Clarification of Doubts

In Spirituality, no matter how much theoretical information one has access to, one's spiritual practice will not be smooth unless needling doubts are clarified. If you should have any questions related to spirituality, please email us at Weekly.

Difficulty when first starting to chant*

Question: I was recently diagnosed by His Holiness (H.H.) Dr. Jayant Athavale as having ancestor problems and was told to chant Lord Datta’s Name (“Om Sri Gurudev Datta”) as a remedy. The instruction was to start with three turns of a mala (rosary of 108 beads) gradually progressing to nine over a period of time. As I attempted this chanting for the first time, I started by keeping an eye on the clock (as I was told that to complete one turn of the mala, it takes approximately five minutes). However, as I began chanting, I felt uneasy and had a tough time trying to concentrate on the chant. Since I was determined to follow this guidance, I persevered by attempting to concentrate on the chant with my eyes closed and found that it was much easier to chant then. When I stopped chanting and opened my eyes, I realized that exactly fifteen minutes had elapsed, which is equivalent to the three turns of a mala prescribed to me. Even so, why did I experience the initial difficulty in doing this chant?

- A Seeker.

Dear Seeker,

The difficulty experienced initially is common for seekers that follow this remedy to alleviate their ancestral problems. The distressing energy affecting these seekers gets unsettled due to the positive energy generated by chanting, thereby causing distress. This is akin to the difference in the resistance from the wind to a person that is stationary and one who is in motion. The wind offers minimum resistance to a stationary person, but a lot more resistance to a person running against it. Depending upon the capacity of the person, the resistance will affect his speed. Regular exercise builds the physical capacity of a person, thus decreasing the effect of the resistance on him. Similarly, perseverance in spiritual practice by doing it regularly is the key factor in its effectiveness.

*If one is not currently doing any spiritual practice, or to complement one's current spiritual practice, one can begin with the simple, but powerful spiritual practice of chanting or constantly remembering God's Name according to one's religion. Chanting also acts as a useful complement to any spiritual path one may be already following. It is a practice recommended for the current times by Holy texts and Saints of all religions.

Seekers in the initial stages of spiritual practice (less than one year) can repeat The Name of the Lord as per their religion (refer to Issue 3 Clarification of Doubts section for details).
Seekers who have been doing regular spiritual practice for over a year or so can determine the appropriate chant for them from the experiment given in Issue 124, Message to Seekers section.