Nama-smarana Gives Peace And Bliss

23 April 1997, Sai Shruti, Kodaikanal, TN

Published English.

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Divine Sounds Are Most Elevating is of nine types: (listening), (singing), (contemplating on ), (serving His Lotus Feet), (salutation), (worship), (servitude), (friendship), (self-surrender).

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You hear with your ears. You contemplate on the sound you hear. You also sing. You contemplate on the meaning of the song you sing and at the same time, salute with gratitude the Lord within your heart. Along with this, do and develop your friendship with God. Through this real friendship, you attain God. Love is one, only bodies are different. Nurture this type of love for God and develop permanent friendship with Him.

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The Power Of Sound Sound pervades the entire universe. That is ( in the form of sound). The entire universe emerged from sound. There are many types of sound. There are good sounds and also bad sounds. Sound is the cause of happiness, misery, courage and fear. So, do not ignore sound. Out of all sounds, the Divine sounds are the noblest, most elevating, full of auspiciousness and good qualities. All can enjoy and share good sounds.

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There are four types of sounds. The first one is (silence), that is sound without words. The second is (beneficial sound). The third is (fearsome sound), the sound that creates panic. The fourth is (the sound that gives peace). Besides these sounds, there is (divine sound) which is most elevating. On the other hand, unholy sounds cause perversion in the mind.

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Sounds have the power to change a person. Here is a small example. Surrounded by his students, a village teacher was teaching his students. He said to them, “Dear children, man has the ability to realise God, unlike the birds and animals which only eat, drink and sleep. Humans are unique; they are lofty and noble. The goal of human life is (bliss), peace and liberation. But bliss and peace cannot be attained through worldly means. Real happiness and permanent can be had only by contemplation on God. True education is that which gives this knowledge to man. That is called . = + Ya. means knowledge, Ya means that which gives. So, what is education? Education is that which gives the knowledge of God. Man should educate himself to attain (experience of the ).”

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The teacher then narrated the story of who attained . ’s father hated God. One day, he asked , what had he learnt from his teachers. said, “I have learnt a great secret”. When his father asked him, what was that, said, “” (This is called having eight syllables). His father chided him, calling him a mad fellow, fool. ’s father then went to his teachers and told them that they should not spoil him by teaching such . They should teach only that which is given in the books. But it was through the chanting of this that attained . Divine sounds have a sublime effect on man.

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Chanting the Divine Name Is Most Beneficial Repeat the Divine Name of God and through that sound, you can obtain sacred benefits. In olden days, there were no electric street lights. There were only oil lamps in the streets. A God-loving person was appointed to light street lamps in (). When he wiped the glass chimney of the lamp to clean it, he used to repeat the Name of God. (Swami sang the song: "; " – Oh , the soul of , I will do Your work only). The lamps he lit shone with great brightness, whereas the lamps in other streets gave only dim light. This shows that God’s Name has the great power to purify and illumine.

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Do not pray for attaining mundane things. Pray for spiritual wealth. People pray for job, promotion, children, health, etc. Pray instead for eternal (bliss). That is God. is related to the heart – everlasting, changeless, full of radiant glory. Happiness pertains to head – temporary, ephemeral. (liberation) is everlasting .

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Once went with his disciples to . There, a person was sitting on the bank of the under a tree, chanting the rules of grammar, saying, “ ”. Shankara asked him, “What are you chanting”? He repeated what he was chanting. Shankara asked, “Why are you chanting this”? “To become a (scholar).” “Why do you want to become a ?” “To serve the king and obtain wealth, position and protection.” Shankara said, “Mad fellow! Chant the Name of God. The rules of grammar will not protect you when your end approaches. There is nobody except God to protect you. This world is transient and full of difficulties. How can you get here? Seek protection only in the Divine Name of God”. In this , keep repeating God’s Name without intermission. Then the small plant of life will grow into a big tree and give a lot of fruits. God is greater than the greatest and subtler than the subtlest.

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The Supreme Power of The vibrations arising from the repetition of God’s Name affect your thought waves. Pure thoughts lead to liberation. Mind is like a mad monkey, body is like a water bubble. The bliss of the Indweller of the body is important, not the body. It is possible to attain liberation only by the grace of God. Repeat the Name of God. Do not waste time. Do not waste your life. Time waste is life waste. Do not spend your time, energy and power in improper ways. Experience bliss and help others to experience it.

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Two brothers, Deva and Deva were travelling in a forest. Deva was the embodiment of (devotion) and Deva, that of (knowledge). They were thirsty and came near a deep well. There was no way to get water from the well. Deva looked around and got the vision that all was one, everything was nothing but God. He transformed himself into a bird, went down into the well and drank the water. Deva sat beside the well and chanted God’s Name. The water rose up and came near him (within his reach). He had no need to change his form. It is only a (devotee) who can forget himself, repeating God’s Name and get His grace.

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A magnet attracts only iron; it does not attract gold, silver or any other metal. God is the magnet and devotees are the iron. Other persons may be great scientists, doctors, philosophers, scholars, intellectuals, politicians, etc., but they are like precious metals such as gold and silver. The magnet will not attract them. God attracts only devotees. Devotees are like iron, but they may take on themselves rust and dust of worldly desires. When you remove the rust and dust, God will rest you in liberation. If you have dust, He will give you test. Worldly desires are the dust. The dust causes the rust. Rust makes the iron lose its capacity and strength. You should cleanse your heart by doing (repetition of God’s Name) daily.

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(vision) releases you from all your sins. (touch) releases you from the effects of all your past actions. (conversation) removes all your sorrow. By God’s grace, your heart will become pure. Many people come here from far-away places out of love, spending a lot of money. Fill your heart with love. This will benefit not only you, but your friends and those around you also. There is no peace in the world; there are only pieces. Contemplation on God only will give you peace and protection. Keep repeating God’s Name. Sound spreads everywhere. Good sound comes out of ; it benefits all. When you sing with unison of , and (pitch, rhythm and beat), the sound produced by it casts beneficial effects. box is the mind, is the words and is the actions. When the mind (thoughts), words and actions are in unison, we get (fulfilment).

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( brought His Discourse to a close with the , “ Sukha Nahin…”)