NAAM!

Three hours passed. The sun had set when the disciple finished his Naam and came out of the puja room. Vitthal Maharaj was sitting in his evening sandhya. He opened his eyes and said, “Today, I began my evening prayers and then as I was meditating, I heard the strains of your Naam kirtan. I gave up my japa and just listened to you. Japa and listening to kirtan... it’s the same thing! I am glad you are doing Naam without a break. No rest! Thakur used to say, ‘There is no araam (rest). The moments between your chanting of the first Naam and the second Naam is araam.’ ” Take to Ram Naam.

राम नाम मनिदीप धरु जीह देहरी द्ं वार | तुलसी भीतर बाहेरहुँ जौ चाहस उजियार॥

(Tulsidas Ji says that if you seek enlightenment from inside and outside then place the torch like Ram’s name on your tongue which is the first step for your door (mouth).

“Naam is of course available to all. Even so, it is the Guru who confers Naam.”

Q. Isn’t it true that folk singing came first? All the ragas etc. came much later?

A: No. Raga raginis came first. Sama Veda is the source. Prathama Sama rava tava tapo vane*. Sangeet started first in India. ज्ञान, धर्म, कथा, काव्य, कहानी. Poetry and tales sprang from this land. There are two views, the adhunik mata and vedic mata. All your theories that folk singing came first are modern views.
*Rabindra Nath Tagore

Workings of Shabda Brahma

The echoes of Naam japan kyon chod diya… a rhythmic song, and a favourite of Vitthal Maharaj, one were still lingering in the hall.

Maharaj explained, “Each individual has a proclivity to worship a deity with particular features. Hence there are 33,000 deities said to exist in the Hindu pantheon.

A sadhaka is told be loyal to his Ishta so that he may remain focused. However, as a sadhaka progresses further along the spiritual path, the Ishta is supplanted by naad. Even if the sadhaka remembers the Ishta out of force of longstanding habit of japa, naad takes over.

Naad is Shabdabrahma. The Bible says, ‘In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God; the Word was God.’

Shabdabrahma is Aumkar which is the beginning and end of all that there is. ‘A’ is Brahma the Creator, ‘U’ is Vishnu the Preserver, and ‘M’ is Shiva the Destroyer.”

Tarak Brahma Naam

If you cannot follow anything, just chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra.
हरे कृ ष्ण हरे कृ ष्ण, कृ ष्ण कृ ष्ण हरे हरे | हरे राम हरे राम, राम राम हरे हरे ||
(Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare |
Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare ||)

Play of Mahamantra

“What is the meaning of the words of Hare Krishna Naam?
Hare means One who steals the sins of the devotee.
Krishna is One who attracts greatly.
Ram is the one who plays in the heart.
Krishna and Ram are not different, but two rupas or forms of the same One.

Q. Hare Krishna Mahamantra has just three words: Hare, Krishna and Ram. What’s the significance of these three? How do they work?

A. This mantra has been explained in Radha Tantra and other shastras. Imagine that there is a barren field. This is the beginning. The field may have dirt and weed. You will need to clean it if you wish to cultivate something in that field. Hari does the cleaning. The word ‘haran’ stands for removal, elimination, clearing. Once the field is clear, you can cultivate.

The second word ‘Krishna’ represents karshan, it means attraction or cultivation. And the third word is ‘Ram’, it derives from raman, to pervade and delight in. First you clean (haran), remove all the dirt, then you plough (karshan) and then plant the seeds. Once the seed is secure inside the earth, there is fun inside (raman). This fun or delight is Ram.

Slowly, the seed sprouts, there is harvest.

Now, just think this whole thing is happening inside your being. Your chitta, your heart and your mind is the field. When you cultivate the chitta, and sow the seed of God, you can happily wait to witness some beautiful spiritual experiences inside. This is when Ram does raman. He sports within.

As I prostrated at his feet, he put the khadau on my head and said, “Yeh lo brahma astra!”. Maharaj began to sing.
Jaa jaa re balamaa paav pado teri, vinati rakho meri
Na baajaao baasariya Yamunaa nir ati dhir bahati hain
Kya karoo nanadini paas mein baithi hain

(The gopi is requesting Krishna not to play the flute because the river Yamuna is flowing on silently and her nanadini is sitting next to her. There’s a good chance his notoriety will be caught.)
“Do you know who is nanadini?” Maharaj asked.
“No!” the disciple confessed.
“Nanadini means mister’s sister!” Maharaj gladly answered.

Maharaj punctuated his singing with few anecdotes from his repertoire of experiences and stories. “There used to be a famous songster called Chhobi Bandhopadhyaya, whose equally renowned disciple has recorded the Naam cassette for our sampradaya. She wanted to meet Sri Sri Thakur, so she went to one of his ashrams in West Bengal.

My elder brother was in charge at that time; he conveyed the desire of the songster to Thakur. But Thakur refused to meet her; instead, He sent some prasad. “Thakur doesn’t meet single women,” my brother explained. But Chhobi refused the prasad and told him, “If Thakur doesn’t want to meet me, I too won’t have the prasad.” Finally, Sri Sri Thakur met her and she sang a wonderful bhajan for him, which went something like this ‘Jamuna Kothaye …”

Hearing her song Thakur went into a state of samadhi. In the end, she asked Thakur, “How did you like my singing?” Thakur replied, “I would have to be present to appreciate that. I just wasn’t there!” He had apparently lapsed into samadhi!

Q. Is Naam a sadhana in itself? How does it fit into overall sadhana?

A. Yes, Naam is a sadhana in itself. In the course of Naam, you perform Laya Yoga, Mantra Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Raja Yoga etc. automatically. By having recourse to Naam alone, one can achieve complete spiritual fulfilment.

“Not a single Ram Naam that you have written goes to waste! Everything is credited into your account! Every single Ram Naam will pay.”

Maharaj asked a professor how her practice of music was proceeding. She answered that time was really short these days, especially after her appointment as the vice principal in the college.

“As Vice Principal, your virtues must increase, not vices,” he said, with more than a twinkle in his eye and a childlike smile. It struck her that Maharaj had given her a strong instruction not to throw away the precious gift of music which could be put into spiritual service.

Referring to her musical pursuit once again, he asked whether she was playing the harmonium. She replied that these days only her kantha (voice box) was functioning. “कंठ कुंठित नहीं है तो वह वैकुंठ है।” He quipped.

Q. How does Naam or the name of God and Guru make us pure?

A. The ‘how’ is difficult to answer. It is only known to God who knows it all. It is impossible for the common man to know the know-how of God. In fact, it is totally mysterious. In scriptures the slow but steady process has been described as Ashta Sattvik Vikaar. These are: स्तम्भ – stambha – remaining motionless, कम्प – kampa aka वेपथु – vepathu – tremor, स्वेद – sveda – sweating, वैवर्ण्य – vaivarnya – fading of the luster of the body, अश्रु – ashru – tears flowing, स्वरभं ग – svara bhanga – tremulous voice, पुलक – pulak – bristling of hair and प्रलय – pralaya – devastation – loss of sense. The last one is samadhi.

Q. How does Naam work towards samadhi?

A. There are four stages of Vaak. Mantra chanting or Naam chanting helps you achieve these stages, one after the other. These represent different stages of spiritual evolution.

Vaikhari stage, which is located in the tongue (jihva) – ear and tongue become pure by chanting Guru and Naam.

Madhyamaa stage located in the heart region (hridaya) – Anahata Dhun (Naad) starts in the heart and Jyoti appears.

Pashyanti stage, located in the navel region (nabhi) – one gets the darshan of Ishta.

Para or muladhara stage, one experiences samadhi.

You will not need to renounce this world. The path of devotion passes right through the worldly life. These two viz. worldly life and spiritual life are not mutually exclusive. Blessed are you for you are born in Kaliyuga. In this yuga, you don’t need to go through rigid penance and austerities, only Naam will suffice.