Staying Cool When Turmoil Hits

Things in this material world do not always go along nicely on an even keel. It's certainly not that everything goes along the way that we would like it too. There is often turmoil, sometimes mild and sometimes devastatingly fierce. So how do we keep our cool through all of these varieties of waves? The key is that we have to always maintain a clear vision within our hearts that there is a loving person behind this whole thing and that it is not happening by chance. There is indeed rhyme and reason behind everything. All events are going on under the loving orchestration of the Supreme All-Attractive Personality of Godhead for the ultimate purpose of rescuing each and every one of us from the clutches of death and re-engaging us in our original loving relationship with Him. Of course, God's orchestration does not mean that we are without free will. Each of us can properly use our free will or we can abuse it. This part of the orchestration is up to us. But whether we choose to act in harmony or disharmony with the Supreme, in either case the Supreme Person will reciprocate with us in such a way to either encourage us to give up our disharmony and revive our loving relationship with Him or to increase the seriousness and the intensity of our loving relationship with Him.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Answers According to the Vedic Version:

Question: Chanting Radha Radha while Chanting Hare Krishna

I am chanting 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mahamantra daily, but when I am chanting it my heart is continuously saying to me to chant "Radha Radha." When I am chanting the mahamantra automatically "Radha Radha" will come on my lips. This happens so many times. I am feeling that I am chanting mahamantra, but actually I am chanting "Radha Radha." What should I do? Please guide me.

Hare Krishna.

Sachin
Mathura, India

Answer: Carefully Utter the Mahamantra Without Modification

First I beg to point out to you that according to principles of Sanskrit grammar it is improper to address Radharani by calling out "Radha." When addressing her one is meant to use the vocative form of her name, which is "Radhe."

You do not have to worry that you are neglecting the chanting of Srimati Radharani's name when you are chanting the Hare Krishna mantra because within the Hare Krishna mantra "Hare" is calling out to Srimati Radharani. We first call out to Srimati Radharani uttering "Hare" because it is only by the mercy of our divine mother Radharani that we can approach Krishna.

In order to become spiritually perfect we must follow in the pathway of the scriptures and the previous acharyas. Since both the scriptures and the great saintly teachers have prescribed specifically that we should chant the Hare Krishna mahamantra, you need to do this if you are keen to achieve spiritual perfection and get out of the cycle of birth and death as soon as possible. Therefore you should carefully regulate your tongue to properly chant these sixteen names without any modifications:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

Sankarshan Das Adhikari