Sharanagati

We should chant the Name with love, with affection. It is not enough to chant it superficially, it is not enough to chant it as a routine, but as a cry of joy: “Krishna!” or as a cry for help: “Krishna!” There must be affection inside, otherwise it will not work. If you chant the name of a person – any person’s name – without affection, he will not respond. If you tell a child: “Bojidar, come here, I will beat you up!” he will be stupid to come there, if you give him the idea that he will be punished. So the quality of the chanting is very important. And then, as a result of this qualitative, emotional chanting, blessings will come to you. Where is this blissful and spiritually liberated state? Is it tomorrow? Is it somewhere else? Next life? After leaving the material sphere? No, it should be right here and now. Krishna’s mercy is always there, but you have to purify your vision to perceive that.

Krishna has different types of flutes, different flutes for different purposes: vamshi, vamshuli, venu and many, many others. One is made of bamboo, the other is made of marble, the third is made of gold. One is bedecked with jewels,  another of His flutes is distributing nectar. One is short, the other is long. And He uses the different flutes for different purposes, because Krishna, as we agreed last time, is all-attractive. So He uses the different flutes to invite all the different jivas back home.

Even the chanters of the Vedic hymns are actually following the flute sound of Krishna. Even the Gayatri mantra is just a sound of the flute of Krishna. But He is not playing for the bramins – He is playing for the cows and He is playing for the gopis, so, for the very simple-minded people. And they are ready to follow. So I suggest – do not have a complicated mind, because it will be very difficult even to hear, what to speak to follow the flute sound of Krishna! Simplicity is the explanation or the definition for Krishna Consciousness. Therefore we can chant the mahamantra as a happy prayer. This is not a very difficult spiritual practice. This is not like a penance or self-torture. “I give pain to myself by chanting this mantra. This mahamantra is painful.” No, this is a happy prayer: “Krishna!”

But you know much more about this than myself, so why should I repeat this to you…

As a blissful prayer we should chant this mahamantra, then even the deepest pain in your heart will be just changed. Because to love, equals to have pain. Without pain there is no love. If you do not have pain, then you do not have love. It must pierce into your heart, tear it apart, take away your prana. You should die from these emotions. Devastating feeling. But if you chant nicely, by the grace of the holy name these painful feelings can change. You should try it for yourself, I cannot tell anything more about this. You should try.