Clarification of Doubts

In Spirituality, no matter how much theoretical information one has access to, one's spiritual practice will not be smooth unless needling doubts are clarified. If you should have any questions related to spirituality, please email us at Weekly.

Which Name to chant?

Question: Some Saints or spiritual organizations tell us to chant* a particular Name of the Lord while the Sanatan organization recommends chanting the Name of the family deity or that of God as per the religion of birth? How does one know which Name is right for chanting?

- A Reader.

Dear Reader,

Ideally, the Name of God imparted by one's Guru (Gurumantra) is the Name that one should chant. Those, who have not received a Gurumantra should chant the Name of the Lord as per the religion of birth or that of the family deity (for Hindus), as that is the Name that best matches one's individual constitution. According to the fundamental principle of Spirituality, there are as many temperaments as there are people and a corresponding number of paths of Spirituality. Just as a physician does not prescribe the same medicine to all his patients, it is not appropriate for all to chant the same Name.

In a compilation of spiritual discourses by the great saint, His Holiness (H.H.) Gondavalekar Maharaj, the chanting of Lord Rama is recommended. Sometimes when one reads a beautiful spiritual text on a deity or a saint, one may feel like chanting the Name of that deity, saint, or the principle that the saint was devoted to. Thus, there is confusion as to which Name to chant. One should note in such cases that in Spirituality, one should pay attention to the implied rather than the literal meaning behind the spiritual text. Hence, instead of following the literal meaning as chanting 'Lord Rama', 'Rama Krishna Hari', etc., one should realize that the implied meaning is to constantly remember the Lord through chanting His Name. The following example illustrates this point. H.H. Bhaktaraj Maharaj would tell everyone to chant 'Hari Om Tatsat'. Many devotees, understanding only the literal meaning, would actually chant, 'Hari Om Tatsat.' In reality, however, H.H. Bhaktaraj Maharaj implied that one should chant the Lord's Name.

*If one is not currently doing any spiritual practice, or to complement one's current spiritual practice, one can begin with the simple, but powerful spiritual practice of chanting or constantly remembering God's Name according to one's religion. Chanting also acts as a useful complement to any spiritual path one may be already following. It is a practice recommended for the current times by Holy texts and Saints of all religions.

Seekers in the initial stages of spiritual practice (less than one year) can repeat The Name of the Lord as per their religion (refer to Issue 3 Clarification of Doubts section for details).
Seekers who have been doing regular spiritual practice for over a year or so can determine the appropriate chant for them from the experiment given in Issue 124, Message to Seekers section.