Along with all the processes of bhakti that we do there should be some element of smaranam

1. Not only do the devotees discuss about the Lord (kirtan) but they also remember the Lord. Memory is a different function. Talking involves the voice which is one organ. Memory belongs to the mind which is the internal organ.

2. smarayantas means they make others remember. So they remember the Lord which is all purifying and also they cause others to remember the Lord. So they inspire other people to remember the supreme lord.

3. So we have the external activity of discussing or hearing about the Lord and the internal activity of thinking or remembering the lord. We have both internal and external functions in bhakti

4. This is covered in the definition of bhakti given by rupa gosvami in the nectar of devotion. sadhana bhakti is krti sadhya. That means it is performed by the senses. It means mind and external senses. so mind is included there also.

5. Prahlad is given as an example of samaranam. He always remembered the Lord and that is how he got perfection. When he was thrown off the cliff he did not beg for help nor struggled nor afraid he simply remembered the Lord. And the Lord saved him. In all cases he remembered the lord.

6. In nava vidha bhakti we have sravanam kirtanam samaranam. It comes in the beginning of the list also. In NOD also rupa gosvami explains that actually there are only two vidhis - Always remember the lord and never forget him. Again we have the memory aspect or the smaranam aspect quite important in devotional service.

7. Even though we emphasize nama sankirtan as the main process, the yuga dharma etc. That does not mean we discard other processes. So we do hearing, sadhu sanga, deity worship everything. We dont discard anything.

8. Kirtan itself includes within it hearing and smaranam. If we only chant the name and dont hear it that's useless. If we chant the name but dont think of krishna that's also useless. Of course, some namabhasa is there.

9. For a devotee, by chanting the name we are supposed to remember the Lord also. In other words its not a mindless chanting like a parrot. We have memory power as well. o chanting gives us a memory or thought of Krishna. So, we think of Krishna when we chant. So yuga dharma includes the smaranam process within it.

10. This may become prominent as one advances in devotional service. If one goes to ruci or asakti etc. smaranam becomes very prominent. One is always remembering the supreme lord. In the beginning stages we can say the prominent process is nama sankirtan.

11. Here it is given emphasis to the smaranam process. Not only smaranam but to help others remember as well.

12. How do we help others remember? we can do that by preaching to them, by nama sankirtan etc and also by setting a good example to them so that they can also indulge in the remembrance of the supreme lord.

13. When the remembrance becomes concentrated then it becomes dhyana or meditation. So meditation, we think it to be part of yoga process, second to the last step in astanga yoga. It is also an anga of bhakti but it is somewhat different.

14. Meditation in devotional service is extension of remembering the lord. It is meditation on the supreme lord. Which means mind is fully absorbed in the lord for a long period of time. It is related to the supreme lord directly. Very very powerful process to invoke the mercy of the supreme lord.

15. When brahma was born he saw darkness everywhere. He went down and climbed up the lotus. Then he heard the words ta pa. Which literally means austerity. What austerity did he do? He meditated. He did meditation on the supreme lord and through that meditation the supreme lord appeared before him and he got the whole vision of the spiritual world.

16. And then he was empowered to create the material world. All planets and bodies. Through that dhyana he got the mercy of the supreme lord, he got vision of the supreme lord and he was also empowered by the supreme lord. So the mind is very very useful in devotional service.

17. Along with all the processes of bhakti that we do there should be some element of smaranam. In other words, we should relate everything we do to the supreme lord and devotion to the supreme lord. Otherwise it becomes mechanical. There must be smaranam along with the processes of bhakti then they become powerful to invoke the mercy of the lord.


SB 11.3.31 Lecture at ISKCON Chennai, 9th Feb 2020.