By Sanjay Sabnis
Devotees Chanting Hare KrIshna in Boston, USA.
Today we live in a technologically advanced world where practically we can have anything, anytime and anywhere. The ATM machine which most banks provide is an excellent tool which gives all of us a sense of security where we can withdraw money whenever we need it.
Money does provide us a sense of security but is limited to few things; it cannot help us buy peace of mind, sleep, satisfaction, good health, relationships and a host of other such things.
If we carefully contemplate, all our efforts, whether on personal or professional front, are only meant to make us feel happy. The Bhagavad Gita states that we are part and parcel of God and God’s nature is to be eternally happy and blissful. Like the sun cannot know what darkness is, God cannot know what unhappiness is. Being part and parcel of God (Krishna), we too are always meant to be eternally happy and blissful.
But then why is it that we are at times put into unhappy and undesirable circumstances? Or putting it differently can there be a machine like the ATM that can dispense happiness whenever we feel unhappy? An ATH – Any Time Happiness!
Any chemistry student, who wants to produce water in a laboratory, should know the theory of “how to produce water”. He must know that two units of hydrogen and one unit of oxygen are required to produce water. Else he will keep on trying different chemical combinations and will still be frustrated at the end of the day.
Similarly in order to be happy, one needs to know the basic theory of “how to be happy”. This formula is clearly defined in the Bhagavad Gita (2.66), “One who is not in transcendental consciousness can have neither a controlled mind nor steady intelligence, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace?”
The Vedic scriptures such as the Kali-Santaran Upanishad proclaim that the best, the most sublime and practical method of attainment of happiness in this age of Kali (quarrel and hypocrisy) is to meditatively chant the holy names of the God – “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare”
It is just like an ATM machine; we can call it the ‘Any Time Meditation’ machine, an effective meditation technique which can be used anytime, anywhere and under any circumstances. It does not cost us anything but offers immense benefit in return. And this ATM machine can indeed lead us to ATH (All Time Happiness)! Try it, it works! The taste of the pudding is in its eating!
The Hare Krishna Revolution 