The most important thing in spiritual life is chanting and hearing the Holy Name. It includes both the processes of śravaṇam and kīrtanam. Yet many times, we find ourselves unable to actually hear the Holy Name. The mental volume is too high to hear anything.

For pure devotees, even a small stimulus (uddipana) is enough to arouse a whirlpool of ecstasies in their hearts. But for conditioned souls, even if one is surrounded by the best association in Krishna consciousness, the weight of material impressions drags the mind elsewhere.

Why are we so inattentive to the Holy Name? If we are asked to hear about our own glories, we will catch every bit and piece without missing a single syllable. But when it comes to the Holy Name, which is only thirty-two syllables, we are hardly attentive even to a few.

There may be many reasons for our inattentive chanting, but one of the root causes is lack of humility. One definition of humility is to think less about ourselves and more about Krishna. Humility does not mean to think oneself worthless; rather, it means to shift the focus from ourselves to Krishna. When we are absorbed in our own thoughts, our own plans, our own “pastimes”, how can we hear the Holy Name?

The Blockage of Ego

Humility means recognizing Krishna’s power, Krishna’s omnipotence, and Krishna’s grace. Sometimes we acknowledge His power in prayer NOT in practice, thinking ourselves controllers and proprietors. Only when we truly become humble can our chanting flow seamlessly.

Love for Krishna is not the product of practice alone, but of deep surrender and a humble heart. Haridāsa Ṭhākura was humble, and therefore he could chant the Holy Name so effortlessly. If the Holy Name does not penetrate our ears, it means pride still blocks the way. Ego that “I am something,” “I have to do something,” “I want to be something.”

True surrender means letting go of that ego and placing our free will into Krishna’s hands. HH Radhanath Swami says that the highest manifestation of freewill is to give our freewill to Krishna. Then, in humility, we can taste the infinite bliss of the Holy Name.

The Wealth of the Impoverished

Śrīmatī Kuntī Mahārāṇī prays, namo ’kiñcana-vittāya – Krishna is the wealth of the impoverished. Impoverished does not mean one without money or living in a broken house. It means one who considers himself nothing and owns nothing, and realizes that Krishna is everything and possesses everything.

Radha and Krishna remain inaccessible to those who feel they already “have something.” But for the humble, the door of bhakti opens. The first characteristic of bhāva is dainyam, or humility. Only when humility shines in the heart can true chanting manifest, carrying us from inattentive repetition to the nectar of attentive, blissful remembrance of Krishna’s Holy Name.

kadāhaṁ yamunā-tīre
nāmāni tava kīrtayan
udbāṣpaḥ puṇḍarīkākṣa
racayiṣyāmi tāṇḍavam
“‘O Lord Puṇḍarīkākṣa, while chanting Your holy name with tears in my eyes, when shall I dance in ecstasy on the bank of the Yamunā?’ CC Madhya 23.37