You have your tongue; You have Bhagavan’s Nama. Why worry? Why fear? நாக்கு இருக்கு; நாமம் இருக்கு; பின் பயம் எதற்கு?
Repost:
Bagawan Nama Mahathmiyam by Mahaperiyava
Someone may kindly volunteer to translate this in English.
You have your tongue; You have Bhagavan’s Nama. Why worry? Why fear? நாக்கு இருக்கு; நாமம் இருக்கு; பின் பயம் எதற்கு?
Repost:
Someone may kindly volunteer to translate this in English.
4 Responses
SIR
With humble request, please go through the English translation which you may modify or edit.
Maha Periyava “Deiva Vaakku” Bhagavan Naama Mahimai Audio with Text in Tamizh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wkD-C0_gCQ
Maha Periyava “Divine Expositions”– Bhagavan Naama Mahimai Audio with English translation
Thank you for the translation. Blessed to get Mahaperiyaval’s message on a Friday !
Our elders have all pointed out the importance of chanting bhagavan naama all the time, by praying “even if I forget you, Ishwara, let my tongue utter namah shivaya”
Bhodendral decisively declared: “Whether you are a great devotee, or one who has performed prapatti (surrender), or even if you are a great jnani, or one established in samadhi having attained brahma shakshatkara, or whatever you may be, if you do not allow your mind to relish and soak in this divine nectar of Ishwara naama chanting, then all of that is of no real benefit.”
Therefore, he says, “Choose either of these two-letter naamas – Rama or Shiva, whichever you like.” Many scriptures have declared these two naamas as taaraka naamas. Taarakam means that which carries us across – across sins, across samsara and across sorrow. Even if it does not help us cross our sorrows, it will be enough if it carries us across all our paapams.
When bhagavan Krishna declared in Gita “I will liberate you from all paapams; do not grieve”, He did not mean we will be free from sorrow when there is no danger. It means if we do not commit paapam, that alone is enough and whatever difficulties come, we will not be shaken by sorrow. Bhagavan Krishna says He will free us from all our paapams and will grant moksha; when we are free from all paapams, we will have no sorrow.
Such is the taaraka naama that Bhodendral established as the doctrine of naama siddhanta. Following his path, Sri Ayyaval also greatly emphasized the Shiva naama. Through a method where the mind naturally dissolves in devotion through the repetition of the divine Name, the bhajana tradition was formed.
“Satatam kīrtayanto mām, bodhayantaḥ parasparam” – “Constantly chant My Name, speak of Me with one another, gather together in groups and sing.” Adding these sadhanas to Ishwara naama chanting is like sugar coating a tablet and these sadhanas make it easier for us to experience the nectar of Ishwara’s naama. Nothing else is required and we need to hold on to this alone.
The final conclusion is this: “We have a tongue. The naamahas only two syllables. Keep chanting it always. That alone will carry us across everything”. This is not to say other sadhanas can be totally ignored. We need to continue performing good deeds like bakti, jnanam, sharanagati, karma anushtaanam, as much as possible. Even then, since we have no real authority over anything else, let us cling on to this one thing (Ishwara naama japam) with a monkey grip. This is the upadesam of our acharyal Bodhendral, about 300 years ago.
Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu established the bhajana sampradaya in North India, Bengal and Orissa. In Maharashtra, Tukaram and others performed bhajans. Meerabai performed bhajans in North India. In South India, the bhajana sampradaya was established by Bhodendral (sanyasi), Ayyaval (householder) and Sadguru Swamigal (Bhagavata). We have also adopted some northern practices; after all, it is all bhagavan naama.
Following Bodhendral, came Ayyaval, full of devotion; Ganga maata appeared in the well at his home in Tiruvisanallur and an utsavam (festival) is celebrated on Kartigai Amavasya to mark this event. After him came Sadguru Swamigal, who established the tradition firmly in Marudhanallur by unchavritti (collecting alms), chanting bhagavan naama, singing kirtanams, worshipping Bhodendral’s paadukas, establishing a procedure for bhajans, establishing a matham – all part of the tradition of bhagavan naama bhajan. Thus, the lineage is: Bhodendral → Ayyaval → Sadguru Swamigal. When a bhajana is performed, the established tradition is to sing the keertanams and slokams of these three great ones first, before chanting bhagavan naama.
Therefore, we have a tongue, we have the Name, what is there to fear?
Thus, the Divine Name is the easiest path for us. Whenever we want, we can use it. If one feels that our religion is difficult to practice, with disciplines like yoga, meditation and pranayama, then here is the simplest of all paths, given to us by our own tradition. All the benefits promised by every other path can be attained through this alone, easily. But we must not cultivate a careless or contemptuous attitude, thinking this path is superior and others are inferior. If such pride comes, the naamawill lose its power for us. Never insult any path. Every path is right for those following it. For us, let us remain humble, recognizing our own smallness. Then this naamawill surely carry us across.
Just because we have this easy path, we should not stop doing other sath karmas and we should not be doing any paapa karma. Such egoistic thinking should not arise. We need to remain humbly at the lowest step. Great mahans practice much more difficult sadhanas; we may not be able to do all those sadhanas, we have no other refuge and so we can choose this easiest path.
“Everything is bhagavan naama, keep chanting bhagavan naama again and again and attain your well-being” – this is Bodhendral’s upadesa and blessing for all of us
Namah Parvati pataye, hara hara Mahadeva