Sugar Candy

“The holy name, character, pastimes and activities of Krsna are all transcendentally sweet like sugar candy. Although the tongue of one afflicted by the jaundice of avidya [ignorance] cannot taste anything sweet, it is wonderful that simply by carefully chanting these sweet names every day, a natural relish awakens within his tongue, and his disease is gradually destroyed at the root.”

Nectar of Instruction, Verse 7

This most important verse about the key practice of mantra meditation in Krishna Bhakti is a keeper. It reminds us that we are not well. Our human condition is likened to jaundice, a disease of the liver, that makes everything taste bitter.

While in India, I knew devotees with jaundice and it was not easy to shake off.

The same goes for our afflicted souls. But by the daily chanting of the holy name, we break through the jaundice of ignorance and begin to taste sweetness. It’s quite a journey to make our way back to the spiritual world, but the sugar candy of Krishna’s sweetness keeps us going.