To summarize yesterday’s teachings-

1. Chanting divine names should be with concentration i.e. without allowing other thoughts to distract the mind.

2. Japa thus performed has the ability to favourably alter the surroundings, rendering it pure. The power contained in the nama japa is such that even the greatest anxieties and disturbances are simply blown away in fraction of second.

3. Where a person relentlessly undertakes nama japa, the environment (surroundings) automatically is rendered peaceful.

4. To any person, there is no mantra greater than the mantra of his/her favorite deity! For example, to a person who reveres the Guru, Guru mantra will be the supreme most mantra. To him, ‘Om namo Hanumate namaha’ or ‘Sri sadgurubhyo namaha’ is the highest mantra. That’s all.

This year Swamiji has given the mantra ‘Om Namo Hanumate namaha’ for the entire society at large. Millions of people are either reciting or writing this mantra worldwide. Many non-Hindus too are participating in this nama japa Yagna. So far this mantra has been recited many millions of times. Unimaginable positive changes are taking places in the lives of those who are reciting it. The fruits of this recitation are tremendous. Their life is taking a beautiful turn for the good. All of you (who are listening to the TV program) please keep reciting this mantra ‘Om namo Hanumate namaha’. It is a very simple mantra.

5. Nama smaran (recollecting/ reciting the names of God) takes one towards tyaga (renunciation, performing charity).

In a nutshell, everything can be achieved through japa. For this reason, Gandhamādana sought that eternally he should be blessed with the chance to chant Hanuman’s name.

Moving next in this Vānara Gita, Vānara Sushena praises Hanuman -

Ramabhakta charita kathāmṛtaṃ vayutanaya guṇānu keertanaṃ

Ramadasa! tava pāda sevanaṃ sambha vantu mama janma janmani.

In each and every birth of mine, I seek to taste the divine nectar called listening to the stories of Hanuman the ardent devotee of Lord Rama, to sing the praises of this son of wind and to serve the lotus feet of this Lord who is a servant of Lord Rama. May I be blessed thus!

There are many who do not seek re-birth. Yet, at the same time, there are many others who seek that even if they were to be re-born, devotion to God should reign most supreme in their lives. Great saints of Maharashtra have stated in their abhang- ‘Na lage mukti dhana sampada santa sanga dei sada’ – In every birth I seek to be associated with those who are devoted to you O Lord. Sushena belongs to this category of devotees, who seeks to serve the Lord in every birth of his.

We watch countless movies, listen to countless stories, yet none of them stay in our memory long enough. But when one listens to Ramayana, Mahabharata or Bhagavata, the stories linger in our memory. We tend to get deeper into the story and somewhere the story gets imprinted in our memory. Why is this so? This is because these stories are real and not fictional; they are eternal stories. It is important to realize that these were not fictitious stories that were penned down by some poets.

Om namo Hanumate namaha.