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Nama smarana

Shrew

Active Member
Found an interesting article about this.
1. The first thing to be done in order to understand the ultimate truth is to purify your ‘prana’ which you know as your sense of ‘being’, ‘presence’ or the feeling ‘I am’.

2. Namasmarana (constantly remembering the name of God/mantra/mahavakya by reciting it) or meditation is used to purify the ‘prana’ or the ‘I am’.

3. Since it is difficult to meditate on the ‘prana’ or the ‘I am’, the practice of Namasmarana has been recommended.

4. The Sadhaka who takes the nama/mantra/mahavakya given to him by the Guru as a vow and constantly recites it will definitely realize the Self.

5. The Guru with his mantra uses your faith to create the form of Guru in you.

6. Constant Namasmarana is constant meditation which is constantly investigating the Self.

7. Whatever name you may recite it is made up of the ‘prana’ or the ‘I am’. No ‘prana’, no word. The name of itself created by the ‘prana’ is the ‘nama’ or the name you recite.

8. Continue doing Namasmarana to be one with your Self. Namasmarana will purify the prana and the mind as well.

9. For Self-knowledge the ‘prana’ or the ‘I am’ has to be worshipped with great intensity. In this worship Namasmarana has to be done silently without using your voice and with complete devotion.

10. By doing Namasmarana you are calling out your Self, do it with the same desperation by which you look for food when you are hungry.

11. Namasmarana is best done by fixing your attention on the in and out going breath, without moving your tongue and throat.

12. ‘Prana’ or the ‘I am’ is the God, contemplate on it. It is the ‘prana’ that is doing Namasmarana or meditation. The ‘prana’ is your only capital.

13. It is easy to gain mastery over the ‘prana’, make it do a lot of Namasmarana and then all your four speeches will get activated.

14. Namasmarana and the Guru’s command must become one. Let the ‘prana’ repeatedly remember ‘I am Brahma’. Namasmarana is used to consume the ‘prana’.

15. The Guru has given or initiated you into a ‘nama’ in order to recognize your Self and have faith in the Self.

16. Namasmarana is used as a means to worship and please the ‘prana’. Worship it in order to conquer your mind. This power of the ‘prana’ is quite special in you.

17. Keep doing Namasmarana earnestly. Whatever you remember the most influences you the most. Use Namasmarana to constantly remember or abide in the ‘prana’ or the ‘I am’.

18. The speed of your success depends on the amount of faith you have in the one who has given or initiated you into a ‘nama’ to remember your Self.

19. By giving or initiating you into a ‘nama’ the Sadguru tells you who you are. Use the ‘prana’ to recite it, which means continuous Namasmarana.

20. The design of Namasmarana is such that the one who does it faces no obstacles. Namasmarana or meditation is used as means to purify the mind. Only a purified mind directly perceives the light of Brahma.

21. Constant Namasmarana purifies the word. Once the word is purified the mind also gets purified.

22. The ‘nama’ or name given by the Guru is the name of Parabrahman. Repeatedly calling by this name exposes the Self of the caller.

23. Say the ‘nama’ or name given to you in the mind without speaking but keep meditating on the Self. By and by the knowledge beyond the body would get exposed and you will realize who you are.

24. Keep doing Namasmarana with the insistence that I am the form of the ‘nama’ I am reciting.

25. It must be clear as to what are you for yourself, this is possible only when you do Namasmarana as recommended by the saints.

26. Never stop the ringing of the alarm of ‘nama’, make the mind or ‘prana’ say ‘I am indestructible, I am eternal’.

27. Namasmarana, meditation, concentration, bhajan all have been told for us to develop the ability to know our Self.

28. Do not waste a moment without investigating the Self, Namasmarana purifies the mind and brings about a change in one’s nature.

29. For all those who continuously meditate or do Namasmarana all difficulties and obstacles diminish day by day.

30. The seed of ‘Chaitanya Brahma’ is sown by the Sadguru, holding on to that ‘nama’ in the mind is meditation.

31. The one who makes ‘nama’ his abode and takes up his seat there becomes free from ‘knowingness’.

32. The mantra is given by the Guru to give a name to the Self, it is not the name of a person. The mantra given by the Guru should be recited throughout the day.

33. The merits of the ‘nama’ you recite will get formed in your memory, only recite the ‘nama’ given by the Guru.

34. The more you do Namasmarana, the more it will purify the body and mind and it shall manifest in your speech, your word will be God’s word.

35. Memory and ‘prana’ must get combined, and then there is knowledge. Namasmarana brings about this combination, but it has to be done with a great need and love. Namasmarana is done by the ‘prana’.

36. Namasmarana should be done lesser with voice and more silently in the mind, only then it gets transformed into ‘dhyanyoga’ or meditation.

37. In order to develop the ability to discriminate as to how and like what I am, Namasmarana has to be done throughout the day.

38. Keep doing Namasmarana and then you will come to know how ‘nama’ goes on automatically and effortlessly.

39. In order to destroy negative or evil thoughts continuous Namasmaran must be done, such thoughts pollute the ‘sattwa’ quality.

40. According to my experience if Namasmarana is done in consonance with breathing, the mind automatically calms down and the state of ‘samadhi’ ensues.

41. The Sadguru has given or initiated you into a ‘nama’ and meditation which enable you to meet God.

42. The day the Guru gave you a ‘nama’ and told you that ‘you are not the body’ you are free from all humanness and there is no more birth for you.

Does anybody here practise this?
Did you get the name from a Guru or did you choose one for yourself?
 

निताइ dasa

Nitai's servant's servant
Jaya Nitaai!

I practice Nama Smarana, but not in the way the article describes. Nama Smarana literally means remembering or meditating on the Name. It is when you remember the form, qualities and pastime of the Holy Name on the basis on its sound. The Name is like a flower and buds in our hearts revealing the name, qualities and pastimes of the Lord. I practice is by the process of chanting the Nama and meditating on His syllables.

As for Name, usually during Diksha the Name is given by Gurudeva and it is a specific mantra of a determined number of syllables. The mantra is decided by the Guru and differs from Sampradaya to Sampradaya. In my Sampradaya the Mantras are

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

निताइ (given by my Gurudeva).


There are also other mantras (called bija mantras) given at time of Brahmin Diksha

Other Vaishnav Sampradayas have mantras like "Om Namo Narayanaya", "Sri Krsna Sharanam Mama" etc.
 

George-ananda

Advaita Vedanta, Theosophy, Spiritualism
Premium Member
Wow, after reading that list I feel like I should be practicing nama smarana. I believe Sai Baba says you can use the name of any form of God (Krishna for example) that is most attractive to you.
 

Vinayaka

devotee
Premium Member
I don't know the source, but any teaching is generally sampradaya specific, and although the teaching often sounds like it is applicable to all, it really isn't. In my sampradaya, there is only one mantra ... everyone who is initiated uses it. Na Ma Si Va Ya.

As to how much actual influence any practice is, that too is debatable. Surely the individual's karma and level of dedication, or concentration an any japa, meditation, etc, has a strong bearing on outcome. For me, when I read things like 'guaranteed to realise the Self' it just sounds like salesmanship. I become wary. But to each his own.
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
I believe Sai Baba says you can use the name of any form of God (Krishna for example) that is most attractive to you.

This article goes into that very idea more in depth. http://www.hindupedia.com/en/Nama_Mantras I don't think it's necessary to even stick with one name. After all, aren't ashtottara names of God that are chanted? I've never been able to pick one name to do nama japa with, so I alternate chanting several: om namo bhagavate vāsudevāya, om namo nārāyanāya, om sri krishnāya namaha, hare krishna ... hare rāma ... , etc. I do this especially at night as I'm falling asleep, just in case... "And whoever, at the time of death, quits his body remembering Me alone, at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt." - Bhagavad Gita 8.5
 

Bhadr

Active Member
Found an interesting article about this.
Does anybody here practise this?
Hi,
My practice of nama smarana is different from what is mentioned in the article.
Its more like this.:handpointdown:
Nama Smarana literally means remembering or meditating on the Name. It is when you remember the form, qualities and pastime of the Holy Name on the basis on its sound. The Name is like a flower and buds in our hearts revealing the name, qualities and pastimes of the Lord. I practice is by the process of chanting the Nama and meditating on His syllables.


Did you get the name from a Guru or did you choose one for yourself?
The name I've chosen is very simple yet very powerful.I've have heard Acharyas,scholars and bhaktas extol it and its also attested in the scriptures.It has great esoteric significance.The nama is "Siva".
.
 
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Aupmanyav

Be your own guru
Does anybody here practise this? Did you get the name from a Guru or did you choose one for yourself?
I don't. They are always with me. When someone is with you, there is no need to remember his/her name. My Gurus are Buddha and Sankara. I do not choose one name out of the many in my mythology. They all are important.
 

Shrew

Active Member
I don't. They are always with me. When someone is with you, there is no need to remember his/her name.
But when you love someone, the name of the beloved is always with you.
You cannot prevent remebering the name of your beloved...
 
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