Hari Aum.
A very happy New Year to all readers. Hope your year has started well despite the ongoing significant challenges we face in terms of the Covid pandemic.
The last two years have been so unusual, so extraordinary and unpredictable, that one feels like greeting this new year with some caution mixed with optimism. The whole world has been plunged into these strange circumstances.
Who can protect us? Ultimately, it is God of course, but we also have to be deserving of His grace. What makes us deserving of His grace? Ultimately, it is our adherence to Dharma.
What then is dharma? As we know, this word is famously difficult to translate into English. It includes so many things within it; there is no one English word that encapsulates all these. In a simple sense, Dharma is translated as righteousness, as goodness. But it is much more. It is said to be 'that which upholds'-- upholds what? Well, everything. All creation, all creatures, all of Nature, everything is upheld by Dharma. In fact, one of the names of God is Dharma. He is the one who upholds all.
There is a famous saying in Sanskrit-- "Dharmo rakshati rakshitah", meaning Dharma protects the one who protects Dharma. What does this mean? It refers to the law of Karma. It means that if one adheres to Dharma (a life based on good values), then one is protected by Dharma. In other words, one's own good actions become a shield against all harm.
Now none of us is perfect. But some of us are certainly striving for what the yogis called 'Perfection', i.e. spiritual Perfection. And this very act of striving becomes a shield. We draw the grace of God when we try to reach Him, when we adhere to Dharma and thus attain knowledge of our true nature which is already one with Him.
Dharma also means duty. The highest duty of the human being according to the yogis is to realise their true immortal, imperishable nature as being one with God, to realise one's true nature transcends the body, mind and intellect which are only one's instruments. This realisation produces the experience of infinite peace and bliss. The path of dharma is not always easy though. One has to battle with one's own lower mind and deal with the outside world which also contains adharma, the opposite of dharma (vices, negativity).
And aside from these obstacles, the spiritual aspirant faces many tests along the way. Sivananda says "An eager aspirant gets all sorts of diseases, because he is hurrying up for union with the Lord. Many evil Karmas have to be exhausted or worked out. Aspirants should be absolutely fearless. Disease is a messenger from God. Disease is a guest of this house, body. Diseases are tests to try the sincerity of the aspirant. Seekers after Truth should have unshakable, unflinching, unswerving faith at all times, in all conditions of life." He says that even if one is ill, one should not stop the recitation of the names and mantras of God, i.e. japa, as this is extremely precious.
In fact, Sivananda refers to the practice of japa as "Divine Namapathy". He says "When allopathy, homeopathy, chromopathy, naturopathy, ayurvedapathy and all other 'pathies' fail to cure a disease, the divine namapathy alone can save you. The name of the Lord is a sovereign specific, a sheet-anchor, an infallible panacea and a cure-all for all diseases. It is an ideal or supreme 'pick-me-up' in gloom and despair, in depression and sorrow, in the daily battle of life or the struggle for existence, There is a mysterious power in the name. There is an inscrutable sakti (power) in God's name! All the divine potencies are hidden in the Lord's name."
It may not always be easy to adhere to the name and mantra of God when we are disturbed by illness. But we can pray to Him for faith, for devotion, for strength, and as many have experienced all over the world, He always responds. All of us are His children after all. Which parent will ignore a crying child? God is the embodiment of love and He responds to the call of His children.
We must go through the results of our karmas. But His holy names destroy our negative karmas to a great extent and acts as a shield. Even when we become ill, His name gives us the strength to handle things better. And one day, we must all leave this planet. And when that day comes for each one of us, whether it is sooner or later, His name again acts as our guide and protector when we depart.
During life, whether in sickness or in health, and during death and beyond, His name is our one and only refuge. Therefore, let us stick to it at all costs, let us pray to Him to keep us on the path of Dharma, the path to Him. No matter what testing obstacles we face, from within and without, may He always keep us firmly on the path of Dharma, and thus may we always remain within the protecting sphere of His grace.
May we all have a spiritually fulfilling New Year.
Om Namo Narayanaya.
Hari Aum Tat Sat.
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