THE SACRED NAME
THE SACRED NAME
Everyone in this world is addressed by some name. However, are these names the real ones?
The Spiritual Master enlightens us that all the worldly names and identities are false. They will perish one day.
That is why the Gracious Saints always emphasize chanting the Sacred Name of the Lord, which is pure, true, and divine.
Learned Saint Sahajobai Ji enlightens:
नामहिं ले जल पीजिये, नामहिं लेकर खाह ।
नामहिं लेकर बैठिये, नामहिं लै चल राह ।।
Meaning: Chant the Sacred Name of the Divine Master while drinking, eating, sitting, and walking. It means keep the Sacred Name of the Lord in your heart forever.
Following is a story throwing light on the importance of chanting the Sacred Name of the Lord:
An old woman lived in a village. She had no sibling or friend. She used to sell dung cakes and that was her only way to get her bread and butter. However, one of the virtues of that woman was that she was a devotee of Lord Krishna.
She always used to chant the Sacred Name, even when she was making dung cakes. Some people of that village ridiculed her devotion and one night they stole all the dung cakes of the old woman and started saying among themselves, “Now, let’s see how Lord Krishna helps her!”.
She woke up in the morning and saw that all the dung cakes were stolen by someone. She started laughing and saying to her Lord, “Krishna! Earlier You used to steal the butter and now you are stealing dung cakes of this old woman. It is fine, as you wish.” Saying this, she started making cakes for the next day.
She was hungry in the afternoon, but there was no food in the house. There were only two nuggets of jaggery, so she ate one of the nuggets, drank a few sips of water, and went to bed.
God always cares for His devotees. Seeing His devotee suffering, His heart melted down, but He thought to test her before giving her a helping hand.
He disguised Himself as a monk and reached her house and asked for some food. The old lady was delighted to see a monk at her home, but was sad to think that there was no food in the house.
She gave the only jaggery nugget to the monk along with cold water. The monk was pleased to see the woman’s sacrifice.
When the old lady narrated her entire story to the monk, He assured her of help and went to the Sarpanch’s house.
The monk said to the Sarpanch, “I have heard that someone has stolen the dung cakes of an old woman who lives outside this village.
I have a power; if all the people of the village bring their dung cakes, I will separate all the dung cakes of the old woman.”
The sarpanch was a good person; he also had grief over someone stealing the dung cakes of the old woman, so he immediately accepted the monk’s idea and made an announcement for everyone in the village to bring their dung cakes.
The wicked people who had stolen the dung cakes, also mixed the share of the old woman in their own and collected them in that pile. They thought that all the dung cakes looked same, so how would the monk recognize them.
Lord Krishna, who was in the form of a monk brought each cake near to His ears and separated the ones which belonged to the old
woman. The old woman immediately recognized her dung cakes and she was extremely happy. She lifted her cakes, thanked to the monk, and went back to her home.
The wicked ones who stole the old woman’s dung cakes could not understand how the monk identified them by bringing them near to His ears.
When the monk was going back and reached out of the village, all the wicked ones came to know the secret from the monk.
The monk said simply, “The old woman used to chant the Sacred Name of God continuously and it was so powerful that its vibrations entered the dung cakes as well.
When I was bringing the dung cakes near to my ears, I was finding from which dung cakes there is emission of the sound of the Sacred Name. Thus, I was separating the old woman’s dung cakes from the other ones.
This is the result of chanting the Sacred Name. That is why we should chant the Sacred Name of the Lord while performing each activity.
The Sacred Name of the Lord protects us from each trouble. The Divine One Shri Guru Arjun Dev Ji Maharaj enlightens us on the importance of chanting the Sacred Name of the Lord:
11 Bani 11
ऊठत बैठत सोवत नाम ।।
कहु नानक जन के सद काम ।।
(Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji)
Meaning: Chant the Sacred Name of the Lord while standing up, sitting down, and sleeping. It is forever the occupation of the Lord’s humble disciple.
We pray at the Holy Lotus Feet of our Supreme Spiritual Master to bless us with the power to chant His Divine Name in each breath so that we may obtain His true pleasure.