Hindu Rituals

Why Should We Chant the Divine Name in KaliYuga?

The world has changed a lot since the beginning of time. Many Yugas (ages) have passed by, and each has its own characteristics. Our present age is called Kaliyuga, the age of darkness and ignorance.

In his live sessions explaining the mal effects of Kaliyuga, His Holiness Shri Chamunda Swamiji always gives an example of what Goswami Tulasidas Ji has said. He says,” In Kaliyuga, devotees will behave like monkeys and chant-like parrots. The parrot repeats what you teach it to speak. It doesn’t know the meaning and emotions behind it. And no one imitates better than a monkey.

So, in Kaliyuga, devotees will chant like a parrot without giving much heart and thought to it. They will imitate and pretend to be devotees, much like a monkey imitating a human being. Kaliyuga, or the age of Kali (darkness), began soon after Lord Krishna left His mortal body. But before his departure to Vaikuntha, He explained a few things about Kaliyuga to Pandavas. Let’s read about this incredible story!!!  

After the devastating war of Mahabharata, Yudhishthira became the King of the entire Aryavarta (India). Once he was busy fulfilling his kingsley duties, Lord Krishna arrived at Indraprastha to meet the Pandavas. As Yudhishthira was gone someplace else, the rest of the four Pandavas welcomed Lord Krishna, and they started chatting. In the middle of a conversation, one of them asked Lord Krishna- “What is Kali Yuga, and what will happen in Kali Yuga?”

Krishna smiled at this question and said, “I will demonstrate to you what will be the situation in Kali Yuga.”

So he took four gold-coated arrows from his quiver, shot them in different directions with his Sharanga bow, and ordered all four Pandavas to fetch those arrows. Riding their chariots, all four Pandavas went in different directions in search of the arrow.

When Arjuna found the arrow and picked it up, he heard a soft sound. Immediately, he turned towards that sound. He saw a cuckoo bird singing in a lovely voice while eating the flesh of a live rabbit. The poor rabbit was suffering through tremendous pain. Arjuna was absolutely shocked to see this abominable act of this divine bird and quickly left the place feeling disgusted.

Mighty Bhima went searching for the second arrow. There were five wells at the place from where Bhima found the arrow, where one well was surrounded by the rest of the four wells. Being curious, Bhima tasted the waters of all the four wells surrounding the one well, and all these four wells had very sweet water. These four wells with sweet water were overflowing with water, yet the well in the middle was utterly dried out. It was surprising that while all four wells were full, the middle one was dry. Bhima was utterly confused to see this phenomenon.

Nakul found the third arrow. While he was returning with Lord Krishna’s arrow, he saw a cow giving birth to a calf. Immediately after giving birth to the calf, the cow started licking the calf with love like they always do. But even when the calf was thoroughly cleaned, the cow continued to lick it. People could hardly separate the calf from the cow. Due to the excessive licking of the rough cow tongue, that calf was severely injured. Nakul was confused by this.

Sahadeva found the fourth arrow of Lord Krishna in a rather dry-hilly place. He heard a thunderous noise when he bowed down to pick up the arrow. A giant boulder was coming down from the top of the mountain, crushing everything under it. On the way down, the boulder was crushing the big trees and stones coming in the way, but the same boulder was stopped by a small plant. At this time, Sahadeva was also shocked.

After all of them returned to Indraprastha, those four Pandavas asked Shri Krishna the meaning of all these events. Shri Krishna smiled and explained.

“During the Kali Yuga, the spiritual teachers will have lovely voices and will have great knowledge, but they will exploit the seekers like the cuckoo did to the rabbit. In Kali Yuga, the poor will live with the rich. The rich may have a lot of wealth and no place to store it, but they will not give even a drop to the poor, just as those wells were not sharing even a single drop of their sweet water with the dry well.”

 “In Kali Yuga, parents will love children so much that the love will spoil the children and ruin their lives forever, just like the cow’s love hurting the calf. In the Kali Yuga, men will fall as far in character as that rock falls from the mountain, and their degradation will not be stopped. But chanting the Name of the Divine will protect them, and they will be saved as the little sapling stopped the rock from going down any further.”

The only way out of Kali Yuga is to chant Lord’s Name sincerely and with great devotion. The chanting of the holy names of God is an integral part of Sanatana, and it is known as “Japa” or “mantra yoga.”

Japa is simply repeating a mantra repeatedly to connect your mind with God’s energy. This practice has been shown to help people achieve peace and happiness and get rid of their sins or negative thoughts.

Chanting mantras is a powerful way to eliminate stress and negative emotions. By chanting, you focus on the present moment instead of worrying about the past or future. You can also use it for many different purposes, such as to increase your awareness of God’s presence in your life (and thus feel more connected) and to become more peaceful, relaxed, and joyful (by focusing on something positive). Not to mention, mantra Japa has tremendous power to reduce the mal effects of the past life karmas, balance the chakras, and awaken the kundalini power.

Even though there is plenty of literature available on spiritual practices, it is highly recommended that one learn them under the supervision of a Guru. Everyone has unique spirituality, personality, and experiences. One solution cannot fit all; therefore, it is imperative to seek guidance from spiritual experts to get that unique mantra crafted exclusively for you. And hence, we recommend you practice these mantras under the guidance of an expert.

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