Actually after reading your message, i thought that i should write more about what i think, just for sharing my views about GOD

I know what i am writing now may seem contradictory to what I said earlier….i also believe that chanting the name of Krishna will bring peace of mind and happiness in one’s life, but i just look it in a different way…i see it as the routine that we make and the ‘satsang’ that we do has a lot of energy that resonates and brings us the good things…

i also believe that (i have not tested it), if any other name is chanted by a group of people together or in a routine, one can feel the inner peace…i just always try to know people’s view on different religious writings,and how they take it, as i find it sometimes difficult to relate it to the reality…again not the preachings, but the basis of worship that they portray…i also feel the peace when i visit temples, but because of satsang that group of people do there…………i look at the god in this way-

i believe that whatever we think happens with us, but to think we need to fight with our inner fear, and sometimes we can not do that, so we have been taught to have faith on the unknown and that He will take care of all the things, and that unknown is nothing but the self belief, as it indirectly does the same thing……again this is just my interpretation…………..

Chetan, No offense taken from your comment (except probably for implying that I am old… which I am not. JK) .

Read my reply in a neutral tone… since I typed it in a “thinking out loud” fashion.

Is faith in one’s own self really the only thing that gets us along in life? There are a zillion factors that influence the outcome of every action we do. How can we discount those? And what do you mean by faith in the unknown?

We are FORCED to think of God as unknown, as a concept, as a figment of imagination of our unscientific, uneducated, tribal, simpleton ancestors … because these days, telling anyone that we know God would make us look ‘uncool’!

And what do you mean by “sorted out”? Like things will all be nice and shiny in life? Every need taken care of? If that is what you meant… I have to tell you… this is the result of years and years of pseudo-spiritual weeds that have been nurtured in our society, a poison which has spread so wide and so deep that anything to do with God immediately puts him the position of the “supplier of wants” and us in a position of “bribe giver/orderer”.

As I said earlier, chanting of Lord Krishna’s names is not like the $500 per mantra for curing diseases, improving business and such. What the chanting of the names of God does is clearly explained in the first stanza of Siksastakam.

“…cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death” and “It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious.”

In essence, this opens up the gates to peaceful bliss… which automatically makes one happy, no matter what the situation is. It is US who get transformed… and it is our view of material things in life that changes.

“Asantasyah kutah sukham?” – how can there be happiness without peace of mind? How can the mind be at peace if it is not firmly anchored in service to the Supreme Lord? This anchor is available from the chanting of the Holy names… so why not take it?

Instead of doubting, why not take the approach of “The proof is in the pudding”? Because no amount of theorizing from my side or speculation from your side would help.

Just take the plunge. See for yourself. How hard can that be?

P.S: You can also try chanting coca-cola 108 times, just to compare.

How will you explain this to young people like me, that by chanting the name of Krishna, every thing will be sorted out, it doesn’t just get into my mind……is it just a faith that they want to put into some unknown, so that they may never the truth, and at the end, it is only faith in yourselves that gets you along in your life, and apparently that goes out for Krishna’s blessings to you…..it is a ongoing thought process in my mind, and I keep finding on new interpretations for this, as i keep living my life, but doubts are always there in my mind