Only Panacea for the Mind

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna! So we should give a prominent position in our life for prayers and pilgrimage, fasts and festivals and for satsang and self-realization. These are all very important to free our mind from the sufferings of the world. Right  from a small child to an old man, anyone can practice this chanting on a daily basis. One can chant ten rounds of Nityananda and Gauranga and one round of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra to begin with...


Regularly fixed up devotees chant a minimum of six­teen rounds each of Nityananda, Gauranga, and Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Raama Hare Raama Raama Raama Hare Hare, and they never feel that they are wasting time in sitting and chanting the Lord's name. Why? Because chanting Nityananda, Gauranga and Hare Krishna increases their efficiency in all fields and gives them an increased capacity to turn out more work in less time. Great productivity can be achieved when one chants Nityananda, Gauranga and Hare Krishna. Therefore the chanting of Nityananda, Gauranga and Hare Krishna will never interfere in your daily work; rather it will enhance daily work.

Moreover, the practical experience of many, many devotees all over the world shows that when one chants Nityananda, Gauranga and Hare Krishna one is, in no time, able to give up all the bad habits like smoking, eating meat, taking intoxicants, illicit sex etc. One can give up all the lower tenden­cies and can become completely pure. And with a pure heart one's mind becomes very light; one can grasp any subject quickly and one can act efficiently. In this way, one can achieve the ultimate success in life through controlling one's mind by mantra meditation. The nature of the mind and the importance of chanting are illustrated in the following story.

Once upon a time, there was a man who pleased a sage. As a benediction, the sage of­fered him a big jinn and told him, "Take this jinn with you. He can fulfill all of your de­sires; he can do any work you give him. " But the sadhu warned him, "If you keep him unengaged, then he will devour you. So be careful to constantly engage him. " This man said. "Oh! Don't worry. I have got thousands of things to do. " So this man took the power­ful jinn with him home and ordered him, "Plough that thousand acre land. " And the jinn ploughed it all in just five minutes. He returned back and he said, "My dear sir, give me the next order." The man was stunned. "Build a big bungalow for me", he said. And the jinn made a big bungalow for him in a matter of minutes. So in this way whatever he asked for, the jinn arranged for immediately. Now the man became alarmed because he had no engagement to give him; he was just too quick in executing his action. So what could he do? He ran back to the sage and screamed to him, "Please save me from this great de­mon! It is about to devour me. I don't have any work to give him. " So the sage told him, "You fool! It is easy. Take that ladder with you. Place it next to your house and tell the jinn to climb up and down. Whenever you need him, call him and give him service. And at all other 74 times tell him to go up the ladder and come down. " The man acted accordingly and was thus saved from the demon.

Our mind is just like the demon. It is very powerful; it can do hundreds of things very quickly. And the moment we leave it unengaged, it starts thinking of unnecessary and undesirable things and fills us with insa­tiable cravings, anxieties and fears. And what is the ladder to deal with the demon of the mind? It is the the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas and the Hare Krishna mahamantra:

Nityananda
Gauranga
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna  Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

If we constantly chant the Nityananda, Gauranga and Hare Krishna Mantras and remember the Lord, then the mind can never disturb us. It is said that an idle mind is the  devil's workshop. But if the mind is engaged in chanting the holy name and remembering  God, one can become completely peaceful and the mind can be positively engaged for per­forming good activities for oneself and for the whole world at large. In such a pure mind, pure thoughts naturally arise and then we can propagate the pure spiritual knowledge for the benefit of the whole of humanity. And in this way we can achieve peace of mind our­selves and simultaneously  benefit others also.

Daaso'smi, Swami Gaurangapada.