Krishna, the Great Enchanter
Thank you for your blessings. Yes, I can personally attest to the unending stream of distractions. I was quite surprised when you said:
“But we can develop some taste for chanting when we feel that chanting is our chance to escape the mundane mind and have the association of Radha and Krishna on the spiritual platform.”
I had never considered viewing focused japa as a way to escape my racing mind.
Thank you for the reminder on the importance of reading Prabhupada’s books. Fortunately I’ve been reading some every day, even if just one page. I hope to increase the amount as time goes on. Currently I’m going through the Srimad Bhagavatam. I found a really sweet verse yesterday which I’ve shared below. I hope you’ll find it relevant given your current service which undoubtedly can be quite exhausting and take a lot of effort on your part.
I’m happy to hear your health is good and that you are soaking in so much of the great opportunity you are experiencing. Safe travels!
Srimad Bhagavatam: 3.8.27
Translation:
He also acknowledged the service of the devotees and vanquished their distress by His beautiful smile. The reflection of His face, decorated with earrings, was so pleasing because it dazzled with the rays from His lips and the beauty of His nose and eyebrows.
Purport:
Devotional service to the Lord is very much obliging to Him. There are many transcendentalists in different fields of spiritual activities, but devotional service to the Lord is unique. Devotees do not ask anything from the Lord in exchange for their service. Even the most desirable liberation is refused by devotees, although offered by the Lord. Thus the Lord becomes a kind of debtor to the devotees, and He can only try to repay the devotees’ service with His ever-enchanting smile. The devotees are ever satisfied by the smiling face of the Lord, and they become enlivened. And by seeing the devotees so enlivened, the Lord Himself is further satisfied. So there is continuous transcendental competition between the Lord and His devotees by such reciprocation of service and acknowledgement.
