Singing God's Name
Bhakti (devotion) in essence is twofold. On the one hand there is an intense attachment towards God, nurtured by deep emotion and, on the other, an earnest urge of love for him. When these two elements are combined we find bhakti to be either an attachment emerging out of love or love manifesting itself as attachment.
The essential feature in bhakti is that this feeling is in relation to the highest - the supreme lovable one who is real and imperishable - and not in relation to the objects of the world that are transitory and therefore unreal.
Such love or devotion assumes various forms of expression and goes by different names. Narration in poetry or prose, singing the glory of the Lord, and more popularly, singing the name of the Lord, are some of them.
A harmonious, rhythmical note produces a distinctive image. This is not imagination - for every sound, there is a particular image. It has been scientifically proved that certain sounds produce certain particular figures over some distinct surface. So it is reasonable to believe that the respective names of God, associated with their respective forms, can also produce their images on the mental surface. Through continuous repetition, the name forms a deep rooted impression in the mind of the repetitioner, who ultimately attains God vision.
God and his name are identical and inseparable. He dwells where his name is sung. The whole atmosphere is sanctified by his name - peace, purity and bliss prevail there. His name carries the message of love. His name frees the soul from affliction, unrest and bondage. His name knows no barriers, no distinctions. His name purifies the vicious lower self and elevates it to sublimity, to universal consciousness and transcendent God head.
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Bhajana is meditation on God. Life without bhajana of some sort is useless, my dear friends. Life without worship is dull, dreary. It is a mere burden on this earth. All religionists do their own bhajana in their own way. The goal is the same; the paths are different. The object of doing worship is to attain infinite, eternal peace, immortality and freedom from the wheel of birth and death.
The essential feature in bhakti is that this feeling is in relation to the highest - the supreme lovable one who is real and imperishable - and not in relation to the objects of the world that are transitory and therefore unreal.
Such love or devotion assumes various forms of expression and goes by different names. Narration in poetry or prose, singing the glory of the Lord, and more popularly, singing the name of the Lord, are some of them.
A harmonious, rhythmical note produces a distinctive image. This is not imagination - for every sound, there is a particular image. It has been scientifically proved that certain sounds produce certain particular figures over some distinct surface. So it is reasonable to believe that the respective names of God, associated with their respective forms, can also produce their images on the mental surface. Through continuous repetition, the name forms a deep rooted impression in the mind of the repetitioner, who ultimately attains God vision.
God and his name are identical and inseparable. He dwells where his name is sung. The whole atmosphere is sanctified by his name - peace, purity and bliss prevail there. His name carries the message of love. His name frees the soul from affliction, unrest and bondage. His name knows no barriers, no distinctions. His name purifies the vicious lower self and elevates it to sublimity, to universal consciousness and transcendent God head.
- - -
Bhajana is meditation on God. Life without bhajana of some sort is useless, my dear friends. Life without worship is dull, dreary. It is a mere burden on this earth. All religionists do their own bhajana in their own way. The goal is the same; the paths are different. The object of doing worship is to attain infinite, eternal peace, immortality and freedom from the wheel of birth and death.
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