April 8, 2017 archive

To summarize yesterday’s teachings-

1) Chanting divine names should be with concentration i.e. without allowing other thoughts to distract the mind.

2) Japa thus performed has the ability to favourably alter the surroundings, rendering it pure. The power contained in the nama japa is such that even the greatest anxieties and disturbances are simply blown away in fraction of second.

3) Where a person relentlessly undertakes nama japa, the environment (surroundings) automatically is rendered peaceful.

4) To any person, there is no mantra greater than the mantra of his/her favorite deity! For example, to a person who reveres the Guru, Guru mantra will be the supreme most mantra. To him, ‘Om namo Hanumate namaha’ or ‘Sri sadgurubhyo namaha’ is the highest mantra. That’s all.

This year Swamiji has given the mantra ‘Om Namo Hanumate namaha’ for the entire society at large. Millions of people are either reciting or writing this mantra worldwide. Many non-Hindus too are participating in this nama japa Yagna. So far this mantra has been recited many millions of times. Unimaginable positive changes are taking places in the lives of those who are reciting it. The fruits of this recitation are tremendous. Their life is taking a beautiful turn for the good. All of you (who are listening to the TV program) please keep reciting this mantra ‘Om namo Hanumate namaha’. It is a very simple mantra.

5) Nama smaran (recollecting/ reciting the names of God) takes one towards tyaga (renunciation, performing charity).

In a nutshell, everything can be achieved through japa. For this reason, Gandhamādana sought that eternally he should be blessed with the chance to chant Hanuman’s name.

Moving next in this Vānara Gita, Vānara Sushena praises Hanuman –

Ramabhakta charita kathāmṛtaṃ vayutanaya guṇānu keertanaṃ

Ramadasa! tava pāda sevanaṃ sambha vantu mama janma janmani.

In each and every birth of mine, I seek to taste the divine nectar called listening to the stories of Hanuman the ardent devotee of Lord Rama, to sing the praises of this son of wind and to serve the lotus feet of this Lord who is a servant of Lord Rama. May I be blessed thus!

There are many who do not seek re-birth. Yet, at the same time, there are many others who seek that even if they were to be re-born, devotion to God should reign most supreme in their lives. Great saints of Maharashtra have stated in their abhang- ‘Na lage mukti dhana sampada santa sanga dei sada’ – In every birth I seek to be associated with those who are devoted to you O Lord. Sushena belongs to this category of devotees, who seeks to serve the Lord in every birth of his.

We watch countless movies, listen to countless stories, yet none of them stay in our memory long enough. But when one listens to Ramayana, Mahabharata or Bhagavata, the stories linger in our memory. We tend to get deeper into the story and somewhere the story gets imprinted in our memory. Why is this so? This is because these stories are real and not fictional; they are eternal stories. It is important to realize that these were not fictitious stories that were penned down by some poets.

Om namo Hanumate namaha.

While bathing in River Ganga if the person is doubtful as to whether really it will wash away his sins or not, then take it for granted that the bathing is a sheer waste. Due to the doubt entertained, none of his sins will be destroyed. All the money, time and energy that were spent in travelling to reach the river will only go down the drain. The trip is fruitless.

The person should have immense faith. It is the mind which is at the root of all doubts and confusions. When river bath is undertaken with the absolute faith that all the sins will definitely be destroyed and that the mind will be rendered peaceful, then it will definitely happen!

Reciting the name of Hanuman endlessly has exactly the same effect, i.e. the mind will turn calm and peaceful. For this reason only Gandhamādana declared that reciting the name ‘Hanuman’ (nama japa) is a sacred bath!

When reciting or when writing the mantra ‘Om Namo Hanumate namaḥ’ continuously, say for about a thousand times, then somewhere, at some point of time, the mind will get absolute concentration (ekagrata) for a fraction of a second. That concentration enjoyed during that fraction of second is equivalent of having taken a holy bath in the Ganga. Hence, without any doubts and without heeding to the mental disturbances, the person should continue the Hanuman nama japa endlessly.

Engage in healthy discussions about good matters. There are many good topics, good movies, good songs and good books. Do not waste your time in useless gossip. Continuously reciting the divine names of the Lord automatically cleanses the surroundings and renders it pure. Even the greatest mental disturbances can be washed away in the least amount of time due to nama japa. It has the power to drive away even the greatest disappointments in a fraction of a second.

Nama japa becomes our Guru and begins to direct us in the right way forward. Hence it is of utmost importance that children should be introduced to this at their tender age itself.

Many parents leave their children in hostels. It is important that during their formative years they should be under the custody of parents. Only after they obtain the required mental maturity they can be sent to hostels. When they are sent to hostels at young age their affection towards parents reduces. They develop unnecessary friendships. They secure good marks but their mind would not have matured the right way. However after teaching them the right methods and when their intellect has ripened even if they are living in hostels, they will continue to tread the path taught at home.

Our mind is also very child-like. Until devotion is firmly established, until supreme knowledge is obtained or until the mind stabilizes at a particular point, divine names should endlessly be chanted. Always remember that the surroundings of the person who endlessly chants divine names are always peaceful!

Om namo Hanumate namaha.