Namasankirtana Medicine And Elixir

NAmasankIrtana – Medicine and elixir • dyAyan krtE yajan yagnaI: trEtAyAm dvAparE arcayan yadApnOti tadApnOti kalou sankIrtya kesavam • (The means for liberation in krta yuga is – meditation (mental) in trEta is – oblations (physically complicated) in dvApara is – arcana (physically simple) in kali is – nama sankIrtana (oral) • Although the end is fixed the means gets simplified in successive yugas finally culminating in chanting Bhagavan’s His holy names • Medicine is a bitter cure; elixir is a sweet enjoyment that follows. Milk is a cure as well as delight; so is bhagavan nAma. It eliminates the pain of material world and absorbs us in bliss.

Why nAma sankIrtana • As we realise atman’ s subservience to parmAtma we engage in various services that please the Master. One of them is nAma sankIrtana (stavya: stavapriya: stOtram..) • His nAmas fill the vacuum of His physical absence. He is a 24 ct gold but His namas are like 22ct gold, fit for ornaments. Even when He is away His nAmas are close as evident from the episode of draupadi. Eventhough Krshna was at dvAraka when she called His namAs blessed her clothes. • All are eligible to chant nAmAs; a son hates his mother and slaps her, murmurs ‘amma’ when his hand pains; even to blame an atheist uses His names. There is no need for any qualification to chant as this is the qualifier. • It is not mandatory to know the meaning of each nAma; it works even without that; fire burns when touched irrespective of whether we know that it would burn or not.

Testimony • The story of ajAmila in Srimad bhagavatam. It is a misconception that nAma sankIrtana is a recurring medicine that allows us to repeat mistakes. For ajAmila, the company of duta bhagavatas destroyed his papa and so he repented and that eventually led him to liberation. • The episode of mudgala and kshatrabandhu • 1. Kedum idarAyavellam kEsavA enna 2. Vadati yama:kila tasya karna mUlE …. Naman tamarAl ArAyappattariyAr kandir..3. kim tvayA nArcitO dEva: kEsava: klEsa nAsana: 4. kAvalil pulanai.. 5. Paccai mA malai..(tondaradippodi azhvar gave up mOksham for the joy of chanting nAmas)

Sri vishnu sahasranAma • The cream of Mahabharata is in Gita and sahasranAma. Yudhishthira requested for the decision of Bhishma about the 1. ultimate reality, 2.human end and 3.the means - bhishma confirmed that only nAma sankIrtana facilitates bhakti. kimEkam…jagatprabhum..Further he says that nAmAs are explanatory of the auspicious qualities (yAni nAmAni gouNAni). • nAmAs explain one of the following .1 His essential nature (kAraNa) or 2. divine form (puNdarIkAksha) or 3. quality (vatsala) or 4. wealth (visvamUrtE). Kesava is one nAma which accommodates all four. • nAma sankIrtana aids in practicing bhakti which in turn is the means of liberation. This removes fear, cures diseases, clears confusion, improves wisdom, nurtures bhakti and blesses wealth needed for service. (vanE raNe.. vEdantagO brahmana: syAt…). Siva’s reply to Parvati suggests Rama nAma as equal to all the thousand nAmAs. • We must not trade namAs for low human ends. Chant for the pleasure of chanting (as an end by itself and not means)