and become liberated right now? They are steeped in ignorance. So somebody needs to distribute this knowledge to them. It is simply a matter of getting the good news around to everyone in a compelling and convincing manner. That's all.

So who is that somebody who will distribute this supreme knowledge? That someone is you. Tell everyone you meet about Krishna consciousness. Be a part of the solution, the Krishna consciousness revolution, not a part of the problem, the status quo.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Answers According to the Vedic Version:

Question: Proper Chanting

I am always very pleased to receive your daily emails, thank you very much.

I have heard it said that if one chants the name of God with the proper mood, just one utterance is sufficient - but also if one chants with offences he can chant for many lifetimes without getting anywhere. Also, that one is bound to begin chanting with offences but continued chanting leads to offenseless chanting.

Some people say that the reason we chant Hare Krishna so much is so there is more chance of uttering the Holy Name once with the right mood - and that it is only chanting with the right mood that does us any good.

So when you say to us 'to chant our prescribed number of rounds so that we get the spiritual strength to combat the material energy' - are you just referring to offenseless chanting? Is it that my offensive chanting is giving me any spiritual strength at all?

Sometimes I tell myself, 'just chant Hare Krishna as much as you can and this will bring you to the perfect stage' - but I get quite disheartened when I hear it said that 'you can chant for many lifetimes and not get anywhere'. I actually find it quite easy to turn myself into a chanting machine that chants Hare Krishna all day long because I have hope that it will do me good, but then I am told it will do me no good unless I do it with the right mood.

How do I know if I have the right mood? How do I establish this right mood? Should I approach the Holy Name with reverence or with intimacy?

Thanking you always for your patience and wisdom,

Alex

Answer: With Determination and Patience

Chanting Hare Krishna is not like rolling the dice, that if I roll them enough times I will get the numbers I want, that if I chant enough times I will finally by luck say the holy names once in the proper mood and get liberated. No. Chanting is not like that. It is matter of gradually improving the quality of our chanting so that we can consistently chant in an ever-more pure mood.

As soon as one sincerely takes up the process of Krishna consciousness there is some degree of purity in his chanting, even if it is only 1%. This purity is the source of his spiritual strength. As he continues chanting that degree of purity continues increasing 1%, 2%, 3%, gradually, gradually until that most glorious moment when it becomes 100%. Once has to patiently chant understanding that he is burning of the reactions of millions of lifetimes of sinful activities.

Regarding the proper mood for chanting, consider this example:

If you fell over the edge of a cliff and had luckily caught hold of a branch on the way over, how sincerely and pleadingly would you call for help? Chant in this mood and Krishna will personally reciprocate with you.

Intimacy with the Lord is there only in the liberated stage. Our present relationship with the Lord should simply be one of awe and reverence. In order for Arjuna to become liberated, he had to lay aside his intimacy as the Lord's personal companion and humbly hear the message of the Bhagavad-gita in a state of pure awe and reverence.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari