LOVE AND JAPA

LOVE IS A TWO WAY STREET

"...  it is a matter of Radha and Krishna
being inspired to come to be with us,
to keep us company... "

A few years ago, I came across the following beautiful article written by Aindra prabhu and published by Dhanurdhara Swami in his Japa Meditation book. I since recorded it and hear it every morning as an inspiration for conscious chanting.

Love is a two way street. 

It is important to always remember that love is never a forced affair. Love is a matter of mutual attraction. There is a saying that “birds of a feather flock together”, one might say, “love birds of a feather flock together”. So, it is not just a matter of our approach to the holy name, but rather it is a matter of Radha and Krishna being inspired to come to be with us to keep us company. We can try to chant the holy name but usually our endeavours will manifest as namabhasa. But as far as kirtan or suddha nama bhajan is concerned , when Krishna is attracted to the sweetness of our heartfelt feelings towards Him, or our heart’s attraction towards Him, or our determination to get His attention, then He comes to see us. He comes to keep us company. He takes up residence in our heart, and He dances on our tongue. My experience is that chanting is not a matter of simply endeavouring to articulate some syllables. Actually, such chanting is not really chanting. Chanting looks like chanting but actually chanting is Krishna dancing. By His own sweet will He is making His Divine descent from Goloka dham and dancing on our tongues. 

... Again, again and again,
He pastures on our tongues, by forcing
His way into our consciousness,
dancing on our tongues... 

The holy name is a beautiful, sweetest of all sweetest cowherd boy. He is a cowherd boy, a beautiful blue cowherd boy, handsome and completely captivating to the heart. By the mercy of Hare, Radha, our hearts have become undeniably, intensely enchanted by the sweetness of that little boy Krishna, and because we have become enchanted by Him, and He is aware of that, naturally, He won’t leave us alone. Again and again and again, He pastures on our tongues, by forcing His way into our consciousness, dancing on our tongues. Practically, as if by an involuntary motion, Nama is again and again appearing on our hearts and dancing on our tongues. 

So I can’t offer any idea concerning the methodology of chanting, how to focus the mind, how to increase attraction to the holy name or any such things beyond the simple fact that because Krishna has captivated our hearts, and our hearts go to Him, naturally He reciprocates by again and again coming and pasturing on our tongues in various ways. He comes in the form of nama-sankirtan, in the form of our nikunja-seva, our nama-bhajana.” 

- Aindra das

More next time, as I slowly and happily take one step at a time towards Radha and Krishna's Love and pray for the mercy of the vaisnavas without whose mercy I am lost.

Begging to remain the servant of your servants.