As my chanting intensified, it lent me strength to do Dhyana and then, in its train, came Seva

Nama Article 10th August 2008

 

Mother Krishnabai

 

Papa (Swami Papa Ramdas) asked me to do Nama, Dhyana and Seva simultaneously. In the beginning, Papa asked me to concentrate only on chanting of the Name.

 

As my chanting intensified, it lent me strength to do Dhyana and then, in its train, came Seva.

 

Thus, Papa enabled me to do all the three together and it took me directly to Him.

 

Chant the Mahamantra Nama kirtan :

 

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Japa is the repetition of any mantra or name of the Lord. Mantra Yoga is an exact science. The sacred mantra or the divine name is a vital symbol of the supreme divinity directly revealed in the innermost depths of divine communion to the sages of Se

Nama Article 9th August 2008

 

Swami Sivananda

 

Japa is the repetition of any mantra or name of the Lord.

 

Mantra Yoga is an exact science. "Mananat trayate iti mantrah - by the manana (constant thinking or recollection) of which one is protected or is released from the round of births and deaths, is mantra." That is called mantra by the meditation (manana) on which the jiva or the individual soul attains freedom from sin, enjoyment in heaven and final liberation, and by the aid of which it attains in full the fourfold fruit (chaturvarga), i.e., dharma, artha, kama and moksha. A mantra is so called because it is achieved by the mental process. The first syllable of the word mantra comes from root 'man' meaning 'to think' and 'tra' from 'trai' meaning 'to protect' or 'free' from the bondage of samsara or the phenomenal world.

 

The mantra is a mass of radiant tejas or energy. Mantra awakens supernatural powers. A mantra is divinity. It is divine power or daiva sakti manifesting in a sound body. The mantra itself is devata (deity).

 

Sounds are vibrations. They give rise to definite forms. Each sound produces a form in the invisible world, and combinations of sound create complicated shapes. Thus repeated singing of the name of the Lord builds up gradually the form of the devata or the special manifestation of the deity whom you seek to worship, and this acts as a focus to concentrate the benign influence of the divine being, which radiating from the centre, penetrates the worshipper.

 

The repetition of the panchakshara mantra, 'Om Namah Sivaya' produces the form of Lord Siva. The repetition of 'Om Namo Narayanaya,' the ashtakshara mantra of Vishnu, produces the form of Vishnu.

 

There is the dictum of the Mimamsa philosophers that the gods do not exist apart from the mantras (Mantratmako devah). This really means that when a particular mantra appropriated to a particular god is properly recited, the vibrations so set up create in the higher planes a special form which that God en-souls for the time being.

 

The sacred mantra or the divine name is a vital symbol of the supreme divinity directly revealed in the innermost depths of divine communion to the sages of Self-realisation in the hoary Vedic and Upanishadic times.

 

Chant the Mahamantra Nama kirtan :

 

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

To speak of performing strenuous deeds when all one’s strength is spent Is nothing but foolish talk......Jnanadev says: It’s enough If only you chant His name; At once your fetters will fall

Nama Article 8th August 2008

Meaning 

To speak of performing strenuous deeds when all one's strength is spent Is nothing but foolish talk; To speak of one's love for God When there is no feeling in the heart Is also worthless and vain.

Only when true feeling arises can love for God bear fruit.

Will the Lord appear to you at your sudden call? No. You must yearn for Him in your heart!

It's sad to see that you weary yourself with so many worthless tasks. Day after day, you anxiously fret For your petty worldly affairs. 

My dear, why do you never think to turn to Hari with love?

Jnanadev says: It's enough If only you chant His name; At once your fetters will fall.

Transliteration 

bhaave.nviiNa bhakti bhaktiviiNa mukti . baLe.nviiNa shakti boluu.n naye .. 1..

kaiseni daivata prasanna tvarita . ugaa raahe.n nivaa.nta shiNasii vaayaa.n .. 2..

saayaase.n karisii prapaJNcha dinanishii.n . harisii na bhajasii koNyaa guNe .. 3..

GYaanadeva mhaNe harijapa karaNe.n . tuTela dharaNe.n prapa.nchaache.n .. 4..

 

Abhang

भावेविण भक्‍ति भक्‍तिविण मुक्‍ति ।

बळेविण शक्‍ति बोलू नये ॥ १ ॥

कैसेनि दैवत प्रसन्न त्वरीत ।

उगा राहे निवांत शिणसी वाया ॥ २ ॥

सायासे करिसी प्रपंच दिननिशी ।

हरिसी न भजसी कोण्या गुणे ॥ ३ ॥

ज्ञानदेव म्हणे हरिजप करणे ।

तुटेल धरणे प्रपंचाचे ॥ ४ ॥

Chant the Mahamantra Nama kirtan : 

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Water in a lake appears green, blue or black from a distance. But if you go near and take some water in your palm, you will find that it is colourless. The sky from a distance appears blue. But if you go near it, it has no colour

Nama Article 6th August 2008

 

Source: The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

 

Explanation of the forms of Kali and Shyama ­ the Infinite is not comprehensible

 

"Why are the forms of Kali and Shyama three and a half cubits tall? It is because of the distance. On account of distance, the sun seems small. If you go near, it will look big beyond your imagination. And why is the complexion of Kali, or Shyama black? That, too, on account of distance. For example, water in a lake appears green, blue or black from a distance. But if you go near and take some water in your palm, you will find that it is colourless. The sky from a distance appears blue.  But if you go near it, it has no colour.

 

"So I say that according to the Vedanta philosophy, Brahman is without attributes. What Its real nature is like cannot be expressed in words. But so long as you are real, the world is also real. The names and forms of the Lord are also real, taking Him as a person is real too.

 

"For you there is the path of bhakti. It is a very good and easy path. Can the Infinite Lord be known? Besides, where is the need to know Him? Having the rare privilege of been born as a man, we should develop devotion at His lotus feet by all means possible.

 

"If I can quench my thirst with one pot of water, what need is there for me to measure the quantity of water in the tank? I get intoxicated with half a bottle of wine what need is there to know how many maunds of wine there is in the wine shop? So, what is the need to know the Infinite?"

 

Chant the Mahamantra Nama kirtan :

 

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

If you have such a strong conviction and faith in the Mahamantra, then the rest are not necessary

Nama Article 5th August 2008

 

Source: http://www.namadwaar.org/answers/questions.html

 

 

If Mahamantra can give us everything, then is it necessary to recite other slokas?

  

Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji:

 

If you have such a strong conviction and faith in the Mahamantra, then the rest are not necessary.

 

Chant the Mahamantra Nama kirtan :

 

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Is there any need to count the numbers while chanting the Maha Mantra? When a child calls out his mother’s name with love, he would not count the number of times he called out. Would he?

Nama Article 3rd August 2008

 

Source:  http://www.namadwaar.org/answers/questions.html

 

Question

 

Is there any need to count the numbers while chanting the Maha Mantra? 

 

Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji:

 

When a child calls out his mother's name with love, he would not count the number of times he called out. Would he? When Nama Kirtan is done with true love and devotion, the count doesn't matter.

 

Though it is a fact that you are liberated even if you chant the Maha Mantra once, chant continuously if you desire a sorrow-free journey through life and if you wish to see God face-to-face within this lifetime.

 

Chant the Mahamantra Nama kirtan :

 

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

The Divine Name is like a boatman who touches both banks. It is here that the great science of the practice of the Divine Name comes as an answer to this problem, this great barrier between the known and the unknown, the finite and the infinite, the

Nama Article 2nd August 2008

 

Source : Vision

 

Bound in this state of limited, finite consciousness, what is the possibility of trying to link ourselves with that which is infinite, with that which is beyond time and space, beyond name and form?

 

It is here that the great science of the practice of the Divine Name comes as an answer to this problem, this great barrier between the known and the unknown, the finite and the infinite, the manifest and the unmanifest, the individual and the universal.

 

The Divine Name is like a boatman who touches both banks. He comes to this bank and he can take us across, because he goes to the other bank as well. The Name has this great advantage.

 

Chant the Mahamantra Nama kirtan :

 

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare