Attracting Krishna’s Attention

Befitting their position if one doesn’t properly respect what’s gonna happen? Are we going to go beyond mechanical chanting? Are we going to be able to have proper relationships among devotees? And if we can, then, only then I will sing the holy name in great ecstasy free from offenses. That’s what we are aiming for; to chant without offense. We need this! So, remember the phrase ‘sakale sammana’- honoring all living beings properly. As Lord Chaitanya said “offering respects to others without expectation of respect in return”; which was in the first verse; praying for the mercy to have the strength to not want honor from others. It’s not just a fault; it cripples our relationship with the holy name! It disturbs our relationships with others, so, you know, anybody that has been in a community for a little while; we have this expectation that there is utopia, spiritual world is utopia and ‘Hare Krishna Movement’ is supposed to bring utopia into our life and then… wait a minute! We have this expectation and it doesn’t happen. But it’s not because of something outside of ourselves but because of something inside of ourselves! This is some lessons to help us access mercy… descending mercy. So there is strength beyond our strength, there is capacity beyond our own capacity, there is purity beyond our very limited paucity or purity… accessing the mercy of Lord Chaitanya!