Based on Sri Ramanujamji’s youth discussion sessions.
The reason a Guru tells us to hold onto one name, one form, one guru is because the mind’s nature on its own is indecisive and fickle. It’s easy to get distracted by choices and problems in this world. Here, Sri Ramanujamji says that the purpose of spirituality is to calm the constant chattering of the mind. Anything can distract the mind such as social problems or even religious or spiritual decisions. Spirituality is supposed to drive our mind away from these constant distracting thoughts…. so how can we let spirituality become those distracting questions and decisions? We can’t allow our spiritual practice to be the cause of our mind wavering. When a Guru gives us a name of Bhagavan it is so that even in choosing a name to chant, our mind doesn’t waver.
“While having different choices might seem like freedom it is more of a headache,” says Sri Ramanujam ji. We have to use the name given to us by the Guru to make the mind one-pointed and repeatedly chant it as Nama Japa. It creates a wonderful rhythm of inner
breathing which is the flow of prANA in our bodies. Nama japa silences and calms our mind.
Paying extremely close attention to yourself during nama japa is very important. Notice your pronunciation, breath and the speed that you are chanting. There is no inequality between mantras so choosing one and focusing on it is very beneficial. The moment the Guru chooses a mantra for you, though all mantras are equal, that chosen mantra becomes very special and important to you. Nama Japa subdues our ego, the false sense of ‘I’, ‘me’, or ‘mine.’ Ego creates a lot of trouble for us and should be subdued to either a system of knowledge like Vedas or Shastras, or to Bhagavan or a Guru. When it comes to the various struggles of ‘samsAra’ or the material world, the mantra given to you by the Guru will take care of everything and bless you with what you need. The difference between us choosing a name to chant and the Guru giving us a name to chant is that when a mahatma gives us a name, he is sharing a portion of his penance along with it, asking us to chant this mantra because the mahatma is completely immersed in that name of Bhagavan. So when we have extreme faith in the nama given to us by a mahatma, and chant it incessantly, it has unimaginable power.
One-pointed focus and devotion is a strength in spirituality. “Ekena Manasa” is focusing the mind on one form, one Name, one Guru. One can say they chant one deity’s name sometimes, another deity’s name at other times, and a third deity’s name at other times. This will give more ‘puNya’ or merit but it may not significantly propel our spiritual journey forward. The real inner transformation is with the focus on one Guru, one Divine Name and one Divine Form which is the beauty of this one-pointed devotion called ‘Ekantha Bhakti.’
Listen to the talk by Sri Ramanujamji at this link: https://youtu.be/v6UXwr0gPas?si=JUxApoO-v2Ne5hab
Kavya Jagadeesh, Dublin, CA
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Click here to see all articles in July 2025 issue:
https://godivinity.org/newsletters/nama-dwaar-newsletter-july-2025/
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