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.
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.
