An extract from the book
“Glimpses of the Divine Vision” by Swami Ramdas – Section “The Lord’s Name”
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The easiest way to reach or realize Sri Ram
is surely to repeat His most powerful name. Smaran is to remember what you have
forgotten. You have forgotten that you are His Swarup. You are always He, but
your ignorance has made you forget your real nature. Continuous and ceaseless
Smaran of Sri Ram is to remove your ignorance and make you realize ultimately
that you are all He and He alone. There is none but He. To attain this, your
mind must be spotlessly pure. Repetition of His great name is again the only means
or Sadhana. A pure mind is the first preliminary to your surrender to Sri Ram.
Conceive a strong and intense love for Sri Ram the more intense your love for
Him, the more continuous and unbroken your remembrance becomes automatically;
because it is your nature to remember that which you love most. A purified mind
alone can realize Sri Ram who is the one Supreme Truth, all-pervading,
changeless, the highest, the best, the greatest goal of your life. Your intense
desire to attain this goal, i.e., Sri Ram, is Bhakti. The more intense your
desire for reaching this goal, the more rapidly you advance towards it.
Therefore, incessant, ceaseless remembrance--Smaran--is the only Sadhana.
Smaran of what? Smaran of your real Swarup--which is Sri Ram--who is Sat-Chit-Anand.
This real Swarup is the entire universe. The universe is Brahman, Sri Ram.
·
Make your faith in the Name quite
unshakeable, and repeat the Name at all times. You will know in the course of
time that a mysterious power within you is awakened and is infusing courage,
strength and joy in all your activities.
·
All Mantras have the same power. The Shiva
Mantra is as powerful as the Ram Mantra. Don't make any distinction between
Rama and Shiva. The name stands for the Purushottama of the Gita - who is Purusha
and Prakriti at once and also the Supreme One beyond both. Meditate on His
infinite attributes. Seek to realize Him in your heart, and then everywhere in
the universe. Do not cling to any form. Do not doubt and bring up any
questions. God in your heart is your guide and protector. He is your father,
mother and all.
·
Devotion to God who is seated in the hearts
of us all is the one path that leads the struggling soul to the haven of
perfect peace and joy. Bereft of devotion, life is dry and tasteless. Devotion
sweetens life and frees it from the bond of ignorance. Devotion means loving
remembrance of God. Blessed indeed is the heart which adores the Lord and are
the lips which utter His nectar like name.
·
For the man who has attained the supreme
goal of perfect Self- realization or liberation, the repetition of the divine
mantram is optional. He may or may not repeat the Mantram, since the continuous
repetition of it has yielded him the fruit, viz., the supreme consciousness
which is eternal peace, bliss and knowledge. The liberated soul, after he drops
off his body, may or may not be born again. If he does, he will become a potent
power for awakening mankind to the inherent glory of their immortality.
Swami Ramdas Web Site - anandashram.org
