Śrī rāma nāma - Writing this divine name in a book is a common practice followed by many sanatanis for time immemorial. Earlier, I couldn’t really comprehend why many wrote this name or why write the divine name in a book. Isn’t Japa more effective? This used to be my thought for quite a while. During my school and college days, our neighbourhood aunties (Atte) used to take the help of kiddos (including yours truly) to fill the book with Sri Rama Nama. I remember sitting in the bus stand and writing this name, sometimes as a competition.
Over years as one ages, there is a tendency to go back to one’s childhood and I made several, highly unsuccessful attempts, at reviving this practice. As always, the start is with a flourish, but quickly withered away without even a whimper. I guess I didn’t understand one cardinal rule. Everything happens for a reason at a right time…
Last year, I lost my Appa (father). We have to bow down to the divine’s plans, but the human pain and agony can’t be removed in totality. Having lost my Amma 20 years ago and now my Appa, I felt very lost and disenchanted. Orphan.. the word used to ring in my ears, though my own family was supporting me. Not knowing what to do, instinctively I decided to channelise sometime of my day in writing the name of Sri Rama.
September 24 2023 - Day I picked up my first book and started to fill out the page with “Sri Rama”’s divine name 360 times per page. Today, I have completed 9 books of 40 pages (I wrote twice on some days in between), which makes it 360 x 360 = 129,600. A small drop in the Rama Koti yajna. Whether I will complete the Koti Nama, only time will tell.
However, I wanted to share that this practice is very potent and has some magnificent results for those feeling lost / hurt by the vagaries of life. Entrusting ourselves into the hands of the divine gives some guidance on the path ahead and more importantly, helps to discover the inner peace that would have gone astray…
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