The Essence Of All Japa Thoughts

The following is from His Holiness Dhanurdhara Swami's journal entry for December 28, 2005:

Absorption in the Absolute Reality, Sri Krishna, is the essence of spiritual advancement.

We voluntarily absorb the mind in something either by our intelligence (we should absorb the mind), or spontaneously by the heart (we want to absorb the mind).

Naturally the mind is more absorbed in things we want to do than we are obligated for.

The key to absorption is thus emotional involvement with the object of our meditation, favorable or even unfavorable.

To increase our focus on the holy name we thus have to come to the platform of attachment (rag), emotional involvement with the holy name.

What to do if we are neophytes, if we have no spontaneous liking for Krishna?

Do we want attachment?

Yes.

Then we should humbly despair, “I have no attachment.”

One way or another, we must come to the platform of feeling for the holy name.

How?

Bring yourself, in mind, in the presence of an object of your spiritual liking (however shallow that love may be) and pray.

“I have no attachment”

Pray to the holy name.

Pray to the spiritual master.

Envision Sri Vrindavana Dhama or a beloved Deity and despair:

“I have no attachment!”

Wanting to have some attachment is also attachment as a desire for a desire is that desire in its budding stage.

But one way or another come to the platform of the heart for:

Absorption in the holy name is essence of all spiritual advancement and the key to such concentration is some feeling for the object of our meditation.