The philosophy behind this chanting process is this: "I am not this body, I am the soul inhabiting the body. As a soul, I have an original Source, and that Source is Krishna (the All-Attractive One). Because Krishna is the Source of everything, when we chant His names, the sound vibration acts on our consciousness and respiritualizes it."
You see, our consciousness is currently covered by many layers of dust, and that dust is called "identification with that which is temporary." So, this sound vibration, 'Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare', revives our original, pure spiritual consciousness and brings us home to our true self, to that which is eternal.
This time of year is a very potent time to take up a personal practice of chanting Hare Krishna daily because it is a time of death, as the earth grows colder and the animals go into hibernation. The plants die and the trees go into dormancy. This is a time of deep inner reflection; when we are reminded that we too, will grow cold and drop these bodies like the trees drop their leaves. We go through many of these little deaths throughout our lifetime. For example, we used to have a small child's body. Where is that body now? That body is gone. We have died many times even within this current lifetime. Shrila Prabhupada explains, "The material body is perishable by nature. It may perish immediately, or it may do so after a hundred years. It is a question of time only. There is no chance of maintaining it indefinitely." (BG 2.18 Purport)
Every winter season we experience a kind of death that causes us to question how we are living. Do you have a daily practice that is nourishing to the soul? We can do so many things to take care of the body, but the body is just a temporary dress. It's like a costume that we are wearing, and we are so absorbed in playing this role, that we have forgotten we are not this costume, we are the soul wearing it. Srila Prabhupada says, "Maya means that she is enchanting you and keeping you in ignorance and what is that? "I am this body." If I ask you, "What you are?" You say, "I am Mr. such and such," or what good nation you belong? you say: "I am American," "What religion is yours?" You say: "I am Christian," or "I am this, I am that," but these are all designation of this body. And by practising bhakti-yoga you will clearly realize that you are not this body, you are not this mind, you are not intelligence but a pure soul." (Boston College Lecture – May 10, 1968, Boston)
There is a lot going on at this junction in time. But one major theme we all feel this time of year is: death... and the certain existence of an afterlife. But what is it that actually dies? Do we actually ever die? Where does this desire to live forever come from? And how can we live forever? Shrila Prabhupada confirms this, "A living being, especially civilized man, has a natural desire to live forever in happiness. This is quite natural because, in his original state, the living being is both eternal and joyful. However, in the present conditioned state of life, he is engaged in a struggle against recurring birth and death. Therefore he has attained neither happiness nor immortality." (EJ Preface)
This desire to live forever is coming from the soul. Because the soul is eternal and is never born, nor does the soul ever die. And you are the soul, not the body! So, naturally we want to go on living without interruption. Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita 2.12: "Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be." It is only the body that dies, the external dress, the costume we wear. Which is composed of the material elements, the temporary inferior energy of the Lord.
What is the soul comprised of? It is made of eternity, knowledge, and bliss. It is Krishna's superior energy which endures eternally. So we are a tiny part of That Whole. And this time of year is a great time to reconnect to the Powerhouse of our existence. A time to recharge and rethink what we are doing here and where we are going. We can practically do this by getting in direct contact with that original Powerhouse, and that is done by chanting the names of Krishna. We can return to our eternal life by this chanting process.
Krishna is not affected by duality like we are in this material world, He lives eternally in the Absolute Reality. That is why His name, and His very Self are identical. "The name Krishna and the Personality of Godhead Krishna are identical. There is no difference in the Absolute realm between the Name Form or Person of the Absolute Truth because in the Absolute Realm everything is transcendental bliss." (SB 1-1962: Introduction) There is no division in the personality of Krishna. So let's reconnect to our Source and nourish the soul, because the body is always changing, but the soul remains the same eternally. Your eternal need is to be connected with your Source and there is no real happiness to be found otherwise.
I urge every one of you to simply try out this chanting of Hare Krishna and see how it works for you. There is no loss. Dedicate a certain amount of time every morning to this chanting and watch how it brings the magic back into your life. The magic we are all searching for is right here on the tip of our tongue!