Importance of Chanting

 

Doing spiritual practice relevant to the times

In all things in life there is a time for them to happen. If the right thing happens at the wrong time then the desired result is not achieved. For example, if seeds are sown in the dry months instead of the rainy season, they do not take root no matter how fertile the land is. Similarly, certain spiritual practices are conducive according to the time or era.

 

 

 

Satyayuga: This was a very pure era when the average spiritual level of a person was 70% (this is the level of a Saint). These people were so pure spiritually that the Path of Knowledge was best suited to them as they had the potential to spontaneously understand the implied meanings of all spiritual scriptures.

 

 

Tretayuga: This was the era when the spiritual level of the average person dropped to 55% and so they lost their potential to follow the Path of Knowledge. But they were spiritually capable enough to undertake penance (the kind that allowed a seeker stand on one foot for 12 years) and meditation (the kind that made a seeker meditate long enough for an ant hill to grow all over him).

 

 

Dwaparyuga: There was a further decline in spiritual levels and people lost their potential for rigorous penance and sustained meditation. So it was divinely ordained such that they would be able to make progress through ritualistic worship. These rituals and sacrificial fires (yagnyas) were very time consuming and laborious as they had to be done after searching for the right ingredients. Along with this there were numerous steps which had to be followed to the last detail. But people were religious-minded enough to spend the time, effort and money to do them.

 

 

Kaliyuga: This is translated as the ‘Era of strife’ and is the current period. The average person’s spiritual level has dropped to only 20%. Our capacity to do any of the above spiritual practices has greatly reduced. But considering the turbulent times we live in and the extent of the spiritual pollution – God has made a simple provision for us to still grow spiritually. All He wants of us to do as spiritual practice, is Chanting - to repeat His Name.

 

For more info on Spiritual practices visit: http://www.spiritualresearchfoundation.org