REPETITION OF DIVINE NAMES

The best thing for people whose minds are attracted by sense-objects is to cultivate the dualistic attitude and chant loudly the name of the Lord as mentioned in Narada-Pancharatra (a work on devotion).

The Master said to a devotee: " Through the path of devotion the subtle senses come readily and naturally under control. Carnal pleasures become more and more insipid as Divine love grows m your heart. Can the pleasures of the body attract a husband and wife on the day their child has died?"

Devotee: But I have not learnt to love Him.

The Master: Take His ' name constantly. This will cleanse all sin, lust, anger and all desire for the pleasures of the body will vanish.

Devotee: But I do not find delight in His ' name.

The Master: Then pray with a yearning heart that He may teach you to relish His name. Undoubtedly He will grant your prayer ... "I find no delight in Thy " name ! —If a delirious patient loses all taste for food, despair of his life. But if he relishes food even slightly, you may hope for his recovery. So I say, Find joy in his 4 name . Durga, Krishna, Siva—any name will do. And if you daily feel a greater attraction for taking His name' and a greater joy in it, you need fear no more. The delirium must get cured, and His grace will surely descend on you.

Why, is the name' insignficant ? He and His name are not different. Satyabhama failed to balance the Lord with gold and jewels. But Rukmini succeeded when she placed a Tulsi leaf and the name of Krishna in the other pan of the balance.

If you wish to see God, have firm faith in the efficacy of repeating the ' name of Hari and try to discriminate the real from the unreal.

Sri Chaitanya has said: ' Very powerful indeed is the Lords name \ It may not bring about immediate result, but it must one day bear fruit, just as we find that a seed left long ago on the cornice of a building at last reaches the ground, germinates, grows into a tree, and bears fruit, perhaps when the building cracks and is demolished.'

Knowingly or unknowingly, consciously or unconsciously, in whatever state of mind a man utters God s 'name , he acquires the merit of such utterance. A man who voluntarily goes to a river and bathes therein gets the benefit of the bath; so does he also who has been pushed into the water by another, or who, when sleeping soundly, has water thrown upon him.

In whatever way one falls, whether consciously or unconsciously, into the lake of immortality, one becomes immortal by the mere immersion. Whoever utters the name ' of God, howsoever pronounced, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, finds immortality in the end.

To a religious teacher who said that His ' name alone is sufficient for Divine realisation, the Master said: " Yes, no doubt the holy name ' is very effective ; but is it sufficient without Love ? The soul must hunger for God. What will it avail if I repeat His name while I allow my mind to be attached to ' woman and gold ? Mere muttering of magic incantations will not heal up a scorpion-sting. You must also apply the smoke of burning cow-dung.¹ No doubt, man is purged of his sins by once uttering His name but the next moment he takes to various sinful ways of living. He has no strength of mind to take a vow that he will no more commit any sin. Ablutions in the Ganges take away all sins, but little do they avail. The story goes that the sins lie in ambush on the trees on the banks, and when the man returns after his bath, those old sins jump down on his shoulders. So, you see, before he has proceeded a few steps, they are on him again, they have possessed him once more. Therefore take the name ' of the Lord always, but pray to him at the same time that you may gain love for Him, and that your attachment to money, fame and physical comforts—all transient things—may grow less and less.

1 The reference is to a simple recipe of the village housewife for scorpion -sting.

Sing with Bhakti the hallowed name of the Lord, and the mountain of your sins will vanish, just as a mountain of cotton will burn to ashes and disappear if but a spark of fire falls on it.

The devotional practices of the worldly-minded are only for the time being. They leave no lasting impression behind. But those who are solely devoted to God chant His name' with every breath. Some chant Om Ram Om' constantly within themselves. The votaries of the path of Knowledge chant 'SohanT. Of some, again, the tongue moves constantly (i.e., utters prayers or some Mantra).

Japa means repeating the " name' of the Lord silently, sitting in a quiet place. If one continues the repetition with concentration and devotion, one is sure to be blessed with Divine visions ultimately—one is sure to have God-realisation. Suppose a big log of wood is immersed in the Ganges with one end attached to a chain, which is fixed on the bank. Following the chain, link by link, you can gradually dive into the water and trace your way to it. In the same manner, if you become absorbed in the repetition of His holy name, you will eventually realise Him.

The Master would often say: " Chant the ' name' of Hari (God) morning and evening, clapping your hands all the while; all your sins and afflictions will then leave you. If you clap your hands standing under a tree, the birds perching on it will fly away. So if you chant the ' name ' of Hari clapping your hands at the same time, the birds of evil thoughts will fly away from the tree of your body.'