GOD AND HIS NAME ARE ONE
“In order to annihilate what is undesirable and harmful (anishta), the mind has to be steeped in the adoration of the Beloved (Ishta). The notion that He is far away must be altogether given up. Thou art within and without, in every vein and artery, in every leaf and blade of grass, in the world and beyond it. The awakening of the sense of want is to be welcomed; it opens the way. He is there at every step to make the unfit expert. ‘As the sense of want and emptiness appearest Thou and no other—Thou art close by; Lord, I take refuge (saranagati) in Thee, I take refuge in Thee!’Words from Anandamayi Ma
“The Name and the Named are identical; for He Himself appears as the Name. The sound (Aksara, the pranava Om) is indeed God’s own guise. When the Name one repeats becomes alive, it is as when a seed is sown the tree grows out of it. If the Name that appeals most to any particular person is constantly repeated, one arrives at the realization that all names are His names, all forms His forms. Furthermore, that He is without name and form will also by and by come to light.
“Karma accumulated for ages and ages, sins and desires are wiped out by God’s sacred Name. Just as lighting a lamp illumines a cave that has been in darkness for centuries, even so the obscurity of numberless births is annihilated by the power of a divine Name.
“The moment that has passed does not return. Time must be used well. Only when spent in the effort to know ‘Who am I?’ has it been used well.”
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