Don't Follow Hearsay. Follow the Authorities.

So and so said that so and so said that so and so said. This is called hearsay knowledge. It has no value. If one wants to know things as they are, one must hear from the authorities. And who are the authorities? Actually there is only one authority, and that is the Supreme Lord Himself. But those who purely transmit His message as contained in the revealed scriptures without addition or subtraction are also authorities. They are called acaryas or those who teaching perfectly by their example. If we follow the pathway of these great acharyas, we will become fully enlightened and totally blissful, completely free from all anxieties.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Srila Prabhupada Instructs Disciples Venice Beach, Los Angeles USA

Answers by Citing the Vedic Version:

Question: Why Am I Not Moved by Chanting?

Dear Sir,
Greeting and respect.
I tried hearing and chanting the holy names of the Lord with the mantra you mentioned in your "Thought for the Day" on 28 December, 2012:

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

But unfortunately it didn't move me the same way I feel when I hear a flute for example, not to mention other spiritual and Sufi music and poetry either in Arabic (my mother tongue) or English. Is it because of the language? Or there is something else I am missing?

Thank you and best regard
Yours sincerely,

Fathi

Answer: You Are Now Moved Towards Perfection

Thank you very much for following my advice and trying the Hare Krishna mantra. And I also thank you very much for so sincerely and humbly inquiring from me to see why you did not feel spiritually uplifted when you chanted it. It is not a matter of language. The Sanskrit mantras such as the Hare Krishna mantra do not require that one understand that Sanskrit language in order for them to be effective. Just like everyone can recognize thunder no matter what language they speak, the Hare Krishna mantra powerfully acts upon the consciousness of anyone who chants it, even though for the neophyte chanter the effects are sometimes imperceptible.

Just as the effects of medicine are not always immediately perceivable but yet the medicine is effectively doing its work to cure the patient, similarly the medicine for curing the soul from his entanglement within the cycle of birth and death is the Hare Krishna mantra, even though its effects may not always be immediately perceivable. The patient takes the medicine regularly according to his doctor's order and becomes cured from his disease. Similarly, one who regularly chants the Hare Krishna under the guidance of the expert spiritual master gradually becomes a fully enlightened spiritual being. It is something like a sunrise on a beautiful spring morning. Night does not transform into day all at once. It happens gradually, gradually, slowly, slowly, almost imperceptibly. This is how the awakening of pure love of God takes place within the heart by the regular chanting of the holy names of God. I can assure you that even though you did not experience some noticeable instant results by chanting Hare Krishna, it has eternally transformed your consciousness. Now if you will continue chanting regularly minutes every day and give up bad habits, you will gradually attain a state of consciousness on a par with the greatest spiritual masters in the history of our universe. This is the magnificent, inconceivable power of the Hare Krishna mantra.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari