Spiritual Stories 
Previous: 22.The King and His Ministers Next: 24.Silent Eloquence Glossary The Greatness of Japa
A devotee asked, “Swami, what is the easiest way to
attain moksha?”
Bhagavan said with a smile, “As and when the mind
goes astray, it should be turned inward and made to steady
itself in the thought of the Self. That is the only way.”
Another devotee said, “To do so, the repeating of the
name of Rama is good, is it not?”
“Certainly, it is good,” said Bhagavan. “What could
be better? The greatness of the japa of the name of Rama is
extraordinary. In the story of Namadeva he is reported to
have told one devotee, ‘If you want to know the greatness of
the name of Rama you must first know what your own name
is, what your real nature (swarupa) is, who you are and
how you were born. Unless you know your own origin, you
will not know your name!’ This idea is found in the Abhangas
of Namadeva written in Marathi language and in the
Malayalam Adhyatma Ramayana.” Thereupon Bhagavan
related a story from the latter.
search of Sita, he seated himself opposite to Ravana in the
Darbar Hall on a high pedestal and fearlessly spoke to him
thus: ‘Oh Ravana, I give you a teaching (upadesa) for attaining
liberation (moksha). Please listen to me carefully. It is certain
that the Self (Atma) gets purified by intense devotion to Hari,
who is in the lotus of the Heart at all times. The ego gets
destroyed and then the sin gets destroyed. Afterwards, in its
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place, the knowledge of the transcendent Self emerges. With
a pure mind and with the Bliss (Ananda) generated by a firm
knowledge of the Self, the two letters ‘Ra’ ‘Ma’ which are like
mantras, will repeat themselves within you automatically. What
more is required for a person who has this knowledge, however
little it might be? Hence worship the lotus feet of Vishnu,
which will remove all worldly fears, which are dear to all
devotees and which shine as brightly as the light of a crore of
Suns. Give up the ignorance of your mind’. This has been
mentioned in two or three slokas in the Sanskrit Adhyatma
Ramayanam but not as elaborately as in the Malayalam text.
Is the greatness of the name of Rama ordinary?
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