10 - Place: The Importance of Sacred Spaces

Chanting in a conducive environment can greatly enhance our spiritual practices. Hari reflects on the diverse places where one might chant, from solitary spaces to the vibrancy of community gatherings. He shares insights on the importance of finding a personal sacred space, referencing figures like Bhaktivinoda Thakura, who sought solitude in a closet to engage deeply with his japa. He explores how the presence of other devotees can uplift our practice and create a sanctified atmosphere, whether in a temple or at home. Ultimately, the most important thing is the cultivation of a Krishna-centered mindset in any space we inhabit.

Quotes

• "This is not my home; this is Krishna's home, and I'm a servant of His."
• "The more we create an altar and invest in the area, the better our chanting becomes."
• "When we call upon Krishna, He appreciates and responds over time."

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Our heartfelt thanks to Jahnavi Harrison for graciously allowing us to feature her recording, "Divine Maha Mantra," in our intro and outro. Learn more about her divine music: https://www.jahnavimusic.com/. 

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In short, Morning Rounds is: How to make the most of our most important practice.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare.

SPEAKER_01 0:19

Welcome to Morning Rounds. These are short 5 to 15 minute episodes from our weekly Jeppa meditation program with the Upbuild community, offering guidance and inspiration for your chanting practice. Rooted in years of monastic training, the study and teaching of the Phagavad Gita, coaching, and our own spiritual practices, these teachings are meant to support you in the most important journey there is. The journey from the ego to the true self. You can also join us for the live version of this program by visiting upbuild.com forward slash morning-rounds. What is the ideal place? And there is no one answer actually. So a great saint, Bhaktivinoda Thakur, who we'll often reference, he was a grihasta, that means he was a householder, so he had a family and a job. He was not a renunciant or a monk. Um and his one of his favorite places to chant japa was in his closet. You may not expect that. Now, in our modern times and with all of our demands and responsibilities and constraints, I've chanted on the subway, I've chanted everywhere. It's not that that's not where we want to be chanting. It's sometimes to complete a vow and to show our commitment, our diligence, our determination to Krishna. We have to do these things, but that's never the aspiration. We want really a sacred space. Of course, there is one yogi who would do his practice out in the streets, I think, of Mumbai, if I remember correctly. And when he was asked, why on earth would you do that? It's so loud. I mean, it's louder than New York City. He would say, Because if I can do my practices here, I can do them anywhere. So there's also something to that. But uh the idea is making our japa sacred and having everything that supports that. One of the best things that we can do is find a place where devotees are chanting, where other devotees of Krishna are taking the holy names to heart and chanting together. So this is a wonderful sacred space. This is something that's a real privilege. I get excited about it and I notice the difference in my japa when I'm chanting alone and when I'm chanting with you. It's a big difference. We get uplifted by the devotion and the shared intention to invite Krishna. Another very, very helpful idea here is to have a temple. Now you can go physically to a temple where many others are gathering, and that's glorious. And that's when I was a brahmacharya or a monk, I used to chant at the temple with other devotees, as I've shared before. You can also make your home a temple. And I would urge everyone to have that in your hearts that this is not my home, this is Krishna's home, and I'm a resident, I'm a servant of his. That consciousness changes everything. And our japa and our life become so much more Krishna conscious and fulfilling when we take that on. And then within the temple, there can be a temple room or a temple area corridor, and so you may have an altar. And honestly, any place that has the picture of Krishna can be like a temple. So the more we create an altar and we invest in the area, the better. But that's not a hundred percent necessary all the time. So you may see in the background, I have Srimati Radharani, the divine feminine, and there's another picture of Krishna behind her, which is there. And there are pictures of Krishna everywhere that help to remind us to bring us into a sacred space. And you can even internally create a temple, and that's a whole other subject, but the place where you are externally doesn't have to dictate everything. So if you're in the holy Dhamma or a holy place where Krishna's pastimes were, or where a great saint resided or walked through, or there's a place that that invokes the remembrance of Krishna and his devotees, that's very, very powerful. But you can also go there. It's not the same, but if we become very elevated, it can be basically the same when our consciousness is fully there. We can invoke the holy Dhamma or the temple or the image of Krishna in our hearts and minds. So with that, let us chant in a sacred space. And I will also share my screen to offer you a picture of Krishna where you can connect with that uh image of him, recognizing that his presence is in his image. Because Krishna is absolute, he is non-different from his image. And when you call upon him, he is there. And when you look at him and you try to call him in his form, then he hears and he appreciates and he will respond, maybe silently for some time, but he'll create higher consciousness and more devotion and more relationship over time. So I will share my screen and we will chant with a picture of Krishna to create that sacred space. Here you are. Please join us for the live version of this program by visiting upbuild.com forward slash morning dash rounds.