Hare Krishna or Jai Hanuman—which mantra is best? Krishna Das explores chanting practice, longing, delusion, depression, and being a good person, before sharing a Hanuman Chalisa.
In this ‘Hanging in the Heart Space‘ session from Dec. 3rd 2020, Krishna Das welcomes us to re-perceive longing as our saving grace – the pull from within to be whole. From this vantage point, Krishna Das answers a flowing river of audience questions pertaining to dealing with deluded family members, working with depression, how to choose which mantra is best for you, and shares the key secret ingredient to chanting practice: Sing and be a good person.
Join KD and virtual Satsang every Thursday at 4 pm PST for the live recordings of ‘Hanging in the Heart Space‘ – featuring even more music and conversation with KD. Livestream happening on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube
Don’t Fight the Longing: Get Into It
Opening this bhav-filled ‘Hanging in the Heart Space‘ session, Krishna Das answers questions written in from the audience pertaining to Maharajji’s effect on his life, as well as how to work with longing. Explaining that our longing—our pull to be quenched, to be whole—is actually what saves us, Krishna Das invites us to ‘get into it’ and merge with it, re-perceiving longing as our saving grace.
“The longing is what saves us. Don’t fight the longing. The longing is what’s pulling you out of your stuff, and leading you into real love. Because that longing will never be quenched until we know who we are. And we are real love. Don’t be angry at the longing. Get into it. Merge with it. Absorb it. Relish in it. Revel in it. That’s the saving grace.” – Krishna Das
Don’t fight the longing: Learn about the devotional lineage of Hanuman, with Krishna Das, on Ep. 97 of Pilgrim Heart
Depression & Delusion, Practice, & Remembering (16:16)
Answering questions about dealing with delusion and depression, Krishna Das lays out a down-to-earth and realistic spiritual scaffolding for witnessing and working with ignorant or discursive mood states by using spiritual practices like chanting mantra. Highlighting how the more one practices, the more familiar they become with the feeling of ‘being here now,‘ Krishna Das welcomes us to learn to rest in our true nature, moment by moment.
“When you’re not thinking about it, and not stuck glued to your thoughts, evaluations, and judgmental mind, when that’s not happening, you’re just here. But you’re not aware of it yet. So as we keep coming back again and again, that awareness starts to percolate. We become aware of our true self.” – Krishna Das
Join Krishna Das in a deep exploration of depression, politics, pain, and the Guru, on Ep. 8 of Pilgrim Heart
Choosing a Mantra: Hare Krishna or Jai Hanuman? (28:10)
When asked a question from an audience member about being stuck between Hare Krishna and Jai Hanuman mantras, Krishna Das explains that we do not have to choose, as the nature of any one of these Names will take us all the way home, into the true self, the soul – which is no different than the soul of every other being in the universe. The simple instructions he gives? Just sing and be a good person.
“It’s not a game. It’s not playing with dolls. These Names carry strength and powerful positive energy and love, which will cure us of our self-centered selfishness and all the pain and suffering that we have. This is the world of broken hearts. This is the way it is here. All of our hearts have been crushed, so we need to find a deeper part of that heart, that cannot be crushed, that never will be, that never has been. All these Names lead to that place.” – Krishna Das
Get back to the basics to deepen your resonance in ‘Chanting School’ with Krishna Das & Nikki Walton, on Ep. 10 of New Growth
Hanuman Chalisa (40:40)
Krishna Das closes the episode with a chanting of the Hanuman Chalisa.
