Excerpted from the Brihat-bhagavatāmṛta about the power of Saṅkalpa:

"My dear boy, whatever you desire while chanting your mantra, by its power, you will fully achieve. Indeed, you will attain more than you desire."

Commentary: Before performing any religious ritual, including the chanting of mantras, one should solemnly formulate one's saṅkalpa (intention), either verbally or mentally. In most Vedic sacrifices, one can expect one's saṅkalpa to be fulfilled only in the indefinite future, most likely in the next life. But by the blessings of his guru, Gopa-kumāra's specific saṅkalpas would all be quickly realized, as we shall see as his story continues.

So, solemnly formulating saṅkalpa is like aiming your arrow before shooting it. And as is mentioned, it should be done to develop a determination, which means a firmness of purpose, a resoluteness. It's the process of establishing something exactly, typically by calculation or research. These are necessary to aim when we're chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, to aim ourselves as the arrow towards Kṛṣṇa. And "solemn" means characterized by deep sincerity. When we solemnize something, we're doing it duly, and we're doing it very formally. So, it's not casual.

So, before chanting, if you clearly establish your purpose for doing it, you will gain immediate momentum and get in the mood of doing it. So this saṅkalpa is recommended. And I just ask all of you, if it's possible, to take just a moment right now. If you happen to have a pen and a piece of paper close by, you can try this experiment because it's a very useful exercise. And that is, just in one sentence, write down your main purpose in chanting japa this morning. You don't have to overthink it, but from your heart, with your determination, write down why you're chanting the japa this morning.

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