It is established that the NAME of GOD is more powerful than
GOD Himself! Innumerable saints, sages and Azwars and Nayanmars have testified
to the belief that His Name is more powerful than that of God! It is not
necessary to have the vision of God by performing tapas or penance. It is
enough if we meditate on Him and recite His name intently with concentration!
Sage Valmiki had this experience as he repeated the name “mara’ which on
repetition became “Rama” and transformed him into a great poet from being a
highway robber! Kruth yuga and Dwapara Yuga, when yagnas were very common and
popular are gone and nama sankeertan is the only way for the salvation of
mankind! “ harer namaiva namaiva namaiva
mama jivanam kalau nasthaiva nasthaiva nasthaiva gathi ranyatha” It is the name of
Hari alone that is my Life; There is no other salvation in Kali Yuga except the name of Hari.
‘ Sangita Pitamaha’,
Sri Purandara dasa one of the greatest
minstrels who popularized the bhakti movement
glorifies the name of God in every one of his beautiful compositions. He
clearly says that he does not require God at all and his dignified presence
which is rather difficult. if the strength of his NAME is present, all troubles
and impediments shall be destroyed. Gajendra fought with the crocodile for
hundreds of years foolishly. It had lost all its strength and energy! It
realized its helplessness and to tally surrendered to Lord Narayana! It
appealed to Him by calling him ‘ Adi moola” and instantly Hari came running to
save His devotee! The Bhagavatha Purana describes how Lord Vishnu, suddenly came out of Vaikunta,
without informing Mahalaksmi and not arming himself with His conch and chakra
or calling for Garuda His vahana ! Wondering why the Lord was hastily moving,
Lakshmi, Garuda, and sankha and chakra and other devas ran behind the lord!
Lord Vishnu, killed the crocodile with his chakra and saved the elephant,
Gajendra!
It is once
again the name of Lord Narayana that saved the child devotee Prahlada from the
torture of his father Hiranya kasipu.He as allowed to be trampled by elephants,
thrown into the sea, put in caves full of serpents and finally forced to drink
poison! During all these tortures, it was the name of Narayana that remained on
the lips and heart of little Prahlada! He came out unscathed from all the
tortures to the horror and astonishment of his father! When Hiranyakasipu
challenged his son to show where Hari is, Prahlada said Hari is everywhere,
including the pillar present there! To fulfill the words of his child devotee, Lord Narayana manifested himself in every
object of the universe! Later, He emerged from the pillar as
The name of Krishna saved the modesty
of Draupadi in the full court of Dhrutarashtra when, under the order of
Duryodhana she was disrobed! She called out to the Lord with deep devotion to
save her from that ordeal. None came to her rescue including her husbands who
were powerless! Lord Krishna did not appear to save her personally! But her
prayers were answered and Dussasana fainted unable to disrobe her! God is
nearer to you if you are nearer to Him! It is intense devotion to Him that counts ,
nothing else!
Sri Purandara dasa recounts another instance where the name of the Lord saved the man from damnation in hell! The Bhagavatha describes the story of a brahmin Ajamila who fell into evil ways. He committed sins which a brahmin should not have committed like drinking and meat eating! People felt pity for him as he he had gone astray and did not uphold the principles of the Brahmin community. He had a son whom he named Narayana. He was fond of this son and when Ajamila was terminally ill, in his last moments , he called out the name Narayana and breathed his last! ‘The Yama duthas’ came to take him to hell for punishment for all the sins he had committed! But at the same time messengers came to bring him to heaven for enjoyment as he died with the name of Narayana on his lips! Thus Sri Purandara dasa in this song establishes the efficacy of the name of the lord rather than the exact presence of God! God’s name is incomparable! There is nothing equal to the Name of God! This is one of the reasons why we name our children with the name of gods! The faith is that even if by mistake we utter the name of God during our last moments, we are sure to get salvation or mukti! But it is not easy to develop devotion and recite the name of the Lord!
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