Simran Practice According to Sant Tukaram
Meditation Sangat:
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{"Do not live even a single day without inner
meditation." -- Baba Devi Sahab}
Chanting God's Name as a Bhakti Practice
Simran: The art of remembering God by repeating his name verbally, or repeating it within as in Manas Jappa: a mental or internal repetition done "with the tongue of thought".
Take just a little word, of one syllable rather than of two ... With this word you are to strike down every kind of thought under the cloud of forgetting. (Cloud of Unknowing)
A single word said with an attentive mind is better than a thousand when the mind is far away. (Evagrius)
The sole way to the realisation of God, according to Tukarama, is the constant repetition of God's name. "Sit silent," says Tukarama, "compose thy mind and make it pure, and then happiness will know no bounds. God will certainly come and dwell in his heart. This will be the result of thy long effort. Meditate time after time on God's name ...... says Tuka, "that this will surely come to pass, if thou hast one-pointed devotion" (Abg.1132). "The uttering of the name of God is indeed an easy way for reaching Him. One need not go to a distant forest. God will Himself come to the house of a devotee. One should sit at a place, concentrate his mind, invoke God with love, and utter His name time after time. I swear by God's name," says Tuka, "that there is no other way for reaching God: indeed, this is the easiest of all ways" (Abg. 1698). "If we only utter the name of God, God will stand before us. In that way should we meditate on Him." (Abg. 2021). There are always difficulties which intervene before God is reached. These are dispelled by the power of devotion. "The Name will lead to God if no obstacle intervenes. A fruit becomes ripe on a tree only if it is not plucked" (Abg. 695). "The ship of God's name," says Tuka, "will ultimately carry one across the ocean of life. It will save both the young and the old" (Abg. 2457). "The whole body feels cool when one meditates on the Name. The senses forget their movements. . . . By the sweet nectar-like love of God, one is full of energy and all kinds of sorrow depart immediately" (Abg. 1543).
(Tukaram, edited by R.D. Ranade, SUNY Press, NY)
