Krishnam Vande Jagatgurum: 01/08/2009

Taste of Nama is sweet - HH Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamigal

Looking at perumal, Azhwar says "moovulagundumizhndha mudhalva nin namam katra aavalippudaimai kandai". Azhwar gossips with the perumal, is your mouth more sweeter than mine? Perumal asks "why are you asking this and coming up with this? ok, you please tell the answer", says perumal. "moovulagundumizhndha mudhalva nin namam katra aavalippudaimai kandai". I am always saying "arangamanagarulane, arangamanagarulane, ranga, ranga that's why my tongue is sweet. When your name is being said by the bhakthas "aavalippudaimai kandai" - "Oh ramaninamam emiruchira sri rama nee namam entha ruchira rama" says bhadrachala ramadasar, saying rama rama rama the tongue is so sweet just like the sweetness with athirasam, draksha, kalkandu combined, as we keep saying your nama the tongue is so sweet. When anyone asks why does it taste so sweet for the azhwar but not for us, are the azhwars exaggerating it? Azhwar has the answer for this. Lets say one has a typhoid fever with 105 degrees temperature. If Badam alwa is put in his mouth he says it tastes bitter. The dosham is not with the alwa its with the disease he has. Likewise its because of the disease called samsara, this nama is not tasting sweet in your mouth. The poison of samsaram has entered your body. Let that disease leave you, then you try tasting nama. "Perform namakeerthanam this disease will go". After the disease of samsara has left you, then you will know the sweet taste of nama.

Azhwar tells perumal there is a reason my tongue is sweeter than yours - "nin namam katra aavalippudaimai kandai". Azhwar tells perumal you cannot keep saying your own name "ranga", "ranga" and it wont be sweet for you because you have eaten mud. The mouth that has eaten mud will not be sweet. In the first pasuram itself, Azhwar converses with the perumal thus,

"kavalil pulanai vaithu kalithanaik kadaka payndhu

naavalituzhi tharuginnom naman thamar thaligal meedhe

moovulagundumizhndha mudhalva nin namam katra

aavalippudaimai kandai arangama nagarulaane".Radhe Radhe

Nama will always protect us - HH Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamigal

Many will come to me and ask, you are asking me to do nama japam, mantra japam but when will this nama/mantra bear me fruit. How much should I do - 1 crore, 2 crore. Its not like that.

Only one Name is sufficient you will get the bhagavan kripa. Here its not the name thats important or the count, its how much of deep wanting you have of seeing the God, for one who has a great force of seeing God, like Draupadi who just cried "Govinda", one nama is enough. Only with just one cry, you will get the bhagavan if you have the deep craving for it. Even if you dont have that not to worry as you start telling the nama the craving and the force will come little by little and chanting this way you will ultimately get the bhagavan.

So for one what is the sign that he is progressing in the spiritual path. Only if he gets the deep craving to see the bhagavan every day and if he engages himself in the activities that develop his craving for seeing the bhagavan and the worry of not being able to see the bhagavan stays permanently and this takes one into more and more of bhagavath vishayam (things related to bhagavan) then there is a sure sign that you are progessing well in your spiritual life.

Not just about getting siddhis. One can even walk on water but thats not something great or surprising. Likewise one can even fly or think of any object to fall into his hand or perform levitation all this is not surprising. What is great is that one should cry for the bhagavan, not just because he is faced with difficulties by going to the temple and crying to get rid of our problems.

Thats just self-pity - low profile.

With our tongue saying nama always thats also a tapam by itself. You know what is preventing the sakshathkaram of the bhagavan - not your job nor your family but its that mental thought that comes to you often which is to say something else other than the nama, that false feeling we can do this or we can do that other than the nama. Ignoring of the nama we often do that is what is preventing you from seeing the bhagavan. Whatever the sannidhyam thats present in the archAvatara moorthi inside the temple is there in the nama itself. Nama is bhagavan itself. There is no difference between nama and nami. So nama is enough, this nama will take me to the bhagavan, dont listen to what anybody says, dont fear, dont turn your mind here and there. Mahans have shown this royal route. So if you go in this route easily you can see the bhagavan. We should get down and see the depth of the bhakthi. Just like we take any subject and go deeper likewise we should not just simply go to a temple, do pooja and have darshan but we should constantly do the bhakthi, feel its blisss and experience the beauty in it.

Such a deep bhakthi to come easily, what is the way? BHAGAVAN NAMA!!! HARINAMASANKEERTHANAM !!! Sing with the mouth, think with the mind said nacchiar, the meaning of the workd "bhajanam" is exactly that. Speech, mind and acion should come toether. If we say "Govinda giri" - the hand must go up and the mind must think of the Govarthana girithari. The Speech, mind and body should come together which is actually called "bhajanam". Even though sri andal says "Sing with the mouth, think with the mind", we need the bhagvath experience to know the taste of bhakthi and what is needed to protect, just the nama alone is enough!.

JUST IF WE KEEP SINGING THE NAME OF THE NAMA OF THE THE BHAGAVAN, THE NAMA WILL ALWAYS PROTECT US!!! Radhe Radhe

Kwik 'n' Easy Gita Slokas - by Harini Anand

Chapter:2 Sloka: 38

Sukha dukhe same krithva labha labhau jaya jayau

sukha -happiness; dukhe - sadness; same - same; krtva - doing so; labha -

profit; alabhau - loss; jaya - victory; ajayau - defeat.

Translation : Without Considering Happiness, distress, Gain or Loss, Win or Lose Do your Duty

Chapter:2 Sloka:63

Krodhath bavathi sammohaha sammohath smriti vibhramaha

smriti bhramsath buddhi naso buddhi nasath pranasyathi

Krodath bhavathi sammohaha - from anger comes desire

sammohath smriti vibramaha - from desire comes delusion

smriti bhramsath buddhi naso - delusions destroy the mind

buddhi nasath pranasyathi - from the loss of a good mind one's entire body feels defeated

Chapter:3 Sloka:14

annath bhavanthi bhutani parjanyath anna sambhavaha

yajnath bhavathi parjanyo yajna karma samuthbhavaha

annath bhavanthi - From Grains (Annam) grow

bhutani - the material bodies

parjanyath - From Rains

anna sambhavaha - Grains are produced

yajnath - From Yajna

bhavathi parjanyo - Rains come

yajna karma - duty of sacrifice

samuthbhavaha - is born

Chapter:10 Sloka : 35

Brhath sama tatha samnam gayathri chandasam-aham

Masanam Marghasirso-aham rutunam kusumakarah

Brhath sama tatha - Also the Brhath sama (Sama Veda songs) I am

Gayathri - Gayathri Hymns

Chandasam - All the Poetry I am

Masanam - Of Months

Marghasirso aham - December-January I am

rtunam - of Seasons

kusumakarah - spring

Translation : Of all songs I am the Gayathri Hyms. I am all poetry. Of all months I am (Margazhli) December and January. Of all seasons I am Spring season.