“WHERE ATTENTION GOES ENERGY FLOWS!”

We had 335 participants today. Thank you for your participation. Some of you are very regular chanters on this conference. So keep up the good work .

Today I have to leave early for adhivasa of Navadvipa-mandala Parikrama. The party has already walked to Yogpitha. Normally I also walk till there, but today I had to attend this conference. I didn’t want to miss chanting with you all, but I have to catch up with the Parikrama party.

In some days we will be completing 100 days of our Japa session. I would like to get your feedback on the performance of the conference – how we could improve the system, whether it is helping you to chant better, with more attention. One devotee who is a very regular chanter on the conference wrote to me a few days ago, ‘Maharaja I have taken sankalpa. I will chant all my 16 rounds before 7.00 am.’ So that is one outcome of this conference. Like that I will like to hear from you. Not just ‘Very good!’ or ‘Helping us,’ but narrate why it is good? How it is helping? Whether you are also making plans to improve your chanting as we keep giving you some tips to chant better. Every day during Japa talk I give you some hints which are also transcribed in English, Hindi and Russian. So you are welcome to read. We will have a website dedicated to Japa talks where you can get English and Hindi transcriptions. Madhavi Gauri Mataji is our website developer for many of our websites. You will be notified when this feature will be added to the existing website. Then you will be able to read all the Japa talk transcriptions there. We will also like to hear your comments and questions. Here some communication occurs, but mostly it is dandavats. If you remain in dandavat mood , that will amount to lots of dandavats during the whole day.

tṛṇād api sunīcena
taror api sahiṣṇunā
amāninā mānadena
kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ

So like that some communication goes on here, but not very substantial. Also this is a time for chanting, so you don’t have to spend it typing or writing. You can do that after the chanting. That can also be posted. We want to make this conference more interactive. Now it’s only one way traffic. I speak and your mouth is shut as you all are muted.

I also heard one of my god brothers, Narahari Prabhuji from Hawaii is also using the same Zoom conference, not for japa but something else. He was mentioning during our discussion that he does get different participants to speak, raise questions or comments. Then he responds. So that is also a possibility. We have to work out, whether there can be some on the spot dialogue or one of you could also address the participants like I am speaking. We are also looking forward to the website where all the postings will be made available.

Our goal is always “to try to chant with attention”. Someone is walking while I am talking. He is ‘walking the talk’. Vaibhav is doing some exercises. I get to see all sorts of things. Yesterday we heard one statement from Vaiyasaki Prabhu who is a promoter of book distribution and of reading Srila Prabhupada’s books. He is a great reader and leader. The statement was very profound. He said, “ Leader should be reader!” He is a good or ideal leader because he is a reader. In yesterday’s meeting we heard one statement which says – ‘ Where attention goes, energy flows.’ Chanting is a time to be attentive and it is also the time ‘not to be inattentive’. As soon as our attention goes, for example if there is someone at the door, all our attention as well our energy flows in that direction. You look and there is a whole screening, who is that? Why? etc. So the thinking process starts. We end up seeing that person. Some other senses will go in that direction to gather information. Senses are knowledge acquiring senses. They gather information which reach the mind. Intelligence gets involved and does some processing or discrimination, right or wrong etc. Like that our body, senses , mind and intelligence get directed where our attention goes. Wherever attention goes, energy flows. That’s why we have to choose the right surroundings , right association, right asana. Asana is not just where you sit, but the location of your seat, that is also asana. If that asana is in Mayapur dham , then the dham also becomes asana. Who is around you also becomes part of your asana. Running around is not an asana while doing japa meditation . We have to have our asana where prevention is better than cure. Avoid all distraction during chanting. Taking everything into consideration we take our seat or asana. With no or least distractions so that our attention doesn’t go here and there otherwise energy is going to flow. Of course all these topics are not small topics. But just remember this – Wherever attention goes, energy flows. We don’t want our attention to go anywhere else but to Krsna. To be attentive is the crux of the matter. Foundational guideline for the chanters is “Be attentive”.

We want to say in one word how the chanting should be – ATTENTIVE ( Dhyanpoorvak). All this says a lot. Although we say just one word – ATTENTIVE. As soon as there is inattention, energy flows in that direction. So that’s an exercise, abhyas we have to do during chanting.