Why Do I Fall Asleep While Doing Naam Jap?

At Shri Hit Radha Keli Kunj, Vrindavan, in intimate conversation with Pujya Shri Hit Premanand Govind Sharan Ji Maharaj. Sadhaks ask questions about their life and sadhana, and Maharaj Ji resolves them.

The Complete Discourse

Yogita Ji, pranaam Maharaj Ji. Maharaj Ji, even while doing naam simaran and being in anand, I fall asleep. Anand hasn't come yet. There's a difference between anand and sleep. Sleep is a characteristic of tamo guna. The senses couldn't stay established in anand, so they went to tamo guna. Otherwise, the anand of bhajan remains even in sleep. When anand comes, then bhajan happens even in sleep. And when sleep comes during bhajan, that's tamo guna. This means there's no anand.

For example, if you're hungry and get food, would you fall asleep? If you sit down to watch a favorite film, would you sleep for three hours? Show us. Why? Because anand is coming, right? If anand is coming, how can you sleep? Is anand coming? If cricket is your favorite sport and a match is on, and then you fall asleep, show us. You don't. Why? Because anand is coming. Because the subject is in accordance with your mind. Since the mind didn't find anand in bhajan, it went to sleep. If the mind had found anand in bhajan, it wouldn't go to sleep. When anand from bhajan comes, five things will be corrected.

नारायण हरि भजन में पांचों स्वाद विषय भोग निद्रा नींद हंसी मजाक बहुबाद भोग ये सब अच्छा नहीं खानपान ते भावे है नहीं कोमल वन सुहावे है सब विषय लगे ते खारा है हरि आशिक का मग न्यारा है तुम सच्ची मानो ना
In Narayan Hari bhajan, the five objects, enjoyment, sleep, laughter, joking - none of these are good. Food doesn't please, the soft forest doesn't please. All objects seem bitter. The path of Hari's lover is unique. Believe this truly.

Out of 24 hours, sleeping for just 15 minutes felt like we slept so much. After 15 minutes we got up indignantly, felt like is it really only 15 minutes, isn't the clock broken? Our mind was so absorbed in bhajan. Just 15 minutes of sleep, and we were completely absorbed in bhajan.

When there's no tamo guna, where does sleep come from? Sleep exists only in tamo guna.

निद्रा आलस्य प्रमादम तत तामस मुदाहरतम
Sleep, lethargy, negligence - these are examples of tamas.

Negligence and tamo guna - sleep, lethargy - these come from the influence of tamo guna. Neither rajo guna nor tamo guna - then where is sleep? Falling asleep while doing sattvik bhajan is a characteristic of the predominance of tamo guna. This shouldn't happen. Stand up. Do bhajan standing. Do bhajan while walking. No sleep during bhajan time. Do bhajan during sleep time. But no sleep during bhajan.

For example, when you're going to sleep, go saying Radha Radha Radha. We don't worry about sleeping. When did we fall asleep while doing Radha Radha? Then when we wake up, we wake doing Radha Radha. When engaged in your daily activities, such bhajan happens. Not like - anand is coming from bhajan so we go to sleep. How can sleep come in anand? Just tell us.

We've given you many examples. Anywhere you're finding anand, any entertainment is happening, a series is on - go watch, would you fall asleep? You wouldn't sleep at all, because anand is coming, right. In sleep, there is anand. There's an anand in sleep. Leaving worldly thoughts for six hours, the senses are completely nourished. They experience an anand. It's like getting a new life. What happens in six hours of sleep? Worldly thoughts don't happen. Similarly, when you watch any entertainment, all other thoughts are forgotten. That anand comes.

And if all thoughts are forgotten in thinking of God, then paramanand comes. That's exactly what we're doing. Our people are exactly doing this - become so absorbed in thinking of God that all thoughts are forgotten, then the flood of paramanand comes. What happens now? There's thinking about the world. The world is discordant. In discord there are two situations - pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat. So we're getting beaten in these. And God is harmonious. In harmony there's one taste - paramanand. If our consciousness joins with God, then paramanand remains all the time. Like when we sleep for four or five hours and worldly thoughts are forgotten, how good it feels.

When we wake up, how fresh we feel. Why? Because for five hours worldly thoughts were dropped. And if you drop worldly thoughts for five hours while awake, you become a yogi. You'll start experiencing unbroken paramanand. So let's do this - this is the effort. When we Radha Radha Radha, think of that, see that, hear that - see how much progress happens, both internal and external. Thinking about the world itself gives us suffering. See, those who get more immersed in thinking about the world reach depression. If you keep thinking about the world, see how your mind gets tired. That song, that - why did they say that, they - we did this with them - this whole calculation, as it goes on they become bewildered. Now they drown. Meaning, sitting pointlessly, nothing, no one. They reach depression. If we do naam jap, we can save ourselves.

Look carefully, what is the pleasure of sleep? Six hours of worldly thoughts being dropped. When you don't sleep, see how every nerve and vein becomes heavy. Gets tired. It feels like, man, I should sleep. What is sleep? Meaning, forgetting worldly thoughts for six hours. Or eight hours of forgetting. I want to forget the world. What happens in addiction? What happens when intoxicated? The intellect becomes dull. Thinking becomes unsteady. There's pleasure in just this. Their intellect is becoming free of thoughts. The faculty of thinking is exhausted. That's why they experience pleasure.

When we lived here in Achal Vihar, there was a drain flowing in front of Hit Dham. The circumambulation path wasn't paved. So this drunkard had a bicycle by the drain and kept... we didn't know he'd been drinking. They said, what, brother? He looked at the drain like this and then like this ahead. He finally staggered and fell into the drain. Yet he has no sorrow or worry. The way he's speaking, it's like an emperor. What is it? Thinking is finished. Thinking of good and bad, thinking of the world. Whether he's intoxicated or eaten bhang, all these intoxicants just completely relax the body and remove the intellect's capacity to think.

Just enjoy this. And think - if you engage this very activity in a wakeful state with God, if the intellect becomes absorbed, then that person is called a great soul in samadhi. That is what a yogi is called. That is what the beloved of God is called. Look, try to fix your mind on one point. If you want to gain strength for a while, we'll tell you - fix on one point. As you sit, decide on one point and place your gaze there, and simply chant Radha, Radha, Radha - eyes open, mouth closed. Now if tears start flowing from your eyes, you've done it right. Then fix on that point again. Wherever your meditation flows, one thread of meditation will go. This is called tratak, steady gazing, in yoga. We have so many practices through which we can gather concentration and fix our meditation on God's feet. Joy comes immediately. Mantra, internal... these things that come, like capsules, whatever you call them - yantra - these tricks won't work for you. Yes.

Knowledge and wisdom need to be fully developed. All this trickery, this theatrical performance won't lead you out of it. Look, when the Name is flowing and other thoughts are coming at the same time, doesn't the mind become divided into two parts? Yes, the mind has two divisions. Just as the intellect has two divisions - look, Vibhishana is telling Ravana: "Good-mind and ill-mind are in everyone, O Lord." Yes, where there is good-mind, there is prosperity in many forms; where there is ill-mind, there too. I mean, as there is good-mind and ill-mind, so also there is good-feeling and ill-feeling. A beautiful mind will give you good advice. And an ill-directed mind will give wrong advice at that very moment. At that same moment, it's telling you: enjoy this pleasure, it's very good. But from within comes the inner voice: no, friend, you'll get trapped, it's very wrong. In that very mind there are two divisions. When you transform the ill-mind into a good one, the mind becomes pure and God manifests; bad thoughts don't come. How to do work keeps running in the mind, and naam jap also keeps running. Yes, so you need to cut it - delete one and run the other. This is wisdom. We have to stop it.

This is why we say - when you do naam jap, meditate on the letters of the Name. You have to trap it doubly. It runs on double tracks, it runs on attachment and aversion. So you have to trap it. Radha - now we're chanting internally Radha, in front is written Radha, we are reading, we are watching, listening - now it won't get a chance to escape. So it won't stay long there, you see. And if it starts to stay, then you'll see - joy will start coming, and taste will start increasing. It wants to run off in two directions. It wants to do two tasks at once. It has that capacity.

It will perform worship of God and also go to the market. At the same time it's performing God's worship, while thinking about going to the market. There I need to get chili. There I need to get potatoes. It will keep doing all this. It will look like devotion is happening. As soon as the meditation shifts, it seems... when the Name was flowing... no, it can do two things at once. This is why we trap it doubly. Write and pronounce and listen, then it will be auspicious. Yes.

This text is taken from auto-generated video captions — there may be errors in the words. Please watch the video for the authentic discourse.

Original video: Bhajan Marg (YouTube)