Recorded at the Vedanta Society of Western Washington on July 3, 2011.
In this talk, Swami Bhaskarananda explains the Vedantic understanding of the “holy name” as a name of God, and how name and the named are considered inseparable. Because the mind takes on the color of whatever it dwells on, repeated remembrance of a divine name gradually transforms the mind, making it pure enough to experience God, who is described as existence, consciousness, and infinite joy. Swami Bhaskarananda discusses why people seek endless happiness through limited means such as wealth and sense pleasure, and how only knowledge of the Self as divinity can truly fulfill that longing. He explains that the heart in “blessed are the pure in heart” refers to the mind, and a pure mind alone can know God.
He then outlines several forms of japa, or repetition of the holy name: chanting aloud, whispering, and silent mental repetition, noting that mental japa is most effective because it demands greater concentration and prepares the mind for pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and ultimately samadhi. Additional practices include written japa, unbroken group chanting, kirtan, and ajapa japa, in which the name continues effortlessly with each breath and even the whole body seems to vibrate with it. Drawing on examples from Hindu saints and parallel practices in Tibetan and Japanese Buddhism, Sufism, Catholicism, and Russian Orthodoxy, he shows that repetition of the divine name is a shared, time-tested means to purify the mind and draw closer to God.
