St Tulsidasji wrote, “How can I adequately glorify the Name? Even Lord Shri Rama could not sing the glory of Ram-Nam”. Meera Bai says, “O mind! The essence of this world is the nectar; only Holy Name can redeem from cycle of birth and death.” Tell me if anyone could be saved from death without this Name. It is written in our scriptures that we should bow at the feet of saints. This is not written for elephants and animals. Go to the Spiritual Master, prostrate to him and ask. Then he will impart the knowledge of the Name which is indivisible and which redeems us from the cycle of birth and death.
One day a lady came and bowed to St. Tulsidas and he blessed her, saying, “May you and your husband live long.” She replied, ‘This is very strange. I know that the Creation can be devoured; water may submerge everything, but the word of a saint cannot be reversed. But my husband has already died and I am going to the funeral to burn myself with his corpse. So your blessing cannot come true.” Hearing this, St. Tulsidas said, “Put down the bier, close your eyes and remember the Name.” So saying, the saint also started remembering the Holy Name.
After some time, he sprinkled Ganges water on the corpse, which became alive again. Just see, the power of the Name can change even the laws of Nature! Fire became cool, even though its nature is to burn, in the presence of the devotee Prahlad. The essence of the Vedas is Spiritual Knowledge, which is true and one must know this. People do not understand the essence. It is written in the Bhagavad Gita, “Take shelter in Satguru and ask for the Knowledge”. The purpose of human life is to acquire Knowledge. You can know it only during your human life. So St. Kabir says, “ Chinta to satnam ki, aur na chitwe Das. Jo kuchh chitwe nam binu, soi kal ki phans.” (If you must think about something, think of the True Name, as anything else will ensnare you in the web of death).
It is written that a choukari is one cycle of Satyug, Treta, Dwapar and Kali Ages. One ‘day' of Brahma the Creator is equal to a thousand such choukaris and similarly one night of Brahma is also equal to a thousand choukaris. Brahma lives for 100 years, each day and night being equal to one thousand choukaris and thereafter Brahma also comes to an end. This world is so big that no one can describe its contents fully. If a seed comes in contact with water, it gets spoiled, but some plants grow with wheat for which you did not sow any seed. Then where does the seed live? If its seed lives in the earth, why it is not spoiled by rain water? It is all the Almighty's grace. If you pour even a little water on seeds they get spoiled and do not grow when sown in soil. Strange are the ways of God. Even the Creator, Brahma, comes to an end.
Meera Bai says we should come to satsang and sing the glory of God. Human birth is rare, and you may or may not get it again anytime soon. However, people get engrossed in illusory things of the world until one day they fall into the jaws of death. Only Holy Name can protect from death. It is written in the Bhagavad Gita, “He who remembers Me at the end, comes to Me.” Meera Bai's enemies tried to poison her because they did not like her dancing and visiting saints, but that poison became nectar for her. She was tormented lot but she did not give up attending satsang and said, “ Taji kusang satsang baith nit, Hari charcha sun lijai. ” “Give up bad company, come to satsang and listen to the glory of God.”
Everything else except the Name can be experienced by other species. The Holy Name of God can be known only by human beings.
When a dog chews a bone he thinks that blood is oozing from the bone, whereas in fact the blood comes from his own gums. St. Bhartrihari wrote,“Bhogo na bhukta waymew bhukta. ” We think that we are enjoying worldly pleasures but it is not so. The pleasures are enjoying us! The things which we enjoy never come to an end, but we depart from this world one by one. So, instead of being engrossed in worldly pleasures, we should devote our mind to the Holy Name of God so that our human birth can be successful.
