God remembrance that is nothing but chanting of god name (NAMSMARAN) leads to a state in supreme soul means man can become one with God. With complete faith it becomes possible to attain stability or concentration in supreme soul. Which is facilitated by asceticism, restraint and relentless efforts. We all know that ignorance, ego, attachment and jealousy are mainly responsible for the cycle of birth and death as these vices produces karma, which creates the cycle of birth and death. Salvation requires control of vices. Which is possible through asceticism, restraint and relentless efforts. As long as there is interest in the material world and its subjects, the senses are immersed in indulgence and the desire to attain divine power is not born, it is not possible to get God. Moreover, even after getting asceticism, there is a need for constant practice of restraint as well as continuity yoga, otherwise there is a fear of getting lost. That is why the scripture advises asceticism, restraint and continuous efforts for attaining supreme soul which is very logical. No one can stop you to reach God after acquiring skills in these three things. Which becomes instinctive from god remembrance. Repetition makes things easier and practice makes man perfect that is called nothing but real study and where there is a lot of love, the mind is naturally remain concentrated towards it.
Thus developing a sense of asceticism towards others automatically increases love towards God and concentration in supreme soul becomes natural. Forgetting the world for half an hour every day and living in the presence of God is beneficial for the soul. Every action that we do from morning to night should have the pursuit of God. Getting up in the morning with the name of God, bathing with the name of God, taking food after dedicating it to God and not moving away from the name of God above all other deeds. Constant remembrance of god is very useful for the position in soul and supreme soul. In short, the system of constantly mixing devotion in every karma is nothing but remembrance of god or chanting god name that is JAPA yoga.
Remembrance of god is not just a mechanical chanting. Remembrance means remembering God before doing anything and experience God everywhere as well as fearing of god in every deed because God is everywhere. There is no single place without god in this entire world. Which causes a person to stop sinning. It is our experience that when someone is watching us we try to look good. Evil is stopped by the feeling that God is watching over us and our deeds. Moreover, constant remembrance of the god creates a bridge between the soul and supreme soul by which we quickly reach to god. Must be done at least TRIKAL SANDHYA. In which one has to remember God thrice a day. As soon as wake up in the morning, thank God for waking you up and giving you one more day which should be dedicated to him and pray that please give me the right understanding and strength to do the right thing and stay with me every moment. Then, before lunch, thank god for giving food, hunger and the power to digest. Finally, before going to bed at night, apologized for the mistakes made during the day knowingly or unknowingly and surrendered to God. So that deep sleep can be achieve and wellness increases.
In general, in any of our actions, conducts, efforts and thoughts there are many kinds of defects and errors. All such shortcomings or defects are corrected by remembrance of god. There are many reasons behind errors or defects in any kind of karma such as inattention while doing karma, negligence in doing karma, lack of knowledge i.e. habit of doing karma without deep understanding etc. and we all know that we have to suffer for any kind of deficiency or error. If there is any deficiency while sowing seeds in the farm, it will definitely appear in the crop. Remembrance of god completes the shortcomings of every work and make it very meritorious. Thus the specialty of god name chanting is that its glory completes the imperfection of Karma. Remembrance of god completes the seeker’s inner SADHANA. Remembrance of god imparts both inner and outer simplicity. Remembrance of god means to connect our individual work with God. When we connect our every action with God, anxiety, rage, hatred, etc. disappear from life. Moreover, name chanting of god is the most accessible, excellent and easiest process which is easy for everyone and brings maximum results. Every daily activity of life like eating, drinking, sleeping, bathing, washing should be associated with God so the whole life becomes divine. According to the scriptures, if there is any process that breaks the karma, it is the remembrance of god, which is the best, quickest and easiest way of attaining God.
Numerous researches in the US on mantra chanting or remembrance of god have divided four groups of thousands of people according to age and each group was asked to recite the name of their deity regularly for only twelve minutes every day for eight weeks. The children of the group (younger than twelve years) had a twenty-five percent increase in memory. Self-confidence increased by fifteen to twenty-five per cent in the second group of young people between the ages of thirteen and twenty-five. The third group, aged between twenty-five and fifty, saw a fifteen to twenty-five percent increase in endurance, and the senior citizen group saw a seventeen to eighteen percent increase in immunity. Thus scientific research proves that even a short-lived remembrance of God has an incredible advantage. So think about how beneficial the constant remembrance of the Lord can be. What can be more important in our life rather than memory, endurance, self-confidence and immunity? Because all kinds of success are made easy by these four qualities. Thus, even from a scientific point of view, if there is any prerequisite for happiness, peace, success, prosperity and protection in life, it is the remembrance of God.
Powerful mantras are formed by the excellent arrangement of excellent words or names which increase the power of life. Mantras have the power to relieve human suffering. The mantra has two syllables – ‘मन’ which means to think and ‘त्र’ which means to liberate. Thus mantra means an idea that liberates. In religions, mantra is considered as the cause of liberation. A mantra is a set of sacred names whose special structure attracts spiritual power like a magnet. The mantra has the power to create as well as destroy. If a mantra is spoken piously, correctly and happily then the being you call attracts existence to you. The chanting of mantras concentrates the spiritual powers in the distance and as a result the power of KUNDALINI (passive dormant power) is awakened. If the process of chanting is done regularly and uninterruptedly, the third eye opens which opens the door of liberation or salvation. The mantra brings the soul out of the hustle and bustle of the world and connects the soul with the supreme soul. Mantra is not an ordinary word, when an element of truth is mixed in a word, the spirit of welfare of all is mixed, in which there is a call of the whole existence that word becomes mantra. Remembrance of god has the same power like mantra chanting. So let’s make a rule in life from today that we must sit in a secluded place for at least fifteen minutes every day, calm the mind free from choices and remember the name of God.
~ Shilpa shah, director in-charge, HKBBA College
