Chanting
the name of God in our mind is the easiest sadhana we can do. It is simple. This sadhana can be done at any time and any
place and under any circumstances. It is sustainable. It does not require any
special equipment or time or purity factor. This is the best type of sadhana
for the modern type of life where we are rushed for time and are always on the
go. This sadhana is universally accepted by all religions of the world. We can
call on God by any of His names in various languages, connect with him in any
relationship of father, mother, friend, child etc. The name of God contains His
Beauty, Benevolence, Peace, Love and Knowledge.
The name of God enshrines Him and brings Him to us.
The
saints of India have preached and popularised Naama Smaran as the ideal way of
life for the average man. Meerabai, Tukaram, Narasi Mehta, Jnanadev, Namadev,
Eknath, Kabir and others taught people to chant the name of God day and night.
They spoke and sang about the power of the Name of God. Their lives and
happenings were demonstrations and proof of power and grace of Naam Smaran. We
take a look at an incident in the life of two great saints of India.
Jnanadev
was a great jnani – a follower of the Jnana Yoga or Path of Wisdom or
Discernment. He had mastery over himself
and the elements and was a great Siddha. The purpose of his birth was to write
the Bhagwad Gita in Marathi – the Jnaneshwari- so that the common man had
access to the great wisdom and teachings of Sri Krishna. During the same period
of time, lived Namdev who was the son of a tailor in Pandharpur. Namdev was
great devotee of Lord Vitthal and follower of Bhakti Yoga. Namdev spent every
moment of his life doing Naama Smaran – chanting the name of God. He also had
attained self realisation.
Once,
Jnanadev persuaded Namdev to come with him on pilgrimage to holy places all
over north India. Jnanadev and Namdev were walking through a forest. They were
thirsty and looked around for a well or a lake for drinking water. At last they
saw a well and walked towards it. When they looked into it, there was water –
but at the bottom of the well. There was no rope or bucket to pull out the
water. How to drink the water? There was no possibility of getting water as the well was old and had no
steps. Jnanadev closed his eyes and used his siddhi or powers and transformed
himself into a bird. He flew into the well and drank the water to his
satisfaction.
Namdev
sat down and closed his eyes, prayed to Rukumini Maa – Goddess Mahalaxmi- and
began Naama Smaran – chanting the name of God with intense devotion and love.
The water level in the well began to rise and it came to the level where Namdev
could just bend and using his cupped hands and drink his fill of water. This
well is seen even today at Kaladiji, ten miles off Bikaner, Rajasthan. Such is
the power of Naama Smaran.
The
ancient scriptures of Hinduism extol the glories of Naama Smaran. The Vedas,
Puranas, Upanishads, the Srimad Bhagwad, the Bhagwad Geeta all speak of it as an easy
and effective method of sadhana. What people could attain through meditation in
Satya Yuga, through yagnas in the Treta Yuga, through pujas in Dwapar Yuga, now
is attained easily in Kali Yuga by Naama Smaran. We are in Kali Yuga now. God grants the direct
vision of Himself to His devotee – the one who does continuous Naama Smaran
with bhakti and surrender. The Lord says that He does not live in a remote
heaven or Vaikunta. He resides where His devotees sing His name. When we do
regular Naama Smaran, we are guided in living a good life in this world and the
fear of death loses its grip on us. The Naama remains with us after death
guiding us safely through the valley of death.
