Sharanagati

(from a lecture of Swami Tirtha, 03.05.2018, Rila)

(continues from the previous Monday) 

Question of Mahadev: I was speaking to a Muslim scholar and he said that the 99 names of Allah are describing His functions, as you said that these are the secondary names; I have always wondered how the primary names, the rasic names have come into existence?

Swami Tirtha: I wonder how the secondary names have come into existence. It all reflects the connection. It’s said, by the secondary names you can achieve liberation. So if somebody meditates on God by His secondary names, they can achieve perfection. For example, take the main Buddhist mantra – om mani padme hum – it describes a fact: there is a treasure in the lotus. But as it is connected to Lord Buddha and in their initiation process they commit themselves to the three jewels, the three main authorities – Buddha, dharma and sangha – they are connected and even if their meditation is very symbolic, they can achieve liberation. As far as I know, the goal of most Muslim practitioners is to reach heaven. Therefore they perform all the rituals and all the practices that are given to them – the hajj, the prayers, etc., – and they will achieve heaven. Christians – they want to associate with God, so this Christian concept is a little closer. To achieve heaven is a kind of salokya-mukti – to come to the planet of God. But to associate with Him –there is a connection. In the Christian heaven they always glorify and serve God – so it’s more like servitude expressed there. Even following Advaita school, mayavada philosophy, you can achieve liberation. This is a generic goal of all spiritual practitioners. The secondary names will grant liberation, no doubt. It is said that even the reflection or the shadow of the holy name, the nama-bhasha, will grant liberation. For example, in some western cities, the sightseeing tour is called city-rama; not panorama, but city-rama. And if you chant this… City-ram, Sita-Ram – without knowing, without any deep commitment. Or those who sell these plastic sheets for construction: polycarbonate. Natha yogis – this is a great school of spiritual tradition in India. Here some of your brothers are also called Lokanath, Prananath, Yadunath; and the construction material is called policarbo-nath. Now we think that this is a joke. But I’m sure that in the cosmic bookkeeping even such a reflection is noticed. ‘This guy was chanting city-ram all his life. Let’s give him a better chance.’

You see, the holy name penetrates our daily life. It is there. Of course this is only a reflection, like a shadow. But they say, even the shadow can grant liberation. What to speak of the secondary names, they will definitely grant liberation. But the primary names – they describe not only some cosmic or moral functions of the Supreme like generous, compassionate and this and that. But these primary names describe His intrinsic nature – as He is.

One beautiful name of Krishna is Makanchor – the Butter thief. Usually I don’t mention this name to practitioners of other faiths. Because most of the religious practitioners are in aishvarya mood – they only see the great God. They see neither the thief, nor the butter.

So, my dear ones, we have a chance to come closer to supreme reality. We can see our Krishna as a thief. And not only a simple thief, but the best one – the king of the thieves. And what is His object to steal? This is butter. Actually makan is not a simple butter, but it’s a very excellent and very light sweetmeat. But what does this makan represent? It represents love. Because butter is the essence of milk; milk is life; and the essence of life – this is love. This is what nurtures God, therefore He takes it. If our fellow practitioners would understand this – that our Lord is nurtured by the love, by the loving service that you offer – I think on that point we could all agree. In most cases this is a theory, but for us this is a practice – Makanchor. He will come and steal the essence of your life. He will take and taste your affection.

There are so many different aspects, but if you take only one name of Krishna and you enter deep into its real meaning, then you understand the whole philosophy.