Title: How to Deal With Boredom?

User: Neil LA Date: 2007-06-16 00:12:10

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna!

All Glories to Swami Gaurangapada, the Gurus and the Vaishnavas!

I have reached the place in my practice that always seems to come after a couple of months.

I try to chant and I must say that I get absolutely no taste of it.

Its gotten to a place where I find chanting at all to be excruciatingly boring and I'm not sure how to get through it.

At this point, I've stopped chanting and am thinking about returning to other spiritual practices that I've done. But I know that those too will get boring and I will want to go back to chanting after a month or two.

This feels like a vicious circle for me and I don't think I can make any real spiritual progress until I am able to choose a practice and stick with it.

I've never been able to stay with one practice for longer than a few months and all my life I've been switching back and forth.

Any suggestions that Swami Gaurangapada or other members of the group can make would be valued

Thank you,

Neil

Title: Re: How to Deal With Boredom?

User: Damodara Svarupa dasa Date: 2007-06-16 11:54:23

Nityananda, Gauranga, Hare Krishna!

Jaya guru parampara, jaya Swamiji Gaurangapada!

Dandavats to all the Vaishnavas.

Dear Neil,

If chanting your rounds feels more like a tedious mechanical process, and you feel no real progress (what is this anyway?) and you feel the need to switch to some other practice, well, it gives me the impression that your mind has taken control again and is looking for yet another way to enjoy itself... Perhaps an article on mindfulness might help you out, as it will show you how our mind plays various dirty tricks on us. Perhaps you want to accomplish too much in too little time? Give yourself the time and try some reading. If this is hard, well try listening to various lectures, bhajans, courses, narrations... Or look again at the videos which Swamiji has published recently. Try chanting half of your rounds, but this time fully focussed, with full concentration. The taste for the Name is our spiritual thermometer. So dear Neil, I hope these words bring you some insight and some happiness as well. I'll pray for you...

Humbly trying to serve the Holy Names,

Damodara Svarupa dasa

Title: Re: How to Deal With Boredom?

User: Swami Gaurangapada Date: 2007-06-16 16:41:15

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna! Jaya Guru Parampara! Pranams and Blessings ! That's your test Neil. These testing times where we have a lack of spiritual taste are a good chance to show our sincerity and determination to Lord Gauranga Krishna. It is our chance to show Him, we are chanting to please Him only, even if our consciousness is not enlivened. If we please Him in this way, then there will surely be a miracle and we will progress to the next higher step in Bhakti and Naama Bhajana where we will get so much spiritual taste which we never had before. We just have to stick to it. One life is nothing.

Regarding pratical tips, Damodara Svarupa dasa has given some nice ones. I also suggest you watch the nice devotional Gaudiya vaishnava videos for a few hours daily for a few days and you will get back the taste. Spiritual videos have a very effective power to rejuvenate our spiritual endeavors.

Daaso'smi, Swami Gaurangapada.

Title: Re: How to Deal With Boredom?

User: hadai Date: 2007-06-16 19:27:49

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to Srila Gaurangapada. All glories to the Guru parampara. All glories to Sri Sri Radha Krishna!

Dear Neil,

All the sincere Vaisnavas will never give up on you. It is like a father or a mother to their child who is learning to walk. Is he or she ever to give up when the child falls over and over again? No their love for their child is unbounded and persistent. In the same way our Lordships will never give up on you, neither will the Vaisnavas who represent Them.

It seems to me that your life is driven by emotions. You go up and down like a yo-yo. You love chanting. You find it boring. You want to increase your rounds. You want to decrease it. You want to be a Vaisnava. You want to be something else. At least you do recognize the pattern. Now reflect a bit deeper on yourself. When a child of 1 year old and is falling and walking it抯 normal development but when the child is 10 years old and it is still learning to walk it needs special attention.

The yo-yo character of the emotion driven mind can be controlled by the use of intelligence. I strongly advise you to read attentively the holy literature like the Sri Chaitanya Bhagavata before you chant. When you would read just one verse and meditate on that during chanting how can you be bored? How can you miss the transcendental nectar in the Holy Names? Only when you don抰 contemplate while you are chanting and when you outwardly murmur the Names without any attempt of inner connection. Again this requires intelligence. You have to establish an inner connection with the Holy Names by reading sufficient holy literature. This is a part of (spiritually) growing up. Somebody else can not do that for you. They can assist you, give you direction, encourage you when you fall, but it is you, and only you, who has to stand up. Nobody else can walk your life. You have to take 100% responsibility.

Please understand I am not blaming you. We all have a wiggly and wobbly mind. We all have to deal with it. We all can become totally overweighed when we eat too much. But some people actually become overweighed and some do not. What is the difference? Discipline! The emotional driven mind doesn抰 like discipline. It wants to act on every wimp. But with your intelligence you can tame the uncontrolled mind. And what is that intelligence? Following in the footsteps of those who have done it before you. Our Acharyas and all the sincere Vaisnava devotees are living examples of how to control the mind, how to properly chant the Holy Names and how to become close to God. Just follow those footsteps. It抯 that simple and it is that complicated at the same time.

You have occupied thousands and thousands of wombs卆nd evidently you are still not bored with that. So maybe you want to be in the recycling process a little longer? I am kidding. But do you get the point?

Your servant,

Hadai Nityananda dasa

PS: Visit my website www.be-pure.info: "http://www.be-pure.info" and do the treasure hunt. That抯 an adventure in itself. Also find the Authentic Silent Meditation area and learn how to contemplate deeper on the Holy Names. Maybe you just needed to refresh

Title: Re: How to Deal With Boredom?

User: Anonymous Date: 2007-06-16 22:30:50

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna!

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: ?r? Caitanya Carit?mr?ta Madhya 12.195

hena tom?ra sa?ge mora ekatre bhojana

n? j?ni, tom?ra sa?ge kaiche haya mana

TRANSLATION

Nity?nanda Prabhu continued, "You are such a monist! And now I am eating beside You. I do not know how My mind will be affected in this way."

PURPORT

Sa?g?t sa駄?yate k?mah? (Bg. 2.62). One develops his consciousness according to society and association. As ?r?la Nity?nanda Prabhu admits, a devotee should be very careful when associating with those who are not devotees. When asked by a householder devotee what the behavior of a devotee should be, ?r? Caitanya Mah?prabhu immediately replied:

asat-sa?ga-ty?ga, ?ei vais?n?ava-?c?ra

'str?-sa?g?' ?eka as?dhu, 'kr?s?n??bhakta' ?ra

(Cc. Madhya 22.87)

A Vais?n?ava, a devotee, should simply discard intimate association with nondevotees. In his Upade??mr?ta (4), ?r?la R?pa Gosv?m? has described the symptoms of intimate relationships in this way:

dad?ti pratigr?hn??ti guhyam ?khy?ti pr?cchati

bhu?kte bhojayate caiva s?ad?-vidham? pr?ti-laks?an?am

The words bhu?kte bhojayate indicate that one should eat with devotees. One should carefully avoid eating food offered by nondevotees. Indeed, a devotee should be very strict in not accepting food from a nondevotee, especially food prepared in restaurants or hotels or on airplanes. ?r?la Nity?nanda Prabhu's reference in this connection is meant to emphasize that one should avoid eating with M?y?v?d?s and covert M?y?v?d?s like the sahajiy? Vais?n?avas, who are materially affected.

Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya lila ch.22.91

TEXT 91

varam? huta-vaha-jv?l?-

pa駄ar?ntar-vyavasthitih?

na ?auri-cint?-vimukha-

jana-sam?v?sa-vai?asam

TRANSLATION

搼It is better to accept the miseries of being encaged within bars and surrounded by burning flames than to associate with those bereft of Kr?s?n?a consciousness. Such association is a very great hardship.?

****************************************

I think that for you to be succesful you have to make a SERIOUS commitment to give up bad association. What is bad association? Anyone who is not a serious devotee, anyone who is sensual minded and whimsical. Association with sensual people is extremely risky for a devotee because you will lose all your taste for chanting and devotional service and re-open the path to suffering. I think verse 91 from the Madhya lila ch.22 stated above says it as perfectly as possible. You have to feel this way within the core of your heart. I cringe at the thought of such association and I consider any kind of suffering preferable to the suffering that accrues when one associates with those, who are nothing but slaves to their tongue and genitals.

Title: Re: How to Deal With Boredom?

User: Nava Gauranga dasa Date: 2007-06-16 23:05:07

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krsna! Jaya Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga!

Dear Neil Prabhu, yes indeed this is a test. I have experienced many tests as such also, and really if we can work through them the fruit of happiness is waiting. Affection for Sri GaurangaKrsna is not a cheap thing, and excercising full sincerity of faith is the key to unlocking this affection.

Over the years I found myself plagued with doubts about this path at some points in development and growth. And to be honest these doubts have been like poisonous arrows which destroy taste (hence boredom). At some point I recognised these demons of doubt for what they truly are. Huge unwanted things! And realised that exercising of faith was the way to destroy them once and for all. Once these doubts are conquered the beautiful form of Sri Krsna is visible and most relishable. Pass this test mate! It's worth it.

I do not know exactly what you are going through, what I have shared with you just now are some of my personal encounters on this path back to God. Press onward and pass this test mate! That's what I would suggest.

If you would like to build relationship and friendship with me, and openess about our tests and trials, please feel free to contact me. My nature is non-judgemental, (but I can tend to tell it like it is - lol). I believe this NITAI Sangha is a rare treasure and spiritual family, of which you and I are members and essential parts. I don't know if I can assist, but I can offer you a hand of friendship. I am open for google talk and am often in the virtual Second Life. I am building a house there in time (dedicated to Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga) and invite you to come and be with me.

There is a temple in SL http://slurl.com/secondlife/Grimes/189/99/50: "http://slurl.com/secondlife/Grimes/189/99/50"

http://secondlife.com: "http://secondlife.com" (for download of program)

This Second Life can be a place full of maya so be wise in where you go in it. But it can also be appplied for Krsna consciousness if wisdom is used. And can be a place to share your faith with others. Maybe that's what we need to do, to start sharing with others about our spiritual life, and build our faith, and therefore destroying those demons of doubt. By sharing we can become sure of who and what we are - and realise that our bhakti path is worth telling others about. Infact, spreading the good news about bhakti is the most generous, kind, and benevolent gift we can offer this suffering world (the highest welfare work - for it nurtures the soul). The Lord out of His unlimited kindness and mercy, has placed this gift of faith in bhakti in our hands, to pass on to others.

http://gaurangakrishna.blogspot.com: "http://gaurangakrishna.blogspot.com"

Nitai-Gauranga Haribol,

Nava Gauranga dasa

(Australia)

Title: Re: How to Deal With Boredom?

User: Swami Gaurangapada Date: 2007-06-17 04:01:42

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna! Jaya Guru Parampara! Pranams and Blessings ! Jaya, this is great. So much nice help for Neil. This is what Bhakti is all about...feeling for other devotees and souls trying to spiritually help as much as possible in our capacity. Thank you.

Daaso'smi, Swami Gaurangapada.

Title: Re: How to Deal With Boredom?

User: Neil LA Date: 2007-06-20 15:28:27

Thank you all for your helpful suggestions. I guess I'm just a slave of my fickle mind.

I have very limited internet access during the week due to my new job, but hopefully over the weekend I will be able to spend more time reading and reflecting on your suggestions.

Thank you all for being such good friends!

Pranams!

Neil