BHAKTI OR DEVOTION

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1a. BHAKTI OR DEVOTION

Posted by: " Uttishthata " uttishthata

Fri Jun 15, 2007 7:59 pm (PST)

 

BHAKTI OR DEVOTION - Swami Vivekananda

Holy Name

 

In the heart of all these ritualisms, there stands one idea prominent

above all the rest -- the worship of a name. Those of you who have

studied the older forms of Christianity, those of you who have

studied the other religions of the world, perhaps have marked that

there is this idea with them all, the worship of a name. A name is

said to be very sacred. In the Bible we read that the holy name of

God was considered sacred beyond compare, holy beyond everything. It

was the holiest of all names, and it was thought that this very Word

was God. This is quite true. What is this universe but name and form?

Can you think without words? Word and thought are inseparable. Try if

any one of you can separate them. Whenever you think, you are doing

so through word forms. The one brings the other; thought brings the

word, and the word brings the thought. Thus the whole universe is, as

it were, the external symbol of God, and behind that stands His grand

name. Each particular body is a form, and behind that particular body

is its name. As soon as you think of your friend So-and-so, there

comes the idea of his body, and as soon as you think of your friend's

body, you get the idea of his name. This is in the constitution of

man. That is to say, psychologically, in the mind-stuff of man, there

cannot come the idea of name without the idea of form, and there

cannot come the idea of form without the idea of name. They are

inseparable; they are the external and the internal sides of the same

wave. As such, names have been exalted and worshipped all over the

world -- consciously or unconsciously, man found the glory of names.

 

Holy Personalities

 

Again, we find that in many different religions, holy personages have

been worshipped. They worship Krishna, they worship Buddha, they

worship Jesus, and so forth. Then, there is the worship of saints;

hundreds of them have been worshipped all over the world, and why

not? The vibration of light is everywhere. The owl sees it in the

dark. That shows it is there, though man cannot see it. To man, that

vibration is only visible in the lamp, in the sun, in the moon, etc.

God is omnipresent, He is manifesting Himself in every being; but for

men, He is only visible, recognisable, in man. When His light, His

presence, His spirit, shines through the human face, then and then

alone, can man understand Him. Thus, man has been worshipping God

through men all the time, and must do so as long as he is a man. He

may cry against it, struggle against it, but as soon as he attempts

to realise God, he will find the constitutional necessity of thinking

of God as a man.

 

The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda Volume 2 [ Page : 42 ]

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

Purity, patience, and perseverance are the three essentials to

success and, above all, love.

- Swami Vivekananda