Tuesday, Apr 23 2024  

NAMASMARANA - 19 JANUARY 2004

My humble pranams at the Lotus Feet of Swami. Sai Ram aunties, uncles, brothers and sisters. I am Praveen from Group 4 and today I will be speaking on "Namasmarana". Swami says that for Namasmarana, no expense is involved; no materials are needed; there is no special place or time to be provided. No qualification of scholarship or caste or gender has to be provided.

Any name of God will shower Grace, if repeated with sincerity and devotion. This is not restricted to one religion or to one name of God. We can choose any name which stirs joy and love within us. It can be that of Lord Ganesha, Lord Krishna or even Lord Shiva. However once a name is chosen, it should not be cast aside for a new name. If we decide to dig a well, we must continue to dig at one spot. Many shallow holes will not yield the benefit of one deep hole. Firm commitment and consistency is required.

When a baby cries for its mother, she does not insist on the correct pronunciation of her name; she immediately goes to the aid the baby in distress. Thus, when we repeat the name of God, we should say it with devotion and longing. The Lord sees the heart of the devotee and gauges the love and sincerity of the call. Therefore when we call the Lord we should visualize the form and picture the glory of God.

Once when I was on my daily jog, I decided to chant the Gayathri Mantra. Then suddenly I saw a group of monkeys awaiting my arrival. I was very afraid and started chanting the Gayathri Mantra with more feeling and to my utter astonishment the monkeys lined up in rows on my 2 sides as if I was their leader. After that amazing incident, I started believing in the wonders of Namasmarana and the power of the Gayatri Mantra.

Speaking of monkeys, I am now going to end my speech with a story. There was once a young student who was studying in Swami's college. He always chanted the name of Lord Hanuman no matter what he was doing. From his hostel he could see the Hillview Stadium. One day when he woke up from his bed at around 4 am , to his amazement, he saw a Hanuman statue, which was situated at the top of the stadium, bowing to the Sun and to Swami's ashram before going back to its original position. At first he thought he was just dreaming until Swami himself confirmed it to the young man that was he witnessed was in fact reality. So that is the power of Namasmarana which can confer upon you protection, grace and allow the Lord to stay in your hearts at all times.

Let us all make a commitment here and now that we will practice Namasmarana from today onwards.

Jai Sai Ram

Bro Praveen
SSEHV Group 4