Do not Regard God as a Tool for Prapancha
A boy fled home. After much futile search, the mother comforted herself, saying, 'I wish him well, whereever he may be'. Similarly I say, 'Be you where you may, but never be without nama-smarana ; you may even force yourself to do it, if necessary. It would be better if you do it with faith, and still better if done with restraint on mental attitudes and desires.' The extraction of the juice of certain leaves requires a catalyser such as honey, milk, ghee, water, etc. Similar is the use of faith for producing relish in nama. The experience 'I am Brahma, the Ultimate Reality', presumes the existence of an individual 'I'; nama is even beyond that experience. One should therefore keep a constant awareness of God; it also facilitates prapancha. There is no sin in the world that call withstand the prowess of nama.
Do not give up nama for the reason that you are unable to visualize the form; you will not fail to do so later. It does not suffer from imperfectness because there is no return expected; there is nothing equivalent to it. The pundits always say, I will repeat nama only if I get love for it.' The ordinary, not-so-learned man generally begins to chant nama on being asked to do so. Nama is basically sweet, but it seems bitter to us because the venom of the snake-like worldliness and sense-pleasures has penetrated into our blood-stream. The remedy is to begin chanting nama from this very moment. Go in surrender to Rama without pride of your 'knowledge'. Approach Him in complete humility, and see the result. Keep your conduct morally clean, be sincere and earnest in devotion to Him; this will propitiate Him.
Knowledge is admittedly most excellent; however, it cannot survive without devotion. A devotee is one who is never separate from God; knowledge imparts a sense of identity with God; thus devotion gives birth to knowledge, which subsists on devotion. The true devotee also has true knowledge. True devotion desires God purely for His own sake, not as a tool for improvement of worldly conditions. Be contented with the condition in which Rama keeps you. One who spends his life in remembrance of nama can take it that he has made the best use of his life.
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