Nama Achieves what Yoga Does
A householder should, as a rule, never say 'no' to anyone who comes to beg; he should and give him something, if not all of what he asks for. Never turn away one who begs for food. In regard to requests for money, use discretion; if his request appears unjustified, give him only part of it. Remember that even the job we do for livelihood is a kind of begging, so never use bad language to a beggar. It is not at all degrading for genuine vairagya to beg for necessities; but the begging should not be for a selfish end. The mystical grandeur of true vairagya never remains veiled. Paramartha is unsound without genuine vairagya.
To recognize the true nature of the palpable universe is the first step in the acquisition of knowledge; it is ignorance to treat the unsubstantial as real. A worldly man is unable to judge the spiritual status or attainments of a person, so the common man should not vilify anyone. Some idea of a man's spiritual status can be had on observing the state of his mind at the moment of death.
A person who is ordinary in the eyes of the world may attain a high status spiritually by faith in and practice of nama. This can, of course, be judged only by one who is himself absorbed in nama. Nama is, indeed, extremely powerful; it is a pity, though, that no one is prepared to give it a proper trial. There is no doubt that nama can achieve nothing less than what yoga can. A passion for nama is a sure sign of the grace of Rama. This passion is generated by constant chanting of nama.
It is found that people leading a worldly life are extremely selfish. They are not prepared to forgo even a part of their selfishness and ego, and yet they expect spiritual achievement. How is this possible when selflessness is the very foundation of spiritualism? We go to a saint or sadguru to learn to forgo this tendency for selfishness. No one expects you to relinquish worldly life altogether, nor would anyone be ready to do so. Selfishness is curtailed if desire is reduced; desire is subjugated if we dedicate ourselves to God; dedication comes from constant awareness of Him; and this is achieved by chanting nama; and that is why I exhort you ceaselessly to repeat nama.
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