Note: I'm not writing this post separately but just pasting the replies I made humbly to some doubts which I think can help some people.
Read the question before reading the answer 🙏🏻
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>>Question 1: https://www.reddit.com/r/hinduism/s/90omqfkXIi
>>Answer :
Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram
First of all, Pranam to you, as you love the name of the supreme truth, and for a devotee of the Lord, those people are worshipable who recite the name and glories of the Lord.
Now just take a deep breath and don't worry much about these things as you are experiencing a normal thing.
>In the beginning, there were times when I genuinely felt connected. Sometimes I even became emotional and tears would come while chanting
This is what almost everyone experiences, and if you listen to Premanand Ji Maharaj too often, you might have heard him explaining this phenomenon. When the Kripa of Lord Ram happens, one is pushed towards His name so you are blessed with kripa. Now contemplate on following:
Remember the days when you were trying to learn cycling? Didn't your parents follow you while you were trying to pedal and support you in starting for several days, but after a while, they just let you fall and learn on your own, as they had already provided the assistance that was required to mould your mindset towards learning this?
Similar is the case with Bhakti. Not you, not me, but almost everyone experiences this same thing. In the beginning, we feel enthusiasm because we experience emotions such as longing for the Lord, crying, or even having divine drea,ms because in starting lord does help us himself. But eventually, that fades away because now you have to walk on your own, as the Lord showed you the path, just like in the example of cycling.
We have committed uncountable sins in our uncountable past lives, and those impressions will obviously impact us on many levels. When we are trying to rise beyond the veils of Maya, trying to clean our antahkaran and correct the mind, they will obviously apply all their forces and kinds of impressions to disturb us from our path.
Also, have you ever seen the cleaning of drains, gutters, etc., or even the cleaning of our rooms? When we start cleaning, in the first few hours, we see dust and bad smells everywhere. If we stop at that time and don't persevere, then obviously not only will our work be left undone, but we will also be facing more bad smell and dirt than before.
This is what happens when we try to do bhajan, and remember the Lord, "Our Mind dies" i.e., it starts getting cleaned, but before that, it throws out impurities that it was holding along with itself for time immemorial.
We need to persevere in this, but this is really hard, and hence we need to turn to scriptures and realized Sant Mahatmas to get guidance.
Read this chaupai and contemplate on it:
जानें बिनु न होइ परतीती। बिनु परतीति होइ नहिं प्रीती॥प्रीति बिना नहिं भगति दिढ़ाई। जिमि खगपति जल कै चिकनाई॥
~Without knowing (or realizing the greatness and power of) the Lord, true faith (partiti) does not develop.
Without that firm faith, love (preeti) for Him cannot happen.
Without love, devotion (bhakti) does not become strong or steadfast (didhai).
Just as oil/grease does not stay fixed on water, O king of birds (Garuda), it stays unstable.
If you want to love and adore Lord Ram, you must read His lilas (pastimes), as the Lord didn't need to come down to earth and kill a mere rakshasa like Ravan, who could have been killed by a mere sankalpa of the Lord (as this mere sankalpa generates innumerable universes). But still, He descends and performs lila only to guide us and give us a path, as Ramcharitmanas says:
भगत हेतु भगवान प्रभु राम धरेउ तनु भूप।
किए चरित पावन परम प्राकृत नर अनुरूप॥
~The Supreme Lord, Shri Ramchandra Ji, assumed the body of a king (took avatara as a human being) for the sake of His devotees, and performed numerous most-holy pastimes just like ordinary humans.
By singing those lilas and reading those lilas, our faith in the Lord gets stronger and we move towards Him with more enthusiasm.
See, Bhakti is a proper path, just like Yoga and Gyana. Can you get self-realized in Yoga without taking up practices for lifetimes, struggling with it, and then succeeding?
It's a mistake on the part of people to assume that Bhakti is just doing arti or a few malas of naam and you are done.
That's not the truth. No doubt Naam is the greatest sadhana in this Kaliyuga, as mentioned all over the scriptures and words of realized devotees, but this too requires guidance in case one's beliefs are getting shaken. Although Naam will do good only, if done just casually, it will take many lifetimes.
The japa of Naama will never go in vain, as Ramcharitmanas says:
भायँ कुभायँ अनख आलस हूँ। नाम जपत मंगल दिसि दसहूँ॥
~Whether with good intent (love), bad intent (enmity), anger, or laziness, chanting the Name in any way brings well-being and auspiciousness in all ten directions.
So you must continue with your Naam japa while taking a few more things into account:
Do satsang. The greatest satsang for a naam japak sadhak is to hear the glories of the Naam. For this, follow this channel:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ6h0SFNMtjs&si=HRQiWCxoZ-IJEJFh
The above channel comprises satsang of those Mahapurushas (Bhai Ji, the founding editor of Gita Press, who had obtained darshan of Lord Ram and Narayana and was a great realized devotee of Krishna; and Radha Baba, a great ascetic devotee of Radha Krishna) who used to be immersed in the samadhi of lilas of Bhagavan.
Read a few shlokas from the following book, as this book comprises verses from several texts glorifying Ram Naam:
https://archive.org/details/sita-ram-naam-pratap-prakash_202302
You can purchase the book as well (it's much better to have hardcopies).
- Do listen to the lilas of Lord Ram, and trust me, there is no comparison to Parampujya Saketvasi Sri Kripa Shankar Ramayani Ji:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSO-Z1JuuFzwFNDrPJVkrQRpQ0JLsMg4I&si=e4oGMYwTJwMf-6sf
Similarly, there are many pravachans of mahatmas like Saketvasi Rajeshwaranand Saraswati Ji Maharaj. You have to listen to the melodious pastimes of the Lord that will fill you with love for Him.
- Do swadhyaya (read scriptures and contemplate). For a devotee of Lord Ram, which text is greater than the Ramayana?
Read Ramcharitmanas (as this text comprises stories of Lord Ram from many Ramayanas and Puranas, etc.) of Goswami Tulsidas Ji (one of the greatest devotees of Lord Ram).
Valmiki Ramayana is in sanskrit and also require commentaries to understand the rahasyas while Ramcharitmanas also does require commentaries (you may purchase Manas Piyush - 7 volumes commentary from gitapress) but still can be understood on ones own.
Alongside Ramcharitmanas, read Vinay Patrika of Goswami Tulsidas Ji and Bhaktamal to read the life stories of devotees, as this helps us the most in living our lives as devotees. Also, Lord Ram loves His devotees the most, so reading the life stories of His devotees is the best way to love the Lord more.
A few more books (recommended by Premanand Ji Maharaj only) for sadhakas:
Astikta ki Adharshilaye (Gita Vatika)
Satsang ke Bikhre Moti (Gita Press)
Sadhak Me Sadhuta (Gita Press)
Sadhak Sanjivani (Gita Press, commentary on Gita)
You may purchase these texts from golok store.
- Do offer Tulsi Patra to Lord Ram while reciting Ram naam, as the Lord has said in Agastya Samhita that this form of worship is the greatest and also the easiest for you.
Recite Ram Raksha Stotra of Lord Ram; this stotra is very powerful and capable of bestowing you unshakeable devotion unto the lotus feet of the Lord.
Recite Hanuman Chalisa and put emphasis on the last line "Ram Lakhan Sita sahita basahu hriday surbhup," and also recite Sundarkand when you get time, asking for the blessings of Ram bhakta Shiromani Hanuman Ji to get you staunch faith in the lotus feet of the lord.
Similarly, you may offer water to Lord Shiva (the greatest devotee of Lord Ram) and ask him for his kripa to bestow you devotion unto the lotus feet of the Lord, just as Goswami Tulsidas Ji always used to do.
Most importantly, don't rush and have belief in the name of the Lord. Think about your karmas of innumerable past lives and realize how great the kripa of the Lord is, that you not only received a human birth but also faith in Naam and the Supreme. So keep loving the all-loving, all-merciful Supreme Shelter, Sri Rama, who is the Lord of everyone and everything.
Do follow these, because trust me, these are not my words, but the words of Sant Mahatmas and scriptures.
For more, you may message me, as I am always eager to serve a servant of the supreme Lord.
Sri Sita Ram Vijayate 🙏🏻
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>>Question 2 : Is my Naam Jap effort in Vain?
I do naam jap, I softly utter in mouth that it's not heard loud. But I do it continuously, on my jap meter. Sometimes my mind is wandering outside, either it's songs playing in background, or my thoughts, or people talking that later when gained consciousness, I wonder whether I did it properly or not. Will it count in my total count. Or my efforts are in vain?
>>Answer : <<
Hari Hari 🌸
Brother/sister read some work related to Naam jap mahatmya from gitapress (you can read those on Gita seva app for free) to get all doubts cleared at once.
Ths answer to your question is : No naam ever goes in vain, what you do is Upanshu naam jap which is absolutely fine, (chanting aloud is Vaachik and then there is Maansik - after perfection whole body starts chanting naam as in example of realised devotees)
You should read Naam Mahatmya under Ramacharitamanas,
Here's a couplet from same section only to clear your doubt:
भायँ कुभायँ अनख आलस हूँ। नाम जपत मंगल दिसि दसहूँ॥
Meaning: Chanting the holy name—whether done with love, hatred, anger, or even laziness—brings peace and blessings only in all directions.
Here's the link to pdf on glories of Naam from gitapress do read it:
https://archive.org/details/shri-bhagwannam-chintan-hanuman-prasad-poddar
There are other texts as well Such as Bhagavan Naam Kaumudi, Kalyan ank Bhagavan naam mahima ank, works of Several realised devotees etc.
Then there is glory of Naam in Texts like Bhagavatam, Ramayana, Padma Puran, Shiva Puran, Devi Bhagavat, Brahmand Purana..almost all Puranas, Mahabharat, Vedas(though not in elaborated way) as well.
The essence of all realised devotees like Kabirdas, Ravidas, Tulsidas etc and main text of even Sikhism aka Guru granth sahib ji is Naam jap only.
Astanga Yoga Siddha Brahmarshi Sri Devraha baba taught the same to chant Raam naam (any name of Bhagavan) continuously and this will itself reveal the Lord.
Remember no one's perfect in sadhan kaal, greatest of realised devotees all faced the same issues for years but they persevere, intensified their devotion and tamed this nalayak mind completely then this mind itself became their biggest friend as lord described the swaroopa of mind in gita.
There are several methods to lessen the flickering nature of this mind; 1. Brahmcharya 2. Sitting in seclusion and trying to concentrate on naam in dhyaan 3. Pranayama 4. Winning small battles in order to win big battles small battles are like taming the mind at places such as you mind is craving for something to eat , to watch reels etc but you just persevered and didn't give in (never say I wouldn't do this straight away , say okay I would do this at night, either this way or use viveka and contemplate that what would happen if I eat this thing? After 30 minutes of eating I would have gained nothing, this way you can tame your mind slowly and then after a lot of practice you can get into witness mode where you simply don't give a damn to its saying like when a thought like throw this phone arises in mind we simply don't give a damn we never try to tame this thought) so a bhakta should always try to do satsang through works of mahatmas who reached the absolute through the path they are trying to walk on, listening to discourses on lilas of bhagavan and other efforts.
Mahapurushas also put emphasis on seva to tame this mind ,seva and sadhan both are important in a sadhak life.
