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Title: Questions About AC
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and Sleep
User: Neil LA Date: 2007-04-26 23:33:29
Nityananda! Gauranga!
Hare Krishna!
All Glories to Swami
Gaurangapada!
All Glories to the Guru
Parampara!
All Glorie to the
Vaishnavas!
I was just wondering
something about Srila Prabhupada.
Do we know how many
rounds a day Srila Prabhupada chanted? Was he a Laksheshvara? I wonder when he
would find any time at all to chant, with his hectic schedule.
The more I reflect on how
much Srila Prabhupada accomplished in just 10 years, it really amazes me.
Do we know how many hours
he slept? It must not have been very many.
I believe that I read
somewhere that Srila Prabhupada said that we should get only a maximum of 6
hours of sleep.
I'm curious about Swami
Gaurangapada's and the devotees' thoughts on sleep.
Sleep is something that I
struggle with greatly. I've been trying, and mostly failing, to get up during
the Brahma Muharta. When I do get up, and stay up, during the day, I actually
feel less tired than I normally do.
Frequently, the alarm
will go off at 4 and I won't even try to get up. I'll just say I'll get up an
hour later. Then that hour comes...and the long and short of it, usually I keep
setting the alarm ahead until I get up at 7:45 which is the absolute latest
that I can get up. Then usually throughout the day, I'm always tired and don't
feel like I've had enough sleep. The same is true if I sleep later on the
weekends. If left to myself, I could sleep until 8 or 9, but then I feel very
lethargic all day.
If I don't get up at 4,
all day I feel like I'm rushing my chanting and feel great pressure to finish.
When I do get up at 4 and stay up and not go back to bed, I feel much more
relaxed about chanting. The difficult thing is that sometimes at 4 I feel like
I'm falling back to sleep when I'm chanting and that doesn't seem quite right,
either.
Any insight that other
more experienced devotees might have would be greatly appreciated.
Pranams to Sri Guru and
the Vaishnavas
Neil
Title: Re: Questions About AC
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and Sleep
User: Damodara Svarupa dasa Date: 2007-04-27 13:34:33
Nityananda, Gauranga,
Hare Krishna!
Jaya Guru Parampara! Jaya
Swamiji Gaurangapada!
Dandavats to all the
Vaishnavas.
Dear Bhakta Neil,
It seems to me that
getting up early to start chanting/praying comes from the monastic way of
life. For example, the Cistercian monks
(who follow the rules of St Benedict) also get up early in the morning to start
their prayers and attend Mass. In a
monastery there are certain rules to be followed for the general benefit of the
community, and this includes getting up that early..
For householders, things
are somewhat different. I have difficulties getting up that early as well. I do
need my 7 hours of sleep per day. But that does not prevent me from doing all
my rounds. If you can't eat the apple in one bite, then slice it up. So, I
chant 1 grantha (4rounds) before each meal. Takes me about 30 minutes. And I do
so before each and every meal. In the evening, instead of watching TV, I grab
my mala and chant some extra rounds or do some reading. If I may suggest you
the book "Harinama cintamani", by Shrila Bhaktivinoda
Thakura. In this precious work Sri Haridasa Thakura is teaching us how to chant. He himself used to chant 300 000 Names per
day. When you think of it that chanting 25 000 names takes about 1.5 to 2
hours, one can easily understand that chanting 300 000 Names nearly takes a
whole day to complete. To my
understanding, any hour of the day one chants on his mala, becomes
precious. The best reason for chanting
the rounds just before dawn, is that one is not disturbed by every day's
annoyances. I hope you find some benefit
in the wordings of a simple householder.
I'm sure Swamiji will explain all of this in greater detail.
Humbly aspiring to be a
true devotee of the Holy Names of Nityananda, Gauranga and Hare Krishna,
Damodara Svarupa dasa
Title: Re: Questions About AC
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and Sleep
User: Neil LA Date: 2007-04-27 16:44:21
Nityananda! Gauranga!
Hare Krishna!
Dear Damadara Svarupa
dasa,
Thank you for your
insights. Yes, I have to remember that I'm not a monastic, even though I wish I
were.
I think with practice, I
will get a good routine going and do well with my chanting.
Your servant,
Neil
Title: Re: Questions About AC
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and Sleep
User: Nitaipada Maharaja Date: 2007-04-27 23:12:00
Nityananda! Gauranga!
Hare Krishna! All glories to
Srila Bhaktivinoda, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, Srila Prabhupada, our beloved Srila
Gaurangapada and all Vaisnavas. Please
accept my humble obeisances and blessings.
I pray that this meets you well and in the service/mercy of Sri Guru and
Sri Gauranga.
My Dearest Bhakta Neil
Prabhu-ji;
First off, we must
understand what Brahma-muhurta is and its significance in our spiritual
advancement. This is Srila Prabhupada's
explination:
Brahma-muhurta
The daily sadhana program
begins early in the morning. The hours before dawn, beginning one and a half
hours before sunrise, is called the brahma-muhurta. This period of the day is a
particularly potent time for spiritual activities.
"In the early morning hours (known
as brahma-muhurta) one should get up and immediately chant the Hare Krsna
mantra, or, at least, "Krsna, Krsna, Krsna." In this way, one
should remember Krsna. Some slokas or prayers should also be chanted. By
chanting, one immediately becomes auspicious and transcendental to the
infection of material qualities."
Caitanya-caritamrta, Madyam lila 24:331
According to Arcana
Padati, "Every twenty-four minutes is equal to one danda. Two dandas,
or forty-eight minutes, is equal to one muhurta. In the day and the night
together, there are a total of thirty muhurtas. In the last portion of the
night, the time beginning two muhurtas before the rise of the sun up to the
rise of the sun, or one hour and thirty-six minutes before the rise of the sun,
is called arunodaya. Of these two muhurtas, the first muhurta is called the
brahma-muhurta. This brahma-muhurta is the most auspicious time for devotees
seeking after success in spiritual realization."
Srila Prabhupada told his
disciples a story about when he had lived in Vrndavana. A Bengali widow walked
to the Yamuna River to take her bath every morning. And every morning without
fail she would return with a pot of water for the Radha-Damodara pujaris to use
in bathing the Deities. Prabhupada said he would sometimes open the gate for
the woman, since he also rose very early, and she would enter and wake the
pujari. "Although the Vrndavana nights are cold in the
winter," Prabhupada said, "the woman never once failed to
come with the water. For this activity she will return back to Godhead. One who
cannot rise early in the morning is not very serious about spiritual life. One
must rise before the brahma-muhurta hour-that is very auspicious. And one will
take the trouble to do so if he is serious about spiritual life."
While many will say that
Brahma-muhurta is "only" for brahmacharis and sannyasis, I
feel that it is very important for each and every devotee to develop a
scheduled routine in their lives so that they can follow strictly and with
discipline. While grhasthas have other
responsibilities outside the Temple, Brahma-muhurta is a very important time
for them also since this time it usually prior to the rising of everyone else
in the area. This quiet time should be
utilized to its greatest benefit and one should re-arrange their personal
schedule so that Brahma-muhurta can be fully utilized. Even if one works nights, this time can be
used at the close of one's day so that the quietness of the environment can be
utilized in chanting and worshiping the Deities without disruptions.
One does not have to live
in a monastery or Temple to use this time wisely. If we look at all religious cultures, those
who were serious about their religious advancement rose early at sunrise to
pray and meditate. Please do not
"wish" you were a monk, take that desire and use it to gain
the spiritual advancement and set spiritual goals necessary for you to advance
nicely in Krishna Consciousness.
One need not waste time
"wishing", one must act upon this desire if it is correct and
make the necessary changes in one's personal life to attain them. If you desire to rise at Brahma-muhurta then
you must retire early to take advantage of this auspicious time. This means that if your body needs atleast
six hours of rest, then you must retire by nine PM.
The different accounts of
Srila Prabhupada say that he rested only four to six hours daily. Many times he wouldn't retire until almost
midnight, but would be up at brahma-murhurta to prepare for his day and begin
his rounds. This time is very auspicious
so it must be utilized properly and not be wasted by sleep.
If you have difficulty in
rising at this time. May I suggest that
you rise at this time, then if you are weary later on in the day possibly take
a light nap. In this way you are rising
early for your rounds and religious duties.
During this time, you will feel in the beginning that you are not
getting enough rest, but this will only last for a short time while your body
adjusts, so naps may be necessary. But
if you stay with the schedule, you will find that after a while that you will
automatically wake at 3:00 am, get your morning routine of bathing, dressings,
and preparing a little prasadam and taking advantage of this time of pray and
meditation without difficulty.
Here in America, you may
check the either the local weather station or the local Farmer's Almanac for
sun-rise and sun-set times so that you can adjust properly. Personally, I simply rise at 3:00 AM daily
regardless of the local time, get my morning routine completed and then begin
my chanting at 4:00AM. If you decide to
adopt this schedule, it will honestly take you about two weeks to adjust to it
physically, but the rewards are beyond belief.
If I may be of
assistance,
I remain your eternal
servant;
Nitaipada Maharaja
Title: Re: Questions About AC
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and Sleep
User: Neil LA Date: 2007-04-30 17:33:42
Nityananda! Gauranga!
Hare Krishna!
All Glories to Swami
Gaurangapada!
All Glories to Nitaipada
Maharaja!
All Glories to the Guru
Parampara!
All Glories to the
Vaishnavas!
Dear Nitaipada Maharaja,
Thank you for your letter
explaining this.
You are confirming what I
believed was Srila Prabhupada's wish for everyone to get up early in the
morning.
I understand what you are
saying about not "wishing" something. Just do it.
I really want to get up
early, so I will just do it.
Pranams
Neil
Title: Re: Questions About AC
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and Sleep
User: Matus Date: 2007-05-01 15:13:06
Nityananda! Gauranga!
Hare Krishna!
Thank You Neil for
opening up this topic, as it also concerns myself and it's good to consult with
devotees who have similar problem. Thank You Nitaipada Maharaja and Svarupa
Damodara dasa prabhuji for Your valuable insights and sharing Your experience.
i depend on it, as i want to get up every morning too, but very often fail.
It is very blissful and
nice to chant at brahma-muhurta, as i could already experience couple of times.
The whole day after is so peaceful and internally balanced. That's why the mind
is trying to cheat us every morning, so that we don't use this precious
opportunity and have to struggle during the day with our naam meditation.
The best defense is the
offense. i heard already an advice in this connection that we have to cheat the
mind instead of letting us to be cheated by the mind.
Here are 2 advice i got
from my friends:
1. Put the alarm clock at
a place You have to get up from the bed in order to switch it off. In that way, after alarm clock approached one
is already somehow wake and feels also pity, if He would go to bed again after
already standing on the legs.
2. Make a kind of
deal/promise with Your mind that, when the mind is persuading You to continue
sleeping then tell it: "Come on, please allow me to get up just to
wash my teeth (or take shower, toilet, drink something, or whatever) and then i
promise You i will come back to bed and continue sleeping." Or
"Come on, please let me get up now and then during the day i promise
You that i will sleep whenever You desire."
Any other advice from
Your side, dear Gurudeva, devotees and guests, would be greatly appreciated.
Sorry, i am little
complicated, as i know i should simply do it and stand up.
Thanks a lot.
Yours sincerely,
Matus
Title: Re: Questions About AC
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and Sleep
User: Anonymous Date: 2007-05-01 16:19:21
Srila Prabhupada used to
sleep by 2200 hrs and would wake up around 0100 hrs and work on translating vedic
books like Srimad Bhagvatam and CC.
Title: Re: Naam Absorption and
Sleep
User: Swami Gaurangapada Date: 2007-05-01 18:51:17
Nityananda! Gauranga!
Hare Krishna! Jaya Guru Parampara!
Pranams! Thanks for all the devotees who have so nicely contributed to
this topic.
Sleep can be very
gradually conquered by increasing our daily quota of qualitative meditative
chanting. The more deeper we go into meditation on the Lord's Name, Form,
Qualities, Abodes, Asoociates and Pastimes during chanting, the more spiritually,
mentally and physically refreshed and relaxed we are, so correspondingly we
need lesser sleep. That is how the Six Goswamis conquered sleep...nidraahaara
vihaarakaadi vijitau...because they were always immersed and absorbed in the
divine eightfold daily pastimes of Lords Nityananda Gauranga and Shri Shri
Radha Krishna in Goloka.
Absorption during Mantra
Meditation is millions of time more relaxing for the soul than sleep and once
the soul is relaxed and awakened to the original position then the body also is
enlightened from within and without.
Before we reach the above
stage of absorption, we have to understand that proper sound sleep is also part
of our daily saadhan because sound sleep helps to be enthusiastic about our
Naam Bhajan and Seva during the day. So we should careful plan it
nicely...anukulasya sankalpah...
Title: Re: Questions About AC
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and Sleep
User: Neil LA Date: 2007-05-02 19:19:20
Nityananda! Gauranga!
Hare Krishna!
All Glories to Sri Guru
and the Vaishnavas!
I think Matus is right.
The times that I am able to wake up early and chant, my entire day seems more
energized and spiritual and the quality of my chanting seems better somehow.
I like the idea of making
a bargin with my mind. I'll give that a try.
Swami Gaurangapada is
right as well. Chanting is the most important thing. I really believe that the
more I become established in my chanting and meditation, the more things will
just fall into place.
Yesterday I got up at 4
am and while I felt a little drowsy aometime while chanting, I felt that I was
able to focus better as a whole and having such a spiritual and non-rushed
feeling for the rest of the day was very wonderful.
I got to bed last night
at 11 and of course when my alarm went off at 4, I told myself that there was
no way that I was going to be ok getting up that early. I think that if I just
get up and think about the Lord first thing and then change the dialogue that I
am having with myself I might be more sucessful.
I truly believe what
Nitaipada Maharaja said about it taking about two weeks to adjust. I've heard
it said that it takes doing something new about twenty times to form a habit.
Thats great, but right now I would think I'm accomplishing something great if I
could get up early two days in a row.
Swami Gaurangapada is
right, we really need to make sure we get enough sleep to be able to function
and be enthusiastic about our Bhajan and Seva. The reason why I've been
thinking about this recently is that I've been wondering if maybe I've been
getting too much sleep. The days that I sleep in later, I've noticed that I
actually feel more tired and sleepy the rest of the day. That leaves me to
wonder how much sleep I actually need. I've always thought that the more the
better, but now I think I want to reevevaluate my actual needs.
Title: Re: How to get sound sleep
User: Swami Gaurangapada Date: 2007-05-02 22:01:05
The days that I sleep in
later, I've noticed that I actually feel more tired and sleepy the rest of the
day. That leaves me to wonder how much sleep I actually need.
Nityananda! Gauranga!
Hare Krishna! If one gets sound sleep, then one is refreshed by sleeping for a
shorter time. Sound sleep is a little difficult for bodies with vata
constitution. Deep Nityananda, Gauranga and Hare Krishna Mantra Meditation
during the day and before sleeping, reading the Lord's pastimes before rest,
some daily exercise like walking or climbing or swimming or asanas etc. (very
important for sound sleep), shavasana and some deep breathing simple pranayama,
good digestion (taking a piece of ginger with rock salt 5 minutes before eating
and sitting in vajrasana for minimum 10 minutes after eating greatly promotes
digestion), wholesome prasadam, not taking long naps during the day (if
required 15-20 minutes napping), sleeping with head on the east or south, not
sleeping on a very soft bed (bad for the spine) etc. are some of the tips I can
give for sound and restful sleep. If I get time, I will write more on this
later. Jaya Gaurahari!!!
Daaso'smi, Swami
Gaurangapada.