|
—Swami Sivananda—
Commentary: God is unseen and hidden in all beings. He is formless. He is beyond speech. What, then, is the way to approach God? What is it that can link us with God? The practice (repetition) of the Divine Name (Japa) comes as an answer to this problem. God is present with us in one aspect which we can actually feel, experience and practise—that is the Divine Name. It has a sound which we can hear. The greatest truth about it is that it is God manifest as sound. He who is beyond sound (i.e. God) is caught by sound. God can be approached by the sound of the Divine Name.
God and His Name are identical. The Divine Name is a direct manifest (clear and obvious) form of God. Every mantra is composed of the Divine Name and contains the Divine Name.
Therefore utter the name of God with every breath. Take to this unfailing sure path—the path of the Divine Name.
Gurudeva (Swami Sivananda) says. "Do Japa. Repeat any mantra according to your taste or inclination from 108 times to 21,600 times daily. (21,600 is the number of breaths that we take every twenty four hours.) The more, the better. Gurudeva has given you a golden key (in the form of this instruction) for concentration and for realization (attaining God).
[The main mantras are listed below:
1. Om 2. Om Namo Narayanaya 3. Om Namah Sivaya 4. Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya 5. Shri Ram 6. Sita Ram 7. Hari Om 8. Om Sri Krishnaya Namah 9. Om Sri Ramaya Namah 10. Gayatri mantra—Om bhurbhuvah swah tatsaviturvarenyam bhargo devasya dhimahi dhiyo yo nah prachodayat]
Commentary by Swami Chidananda
|
