Hare Krishna!
My Humble Obeisance to all Devotees and His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada
I have to know how should a devotee fully schedule his routine to progress in his Krishna Consciousness.
Like When to getup in the morning , when to perform pooja, when to chant, when to take dinner and what is the right time to sleep at night.
Kindly help me know according to vedic scriptures, I shall be very thankful.
Hari Bol, Hare Krishna!
Replies
HK.
Plz understand the meaning of bhakti first. Bhakti comes with love, compassion, joyfulness. These qualities don't come with such military rules like when to wake up, what to eat, when to sleep, how to pray, how much chant. I think u should analyse first whether bhakti Marg is suitable for u. Sprituality is nothing but practicing mind to move beyond the limits. For that so many ways are in scriptures. Bhakti Marg is one of those. So first do study and then move forward.
The answer given invalidates a genuine and a practical question. Additionally it is very inaccurate.
Sri Krsna Himself stresses the importance of eating, waking, sleeping in Bhagavad Gita as follows
yuktāhāra-vihārasya
yukta-ceṣṭasya karmasu
yukta-svapnāvabodhasya
yogo bhavati duḥkha-hā
He who is regulated in his habits of eating, sleeping, recreation and work can mitigate all material pains by practicing the yoga system. (BG 6.17)
So the question is a valid question because Sri Krsna answers it.
Bhakti comes with love, compassion, joyfulness. These qualities don't come with such military rules
There two processes within Bhakti Yoga - Sadhana Bhakti(Regulated devitional service) and Raganuga Bhakti (Spontaneous devotional service)
By and large Sadhana Bhakti is the preferred for most people in kali yuga because most conditioned souls do not qualify for spontaneuous devotional service.
Sri Krsna says the following about Spontaneous devotional service -
mayy eva mana ādhatsva
mayi buddhiṁ niveśaya
nivasiṣyasi mayy eva
ata ūrdhvaṁ na saṁśayaḥ
Just fix your mind upon Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and engage all your intelligence in Me. Thus you will live in Me always, without a doubt. ( Bg 12.8)
So those who peform spontaneous devitional service are easily able to completely and all the time able to absorb their mind in Sri Krsna - Just like lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the gopis of vrindavana did. So all the love, compassion, joy etc is experienced with reference to Krsna. But this is not possible for everyone because most people find it hard to give up their material desires and absorb in Krsna consciousness. For them in the very next shloka of Bhagavad Gita Srr Krsna reccomends the path of regulated devotional service or sadhana Bhakti as follows
atha cittaṁ samādhātuṁ
na śaknoṣi mayi sthiram
abhyāsa-yogena tato
mām icchāptuṁ dhanañ-jaya
My dear Arjuna, O winner of wealth, if you cannot fix your mind upon Me without deviation, then follow the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga. In this way develop a desire to attain Me. ( Bg 12.9)
Here Sri Krsna clearly mentions that those who cannot fix their mind on Krsna without devitaion (due to material desires) should practice the principles of bhakti yoga. Srila prabhupada in his purport to this verse clearly mentions why some people cannot fix their mind on Krsna and how to practice the regulative principles of bhakti as follows
Bhakti-yoga is the purification of the senses. At the present moment in material existence the senses are always impure, being engaged in sense gratification. But by the practice of bhakti-yoga these senses can become purified, and in the purified state they come directly in contact with the Supreme Lord. (Purport 12.9 BG)
To practice the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga one should, under the guidance of an expert spiritual master, follow certain principles: one should rise early in the morning, take bath, enter the temple and offer prayers and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, then collect flowers to offer to the Deity, cook foodstuffs to offer to the Deity, take prasādam, and so on. There are various rules and regulations which one should follow. This practice of bhakti-yoga, under the rules and regulations, with the direction of a spiritual master, will surely bring one to the stage of love of God. (Purport 12.9 BG)
From the above it is very clear that there are rules and regulations within sadhana bhakti and by practice of these principles one will elevate to the stage of love for Sri Krsna.
Now there are some people who are neither able to fix their mind on Sri Krsna nor willing to follow the regulative principles of bhakti. Such people still want to pretend that they also practice bhakti. These are called sahajiyas. They preted to have love, joy in Krsna while still having lusty desires to enjoy sex. Such people are like imitation jewellery who which is shiny on surface but is cheap and temporary. Bhakti is pure gold very pure, very expensive, very rare, very difficult to attain and very lasting. Srila Prabhupada says the following about bhakti
Devotional service is not a matter of sentimental speculation or imaginative ecstasy. Its substance is practical activity. ( Purport to Nectar of Instruction 3)
Hare Krsna
Hare Krsna Prabhuji,
PAMHO.
I will give you the ideal - you see what works for you. Need not try everything all at once.
Ideally, one shoudl wake up at by 4.00 am, take bath and do mangalarati the way it is done in the temple - sansar davanal, then guru pranam mantras, pancha tattva mantra, maha mantra, some people even do vibhavari sesha. Then Nrisimha arati, followed by tulsi arati. Shikshastakam, 10 offences to holy name and then sit and chant 16 rounds of maha mantra.
Listen to Srimad Bhagawatam class around 8 - 8.30 am. If you cannot go to temple everyday, access online through Mayapur.tv or Vrindavan.tv and see. Lectures are really good. Then go to work. Evening - return from work, take bath, do sandhya arati. Take prasadam, read and sleep by 9.00 pm.
THis is for prabhujis in normal circumstances, not lockdown period.
For matajis - normal circumstances - apart from the above, please ensure that you cook veg food without onion garlic. Whatever comes out of your kitchen has to be offered to lord before it is served to anyone else. Listen to lectures, take care of your home altar/ deities.
In lockdown, since there is no "going to office" - one has to adjust one's time accordingly. Whatever time one gets, one shoudl spend in reading/ hearing lecture/ doing kirtan - basically always remember Krsna, never forget Krsna the whole day.
Haribol,
Your servant,
Radha Rasamayi DD