Answer
I have previously written at length on how to engage the mind in the remembrance of God. This time I am presenting the same subject in a somewhat different manner. This answer is not for any one individual but for all of us ordinary Hindus. Therefore, it should not be taken personally.
Imagine -- if a trustworthy physician were to tell someone that their death is certain within six months, but there is one remedy to avert it: you must eat a quarter pound of raw bitter gourd (karela) every day. The taste is bitter, one does not feel like eating it, but out of the conviction that it will avert death, most people would somehow manage to eat that bitter gourd. So powerful is the fear of death.
Similarly, if someone were to develop a firm conviction that life after death is even more serious -- what the torments of hell are like, or how sorrowful birth as an animal or bird can be -- then surely that person would make an effort to improve their next life.
Two or three years ago, a person came to see me and said that he had come into 25 crore rupees and wished to use this money solely toward ensuring that his next birth not be as an animal or bird. That is how gravely serious he was about this matter. The descriptions of post-death states that the Rishis have given through their divine vision -- in the Garuda Purana and other texts -- if these are read with seriousness, one's outlook on life changes. Just as a person starts eating raw bitter gourd upon receiving a six-month warning, similarly, when the reality of post-death experiences is understood, one readily accepts many difficult sadhanas.
In Islam and Christianity, hell and divine punishment are depicted repeatedly. For this reason, Muslims pray five times a day -- because from childhood itself they are taught that if they do not do so, severe punishment will follow. Jesus Christ also said repeatedly that one should reform in time to escape the fire of hell.
In the Hindu tradition today, people are motivated neither through fear nor through a positive outlook. This is a shortcoming of ours that needs to be remedied. The philosopher Immanuel Kant said that the moral value of a good deed done out of fear is limited. The Gita emphasizes this very sentiment. The Lord mentioned hell in the Gita only twice, and not to instill fear, but to inspire the aspiration to avoid hell and advance toward liberation. The Lord does not coerce. At the end of the Gita, He tells Arjuna: "This is My counsel; now do as you see fit." (Yatha ichchhasi tatha kuru.)
If we develop a firm awareness that death can come at any time and that we must make our post-death existence safe and blissful, then it is possible that we will begin performing those sadhanas daily in which the mind does not engage today.
The one who remembers death masters life; and the one who masters life finds God beyond death.
I shall write separately on how to bring regularity to the remembrance of God. Hari Sharanam!
How to Bring Regularity to the Remembrance of God
Question: Hari Sharanam! 1. How to concentrate the mind in the remembrance of God and in mantra recitation? 2. How can regularity be established in this practice? What factors need to be kept in mind for this regularity?
Answer (BrahmBodhi):
Your question is extremely important. By understanding its depth, not only will your curiosity be satisfied, but this guidance can also resolve the doubts and apprehensions of countless seekers.
1. The Simplicity of Spirituality: The Gita's Matchless Contribution
The greatest obstacle before those walking the spiritual path is the narrowness that has become entangled in rules and prohibitions in the name of tradition. Certain scriptures, and even more so certain traditional beliefs, have made spirituality so complex that the common person turns away from it.
The Bhagavad Gita broke through this complexity and made spirituality accessible. It nowhere said that worship is valid only after bathing. It did not make fasting a precondition for spiritual attainment. It imposed no binding of calendar dates, no insistence on auspicious moments.
"Patram pushpam phalam toyam" -- this is the simplest offering that God is ever ready to accept. Its essence is that God wants love from us, not display. He wants sincerity of feeling, not outward ostentation.
2. Modern Lifestyle and Spirituality
The lifestyle of the present age has become entirely different from before. With the advent of electricity, nighttime activity has increased. Workplaces demand different schedules. In the hustle and bustle of urban life, solitude is not easily available. In cold or waterless places, rules such as bathing become impracticable. In such circumstances, if we confine spirituality solely to these external rules, it will drift further and further from our lives.
3. Self-Knowledge and Time Selection
The first step in the direction of spirituality is: "Know thyself." At what time is your body clock at rest? During which moments of the day is your mind naturally still? When do your livelihood and family responsibilities give you leisure? Observe these things for a few days. When you know at what time your inner being is calm, that will be the best time for you to remember God.
4. Incorporating Karma Yoga
The Gita teaches us: "Yogah karmasu kaushalam" -- skill in action is yoga. If we add the remembrance of God to every action, that very action becomes sadhana.
5. Family Support and Self-Surrender
Especially for women, this path can be even more challenging. If the family understands that a woman is not merely a vehicle for serving the family but is a soul who has an equal right to connect with God, then this sadhana can become natural for her. Establish dialogue within the family. Designate a separate "God-time" during which you are not to be disturbed, during which no expectations are placed upon you. Explain, explain... gradually, cooperation will begin.
6. Some Practical Suggestions for Regularity
Here are some small but powerful measures for regular practice:
(1) Making use of the lunch break: During the midday meal break, you can carve out 15-30 minutes for reading the Gita, for mantra japa, or for silent meditation.
(2) Travel time as sadhana time: If you commute by vehicle (whether private or public), that time can be extremely useful for nama-smarana, devotional recitation, or meditation.
(3) Simplicity of meals -- saving time: Preparing and eating too many dishes not only wastes time but also energy, and has adverse effects on health. Do not have cooked food more than twice a day. At one mealtime, adopt options such as fruits, sprouted grains, milk, yogurt, and paneer. One day a week of a fruit-based fast benefits both body and mind. This will improve your health, save time, and allow the women of the household to also find some time for themselves.
(4) Using reminding devices: Nowadays, devices are available that continuously chant the Lord's name in a sweet tone. Keep them at home or in the office at a soft volume -- they will keep reminding you of God.
(5) Practicing automatic nama-smarana in the inner mind: Occasionally on weekends, take complete solitude in silence and practice continuous nama-japa. Within a few days, this practice becomes so deep that the japa runs on its own. This is called the "natural flow of remembrance."
(6) Pauranic versus Vedic mantras: Vedic mantras carry more rules and prohibitions. Pauranic mantras carry comparatively fewer. But in nama-japa there is no restriction whatsoever -- you can chant anywhere, in any state. This is the most accessible and supreme means.
(7) Using a japa counter: Digital counters are now available that fit in the palm and count mantra repetitions. Discreet, simple, and motivating -- they help maintain regularity and provide satisfaction in one's practice.
Conclusion: Remembrance of God -- Simple and Accessible
Sadhana is not a separate activity -- it is a silent celebration of life, an inward journey. Where there are discipline and rules, but not rigidity; where there are faith and discernment, but not ostentation.
Just as the sun rises each day without fanfare, so may the remembrance of God bloom within us each day -- perpetual, silent, blissful.