Swami Brahm Bodhi

Question: Guruji, I want to ask you something. My tongue keeps repeating the Name, but inside my mind many other things keep running. What should I do?

Answer (by Brahmabodhi):

Household Life and Spiritual Practice
Responsibilities of a Householder and Name-Repetition

In the householder’s stage of life, there are numerous duties and responsibilities that must be fulfilled. For practitioners who have developed the habit of continuous repetition of God’s Name, it is natural that the Name continues while the mind, at times, also attends to household or professional tasks. This is not something to be worried about.

A Fixed Time for Focused Repetition

Still, two things are important:

Dedicated Practice Time
Every day set aside some time—half an hour or one hour—when the repetition of the Name is done without the mind wandering elsewhere. This should be a time when you have no household or office duties.

Early morning, when all are asleep.

At night, after all duties are finished.

After a meal, when the house is quiet.

The best time, however, is early morning when the mind is fresh.

Methods to Improve Concentration

Fix your gaze on an image of God while repeating the Name.

Or practice repetition along with an audio-guided meditation.

Synchronize the Name with your breath: as the breath goes out, silently say “Rama,” as it comes in, again say “Rama.”

Gently turn the pupils toward the lower part of the nose, as far as is comfortable.

Sitting in lotus posture is not necessary; one may sit on a chair or even on a bed, depending on age and comfort.

By such practice, the tendency of the mind to wander will be checked, and the repetition will become deeper and more intense.

Importance and Limits of Name-Repetition

The repetition of God’s Name is of great importance, but it is not the only means of spiritual practice. It is one among many. In the Bhagavad Gita, God gives householders clear instruction that all their activities—whether of the home or of the office—should be done with the spirit of offering them to God.

The Gita’s Teaching: The Superiority of Karma-Yoga

God declares that Karma-Yoga is superior to renunciation. Why?

Because renunciates, being free from worldly duties, can easily meditate in seclusion.

But for householders, such one-pointed meditation in solitude is very difficult.

Therefore, God advised householders to dedicate all their work to Him.

Verses from the Gita

“Ye tu sarvāṇi karmāṇi mayi sannyasya mat-parāḥ,
ananyenaiva yogena māṁ dhyāyanta upāsate (12.6)”

“Teṣām ahaṁ samuddhartā mṛtyu-saṁsāra-sāgarāt,
bhavāmi na-cirāt pārtha mayy āveśita-cetasām (12.7)”

👉 Those devotees who dedicate all their actions to Me and worship Me, meditating on Me with undivided devotion, I quickly deliver them from the ocean of birth and death.

For the Householder, Work Itself Becomes Worship

Even household and professional duties, if performed with the spirit of offering them to God, become a profound spiritual practice.

Verses from the Gita

“Yataḥ pravṛttir bhūtānāṁ yena sarvam idaṁ tatam,
sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcya siddhiṁ vindati mānavaḥ (18.46)”
👉 From whom all beings arise and by whom the universe is pervaded, by worshiping Him through one’s own duties a person attains perfection.

“Sve sve karmaṇy abhirataḥ saṁsiddhiṁ labhate naraḥ,
sva-karma-nirataḥ siddhiṁ yathā vindati tac chṛṇu (18.45)”
👉 By being devoted to one’s own duties, a person attains perfection. Hear how one attains success by engaging faithfully in one’s work.

“Muktasaṅgo’nahaṁvādī dhṛtyutsāha-samanvitaḥ,
siddhy-asiddhyor nirvikāraḥ kartā sāttvika ucyate (18.26)”
👉 A doer who is free from attachment and ego, endowed with firmness and enthusiasm, and undisturbed in success and failure, is called a sattvic worker.

Conclusion

If householders perform all their duties—domestic or professional—with the attitude of offering them to God, then their entire life becomes a profound spiritual practice. In this way, work itself becomes yoga, a means of spiritual progress, and ultimately a path to liberation.