The story of this book goes back to a cultural and spiritual revolution that took place in Bengal and much of the eastern part of India, about 500 years back at the time of great historical upheaval. My own personal story has been affected by the people in the events of
this moment in time, and that has taught me a certain meditative practice that became popular among the leaders of this revolution that I have experimented with for the last 35 years. At the time, when most of Hindu society was very fragmented by certain toxic, social norms, that divided, upper and lower costs of people and communities belonging to different religions, in this form of public meditation became a great uniting force. It consisted of singing 16 words arranged in the following order:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
Of course, most people in my generation would immediately associate this singing, dancing and chanting to the international society for Krishna, Consciousness, or Iskcon, or popularly known as the Hare Krishna movement. However, my ancestors belonged to this tradition much before the existence of Iskcon, or its parent organization, the Gaudiya math. The practice of what is known as Krishna consciousness, as Swami, AC Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada coined it, is an ancient spiritual practice with solid archaeological, literary, and phenomenological evidence from India's ancient past.
Without any reference to any institutions, and with all due respect to their ecclesiastical authorities, and committed followers, I wish to simply explain my experience of the process, given by the pioneer of the global bhakti movement (Bhaktivinoda Thakur, 1838-1914) by writing, a commentary on the text that he gave for all to try out. The promise of this method of meditation is that it will heal. All of the negative and difficult dramas that we carry with us, and that is stopping us from achieving our true potential in life. Of course, there are many effective methods of meditation available freely to everyone who cares to invest time and effort into self growth and preventative mental health care. This particular method, however, is rooted in a certain sweet, tragic, love story that adds splendid colors. Do the process of meditation does making it really delightful an enjoyable.
(Continued from here)
YOU ARE READING
The Hare Krishna Healing Method
SpiritualToday, millions of people practice this particular method of meditation that is said to bring peace, serenity and joy in one's heart and help address the perennial problems of stress, anxiety, and depression that is common to us all. But most import...
