Questions and answers🔗

Paramahamsa Nithyananda gives wonderful answers to ordinary questions and uncommon answers to very common questions. Some of such question answers are given below.

YES, DO IT. For one or two days you may feel it is a mechanical exercise. But I tell you that the moment you start enjoying the meaning, the moment you start understanding, it will become your feeling. Then you internalize it and it becomes your being. It becomes your feeling. It can be possible for those who work at their emotional level, because stotras are the literature of the heart and they have the capacity to melt you and merge you with the Divine. So start at least in a mechanical way and soon you become one with it.

No need. stotras is an expression of your feeling, your emotions. But if you chant stotras in Sanskrit you derive another benefit, a byproduct of stotra because it is Sanskrit.

Sanskrit is not simply a language with linguistic importance. It has phonetic importance. This language is created to transmit a kind of vibration. That is why we are encouraged to chant Sanskrit mantras even if we do not understand its meaning. If you understand, it is good. You can feel connected. If you don’t understand also, those vibrations work on you. They have a tremendous effect on your system. They transmit vibrations. Those vibrations penetrate into your being and start working, even if you don't understand it.

These sounds purify your body. The energy of sound, the energy of vibrations purifies your body. You never become tired even after chanting Sanskrit slokas or mantras for a long time because it adds energy to your system. This is not so with any other language. More you chant, your ShabdhatHatva (vocal system) becomes more strengthened. It automatically recharges you with energy. It is like this; recharging the battery that runs the generator, and in turn the generator strengthens the battery and battery runs the generator.

It is a proven fact and established truth that if you chant Sanskrit slokas or mantras for half an hour everyday, you will never get gastric problems and problems in the area between your throat and naval centre. So chant some stotras even if you don't understand. Teach your children to chant some Sanskrit slokas everyday at least for half an hour.

I feel that those who wish to learn something about the inner world or spirituality should learn some basics of Sanskrit. Because this language is created for the inner world and to transmit spiritual concepts.

Beloved Swamiji, by simply chanting names can we get any spiritual benefit?

To get spiritual experience or benefit you don't require any name or form. Simply your devotion can do it. But we became so complicated with our intellect and logic that we are not allowing pure devotion to happen in us. We are not allowing pure devotion to penetrate into our being. If your devotion is deep and intensive and if you are able to open to Divine with innocence, you don't require name or form; because Divine is beyond all these.

Now coming to the first part of your question, the power of chanting names of God; YES. It has POWER. Just a two letter word Rama liberated many in this world.

In the Ramayana story, Hanuma crosses the great ocean without any equipment except the name of Rama on his lips and in his being. But Rama himself could not do that. When someone asked Rama about this miracle he himself said that the name Rama is more powerful than his physical form.

If you chant a name without internalizing it, without involving in it, even if you chant for a billion times it gives no experience except throat pain. Chant names from your very being then you yourself can experience the joy and the ecstasy that the name gives you. But remember your devotion is always powerful than name or form.

Respected Swamiji, tell us about rituals like Homas and poojas (worship)?

With rituals there is something about them. It is structured and you know when exactly it is going to start, when it is going to finish, where you are going to do it, what for you are doing, etc. With rituals, you go into them, and come out as the same person. There is so much security in the whole process. That is why it has spread so much. Anything that is definite, spreads.

When you decide to follow the ritualistic path, commitment and sincerity must become your master keys. So do it with utmost sincerity. Today, there are hundreds of ways of ritualistic worship. You don't have to get confused as to which to follow. Just decide to follow any one way and to it with commitment. It is the commitment that gets you the benefit, not the ritual itself.

To make people take the first steps towards their inner journey rituals are necessary. Rituals are not a transaction to bribe the Gods. They are not any bank balances that you create to protect yourself. They are not any race that you are having with anybody to see who is doing more. If you decide to follow rituals, do it with utmost sincerity, with a feeling of deep connection with Existence. When you do it this way, you won't even talk about it. Do the rituals or any worship with deep devotion. You should become grateful and offer prayers to the God then only you can experience the joy and ecstasy in rituals.

Beloved Swamiji can we chant names or stotras mechanically even without knowing its meaning? Is it necessary? DO IT. If you do it like that for some days, you gradually merge into those sounds. Even if you don’t understand you chant stotras so that you don’t miss the opportunity of the experience of its ecstasy.

Once you experience it you learn the meaning and gradually you go deep into it. If not you don’t even try to attempt and miss beautiful spiritual experiences in life.These experiences can take you to the meditative state So till you reach that state do chanting, but chant with deep involvement in the form of God whose name you are chanting.

Respected Swamiji we are not able to maintain the same concentration on all the names of God while chanting 1008 names or 108 names, what can we do? Is it necessary to read or chant all 1008 names?

Please understand one important thing in this context. While chanting names, some names give you great joy and ecstasy. Due to that reason you decide to chant all the names every day and follow it. When you do that it becomes routine work and it turns out to be a mechanical job. Then you cannot concentrate and you miss the joy and bliss.

Don’t chant for the purpose of accounts. You stop where your concentration is reduced and enjoy those names that give you joy.

Some popular stotras of Ganapathi

śuklāmbaradharaṃ viṣṇuṃ śaśivarṇaṃ caturbhujam . prasannavadanaṃ dhyāyet sarvavighnopaśāntaye

agajānana padmārkam gajānanam aharniśam anēka dam tam bhaktānām ēkadantam upāsmahē

vakratuṇḍa mahākāya sūryakoṭi samaprabha nirvighnaṃ kuru me deva sarvakāryeṣu sarvadā

4. Dhyayedgagananam devam thaptha kanchana sannibham Chathurbhujam mahakayam sarvabharana bhushetham

ekadantāya viddhamahe, vakratuṇḍāya dhīmahi, tanno danti pracodayāt.

ā naḥ śṛṇvannūtibhiḥ sīda sādanam ||

8. ध्यायॆद्गजननम् देवम्थप्थ कन्चने सन्निभम् छथुर्भुजम् महकयम् सर्वभरनम् भुशितम्

ḍhyayedgajananam devamthaptha kancane sannibham chathurbhujam mahakayam sarvabharanam bhuśitham

9. ॐ प्रि आनन्द ग़नपथये णमह Om śri ānanda anapathaye ṇamaha

Be Blissful Nithyanandam