Sankirtan Of The Lord

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Sankirtan Of The Lord

Lord Sri Krishna said to Arjuna : " Know this as a truth that the devotee

who, while chanting My name dances in joy, taking Me to be present before

him, really purchases Me." He also said, " The devotee whose voice gets

choked with emotion, whose heart melts with divine love, who now weeps, now

laughs, now dances without any reserve and sings My name and glory at the

top of his voice—no wonder that such a true devotee is rid of all his

worldliness and impurities accumulated in thousands of previous births ;

nay, he sanctifies the entire world by his very sight and his words become

nectar-like." We cannot find words to describe the glory and the efficacy of

the Divine Name.

When the Dwapara Yuga came to an end, Maharishi Narada called on Brahma and

after offering salutations to Him asked him, " O Grandsire ! Kindly tell me

how the ocean of Maya is to be crossed during this terrible age of Kali."

The Grandsire comforted the sage and told him that during the Kali Yuga one

could very easily obtain emancipation and divine bliss (Moksha) through the

mere utterance of the Divine Name of Bhagavan Narayana, full of faith and

devotion. Out of sheer compassion for the devotees seeking release from

bondage, Hiranyagarbha (Brahma) initiated the following Mahamantra at the

request of Sage Narada:

" Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare !

" Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare."

In this Mahamantra are found three Names of God—Hari Rama and Krishna. Hari

means one who steals the hearts of the Yogis or he who destroys sins when

remembered by even those of a wicked mind. Rama means He in whom the Yogis

lake delight or the Para Brahman, the eternal bliss. Krishna means one who

powerfully attracts or draws the minds of the Yogis or one who washes offer

scraps away all the impurities in the mind of the Yogis once they turn to

Him. Chanting this Mahamantra containing these sixteen names with devotion

tears off the veil of Maya of the Jiva consisting of sixteen folds, and

supreme Bliss is immediately realised.

The modern age is suffering from the fell disease, egoism and possessiveness

(Ahankara and Mamakara). It is not only the age of the aeroplane, radio and

television but also of the A and H bombs. Humanity is farther and farther

away at present from the ideals of spirituality set up in our ancient

scriptures. It is truly declared by realised souls that in this confused

state there is greater inclination towards material progress than spiritual

progress. The majority of people fail to realise that the true joy of life

and the splendour and glory of living lie in the innermost recesses of man.

There ate silent depths in the ocean which the fiercest storm cannot reach.

Likewise, there are silent holy depths in the cave of the heart which the

storms of passion, greed, hatred, anger and sin cannot disturb.

The delights of the flesh, the thrills born of the sensuous excitement of

animal spirits, the great pleasures derived from intellectual acrobatics and

aesthetic experiences pale into insignificance and worthlessness before the

enjoyment of self-knowledge, and self-realization. When we look around the

world today, we find it steeped in ignorance of the ultimate values of life,

full of sorrow and suffering. Poverty, misery, disease, ignorance, greed,

anger, lust, jealousy and hatred surround mankind on all sides with the

result that ordinary men are plunged in personal, racial, social and

economic strife’s, little realising that there is a higher object to be

attained which will dispel all the misery and pain and fill the soul with

everlasting happiness and peace, that all our maladies are only the outcome

of ignorance and that once the veil of Maya is lifted and our delusion

cleared by the light of wisdom, the supreme happiness and peace that dwell

in that haven of bliss become^ ours.

(Adopted from the Book Pearls of Wisdom by His Holiness Swami Kesavaiahji)

Saint Saying

We should watch our thoughts. If we hold kind thoughts, we do kind acts. If

we feel envy, jealousy, malice, it is shown in our lives, for it brings

discontent and unhappiness.

 

 

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