Picture: Chandra from 2005 (I have used this picture since Chandra had left for a 10 day Gita Class before I got a picture of her on this trip. Here she is in the Bhajan Hall).
I am just now posting this writing and there will be some more following about our time in India. After returning from India I have been busy with service here, as well as adjusting to the new time zone so there has been some delay in getting these to you. In the future I will also plan to continue to use the website for writings under the category Morning Thoughts. Quite often in the early hours of the day Ram will prompt me to write on some topic, these will be made available here. With many blessings, Yogacharya David. P.S. It was Mother Hamilton who bestowed the title of Yogacharya upon me, and it was Swami Satchidananda who called me Yogacharya David. The title Yogacharya, Mother had said, means teacher or master of Yoga (union with God). I use this name in homage to these two great spiritual luminaries in my life.
Our dear friend Chandraji dropped by and during our conversation told us the story of the group here at the Ashram who have been chanting Hari Rama, Hari Krishna for the last seven days. These devotees are from several villages and traveled far to be here at the Ashram. They are described as simple village people who trace their practice of chanting back to a wonderful saint, Avadhoot Saraswati. I am always thrilled to come to know about a saint and a lover of God.
“Avadhoot Saraswati, his sannyas name, as a boy had a wonderful voice and some told him he should be a professional singer, but he did not have any interest in things of the world. In his teens he left home and completed the great Char Dham Yatra (The circumambulation of India). Having traveled India he continued on until he found his Guru who initiated him into Hari Rama, Hari Krishna.
“After initiation he continued his wandering life until he came to one ashram whose head swami liked the boy very much, in fact everyone loved him because he smiled so sweetly and was friendly to everyone. Then one day he became completely paralyzed. Everyone at the ashram so lovingly took care of him, but he did not even have the power of speech.
“Finally one saint was consulted and he said, “Every day you must chant the Hanuman Chalisa, even though you can’t speak it, chant it in your mind.” So his fellow ashramites picked him up, it took many of them because he was over six feet tall, and took him up to a bathing tank and threw him in! Then they laid him out on the sand. He would then chant the Hanuman Chalisa in his mind 108 times. After that they would feed him lunch.
“They repeated this for 40 or 45 days and one day he was able to speak! Gradually he became normal as they continued this treatment. The ashram head swami told the recovered boy that he should get others interested in chanting. So, he travelled all over India and with his beautiful voice he attracted large followings; they would chant Hari Rama, Hari Krishna. [It was Pabhupada who brought the chant to America that changed it to Hari Krishna Hari Rama due to his special devotion to Krishna. But since Rama was a much earlier incarnation of Vishnu his name traditionally comes first.]
“This group at Anandashram is connected with Avadhoot Saraswati. There used to be so many of them, but he is no more in the body. They are chanting for 24 hours of the day for 7 days. They divide into groups so there are at least 5 chanting at any one time. We go in and sit and listen. I was there until about 11:30 last night, some stay there all night.”
With the conclusion of Chandra’s story I am struck at how Anandashram is really a remarkable environment, where the chanting of God’s Name goes on daily from early morning to late night, and sometimes 24/7. But, in addition to this devotion to Ram Nam they invite in other groups not related to their lineage and allow them to follow their own program.
When Nam (the name of God) is chanted with sincerity and full consciousness a tremendous spiritual power is built. That power then goes out as a blessing to the world; so that what is done locally is felt globally. Any name of God is good, what is essential is the full faith and devotion of the chanter. Some of these names of God have been chanted for centuries, some for millennia.
May the name of God ring out now and always, purifying hearts and minds everywhere and leading all to the full realization of God. This was the mission of Avadhoot Saraswati, Swami Ramdas, Mother Hamilton and so many of the great ones.