Why Should We Memorize Verses?

Adapted from - An Essay by Nägaräja däsa in “Reading Reform” Book

Acronym - Sloka MEMORY

(A) Prabhupada’s Style and Desire -
1. Probably the main reason we were inspired to learn verses was
because we were learning to preach from Çréla Prabhupäda, and
he always quoted çlokas. Prabhupäda's lectures, morning walks,
room conversations, etc., were always full of Vedic çästric
references—in Sanskrit.
2. Çréla Prabhupäda gave us the format for the Çrémad-
Bhägavatam class, which included chanting the Sanskrit, repeating
the word meanings, and reading the translation. This illustrates
Prabhupäda's desire that we become familiar with the Sanskrit
çlokas.

(C) Respectful Mood and Authenticity

1. Respectful mood - When someone quotes Sanskrit slokas a
mood of respectful attentiveness prevails in the audience,
especially when the Sanskrit is clearly and boldly enunciated.
2. Authenticity - The Sanskrit recitation gives an air of authenticity
to the audience.
3. Especially when speaking with Indian audience, who generally
have great respect for the Bhagavad-gétä, a little working
knowledge of the important Sanskrit verses is very impressive and
convincing to them. On the other hand, we may have experienced
the frustration of being unable to cite the appropriate verse to
dispel their often misdirected understanding.

(G) Engages You In Sravanam, The Hearing Process –

1. Hearing is the most important devotional process, but
unfortunately. Our hearing is not always done so attentively. To
memorize verses, however, one has to concentrate deliberately. So
naturally the attention is complete.

(D) No Mental Concoctions Involved -

1. And, of course, the Vedic authority is impressive. We are not
speaking our own mental concoctions but the direct instruction of
the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the realizations of His
pure devotees. It is exhilarating to remember that we are speaking
their exact words.
2. Quoting Sanskrit helps to keep us on track. It leaves less room
for the mind to drift into speculative tangents.

(F) These Are Our Devotional Weapons -

 1. Invicible Weapons - The çlokas can be used as invincible
weapons against mäyä. Just like Çréla Prabhupäda had a whole
arsenal of these çlokas-weapons, which were able to defeat every
conceivable argument the materially bound souls could muster.
2. We can utilize these çlokas for defeating philosophical
opponents, as well as the attacks of our own minds.
3. Forces mind to work - The concept of learning verses by trying
to recall it repeatedly and unhesitatingly, forces the mind to work,
and it prevents one from simply mechanically repeating the verse
over and over without it ever "sinking in." Of course, we should
also know the meaning of the words, at least the most significant
ones in the verse.

(E) Personal Relish -

1. Relishable - Quoting Sanskrit verses in itself makes the
experience very relishable. For example, there is a tape of
Prabhupäda on a walk at the farm in France. He quotes a verse by
Åñabhadeva several times with ecstatic enthusiasm and says, "I
like this verse very much!"
2. Besides the primary effect of equipping ourselves for preaching
with a full repertoire of çlokas, the practice or the endeavor to
learn verses is also beneficial.

(B) Your Faith in Potency of the verses -

1. We should have faith in the potency of delivering the pure
vibration of the original Sanskrit—the language of Vyäsadeva, the
language of the paramparä, the language of Kåñëa Himself. Even if
people do not understand the language; they would be purified by
the transcendental sound.

Srila Prabhupada speaks about learning verses in a lecture in

Los Angeles, April 14, 1973.
“This Sanskrit verse—it is meant for understanding ourselves; it is not
meant for simply selling our books. Every one of you. We are
repeating this verse again and again so that you are expected to
chant these mantras. Not that the book is kept—“I am a very learned
scholar.” What kind of learned scholar? "If I find the book then I can
speak." That is not scholarship. You must chant. Therefore we are
teaching in our Dallas, children, simply to learn Sanskrit. They have
nothing to do, nothing else. They're not going to be technologists or
the servant of everyone. No. We want some generation who can
preach Kåñëa consciousness. . . . So we want to create a new
generation in your country so that in the future they will be fluent
speakers in Çrémad-Bhägavatam and preach all over the country.
And your country will be saved. This is our program.
So read Çrémad-Bhägavatam. Pronounce the verses very nicely.
Therefore, we are repeating. You hear the records and try to repeat.
Simply by chanting the mantra you will be purified.
So each and every verse you should chant very perfectly, nicely.
Meditate upon it. That is the process of progress, advancement in
spiritual life. We should get all these verses by heart, and chant, and
offer prayers to the Lord—vandanam. These are made for such
purpose.
As the modem representatives of our prestigious sampradäya, we
have the responsibility of carrying on the standard of scholarship
demonstrated by our predecessors. We may not have the time nor
the inclination to become Sanskrit scholars, but it is important that
we at least learn the important verses that are so valuable for our
purification and our preaching work.