The Power of Mantra

 

To quench my quest for meditation, I picked up the book ‘Meditation and Mantras’ by Swami Vishnu Devananda from the bookshelf of Nehra Library, Hisar which was one of the best libraries in India. Although it had a vast collection of books and journals mostly related to agriculture and its allied subjects even though it had a good collection of general books. In 1999, I often visited that library for my research work and sometimes just to pass the time.

I flipped the pages and saw a smiling photo of Swami Sivananda, founder of Divine Life Society. His irresistible smile was full of peace, kindness and compassion. His face was radiating with sheer bliss. Swami Vishnu Devananda had dedicated this book to his master.

To know why saints were always smiling, I got that book issued in my name. After thorough reading, I came to know about different ways of doing meditation as the theory and practical applicability were explained in detail. I was excited to try at least one but was not sure whether I would be doing it for long time or for a brief period just for fun.

I opted for the easiest one - Japa Meditation. It is building up or accumulating power of mantras by repeating them with love and devotion. There are different types of mantras. Saguna mantras (with form) e.g. Om Namah Sivaya, Om Namo Narayanana, Hari Om, nirguna mantras (without form) e.g. OM, abstract mantras e.g. Soham (I am That I am), Aham Brahma Asmi (I am Brahman) and beej mantras e.g. Aim, Hreem were listed. As there are, many paths to the top of a mountain so there are many mantras to God realisation. Which one should I chose? I did not know the correct pronunciation of beej mantras so I could not opt for them. Abstract mantras were abstruse and nirguna mantras were esoteric. I was left with only one option -Saguna mantras. It was easy to concentrate on the image of deity. The author emphasised that neither mantra nor deity once selected can be changed. To maintain good speed one has to stick to one path, one mantra and one deity to avoid spread of his/her energies in exploring all the other alternative paths.

I feared that if I selected a difficult mantra, I might lose interest after some time or might found it hard to chant because of change in responsibilities with time. As I would be bound to one mantra and one deity therefore, I chose the easiest mantra and the simplest of all the deities so that I could stick to it throughout my life.

I fixed an hour for chanting, focusing and meditating on that mantra facing East at the same place. To my surprise, I started having experiences in meditation as mentioned in that book just after a few months. Experiences only assured me that I was moving on the right path but for further progress, I had to ignore them completely. My goal was not the vibrant lights but the Darshan of the deity. According to Divine Life Society, if one does the chanting of mantra 13 crores of times with faith and devotion, the deity manifest itself in front of him/her.

With time, my responsibilities increased and I could not afford to sit for meditation for long hours then I decided to chant the mantra while doing my daily activities like car driving, waiting for business meeting, cooking, walking, swimming and even while moving in an elevator. My hands were busy with the work but my mind was remembering God all the time rather most of the time. I had chanted that mantra crores and crores of times. Yet I had not chanted it 13 crores times!

Constant repetition of God’s name had helped me to put a check on my negative emotions to some extent. I was not satisfied with my progress as they sprang up every now and then. The Nature showered It’s kindness and manifested in the form of Human Guru as Om Swamiji who not only helped in removing my unpleasant emotions but also showed the right divine path. His presence, words and teachings removed the thick dark forest of ignorance and purified me. His grace and presence spiritually elevated me. He is an ocean of bliss, knowledge and compassion. He helped me in lifting my head from the quagmire of worldly maya.

Swami Sivananda says, “The Guru is God Himself manifesting in a personal form to guide the aspirant. Grace of God takes the form of the Guru. To see the Guru is to see God.”

P.S.- 1. If you missed out the story of Kalavati told by Om Swamiji then you can watch it here.

2.  Amidst my chanting routine, I never forget to take my daily dose of Pingu, Shaun the Sheep or Chip and Dale to keep the kid inside me alive. ;)

3. Pic was clicked by me at Kishangarh, Rajasthan

Namopathy - A panacea

 

“Ma, please tell a story.” I requested in feeble voice as I saw her entering my room. I made such requests nearly 10-12 times a day sometimes even more.

She replied, “As soon as I am free, I will narrate you interesting story from the new book. It is about a bear that lived in the snow. The book is full of coloured pictures. But right now, I am busy with household chores and looking after your younger brother.”

“The bear lives in the forest not in the snow.”

“It is a different story.”

I lied down quietly on the bed eagerly waiting for the different story.

I was on bed at the age of four and a half years. My whole body was covered with different sizes and shapes of pustules. The pain was unbearable. But I did not cry. I did not shed tears. My only way to escape from reality of aches was into the world of imagination!

My father hardly got ant time to tell me a story but whenever he got some, he used to tell me the same story about the monkey and the crocodile from the Panchtantra.

One day, when I get bored of repeated narrations, I said, “Papa, why do you always tell me the same story? I do not want to listen it repeatedly. Please tell me some other story.”

“I tell you the truth. I do not know any story. I learnt this story only for you.” My father replied. “I am busy. Whatever time I get, I give it you instead of giving it to your infant bro.” As he stood up from the chair to go away, I asked him to repeat the same tale. It was better to hear the same story instead of none.

My naniji (maternal grandmother) knew many stories from Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranas. She was an excellent narrator of folk tales and fairy tales. She was never short of stories. However, she occasionally visited us because of her household responsibilities and her health. She could tell stories for hours and hours without taking a break. Her visit was always a jackpot for me!

 “Once, there was a school going boy named Chandan who used to live in a village with her mother. They were very poor as his father was no more and her mother earned little by selling cow’s milk.” My nanaji (my maternal grandfather and my mother’s uncle) narrated this to me. He came to know that my health was deteriorating fast and I would not be able to live for more days. All the doctors in the town were consulted but nobody knew what the disease was! Allopathic medicines were worsening my condition day by day. My parents were tensed. To relieve us, one day he came to our home after his office hours.   

“He had to cross a dense forest to go to school which was situated in the nearby village. His classmates were rich who came to school on carts but Chandan was the only boy in the school who came on foot. One day, the teacher asked all students to bring milk from their home. All the students were rich who can easily spare milk. Chandan could not bring the milk as her mother sold the milk in lieu of wheat floor for the dinner. Next day, everybody brought milk except Chandan. The teacher scolded him. Without giving any ear to his story, he forced him to bring milk immediately. He disappointedly went to his home and told the whole story to his mother. Her mother said, “Why does the teacher need so much milk?”

 “The teacher’s daughter marriage has been fixed day after tomorrow and the teacher has to give a good feast to the bharatis.”

“Go and ask Gopala (protector of cow and a name for Lord Krishna), He will arrange it for you.”

He started back for school. In the middle of the forest, he closed his eyes and cried “Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala,

Gopala, Gopala, Gopala,Gopala, Gopala, Gopala.”

“What happened next?” I asked.

“He is calling God for help. Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala, Gopala. (One mala – 108 times)”

Lord Krishna manifested in front of him and asked politely, “My child, why are you calling me? What do you need?”

He shared his problem with God. He listened to him and gave him a lauta (small vessel). He took it and looked in it. It had very little milk.

He said, “The milk is not enough. The teacher wanted the full lauta, moreover this lauta is too small. Gopala, atleast fill it to the brim.”

Krishna said, “Give this lauta to your teacher.” And He disappeared.

Half-heartedly he took the path to the school. He gave lauta to the teacher. The teacher mocked at the size of the lauta. The teacher poured the milk in the bucket. The bucket got filled and some milk spitted on the floor. Surprisingly, the mini lauta still had milk in it. The teacher rushed to his house which was nearby and filled drums, kadhais, patilas, and all the big vessels he had. But lauta still had milk. The greedy teacher started filling all the small vessels like glass, katori (bowl) etc. with milk. The lauta still had milk. The teacher got tired of, realised his mistake, and asked for forgiveness.

That very day, my nani suggested the name of a vaidji (Ayurvedic doctor) to my father. Next day, in the morning we were in his clinics. The vaidji checked my eyes, tongue, nadi etc. and told that the medicines given to her reacted; the blood became impure which resulted in pustules. He suggested that every morning I should take fresh neem juice, mishri (sweet granules to beat bitterness) and roasted channa (helps in fresh blood formation) before eating anything. He also prescribed medicated oil for applying on my ruptured skin.

My father fed me bitter medicines and my nanaji (grandfather) told me stories of Chandan in which he was trapped in some trouble, called Gopala for help and then some magic happens for three-four months until I was cured. My nanaji gradually increased the number of malas in between the stories. One such story had 108 malas of Gopala which means 11664 times.

According to Swami Sivananda, “When Allopathy, Homeopathy, Chromopathy, Naturopathy, Ayurvedopathy and other ‘pathies’ fail to cure a disease, the Divine Namopathy alone can save you, The Name of the Lord is a sovereign specific, a sheet anchor, an infallible panacea and a cure all for diseases.

Gopala saved me! :)

P.S. – Photo clicked by me