Nama Will Itself Lead You to Him
The source of a river is found to be a dribble of crystal-clear water in a far-away hill. Later, the stream is joined by other streams, some of them muddy, and therefore its own flow becomes somewhat turbid. Similarly, the source of a desire for paramartha can be traced to some good actions of a past life. Pure at the source, it often becomes unclean by association with good and bad worldly affairs, individuals, etc. Turbidity of water can be removed by the application of alum which causes the impurities to settle at the bottom. Similarly, the merits and demerits of an action settle at the bottom and the flow of life continues clear, if a person takes recourse to nama. To perform one's duties conscientiously, to chant nama, and to live in complete contentment, constitute paramartha. You may rest assured that there cannot be any paramartha in the absence of namasmarana.
Paramartha essentially aims at creating love for God; and for this there is no better means than nama, because it is a constant reminder of God and thereby, constant association with Him. There may be many who read a lot about paramartha, and start talking about it, preaching it; but rare, indeed, is one who practises it.
As for prapancha one can never feel the satisfaction of having had enough of it. One may find an old man who has had everything that life offers; wealth, children, status, amenities, and what not. And yet, when the time comes for him to quit the world, he may wish he had seen his great-grandson married and settled in life! This shows the endlessness of desire. It clearly shows that there can be no satisfaction of perfectness or completeness in prapancha. The sense of longing can only come to an end On attaining God. For this, the only means is nama; so have recourse to it early in life; the sooner the better. You can be sure that nama will unite you with Him at the end of life.
If God were to grant all that a man continues to desire, He would not find a moment's respite and yet be unable to satisfy him. So what should we ask of God? Only this: 'Give me love for nama, O Lord'.
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