Answer
You see, the mind is very complicated, and each person’s mind is shaped by past karma. So if depression or sadness has to come, it will come. But ultimately, these are temporary and small compared to your real identity. When you rise above these sentiments that absorb the mind, you begin to see them differently. This doesn’t happen overnight—I’m not saying you can suddenly overcome depression or sadness—but when true knowledge arises from the chanting of the holy name, then depression, guilt, and sadness gradually lose their place in your life. You begin to feel, “I have no time for all this—I want to become attached to Krishna, I want to serve, I want to chant and hear properly.”
Why does depression come? Often because something is not in your control. When you feel you cannot control something—like not being able to focus on the holy name—you become frustrated, and that turns into sadness or depression. But Krishna is in control, so instead of becoming depressed, you can pray, “Krishna, please help me focus.” A devotee does not carry unnecessary anxiety. He is not overly disturbed by the past, nor anxious about the future. Past, present, and future are all in Krishna’s hands.
You have to understand this clearly—you are not depression itself. Due to past karma, the brain and its conditioning can create depressive patterns. The structure and chemistry of the mind can produce these feelings, but they are not your true self. If you chant sincerely, gradually you will overcome them. Otherwise, a person ends up spending most of their energy dealing with sadness, guilt, and emotional struggles, and life gets consumed by that. That is not the goal.
So come to active engagement—chant, take your bead bag, chant the holy name, and try to move forward. When the holy name is strong in your life, you can rise above karma. Without that, you get pulled into these mental states again and again. If you train yourself like this—“Yes, this feeling is coming due to past conditioning, but I will chant”—then slowly you gain strength.
Sometimes, depression can also be clinical. That means it is related to brain chemistry. In such cases, taking proper medical help is not wrong. You may see that even a small tablet can change your condition. This shows that while the soul experiences, the cause may lie in the body or brain. Just like a headache—you experience it, but the cause is physical, and medicine removes it. Similarly, we are influenced by this body-machine, so sometimes we have to take care of it practically as well.
At the same time, take strength from the holy name—chant sincerely, even loudly if needed. When negativity overwhelms you, understand that much of it may come from past conditioning, even from childhood patterns like constant self-judgment. Let go of that. Don’t keep judging yourself again and again. Do what you can and keep moving forward.
Negativity often comes from expectations. You may expect, “I should chant perfectly without distraction,” but when that doesn’t happen, you become discouraged. Then the discouragement itself becomes a bigger obstacle than the distraction. Instead, stay grounded in reality: “This round was not focused—okay. Let me try better in the next round.” Keep moving forward. Don’t look back and criticize yourself.
Do your duty, but don’t become overly attached to the result. You should aim to improve, but not become discouraged if perfection doesn’t come immediately. In fact, unless the holy name itself—Nāma Prabhu—reveals Himself, you cannot fully hear. Good chanting ultimately happens by mercy. So continue sincerely, without discouragement, and gradually everything will improve.
