Chanting the Lord's Name gives eternal bliss andhappiness. Now the question arises, 'There are somany Gods and Godesses in my faith and each of themhas umpteen names! Which one should I pick andchoose?' Infact Yudishtira himself had this doubt and,questions Bhishma in the prelude to VishnuSahasranama,
"kim ekam daivatam lokE kimvApekam parAyaNam
stuvantam kam prApnuyu: mAnavA: subham
ko dharma sarvadharmAnAm bhavata: paramO matah:
kim japan muchyatE jantu: janma samsAra bandanAt "
Who is the greates Lord in the world? Who is the onerefuge for all?
By extolling whom can one reach happiness andprosperity?Which is the faith that is the best of all thereligions?
By chanting whose Name can the beings cross the sea ofSamsara? "And Bhishmacharya answers,jagat prabhum dEvadEvam anantam purushOttamam stuvan nAma sahasrENa purusha: sathatothitha:"The endless Supreme Powerful Being, and protector ofall - Sri Vishnu --
By singing his Names, man attains prosperity andhappiness." Thus speaks Vishnu Sahasranama. However, given thecurrent busy day, where one finds it difficult to evensing a thousand names, we are forced to turn to ourscriptures for an easier way.The Upanishads are considered to be the Knowledgeportion of the Vedas. One such upanishad, "KaliSantarana Upanishad" resolves this predicament ofours!
The following conversation between Sri NaradaMaharishi and Lord Brahma is found in Kali SantaranaUpanishad. At the end of Dwapara Yuga, Narada, after travelingaround the world, approached Lord Brahma and askedhim,
“How may I overcome (the evil effects of) KaliYuga?”Lord Brahma said: “You have asked me an excellentquestion. I shall reveal to you the secret of all theVedas by which you will cross over the ‘samsara’(ocean of life) filled with the bad effects of theKali Yuga. This secret must be preserved andprotected.”
“Bhagavata Adipurushasya nArAyaNasyanAmoccAraNamAtreNa nirdhrtakalir bhavati nAradah punah papraccha tannAma kimiti,”
Said Lord Brahma, 'By merely uttering the names of thePrimeval ‘Purusha’, who is Bhagavan Narayana, one isfreed from the clutches of Kali."Narada asked further, “sa hovaca hiranyagarbhah” What are those names of Narayana?"
“HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE”
iti shodashakam nAmnAm kalikalmashanAshanam
natah parataropAyah sarvavedeshu drushyate
Lord Brahma said,
“This collection of the sixteenNames (of Narayana) destroys the evils of the KaliYuga. I don't see any other effective means (ofliberation) in the Vedas.Narada further clarifies for the sake of us, ‘O Lord,what are the rules to be observed with reference to it?" Brahma replied that there were no rules for it.Whoever in a pure or an impure state, utters thesealways, attains the same world of, or proximity with,or the same form of, or absorption into the divine.
Sri Sri Swamiji says that though all Names of God are divine and have the power to deliver us from the evilsof this age, this particular Maha Mantra is prescribedin the Shastras and has been chanted, followed,preached and lived for by great Mahans like SriChaitanya Mahaprabhu and ascertains
so, "Wherever Maha Mantra Nama kirtan is performed, the cosmic changes there. Waves of the Lord’s Presence exist there. There will be peace in that home. All auspicious happenings will take place!"
"kim ekam daivatam lokE kimvApekam parAyaNam
stuvantam kam prApnuyu: mAnavA: subham
ko dharma sarvadharmAnAm bhavata: paramO matah:
kim japan muchyatE jantu: janma samsAra bandanAt "
Who is the greates Lord in the world? Who is the onerefuge for all?
By extolling whom can one reach happiness andprosperity?Which is the faith that is the best of all thereligions?
By chanting whose Name can the beings cross the sea ofSamsara? "And Bhishmacharya answers,jagat prabhum dEvadEvam anantam purushOttamam stuvan nAma sahasrENa purusha: sathatothitha:"The endless Supreme Powerful Being, and protector ofall - Sri Vishnu --
By singing his Names, man attains prosperity andhappiness." Thus speaks Vishnu Sahasranama. However, given thecurrent busy day, where one finds it difficult to evensing a thousand names, we are forced to turn to ourscriptures for an easier way.The Upanishads are considered to be the Knowledgeportion of the Vedas. One such upanishad, "KaliSantarana Upanishad" resolves this predicament ofours!
The following conversation between Sri NaradaMaharishi and Lord Brahma is found in Kali SantaranaUpanishad. At the end of Dwapara Yuga, Narada, after travelingaround the world, approached Lord Brahma and askedhim,
“How may I overcome (the evil effects of) KaliYuga?”Lord Brahma said: “You have asked me an excellentquestion. I shall reveal to you the secret of all theVedas by which you will cross over the ‘samsara’(ocean of life) filled with the bad effects of theKali Yuga. This secret must be preserved andprotected.”
“Bhagavata Adipurushasya nArAyaNasyanAmoccAraNamAtreNa nirdhrtakalir bhavati nAradah punah papraccha tannAma kimiti,”
Said Lord Brahma, 'By merely uttering the names of thePrimeval ‘Purusha’, who is Bhagavan Narayana, one isfreed from the clutches of Kali."Narada asked further, “sa hovaca hiranyagarbhah” What are those names of Narayana?"
“HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE”
iti shodashakam nAmnAm kalikalmashanAshanam
natah parataropAyah sarvavedeshu drushyate
Lord Brahma said,
“This collection of the sixteenNames (of Narayana) destroys the evils of the KaliYuga. I don't see any other effective means (ofliberation) in the Vedas.Narada further clarifies for the sake of us, ‘O Lord,what are the rules to be observed with reference to it?" Brahma replied that there were no rules for it.Whoever in a pure or an impure state, utters thesealways, attains the same world of, or proximity with,or the same form of, or absorption into the divine.
Sri Sri Swamiji says that though all Names of God are divine and have the power to deliver us from the evilsof this age, this particular Maha Mantra is prescribedin the Shastras and has been chanted, followed,preached and lived for by great Mahans like SriChaitanya Mahaprabhu and ascertains
so, "Wherever Maha Mantra Nama kirtan is performed, the cosmic changes there. Waves of the Lord’s Presence exist there. There will be peace in that home. All auspicious happenings will take place!"
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