Translated from Hindi Naam and
Ramayana Take the recorded words of any True Master, and you will find that He
cannot praise the Naam enough. The Vedas, the Shastras, and numerous other
scriptures declare that man has no hope of salvation without the Naam--One Naam is the Deliverer in all four
yugas. During the discourses at Satsang the words of various Masters are
quoted, but all on the same subject: salvation through Naam. Although an
abundance of information is available on Naam or Word, yet very few people
really understand the subject. Today we will see what Tulsidas Ji has said
about It in His famous work, the Ramayana, which is a very noble and reliable
source of information on moral and righteous living. One can say that it is a
type of sacred scripture that can be taken right into our lives and practiced.
It is a very wonderful work of great depth. Most of the world read it as a
story--a mighty epic of the lives of Lord Rama and His wife, Queen Sita--but
very few people discover the depth of meaning hidden in the words. The teaching of the Masters is no new thing; it has come to man through
all the ages. But man does forget and so the Masters must come from time to
time to revive the old, old Truth. With the advent of each Master, praise for
Naam has been highly lauded, and no less in this great book Ramayana--of which
I do not profess to be a scholar; but we will take a section which covers the
subject of Naam. Understand that the Name [Naam] and the Named are one; The Lord and His Emissary are intermingled
in love. There is no difference between the Name and the Named. Name is the word
given to denote something, as the word "water" is given to denote
that liquid by drinking which one's thirst is satisfied. Similarly, the word sewak means one who is a servant of
someone, but between them exists a profound love. The Named is He to express
Whom we use so many words, while the true Name or Naam is the expression of
that. So there is really no difference between the expresser and the expressed,
for both are closely intermingled in love. Naam and Form are both His attributes Ineffable Eternal Quintessence. Naam and Form are the Lord's attributes, and attributes are part of
illusion. Yet, they are indescribable. The whole world speaks of illusion, but
what is it? Its nature is not easily understood, but it has three main aspects:
pradhan or principle, prakriti or nature, and maya or illusion. Pradhan is that which
connects the material with the spiritual and is the highest aspect. One should grasp that the Attributable and the
Attribute are not separate--just as water and its coolness are not separate, or
fire and its heat: both are one--and yet heat alone is not fire. Fire burning
is something complete, and the heat is its expression. So Naam and Form are
illusion, but are at the same time imperishable, permanent, indescribable. In Vedanta, illusion is described as being that which is not there, and
yet which seems to be there. The Masters agree with this, but qualify the
statement by explaining that the Attributable and the Attribute are not
different things, but are the Expresser and that which He expresses. So at the higher stage there is pradhan and, when it reaches the lower
stage, it is called prakriti--nature. Par means beyond, and kriti means natural attributes. The
aspect of illusion of maya is the
means of balancing everything--that is our intellect. Illusion is not separate
from God and is sustained by Him, but of itself has no existence; it is nothing
and yet it is there. If you can fully understand this, then creation becomes
very simple: for the whole of creation is under the influence of illusion,
which you can also call forgetfulness. When we forget ourselves and we forget
that which lies behind everything, the Creator, then we are lost in illusion. Illusion is like a huge serpent embracing
the world--it eats those who serve it. In all three planes--the physical, astral, and causal--illusion is
holding everything in its clutches. Its aspects are not separate--they come
from the same source--but there is a difference. If a certain mango tums red in
color when it is ripe, one cannot say that the color is not part of the fruit;
and yet it has no identity, being but the mango's expression. Tulsidas is
explaining a very deep subject, which is hard for anything but the advanced
intellect to understand. So how does one gain the understanding? This world you see is the Form of God; His
Form is apparent. The Lord and Sustainer becomes apparent when one's
Spiritual Eye is opened--one sees that He is the very foundation of all
illusion and that all expressions of it are His Form. Paradoxically, it is the Lord's Form and it is not His Form. His Form is
not apparent to one who is deep in forgetfulness and involved in illusion's
enjoyments which are a grand play or trap set to ensnare our wandering
attention. When the inner eye opens, then we see everything as it truly is, and
the illusion fades away. And this is how the illusion exists but does not
exist. It is a sin to judge one greater than the
other; Listen to the Master's secret knowledge to
understand this. We cannot say that the Attributable is greater than the Attribute, for
the two are of the same. However, the secret of the paradox can be found, for
The world is a house of Truth in which the
Truth resides. And when one rises above all three planes, one begins to
understand what Truth is. But this is not for the worldly man whose eye is yet
closed and who, through becoming the body's image, has gone deep into
forgetfulness. Illusion is like a serpent who, giving birth to its young,
promptly eats them! But when rising above the three planes, a Gurumukh can be
saved from it. You will see that the Form is supported by
Naam; Knowledge of Form is not separate from
Naam. One cannot have knowledge of Form without the knowledge of Naam--this is
a law. Why is this? Because the Form Itself is an expression of Naam and is not
separate from It--even though both are in illusion. Although eternal,
indescribable, yet of Itself It has no existence. You can find reference to
this in Vedanta, and all Masters have told us the same. So it is not a matter
for conflict in religious thought; it is a matter for understanding. Form without Naam cannot be known; Effort regardless, it cannot be
recognized. Even if you hold an object before your eyes, how can you recognize it
without knowing its name? You can see something before you, but you cannot
identify it. The difference arises only in the various ways in which man
approaches the subject: that is why the Masters advise the sincere seekers not
to renounce the world and go off to the lonely places. Their advice is to gain
salvation while living in the world, by developing that latent or inner eye
with which one can see the Truth--the Truth which unfolds Itself automatically
when our angle of vision changes and we see everything in a truer light. When the perfect Satguru is met, perfect is
His competency; while living in the world, laughing, wearing, one gains
salvation. So it is not necessary to cease living an everyday life, for in
the forests and isolated places, the illusion still exists--one must take food
and water, there are animals there, one must sleep on some kind of bedding--is
this not all part of the illusion? Where can one go, where the illusion does not exist? Worldly
people suffer and die without ever seeing a glimpse of God's Form--and yet
every spot in the whole of creation is God's temple. Each and every man can
make any place sacred, by simply bowing his head in love and devotion, for all
is holy where devotion kneels. Is there any place where God is not present? He
is everywhere, and so is His expression. Simran of Naam without seeing the Form Is susceptible to doubt in the heart. There is some attraction in an association by
words only; one can develop some feeling of love in this way. If one has never
seen a mango fruit but hears a description of its appearance and sweetness, one
can form some kind of picture of what the mango is really like. Similarly, by
hearing about the Truth, or repeating certain word associations, one's interest
can be awakened and a feeling of love stirred up in one's heart, for the words
which tell of the Truth are related to it somewhat. But to go deeply into the
subject, one must see it for oneself, and for that the opening of the inner eye
is necessary: to see what is expressed by God and repeated by oneself.
Repetition or simran is the first step and is taught for understanding, and to
focus the interest or attention to see that. Nature of Naam and Form is an indescribable
story; Those who know of it enjoy indescribable
bliss. Even the theory is difficult to understand--but if one can grasp it, the
knowledge of the theory alone is enough to fill one's being with happiness: a
happiness which cannot be expressed in words. If one can receive this joy by
merely understanding the subject, what will be the potential bliss of
experiencing it? With and without attribute is Naam; Name and Form both go to understand and
interpret it. Naam is the interpreter of Attribute and Non-Attribute both, for It
alone reveals them. To understand the Truth man must experience both Naam and
Form--how else can it be possible? We can try to describe such things through
the intellect, but this is inaccurate; whereas experiencing Naam and Form gives
us accurate knowledge of the Truth. It is clear why Naam and Form are necessary
to each other. 0 Tulsi, if You are desirous of seeing the Light of
Naam within and without--Just keep the lamp of Ram Naam at the threshold of the
mind. He has so far described the Naam and the Form, but now He uses God's
Name in the same reference. Here the Hindi word Ram is used for God, and the
root of this is ramma, which means
vibration permeating all. The power which vibrates in every atom, and through
which all creation came into being, is called Ram, among other terms. So Tulsidas tells us that if we desire to
have the Light within and without, we must light the lamp of Ram Naam. Put
God's lamp in the doorway of your mind, and with all thought, all attention, do
the simran of God's Naam; then, both within and without, the Light will become
effulgent. Once you are connected to Naam, you have only to close your eyes to
see Light within--and with advancement you will see It with open eyes also. Repeat the Naam with devotion and the Light
of millions of suns will burst forth. The practice must be done with full
attention. There are numerous types of simran. One is to repeat with the tongue,
one through the throat, one at the heart's level, etc., etc. If the repetition
is not done in the mind--with the tongue of thought--there is no penetration
and, therefore, no success. One can begin at word-level, but it must soon
develop to mind-level, for when the mind is stilled, only then will contact be
made and the Light revealed. This is the Science of the Masters. What does the Guru do? He puts the
true colyrium of Naam in the eye by withdrawing the attention behind the eyes,
which banishes the darkness to give you Light. The presence of Light within
is proof of contact with the Naam. Christ said, If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. If
the single or Spiritual Eye is opened, you will see for yourself that your
whole being is filled with Light--the Light of God. The Muslim brothers speak
of Kohitoor--the mountain peak--the
place behind the two physical eyes where the Prophet Moses saw the radiance of
the Lord. Ail Masters tell us to rise above the body; the attention must rise
above body consciousness to the still, silent point behind and between the
eyes, which is the seat of the soul, the focus-point where the Light becomes
effulgent. Seeing the Light within is the assurance of contact with Naam. God
is Light, and Naam is the Power of that Ever-Existent Lord; one can call It the
God-in-action Power. Repeating Naam with his tongue while
alive, The yogi enjoys renunciation by cutting
off all attention from outside. By devoting oneself to Naam, with full attention, one can achieve the
same state of awakenedness that the yogis reach when they arise from the deep
sleep of illusion. At this, all illusionary attachment ceases, and this
culminates the true renunciation of the world and its environments. True
renunciation really means freedom from all attachment--and you can achieve this
if you so desire, for this is the power and the greatness of Naam. Guru Nanak was once discussing the Naam with some yogis, and He told
them: Like the lotus flower above the water, and the duck
which shakes herself dry: Swim the Ocean of Life through the Surat
Shabd; 0 Nanak, this is the greatness of Naam. One can swim this Ocean of Life untouched by the taints of the world. At
present, mind and attention are like one; but they can be separated by rising
above the senses and repeating Naam with the mind. The true awakening occurs
when the mind is stilled and one rises above the body. We live in a very sad
condition--The whole world sleeps in
attachment and forgeifulness--How can this illusion go? Only with the aid
of Naam Power can one overcome this state of sleep and accomplish that which
the Masters advocate: to live in the world but to be not of the world. Complete happiness comes by the
incomparable realization Through the indescribable, formless Naam. This is the stage of the Nameless Naam, which has no form and is free
from all impurity, and through which one can reach the height of an inestimable
bliss. Tulsidas has first described the Naam and the Form, and now He indicates
that beyond this lies a stage of complete bliss where Naam is formless, where Naam
is no longer in expression, and no longer uses Name and Form. So we begin to
see the difference between the expression and the background of that
expression. If you wish that concealed knowledge
revealed, Repeat the Naam with your life's breath. By repeating Naam and full attention, all the mysteries are revealed;
but it must be repetition at the highest level--with all the heart, mind, and
spirit. The Muslim Fakirs also say that simran done with the attention is the
teaching of the fully realized Fakir. Fakirs or Masters are the only Ones Who
know this secret teaching; you will not find the worldly doing this kind of
simran. Repeat the Naam with devotion and love; Become mystically adept, gaining all great
powers. Those connected to Naam, who daily repeat Naam with all attention,
gradually master the supernatural powers, because The supernatural powers are the servants of Naam. The disciple of Naam
learns to control these powers, but the Masters have forbidden them to be used;
for there is the danger thereby of the student going into outward expression
and receding further and further from the Truth. But it is a fact that gaining
control of these powers is an automatic part of progress on the path of Naam. Repeating Naam, the afflicted are freed from all
misery and gain happiness. When Guru Nanak said that the whole world was unhappy, He was asked if
there were not a single soul who enjoyed happiness; and He said, "They are
happy who are sustained by Naam." Even the most miserable of people have
transformed their lives into an expression of joy by being connected to the
Naam. Naam is the panacea for all ills. It
is the only real means to happiness. But I will repeat that very few people
understand the subject of Naam. When one speaks of Naam it is but a word; so, one must be connected to
the Naam which is a Power, and not merely a word. Outer connection with a mere
word will not give contact with the Truth, and will not banish one's miseries.
Swami Ji has also spoken on this subject. He says, O attention (soul), we know
that you are unhappy .... He says that He can see the misery of the soul,
and since when has it been miserable? He then answers this: Since the day you were separated from the
Shabd, and developed a friendship with the mind. Through this friendship
with the mind, the soul became involved with the senses, and has ever since
remained at that level. This is how it got imprisoned in the worldly name and
form, and the misery started from there. Now, how can the soul be released from
all this? The natural corollary is that one should leave this mind-involvement
by the only means powerful enough, and that is connection to the Shabd or Naam.
Each Master has His own terms of expression, but the subject is the same.
Furthermore, he who is in conscious contact with the Naam becomes fearless. There are four kinds of true devotees of
God; All of them are full of love and
compassion, and are broad minded. All four are sustained by Naam; But the realized one is the Lord's beloved
above all. There is nothing higher than Naam--It is something which cannot be
understood by the common man. It is the giver of all phases of life: those who are seeking get the
connection by the grace of Naam; the lamenting souls are heard by the grace of
Naam; those who so desire find fulfillment in Naam. So righteousness, ethics,
good actions, and salvation are all possible because of Naam. All four types of
devotees are devoted to Naam, but the Lord loves those the most who have
realized the Naam. Naam was the ruling means for emancipation
in all four ages; In Kalyug especially, there is no other
means. Naam has sustained every age. Its praises are sung in all scriptures: One Naam gave salvation in all four ages. However,
in this Kali Yuga or Kalyug, particularly, Naam is imperative. One cannot
maintain an iota of righteousness without It. In Kalyug, the age of man is
short, his intellect reduced, his health is poor. The long practices and
austerities, like prana yoga, hatha yoga, and others, were suitable for other
ages in the past. It is stated that in the Sat Yuga or Satyug, man's age
averaged one hundred thousand years, which may or may not be so; but in Kalyug
we are concerned with present conditions and have to work with them. It is
highly probable that man did live for long periods of time in the past, for
scriptures have recorded it so: a certain Rishi, for example, is stated to have
done eighty-eight thousand years of rigid austerities, and others did similar
feats, etc. Then in Tretayug it is written that man's age was reduced to an
average of ten thousand years, and
in Dwaparyug reduced again to one thousand years. In Kalyug it is rare for a
man to live up to or beyond one hundred years, and the average is nearer to
fifty years. In India, for instance, the average age is recorded at 22 years. Just
tell me, how can man accomplish such long practices? So Tulsidas tells us that
in this age, nothing but Naam is effective. Gurbani also states: Kalyug has come, Kalyug has come, sow the
Naam, sow the Naam; this opportunity will not return--never--do not forget in
illusion, sow the Naam. It clearly states the situation; so brothers, there
is no way out but through Naam. People desire many different things--cure for
their ills, riches, name and fame--and a few desire salvation. But one Master
says that he who is free from all desires is the one who enjoys the real
sweetness of Naam--its true Nectar. Such a devotee would be like a fish without
water without the Naam: Naam is his very life; he cannot live without It. Guru
Nanak puts it this way: With It he lives;
without It he dies. He also says, The more
I remember, I am enlivened; otherwise, I die. This gives us an inkling
about the Naam, but Naam is not to be merely talked about; It is to be
contacted, experienced, and enjoyed. Attribute and Non-attribute, both are
forms of Brahm; They are inexpressible, unfathomable,
eternal, incomparable. I think that Naam is higher than both, For they are controlled by Naam. What is the manifestation that comes from both Attribute and
Non-attribute? Naam. Naam is the Controlling Power of everything, and to be
connected to It one needs a very fortunate destiny. It is a deep and subtle
subject, but Tulsidas is unfolding it beautifully. The Competent People know all-- I speak of this knowledge from the love in
my heart. The Masters are the knowledgeable People
Who know everything--He tells us this from the wisdom of His own experience,
from the depths of love He has in His heart. We
see the wood but the fire is hidden within it; Only
the awakened have the true concept. Now He is speaking metaphorically. For
example, fire is hidden in wood, and yet no one can see it; just like this,
both attribute and non-attribute are parts of God's nature. If a man truly
understood this great truth, the knowledge would be salvation to him; but as he
stands he is bound to the cycle of births and deaths. Practice of
Attribute and Non-Attribute are both more difficult than Naam; Naam
is greater than Brahm and Ram. All practices in the spheres of
Attribute and Non-Attribute are very exacting, but the practice of Naam is not
at all difficult--why is this? Because, only through Naam can the Attribute and
Non-Attribute phases of God be understood. Without Naam these aspects of the
Lord cannot be grasped or absorbed, and this includes the outer expressions of
creation. Naam is something contacted from
within--spiritually--when one rises above the senses, and this is made possible
only by a competent Master. True understanding starts after this contact is
made. For instance, to explain the workings of a powerhouse is one thing; but
if a person actually visits the building, a deeper understanding of its
functions begins to form. The
permeating Lord is imperishable; He
is Awakened Truth, the source of of all bliss. The Omnipotent and the Omnipresent
vibrates in every atom--there is no place where Naam does not exist--and It
offers a veritable treasurehouse of happiness. Whatever
is created is created through Naam; there is no place without Naam. This
flawless Lord is in each heart, And
yet the world is drowned in misery. One might well wonder or ponder the
ironical fact that God resides in every being, and yet everyone is unhappy! We
are swimming in Him, just as fish swim in the water--we are living in that
life-giving Nectar, but are dying of thirst. What is the reason for this sad
situation? Naam's
True Form is got only by right endeavor, When
It then manifests within. The reason for all our sorrows is that
Naam is not manifested within us. The potential of experiencing Naam is within us, just as the fire is in the wood, but it must be made
manifest. Manifest the hidden Naam. Also,
Manifest the hidden Sound. To make
all this possible, the seeker must be ready to put in a little effort--in order
to gain something of a value that cannot be estimated. A precious gem must be
selected from other stones and examined separately before its properties can be
appreciated; otherwise, it remains just another stone. So all our misery is
through lack of the contact with God. Water,
water everywhere, but not a drop to drink. The Lord is everywhere--where is
He not? But men are not fortunate enough to have even the briefest experience
of Him--so we are dying of thirst. It is
in us, but we know it not--oh, cursed be this life, this living; 0 Tulsi, the
whole world suffers from this cataract. Bheek Sahib says similarly, 0 Bheek, no one need be hungry, for each has
tied to him a Ruby; but no one cares to untie It. That Ruby is Naam, the
knot which binds matter and consciousness together; and if that knot is not
untied by rising above body consciousness and establishing connection with
Naam, we will remain hungry--all through life. We may have material wealth, but
spiritually we live like paupers. Then,
Naam Power is limitless--beyond even Non-Attribute; I
say Naam is greater than Rama--according to my understanding. Naam's Power goes beyond the stage of
Non-Attribute and, therefore, is the greater Power. Having already solved this
mystery of Life in all its aspects, Tulsidas is an authority on the subject. Further on He tells us how Naam is also
greater than Rama, by comparison. Coming to the aid of the devotees of
that era, Rama took the physical form and washed away all the unhappiness that
the sages, the Rishis and the Munis were suffering at the hands of the evil
forces running rife at that time. This is the work of the Avatar. Whenever the
maintenance of moral righteousness is threatened, the Avatar takes birth in the
world to set the disorder right. When any country is badly run and riots begin,
control is put into the military's charge and the trouble is corrected, after
which the rule returns to the civil administration. So it is on a larger scale
when the world retrogresses to a state beyond its own control that God's Power
manifests in the form of the Avatar, Who settles the chaos and misery and
restores righteousness. The Avatar Ramchanda, or Lord Rama, Who is stated to
have been the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, was born the son of King Dashrath, and
was an Avatar competent in all the fourteen supernatural powers. Tulsidas,
author of this great epic, tells us of the two manifestations of the same
Power, which are superimposed upon each other. However, there is a vast
difference between these two: the Master's Ram and the world's Ram. One
Ram was the son of Dashrath, One
Ram is vibrating in each being, One
Ram is all creation's play, One
Ram is different from all. The main comparison is between the Ram
which manifested in the Avatar Ramchanda, and the Ram which is different from
or above all other powers. God's
Devotee took human form, taking
the world's burden and bringing peace to the devout; Repeating Naam
with love is easy and is competent to enable the devotee to reach the stage of
bliss. If the devotee repeats the simran of
Naam with full love and devotion, then without any difficulty he will reach the
stage of all bliss. Now He begins to go into the detail of the comparison: Ramchanda
freed one doomed woman called Ahlia; Naam
gives salvation to unlimited numbers. There is an anecdote in Lord Rama's life
about the soul of a certain woman who, for committing a certain sin, was
petrified like a rock for thousands of years. Lord Rama released that soul from
its imprisonment in that lower expression by touching the rock with His foot. But Tulsidas is explaining how Naam by
comparison gives freedom to all--to any soul that has retrogressed. This is a
clear indication of Naam's greatness. It is even clearer when one understands
that Naam is the Maker of both Avatars and Masters. Electricity, for instance,
can be used to create both heat and cold--both very useful but different
demonstrations of the same power. So somewhere this great Naam Power is working
in the Avatar like a commander-in-chief of an army, and somewhere It is working
in the Master like a viceroy. Both are expressions of the same power, but with
different functions. As Kabir has said, God has made Negative and Positive, for He wanted to enact the play of
creation. Both are God's great Power, which He uses in His own design of
creation. That Power is the Sustainer of everything--It is the background
behind everything; Its methods of working are varied, that's all. Avatars
punish the sinners and reward the righteous people; Masters free the attention
from the prison of mind and senses and rejoin that attention or soul to its
Source. The Avatar's job is to restore and maintain order in the world that it
may remain inhabited by the souls; the Master's job is to uproot the souls from
the worldly habitation, and They pull the soul above mind and senses and
connect it to Naam Itself. So Negative and Positive both draw Their Power from
the one Lord. There are those who argue and debate
that Positive is greater, that Negative is greater, etc. Brothers, understand
quite clearly that both are most necessary in this world. The Negative Power
upholds all the laws of creation. The police force of any country does not
bother the people who obey the laws, but rather they are a protection for good
citizens. The task of the Negative Power is a very important one, just as that
of the Positive Power; and we must respect both. The Masters' aim is for man to
cease coming and going in creation, for the soul to be freed from matter and
senses, ultimately and without any undue waste of time, reaching its true and
permanent home. The Masters tell us that this world is full of negativity and
is a bad place in which to remain; and while living out our obligations here,
we should join up with positivity and then learn to transcend them both and
realize the Sustainer of all. Ram
himself worked for the Rishis' peace; He
Himself went to war for righteousness. Lord Rama killed the powerful ogress
Tarka, who was disturbing the great sage Vishvamitra and other Rishis in their
meditations, and for the same reason killed her son Marich. Now what does Naam
do? Naam
erases the devotees' sins and miseries; It
gives a contact of Itself which dispels the darkness, like
night fleeing before a sunrise. Just as the darkness of night disperses
with the coming of the dawn, so is the darkness of ignorance and sin banished
with the contact and practice of the Naam. You can say that all lower actions
are consumed in the fire of knowledge, which is the Power of the Naam. Ram
Himself broke Shiva's bow; And
by the grace of Naam all the world's fear is cast asunder. Lord Rama was the only one Who could
break the powerful bow of Lord Shiva, and, in doing so, won the right of
marriage to Princess Sita, daughter of the famous King Janak. Naam, on the
other hand, has the power to banish all fear--with regular contact with Naam a
man becomes fearless. Ram
made the Petrified Forest flourish with life; Naam
enlivens the minds of men. Ram
destroyed the line of evil; Naam
in Kalyug destroys all sin. Lord Rama destroyed the Rakshasas and
all their kin ("the line of evil"); but in this Iron or Negative Age
(Kalyug), those under Naam gain freedom from their sins. Ram
gave salvation to the devoted vulture; Naam
gives salvation to millions, as stated in the Vedas. When King Ravan abducted Rama's wife,
Sita, a vulture named Jitayu, who was deeply devoted to Rama, fought Ravan in
an attempt to rescue Sita, but was mortally wounded in the combat. The
narrative tells also of another great devotee named Bilni, who had been
preparing for Lord Rama's coming for many years, removing the thorns from the
forest pathways, keeping them clear and clean, etc. When at last Rama arrived
in that place, on His journey to rescue Sita from Ravan, she fed Him with wild
berries, diligently tasting each one for sweetness before offering it to the
Lord, which He graciously accepted. Rama gave salvation to both these devoted
souls, but Naam gives salvation to limitless sinners. You will find the highest praise of Naam
in many sacred scriptures, including the Vedas and the Shastras. Tulsidas Himself gave many examples of
Naam's greatness in His narrative of the Ramayana epic. For instance, Rama gave
salvation to Vibhishan, Ravan's brother, and Hanuman by giving them special
commissions in His service; whereas Naam gives salvation through service to
many unknown and poor people. Also, Rama erected a bridge across the ocean;
whereas Naam spans the Ocean of Life and carries the souls safely to the shore
of freedom. Then, Rama killed Ravan and every member of his huge and evil
family; Naam destroys all attachment and illusion--when the devotee practices
It with all love and sincerity. What other extraordinary achievement of Naam
has Tulsidas mentioned? Through
Naam's great blessing, Shiva enriched the inauspicious. Lord Shiva frequented the most
inauspicious places, like cremation grounds. His company was inauspicious--that
of snakes and so on. Even His appearance savored of the inauspicious, His naked
body smeared with ashes; and yet, because He had the blessing of Naam, those
very sinister places began to flourish wherever He went, and they have since
been glorified. And, as we all know, snakes and ashes have become most
auspicious symbols. Such extraordinary things are made possible with the grace
of Naam. The
Rishis, Munis, Yogis, who gained the bliss of Brahm Did
so with the blessing of Naam. The ancient sages gained their spiritual
elevation--up to the point of their inner progress--all by the grace of Naam. Narad
also realized the blessing of Naam And
became the beloved of the Lord. Narad was a great devotee who realized
the Naam's power, and through It became the beloved of the world's Beloved
Vishnu [one of the Hindu trinity, Who sustains the universe]. Naam is not a new
power; It has ever been in existence. Each spiritual exponent gives out however
much of Its understanding that he gains, and no more. How many can know Naam in Its entirety?
Whomsoever was fortunate enough to gain salvation did so only through Naam's
blessing and nothing else; and each one gained freedom up to the point or level
of their progress. The
Lord's blessing overflows upon he who repeats the Naam-- Prahlad
became a shining example. Prince Prahlad was so devoted to the
Lord that he gained a large share of His pleasure, which made Prahlad shine
among devotees. Naam's glory is ageless. In every age man has no memory of Its
glories, so the Masters must come again and again to re-enliven the old, old
Truth. Kabir Sahib tells His own story when He says: I
came in all four ages--in Satyug my name was Sukrat; in Tretayug my name was
Karunamae; when I came in Dvarparyug my name was Maninder; in Kalyug my name is
Kabir. In all four ages He told the people of
Naam's greatness. Many are under the impression that this teaching is something
new; but it is, in fact, the oldest thing there is. Sometimes it appears
somewhat different outwardly, due to the slight variance of presentation or
description by each Master. But contact with Naam remains the same, and all
other inner aspects remain constant. The world talks about Naam, Naam, but in actual fact is oblivious of It. When the Master
comes to revive the understanding, He gives the connection which enlivens the
teaching. Dhruv,
being disgusted with his father, repeated God's Name, And
realized the incomparable tranquility. Through the world's injustice, Prince
Dhruv left his kingdom in anger and started meditating in the forest,
ultimately realizing the state of utter tranquility. He turned to God out of
hatred for the world; but when he rose above the material level, he entered
into tranquil bliss--again through the blessing of the Lord's Naam. When through
Simran, Hanuman, "the son of the wind," realized Naam, He
brought Ram into his control. Hanuman was called the son of the wind,
and Tulsidas says that by doing Simran he gained knowledge of Naam, which took
him to the stage of having his every wish fulfilled by Lord Rama. These
anecdotes are being given to demonstrate how every spiritual aspirant must rely
on the Naam Power to achieve success. Today it is not different; if salvation
is to be gained, it will be through the Naam. The important thing is to get
connected to that which is the background of Naam and Form--that which is the
sustainer of both. Ajamil
and the singer Ganika Got salvation through the Lord's Naam. Even a great sinner like Ajamil and
Ganika, the prostitute, were redeemed by Naam; so why should we not also stand
the chance of getting salvation if we get connected to Naam? Guru Ramdas
explains that if one puts a small spark of fire among a huge pile of logs, they
will be consumed to ashes in a very short space of time. So for a large
accumulation of sins, one needs but a small spark of Naam from the True Master
to incinerate them. He is giving so many examples, all in praise of Naam. And
finally, what does He say? To
what extent can Naam be praised? Even
Ramchanda could not sing Its praises. This emphasizes the impossibility of
describing Naam's greatness. One can only say that there is a place where It is
manifested and that is the human pole. There is also a very big powerhouse,
which supplies according to the extent of power the pole is fit to bear; and
from there it is distributed. Naam is a deep subject which cannot be
explained in words; It is beyond any language. Tulsidas does not belittle Lord
Rama when He says that He could not sing the praises of Naam, because as all
realized souls have discovered, Naam is inexpressible. Whatever power the human
pole can receive, so that much will be expressed. Guru Nanak went so far as to
say that if whatever the Rishis, Munis, and Mahatmas have sung in praise of
Naam were doubled, even that would be a poor attempt at describing the
greatness of Naam. God's
Naam is eternal, but It resides in this Kalyug; Those
who do Its simran are fortunate - Tulsi became Tulsidas. The eternal Naam vibrates perpetually
everywhere, and in this Kalyug, salvation is not possible without Its contact.
Tulsidas says that through devotion to Naam He became Tulsidas instead of just
poor Tulsi [i.e., He became a respected person addressed by His full Name]. He
was the author of this great epic of the Ramayana, from which this hymn has
been taken. It is one of the most sacred of Hindu scriptures, and is a complete
and comprehensive magnum opus on moral and righteous living, a work which is
highly respected all over the world. In this sacred scripture you will find the
Naam extolled in no uncertain terms. Do not waste time in small matters,
brothers--the different outer phases of religion and religious
learning--progress on from that. Blessed are you that you belong to some
religion, and I congratulate you on this. Remain in that religion, follow its
tenets, and live up to them--but receive the knowledge of Naam. When Guru Arjan collected the writings
of the Masters for the compilation of the Guru Granth Sahib, what type of
yardstick or criterion did He use to select that which was suitable from among
the vast amount of writings? He selected that which had been spoken or written
by Those Who had realized the Naam--the True Devotees of Naam. You will find
therein the words of Kabir, the weaver; those of Ravidas, the cobbler;
Trilochan, the brahmin; Dhanna, the farmer; Saina, the barber; and Saints born
in many other varied casts. Always remember that it is man who has made the
different casts and classes. God did not send man to earth with a brand on him.
God made man--a name which is given
to the soul when in the human form. The soul is an entity of God and, as such,
its caste is the same as God's. Someone once asked Hazur [Baba Sawan
Singh Ji], "Maharaj, Who are You?" Hazur replied, "If God is a
Hindu, then I am a Hindu; if He is a Sikh, then I am a Sikh; if He is a
Christian, then I am also a Christian; the soul's caste is that of God; but
according to the outer aspect, I am a Sikh." We must live in some social form; or if
we don't, then we must design a new one in which to live, which is a mere waste
of time when the Lord Himself has given one birth within the particular
religion appropriate to fulfill the individual's karmas. Live a life of
righteousness--be ethical; and while living such a life, release your soul from
the mind and the senses by getting connected to Naam. That particular social
body will be praiseworthy wherein any man achieves this. When a person
approaches a competent Master, there is no consideration of religion, for He
knows that the person is an embodied soul, and each soul is equal; there is no
high or low; there is no question of East, West, North or South. Know that the caste of all men is one. Man
is purely an embodied soul, but unfortunately he has forgotten himself. He does
not know that he is not the body, but is the indweller of the body--actually
its controller. All Masters have advocated that one should know oneself in
truth--and this is the science of Naam. It is the Kalma of the Muslim prophets, who say that fourteen tabaqs or regions were made from the
Kalma. What is Kalma? Is it only a word? O God,
tell me of that place from whence Your Word is coming, without words. This
clearly indicates that worldly language has nothing to do with the subject.
Fourteen tabaqs were made from the Kalma! In the Hindu scriptures it says that
through the Sound, fourteen stages were made. In Gurbani it states, Through the Naam, the entire Khand and
Brahmand were made, and also, Through
the Sound, the earth and the sky were created. The New Testament says, In the beginning was the Word, the Word was
with God, and the Word was God .... All things were made by Him and without Him
was not anything made that was made. Guru Nanak states, The entire creation came after the Shabd; 0
Nanak, the Sound vibrates in each being. You can call It Sound, or Shabd,
or Kalma, or Naam, or other Names: the Untold Story, Sruti, or in the Upanishads it is called Udgit. The Masters have all sung Its praises, each in His own way.
If the words of the Masters are all read with completely open hearts, men will
come closer to each other; it is only narrow-mindedness and bigotry that
separates us all. This place [Sawan Ashram, Delhi] is a
common ground where you are all at present sitting together hearing the words
of the Ramayana. Here we take all kinds of scriptures, for the teaching of the
Masters has always been one. It is a science of the soul, just as medicine is a
science of the physical body. Stay in whatever religion or sect you are
following, but also learn to rise above--to the extent of realizing that the
whole world really belongs to but one religion. Judge the True Satguru by this
same criterion--Know the Satguru for One
Who brings everyone together. There is no special place for Muslims
only or Hindus only or any other particular sect here [at Sawan Ashram]. The Masters do not regard individuals as
representatives of certain religions. They simply make them sit down together,
for They see the world through the Spiritual Eye. Their work is geared to one
aim: to bring the soul above the senses, connect it to Naam, and ultimately
reunite it with the Ultimate, Nameless and Formless God. For the purpose of
this great work, there is no controversy of high and low; there is no
recommendation to leave one's religion; and no advocacy of making new sects.
They do advise the seekers to lead a pure and chaste life--within their own
castes and customs. And this above all: for perpetual happiness, get connected
to the Naam, and keep Its regular contact. Param Sant Kirpal Singh |