The Divine Name is God - swami papa ramdas

Swami Ramdas (Papa Ramdas) was known as Vittal Rao in his pre-Sanyas days.

Around the year 1920, he was made to think deeply on the futility of worldly pursuits and the absolute necessity of pursuing the divine path for realizing his identity with the Supreme Being, as a result of which alone he can get eternal peace. He placed himself totally at the altar of God. Intense aspiration coupled with intense practice to attain the Highest quickened his spiritual progress and in a short time he had the vision of beholding his Beloved God everywhere, both within and outside.

This resulted in getting himself established in unending Bliss.

His whole life then hinged around the Lord and wherever he went, what ever He did, the Lord was all along with him. 

He strongly advocated the chanting of the divine Name of the Lord.

This is an article published by "Ananda Ashram" of Kanchangad", Kerala, an ashram set up by Papa Ramdas.  http://www.anandashram.org/

'The Divine Name is God' The Lord and his Divine Name are no different. The Divine Name is verily the Lord. As His Holy Name rises in our mind, the heart is filled with the divine presence of God. There is no other easy way to focus our thoughts towards God than incessantly recounting His Name.  When the Divine name of God is chanted loudly, we get to realize the flood of love flowing in our hearts and the divine escstacy arising out of it. This is because, the sound of the Divine Name awakens our mind and makes it realize the Lord's love and everlasting bliss. Though chanting the Lord's Holy Name in our mind is far better than chanting it loudly, the experience of the sweetness and joy arising out of singing the Name loudly is incomparable. When the devotee's mind is involved in the music, he experiences horripilation and gets to experience the fact that the Name is verily 'Brahman'. God is a part of His creation, and at the same time, transcends creation. The Holy Name refers to such a God. The omnipresent limitless immutable tranquil concept is the God that transcends creation. This Universe which contains all the creatures and beings with name and form in itself is the form of God that is a part of His creation. The Divine Name contains in itself everything, and at the same time, transcends everything and thus refers to the unique nature of God and His nature of beyond uniqueness. Such a divine name is the root cause of the creation of everything which is beginingless, and at the same time the creation itself. The unnamed Name is verily God who the essence of everything. The Divine Name relieves the living-being from bonding. It takes him to the heights of spiritual life. It shows divine vision to the blind being who is clouded in darkness. The divine name of God can give it the greatest Viswa roopa darshan. The Divine Name can raise the being to the greatest epitome of God-Realization, which is incomprehensible to the mind. It is impossible to characterize the power of the Divine Name. Though considered undefeatable, attracted to the mild melody of the Name, the mind is filled with tenderness, humility and binding. The mind verily becomes God through the power of the Name. One who has surrendered himself to the Divine Name of God, can perform several feats. Winning over the forces of Nature, he can bring about a spiritual uprising in the minds of human beings. The Holy Name can change the human being into a form of everlasting bliss of divine-love. It can convert an individual being into a cosmic reality - a foolish being into God. Where ever the Name is sung, the musical quality of the Name spreads divine love and purifies the environ, filling it with tranquility and everlasting bliss. The Holy Name is complete in itself. Repeating the Name is verily meditation. The ecstasy experienced out of it is verily Samadhi. The Divine Name is verily devotion, sound, power and bliss. There is no other easy method that can be properly followed by one and all, and at the same time attain the Lord, than His Divine Name. As a saint said, it is a true statement that the one, on whose lips the Divine Name resides, is verily the one who is freed from the worldly bonding, in other words,  a  Jivan Mukta. So, my dear friends! Irrespective of your caste creed, divisions and color, get hold of the Divine Name of God and realize your sweet relationship with it. Continuously drowning in the divine nectar of the Name, your soul not only becomes pure but also gets enlightened by the divine light of the omniscient and omnipresent God. The practice of incessantly repeating the Holy Name will enslave the unbending mind to the divinity and power of God.  To begin with, if one chants the Name with devotion, confidence and concentration, his face and body shines with an extra-ordinary light. His mind fills with discrimination and heart fills with love. All these happen because of his increased Satvic nature. Then, as he follows the repetition of the Divine Name with the same enthusiasm, he sees the whole universe as the form of God. He becomes one with God and sees God's vision everywhere. In reality, the Name is verily God. -Swami Ramdas Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son; if you ask anything in my name, I will do it.                                                                                                -- The Bible - John 14.13-14 This  article is published by ' Nama Dwaar'