Principles of Spirituality

Chanting of Lord Datta and Family Deity’s Names

One should conscientiously practice points A through D to be blessed by a Guru and all points excluding A for the constant bestowal of His grace. Once a Guru blesses one, point B is modified to, 'Chanting the Name imparted by the Guru' from, 'Chanting The Lord's Name'.

A.	Worship of the principle of the religion we are born into (or family deity - Kuladevata)
B.	Chanting The Lord's Name
C.	Satsang (holy company)
D.	Service of the Absolute Truth (satseva)
E.	Being blessed by a Guru (guruprapti) and service unto the Guru
F.	Sacrifice
G.	Spiritual love (priti) for others
H.	Mission after attaining Self-realization (dnyanottar karya)

Chanting the Lord's Name

A. Worship of Lord Datta

Unlike the bygone days, nowadays since most people do not perform rites for departed souls, nearly 30% of people are troubled by ancestors' unsatisfied souls. That is one of the main reasons for obstacles both in worldly life as well as in one's spiritual practice. Since the average individual can not tell whether he is one of the thirty percent suffering from ancestors' souls problem or whether he would be troubled by ancestors' souls in the future, he should chant three turns of a mala (rosary of 108 beads) of 'Om Shri Gurudev Datta' daily as either a curative or a preventive measure. He should increase the chanting to six to nine turns of the mala if the trouble is severe.

B. Chanting the Lord's Name as per the religion (family deity) of birth (Namasmaran)

(See Issue 6 for information on chanting according to one's spiritual level.)

Chanting refers to the continuous remembrance of the Lord's Name. Of all the Names of the Lord, chanting the Name of the family deity, that is the Name of the Lord as per the religion of birth (kuladevata), is the most beneficial since it best matches one's individual temperament and spiritual composition among all other Names of the Lord. In fact, it is the foundation of all the spiritual practices incorporated in the Path of Guru's Grace (Gurukrupayoga). As one chants regularly, his spiritual level gradually rises to 40% (assuming that he is below that level to begin with). Then, every now and then, chanting occurs automatically and one is also able to perceive a little of the subtle dimension. Also, due to the increased chanting, one forgets about other things and begins to experience Bliss every so often.

A family (kul) is comprised of people, who are closely associated with each other. An individual is born in a particular family depending on the particular principle of God that he needs to worship.
‘Kul’ also means energy, kundalini, or muladhar chakra. Kuladevata thus refers to the deity whose worship activates the kundalini (spiritual energy) in the muladhar chakra, initiating spiritual progress. If one has both a male and a female family deity, he should chant the Name of the female family deity. She is more easily appeased due to the fact that She is closer to the pruthvitattva (earth element) among the five cosmic elements than the male family deity is, and we are composed of mainly the subtle earth element. Hence, when one begins spiritual practice, he gets spiritual experiences associated with the cosmic earth element rapidly. For instance, one gets fragrance of burning incense in the absence of a lit incense stick. This increases one's faith augmenting his spiritual progress.
If one belongs to the Hindu religion and is not aware of the Name of the family deity (kuladevata), one should chant the Name of one's favourite deity or 'Shri Kuladevatayai namaha'. Once this chanting reaches a certain level, the seeker meets someone who guides him to the family deity's Name. Once the chanting of the family deity's Name reaches a certain level, the Guru Himself comes into the seeker's life and blesses him with a Gurumantra.
Worship of the family deity began in the post-Vedic (after the period when the famous Hindu scriptures, the Vedas, were documented) and pre-Puranic (before the period when Spirituality was taught to the masses through mythological stories [purans]) period. Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, a great king from western India in the 17th century, is an example of one who made worldly as well as spiritual progress by worshipping his family deity.

Importance of the principle as per the religion (family) of birth

When one is seriously ill one does not take medicines according to one's intellect but consults an authority in the field of medicine, a physician, and takes medicines according to his advice. Similarly, to recover from one's spiritual deficiency that makes one ride the roller coaster of happiness and unhappiness in worldly life, that is to go beyond this roller coaster and attain Bliss and peace, one needs to practice Spirituality not as per one's intellect, but under the guidance of a spiritually evolved person. However, it is very difficult to choose a spiritual guide because 97% of the so-called Gurus today are fake. Therefore, the Lord has provided us with an excellent solution. He has given each one of us birth in a family (kul) appropriate for one's spiritual progress, as the principle or the form of God worshipped by the family is the principle we lack in and need to worship.

When one falls ill, one consults one's family physician since he knows all about one's constitution and illnesses. In the same way, out of the 330 million forms of God, that is deities, our family deity is the closest to us, the one who will respond to our call and will make us progress spiritually.

Though God is one Universal principle, He exists or functions in the form of many principles (forms). When the subtle body has imbibed all the principles in the universe, spiritual practice is said to be complete. The cow is the only animal that can attract the frequencies of all principles in the universe (hence, it is said that there are 330 million deities or principles in the cow's abdomen). Chanting the family deity's Name helps in imbibing all the principles in the universe and increases them to 30% each. Compared to this, chanting the Names of deities like Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesh, Lakshmi, etc. only helps in increasing the particular principle Whose Name is being chanted. This is akin to taking vitamin A, B, etc. as a supplement to reduce the deficiency of that particular vitamin in the body. The Name of the family deity is like a general vitamin supplement, which contains all the vitamins and minerals.

"The Guru is the mother, the Guru is the father,
the Guru is our Kuladevata.
In the most difficult times, He always protects in every way.
The body, speech, and mind, I offer at the Guru's feet.
Eknath surrenders to Lord Janardan and
considers His Guru to be Lord Janardan Himself."

- Saint Eknath.

*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.