Dhyana Vahini - Post 18

Chapter VII

 

Remember God and Meditate

 

Whatever the tangle in which people are caught, if they get immersed in the Lord’s name, it will make them free. Moreover, by this means, they can realise without fail the name and form through which they constantly remember the Lord. There is no iota of doubt in this.

All religions remember the Lord’s name

The spiritual disciplines of yoga, breath control (pranayama), and penance (tapas) are beset with pitfalls at every step, and they are also full of dangers. But in the spiritual practices of repetition of the name (japa), meditation (dhyana), and remembrance of the name (namasmarana) there is no likelihood of a fall or of any other danger. 

In the former type of spiritual disciplines, the practices differ according to the caste or religion. 

In the practice of the name (nama-sadhana), there is not even a trace of such distinction. Hindus, Muslims, and Christians may differ on many points, but they are all one in the glorification of the name of the Godhead. 

All of them take the name of the one Lord, though the language through which the name is expressed is different. Each one recites, repeats, and remembers the name as formed on his own tongue. Each one turns with his fingers the rosary appropriate to their religion. But for everyone there is nothing so fruitful, so universal, or so holy among spiritual disciplines as these: repetition of the divine name, meditation, and remembrance of the Lord’s name.

Crave the Lord’s name rather than the form

The Lord and His name are both one, but the sweetness of the name is seldom found in the form. 

When the name of the flower, rose, is remembered, its fragrance, tender petals, and deep color spring to memory; its thorns and the trouble one has undergone to get the flower are all forgotten. Instead, if its origin and previous story are considered, and if the plant, leaves, and branches are taken into account, the flower — the most important, most beautiful, and most attractive part— is likely to be forgotten and only “the plant” is discussed. 

See this from another angle. As soon as the name mango is mentioned, one is reminded of an incomparable sweetness. Instead, if an actual mango is held in the hand, the doubt first arises in the mind whether it is sweet or sour; then one is engaged in distinguishing the skin, fibre, juice, nut, rind, seed, etc. When the name alone is repeated, these things do not come to mind. Only the sweetness is brought to memory.

Such is the difference between the Lord and the Lord’s name! The pure essence of sweetness is in the name. In the case of the form, there is the chance of dread mixed with respect — sometimes, even attributes causing fear show themselves.

Here is another reason why the name of the Lord is to be craved more than the form. Riches are needed to secure any article in the world. With riches, articles are acquired, so it follows that the riches are superior to the articles obtained by means of them, right? With riches, one can get any article, any time. So too, it is by means of the riches of the name that the article, “the form (rupa) of the Lord” is to be earned. If the riches called name (nama) are steadily accumulated, the Lord can be realised through the path of meditation, easily and without difficulty.

Another special thing about repetition of the name (nama-smarana) is this: It is possible to acquire various occult powers (siddhis) through yoga and penance (tapas). And there is every likelihood of the Lord being forgotten when these powers come. Blinded by this pride, a person might even let go the basic victory won by their spiritual practices. This is not the case with remembrance of the name, repetition of the name, and meditation; no such dangers beset these paths. These three paths make love (prema) grow in people more and more. 

Through love, peace (santhi) is achieved. Once peace of mind is achieved, all other conditions are automatically attained. Through yoga and penance, extraordinary power; through remembrance of the name, repetition of the name, and meditation, extraordinary love — this is the difference between the two.

Introspection by a devotee

A sage writes, 

“Like human beings are called by a name, God also is summoned by a name. In ordinary parlance, this art of summoning the Almighty Creator is done by the recitation of a name that we associate with God's nature. 

The name of God is a description of the characteristic of God. According to Indian traditional parlance, when a name is given to a person at the time of birth, it is not that you just give any name that you like, as in modern days; considering the stars, the planets, and the day on which the child is born, a particular name is chosen indicating the influence exerted upon that child by the entire stellar and planetary system. So, the name suggests the actual characteristic and nature of the person. 

God also can be summoned by a name, provided that the name chosen, with which you summon, indicates the might and the majesty, and the affection God has for you. The mantra that people chant in japa sadhana, for instance, is supposed to be an indicator of the name of God. The mantra that you chant, into which you are supposed to be initiated, is the modus operandi adopted to create in one's own mind a suggestion of the nature of the God whom one worships and adores. In the Vishnu Sahasranama, the thousand names are a thousand different characteristics of the Supreme Being, and they are not just anything and everything.

There are infinite ways of calling God, because there are infinite qualities that we can associate with God. You can call Him by any name, provided it is in consonance with His nature. What are His qualities? They are immense capacity, and indomitable power; Almighty He is called. He is the greatest power you can think of before which nothing can stand; this is one quality of God. And He is the greatest beauty, enchanting, stunning, filling you with joy, making you feel as if you are drinking nectar; it is utter beauty, incomparable, the kind of which you cannot see in the world.”

 

Dear All,

In today’s text, Swami has spoken about the superiority of God’s name over God’s form.  

Why is it so??

Suppose, let us assume, we are looking at Swami’s form in photograph and keep looking at the image of Swami.

Initially, we would feel ecstatic but slowly, our thoughts may dry and we may not be thinking much about the form. Also, From childhood up to 2011, Swami’s form has under gone so many changes and each image may look different. 

Whereas, let us assume, we are chanting Swami’s Ashtothara namavali  in a slow pace, absorbing the inner beauty and significance of each of the 108  namavali. 

Such Japa Sadhana would take us to a great joy, an immense sense of completion because, we are able to go beyond the form and focus on the leelas / glory of the avatar while chanting the namavali and after some time, even the thought on Glory of Avatar somehow goes and even while our lips may be chanting, there is a deep silence within. We have almost merged with Swami (if the namavali is chanted slowly, in a particular scale, giving all the time to focus on the significance of each of the 108 names). The “Namah:” expression, which is at the end of each name, really takes us to the deepest inner prayer to our Lord. 

Thus name is subtler than the form and Japa Sadhana can take us to union with God, if taken up sincerely.

 

Love.

 

Note:- All that has been explained is relevant when we are not having direct darshan of the Lord. If one has ever been blessed to have darshan of Divine Lord in close proximity or even more blessed to be inside the interview room, watching and observing Swami for some time, then the inner experience one gets while being nearer to the form is million / trillion times more powerful, more impacting, more complete than any other possible experience in the world.

 

Love.