Sharanagati

(from a lecture of Swami Tirtha, 06.05.2018, Sofia)

(continues from the previous Monday)

“Sadgurudev utters ‘Hare Krishna’. Our material ears hear some sound that resembles the transcendental name of Krishna. Our eardrum moves the liquid of the inner ear, half water and half air, which vibrates the ethereal element and touches our mind. At this point, soul has still been untouched and there has been no genuine spiritual experience. By hearing with the mind’s impressions, we enjoy the sound of the cymbals, the beat of the chant, the pleasant company and effect of listening and hearing. But it doesn’t stop here.”[1]

As there are four different states of consciousness – the awake, the dreaming, the deep sleep and the turiya, enlightened state – in the same manner sounds also have four layers of effect. The first is physiological – it’s the vibration. The second is the cognitive – because the sound vibration will bring some information, that you can understand. The third one is an emotional feedback. And the fourth, the power of sound vibration, is the spiritual one. How to understand that? If I say ‘mango’, the sound waves will hit your eardrum – this is the physiological effect. Then your mind and intellect will start to work and you’ll say, ‘Oh, mango! This is not apple, not pear, but mango. It’s something different.’ And then if you like mangoes, your emotional feedback will also say: ‘Mango! Yes, I like it.’ But if you remember that Krishna also likes the mangoes – that is the spiritual plane.

So, are you satisfied with the physiological sound vibration? Most probably not. Let’s go further. One step further is to understand what is what. One more step further is to have an emotional agreement: ‘Yes, I want this’. And the topmost level is when you melt by remembering Krishna’s taste. In the same way, bhajan is not simply enjoying the music, because this is only the physiological aspect. We have to understand that this is a spiritual practice – which is our intellectual understanding. And then we must like it – give our heart, give our emotions, like it, love it, do it enthusiastically. And finally the ultimate level is when the holy name reveals itself and when our offering is accepted by Radha-Govinda.

“Piercing the mind, the original sound uttered by guru, moves our intellect and we consider the Krishna conscious philosophy. For millions of years, sages chanted this on the banks of the holy rivers. Ideas flood everywhere around the possible effects of the mantra. This, while being quite blissful, is not spiritual revelation in the true sense. Beyond the intelligence of the spiritual element, there is soul, myself. That sound, having cut through all my senses, including the mind and intellect, now vibrates the finest sentiment of my own real existence. This is the perception of the holy name on the spiritual plane with my spiritual ear. Then the soul, inspired, recapitulates, sending vibration back into the intelligence, mind, etc. out to my external tongue and we say, ‘Hare Krishna’. That Hare Krishna is He. And we dance in ecstasy.”

So, if the holy name dances on your tongue, then you will also dance. Of course, maybe this is a little complicated. But to put it more simply: if you receive the holy name from a pure source, then it will enter your ear, penetrate to your heart, purify the heart and then it will resonate back and reveal itself on your tongue. This is what we need: take it from a pure source and let it work over you.

(to be continued)

[1] The quotations are from The descent of the holy name by Shridhara Maharaj