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The Hare Krishna chant involves moving the fingers on the beads and vibrating the chant softly. As the tongue vibrates the divine sound, the ears take in the vibration, and the fingers steadily move the beads, we potentially enter a divine realm.

This section examines the common Misconceptions related to Bhakti Yoga that prevents us from accessing the rich benefits of the practise.

The Hare Krishna meditation is truly beneficial. I urge everyone to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to lead a spiritual life of happiness and peace.

Spirituality invigorates our enthusiasm through what I call the "lever effect." A little physical power wisely invested at an optimal point on the lever, a simple machine, could be used to move a massive rock. As a lever amplifies physical power, spirituality amplifies our enthusiasm to serve. A little enthusiasm wisely invested in meditation every morning, in time brings forth a resurgence of unlimited and sustained enthusiasm for selfless service-a long forgotten treasure of every soul, and the long sought-after ornament of every great leader.

Radhanath Swami reveals that spiritual life can present temptations that distract us from our goal. One should not practice spiritual practices for either monetary gain or for worldly popularity. The real bliss of spiritual life will be missing from our lives if we succumb to pursuing ephemeral goals of wanting prestige and power in this material world.

Radhanath Swami implores that let us not make this mistake of denying the reality that we have negativities in our heart and we need to change. Rather let us happily accept the changes we have to make. They are for our good. These transformations bring us closer to God and give us real and lasting happiness.

The Hare Krishna meditation works on filling the heart with this sublime desire and hence contributing to the experience of more meaningful happiness in life

We may never have come to know the importance of controlling the mind if devotees of Lord would not have approached us to tell that how much we are suffering under the illusion. Thank you very much Maharaj for waking us up from sleep.

Bhakti Yoga is a gradual and steady process of transformation and cultivation of positive desirable habits. One could begin waking up at 8.30 in the morning. After a week of strict adherence to this half hour improvement, one could then begin to rise at 8.00 am. This way slowly by half hour progression one can eventually rise just before sunrise. Try this programme of early morning spiritual practises for three months and see the difference it makes to your consciousness. The proof of the pudding is in eating…

Seated in an auto-rickshaw that had found the red light at a busy city intersection, what else could I expect but black smoke? Destiny, however, surprised me with a little sweet encounter. I spotted a street urchin who darted from vehicle to vehicle, begging. Moments later she reached me, her expression pleading for charity. I deftly reached my handbag's front pocket to pull out the box in which I always carry cookies for such occasions. The little angel was quick to translate my body language and expectation twinkled in her innocent eyes. Suddenly I realized the box wasn't to be found. Not wanting to disappoint her I reached my pockets for coins. All I found was a five hundred rupee note; if I gave that to her, we had to exchange positions! Mortified at the thought of breaking her heart, I settled the matter with a sorry smile, but made sure to add extra affection into that. She left. I felt good about what I had done and fixed my vision on the traffic light. It turned green and all vehicles honked in unison, impatient to race ahead. As my driver waited for the line of vehicles in front to start moving, suddenly the urchin reappeared. This time she didn't hold out her open palms; our eyes met and through her eyes I could hear a faint voice of gratitude that rose above the noise of traffic all around. I found in her expression an element of surprise; perhaps she had received many things from many, but hadn't received affection from any. Our exchange happened in a flash, before my vehicle sped ahead, and I never saw her again. Soon, I knew, I would forget about this brief incident, but I prayed never to forget the lesson I had learnt: affection touches the heart, and if we see closely within, we are all desperate for that touch. Years later, while learning the mysteries of Bhakti yoga from Radhanath Swami, I came to know how Bhakti is all about affection-affection exchanged between the Supreme Lord and we spirit souls. If two tiny spiritual beings can exper