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Which Name should one chant?
Dear Readers,
Over the past few Issues we have discussed how
chanting works, its benefits and the methods by which one can chant.
In this and some of the following Issues, we will
explain the science behind choosing The Lord's Name that one should
chant. To simplify this concept, we will broadly classify seekers
into two types:
| 1. |
Seekers, who do not have a Guru
and |
| 2. |
Seekers, who have been accepted by a Guru as His
disciples |
The following table explains the Name of The Lord
to be chanted as per the science of Spirituality for each of the
above two types of seekers:
|
Type of seeker
|
The Lord's Name to chant as per the
Science of Spirituality
|
| Seeker,
who does not have a Guru |
The
name of the deity or divine principle according to the
seeker's religion at birth (Refer to Issue 88,
Clarification of Doubts section for details on The Lord's
Name as per the religious order) |
| Seeker,
who has been accepted by a Guru as His disciple |
The
Lord's Name or chant as advised by the Guru |
(Note: One is blessed with a Guru and His
continuing grace only after one has attained disciple hood, that is,
after sacrificing one's mind, intellect, wealth and ego to the
extent of at least 50%. Thus, one should not consider a Saint to be
one's Guru, unless the Saint has initiated and accepted one to be
His disciple.)
1. Seekers, who do not have a Guru:
Most seekers and people fall under this category.
When one does not have a Guru, one can rely on the science of
Spirituality for guidance.
If you have any specific questions on chanting
and/or cannot find the answers using the Sanatan Weekly Online's
archived Issues and search facility at www.sanatan.org/weekly,
please e-mail weekly@sanatan.org
and we will try to answer them for you.
* Repeating The Lord's Name as per one's religion.
(To be continued)
[Reference taken from the Sanatan's
publication, Volume 6: Path of
Chanting The Lord's Name (Namasankirtanyoga) and Path of Mantra
(Mantrayoga), compiled by H.
H. Dr. Jayant Athavale and Dr. Mrs. Kunda Athavale.]
Practical application
The above theory highlights the importance of
chanting The Lord's Name as per one's religion until one acquires a
Guru. Thus,
| 1. |
If one is not chanting one
can start chanting The Lord's Name as per one's religion. To
begin with, one can chant 3 to 6 turns of a mala
daily. (Refer to Issues 112 and 113,
Practical Guidance section for ways to persevere with
chanting.) |
| 2. |
If one is already
chanting and does not have a Guru, one can complement one's
current chanting with the chanting of The Lord's Name
according to one's religion at birth. |
| 3. |
If one is already
chanting under the guidance of a Guru, one should chant as
much as possible with complete faith in the chant. |
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