Do You Know What Takes a Common Man Towards God?

Ameyatma –
इयानिति मातुं न शक्यत आत्मा यस्येति अमेयात्मा

The greatness, the vastness of his atma, the paramatma cannot be measured. That it is so much. Ameya means immeasurable. Also, his power to bless, his blessings are immeasurable, hence ameyatma. He cannot be defined. His size cannot be defined. His nature cannot be defined. What he will do next cannot be predicted. Veda says.

He is greater than everything else in the comparative degree. More abundant than anything else. Immeasurable. Beyond all means and tools of measurement. Can you measure the distance from Delhi to Mumbai using a one foot scale? Our faculties of measurement, our tools of measurement, they are all incapable to measure his vastness, his greatness.

There has to be a reason before you start a spiritual practice. Invariably a worldly reason. Gandhiji says he started chanting rama nama at a very young age because he had fear of evil spirits. His caretaker in the family, a lady called Rambha, told him to start chanting rama nama and that his fear will go away. For everyone this is how it starts. Some health issue. Loss of income. Family problems. That’s how you get connected to God. If problems are not there in life, hardly anyone would connect to higher realms of existence.

Then there are stories about miracles, mysterious powers. Rather than logic, reasoning and vedantic discourses, these are what would take a common man towards God. Gandhiji talks about a maharaj who used to read ramayana for his father. He had leprosy. But as he went about reading ramayana, he got cured.

One of the biggest benefits of nama japa, nama sankeertana, is that it will naturally instill self control in you.

Right from childhood our families put a bad habit into us. Why do we take in air, is it for the smell? No, because air is needed to sustain the body. Why do we drink water? Is it for the taste? No. When your body is short of water, then you become thirsty. Water we drink to quench the thirst, again to sustain the body. But we don’t eat to take care of hunger. We eat for taste. We don’t eat to sustain the body. We eat for the tongue. This is a bad habit that the family puts into us. What is good for the tongue may not be always good for the body.

Particularly with the food technology expanding more and more, you get essence for everything. You can put a few drops of the essence into ordinary rice and it will have the fragrance of basmati rice. What chemical it is we don’t know. They may say it is safe, certified. After 10 years they will come out with a research saying it is carcinogenic. This is the problem with science.

Why chemicals, spices? Spices like cardamom, cloves, they are all very hot by nature. Their consumption increases heat in the body, leading to all kinds of complications, ulcer, acidity. This is all because we have made ourselves habituated to taste. Food not for hunger, food for taste. These taste promoting ingredients, they don’t have any nutritional value.

Someone who trains as an athlete in Kenya was telling me, the locals, they just boil everything and eat as they are. No spices, not even salt is added. Here we say, iodine deficiency. This is the diet recommended for an athlete whose training is extreme, the demands of the body are extreme.

Such passions towards food, towards comforts, they act as hindrance to growth. These are the shackles which bind you. This is kama. It becomes more of a habit, which is very difficult to break out of. A minor change in the taste, you are dissatisfied, you are irritated, you start shouting. This is because you don’t have control over your mind. Nama japa, nama sankeertana will naturally build self control in you, mind control in you.

• Why does repeating a name like 'Narayana' actually change anything in my life?
  Sound carries intent. When you chant a divine name, the mind takes a single, high-quality object and drops scattered thoughts. One pointed attention cuts anxiety, lowers heart rate, and steadies breath. The mind becomes available for Bhagavan’s grace. Order outside follows order inside.

• Isn’t this blind faith? Where is the logic?
  Logic first: repeated attention builds a neural path and a habit. If junk thoughts can hijack mood, sacred sound can rewire it. The name points to the infinite, so the mind learns freedom from limits. That is rational training, not blindness.

• How does Vishnu sahasranama chanting help physical health?
  A steady chant pace regulates breathing. Longer exhale tones the vagus nerve. Blood pressure stabilizes. Sleep deepens. Digestion improves when stress hormones drop. Health rises because the body prefers rhythm over chaos.

• My family keeps arguing. How does nama japa help at home?
  Chanting together fixes one rhythm in the house. Anger lasts shorter when the tongue is trained to roll sacred sound. Fewer sharp words, more shared time. The room feels lighter because the mind has a higher anchor than the quarrel.

• I am busy. What does a non-negotiable daily routine look like?
  Fix a count, not a mood: one mala at dawn, one at dusk. Sit, spine steady, soft voice, clear pronunciation. If travel breaks time, keep count on fingers in silence. Never bargain with the number; the mind obeys what you make exact.

• Which names should I start with if the list feels overwhelming?
  Take a small pack and loop it: ‘Vasudeva, Narayana, Madhava, Govinda, Vishnu.’ Chant each ten times, then cycle. Once stable, expand to sahasranama verses section by section. Consistency beats variety.

• Do I need a teacher to begin?
  A teacher refines pace and pronunciation, but beginning needs sincerity and a fixed rule. Start today with what you know, then learn the correct tune and split of words from a traditional source. Do not delay action waiting for perfection.

• I slip into craving for taste and comfort. Can chanting really bring self control?
  Yes. The tongue learns to prefer sacred sound over constant stimulation. Once the tongue is trained, food choices follow. You eat to nourish, not to thrill. Strength returns because the senses now have a captain.

• What if I don’t feel devotion yet?
  Do the work anyway. Devotion is the fragrance that comes after grinding the herb. When sound and breath align daily, warmth for Bhagavan lights up on its own. Feeling is a result, not a precondition.

• How can I involve children without forcing them?
  Keep it short and rhythmic. Ten names after evening study, soft claps for beat, one sweet fruit as prasad. Children imitate the atmosphere. If you chant with joy and steadiness, they join naturally.

• I get angry fast. What is the chant protocol in a flare-up?
  Stop speech. Three rounds of ‘Om Namo Narayanaya’ with longer exhale. Do not argue while chanting. Resume talk only after finishing the set. You protect relationships by putting the tongue to the name before it goes to the quarrel.

• Can I use a phone app, or should I keep a physical mala?
  Use a tulsi or rudraksha mala. It fixes posture, speed, and count without screens. Hands learn humility bead by bead. If you must travel light, count on fingers, but return to the mala at home.

• How fast should I chant the sahasranama?
  Steady, audible, and unhurried. Each name distinct. Breath should not strain or gasp. If you can comfortably complete the text in your set time without rushing syllables, the speed is right.

• I doubt miracles. Will chanting still work for me?
  Doubt does not cancel law. Fire warms even a skeptic’s hands. Chanting aligns mind, breath, and meaning. Peace, clarity, and timely help are the natural outcomes of a trained mind held under Bhagavan’s name.

• What is a simple monthly target to ensure progress?
  Daily: two malas of ‘Om Namo Narayanaya’ and one measured passage of Vishnu sahasranama. Weekly: one group sankeertana session at home. Monthly: a full sahasranama parayana with family. Track dates and counts; growth likes numbers.

• How do I measure inner growth without deceiving myself?
  Fewer angry outbursts, quicker recovery after stress, simpler food by choice, better sleep, and kinder speech at home. If these rise, the japa is working. If they stall, strengthen time, posture, and pronunciation.

• What if guilt from past mistakes blocks my chanting?
  Bring the name into the guilt. Confess inwardly, keep the count, and repair what you can in action. The name purifies by giving you courage to do the next right thing. Grace meets effort at that edge.

• Is group sankeertana necessary if I already do private japa?
  Yes. Private japa builds depth; group sankeertana builds lift. Voices align, ego thins, and the house inherits a shared rhythm. Both wings are needed for steady flight.

• When do I expect a turning point?
  When the name shows up before the impulse. The tongue reaches ‘Narayana’ ahead of anger, fear, or greed. That is the clear sign: the name becomes first response, not last resort. Keep going till then, and keep going after.

If God is immeasurable, how can you even claim to know anything about him?
We don’t measure him the way we measure physical things. We recognize his immeasurability because every attempt to limit him fails. The very failure of measurement proves the point.

If blessings are immeasurable, isn’t that just another way of saying you can’t verify them?
No. You see their effect, not their weight. Relief from fear, healing, sudden peace — these are observable results. The cause is not measurable, but the change is undeniable.

How can chanting a name cure fear or disease? Isn’t that just placebo?
Placebo itself proves the power of mind over body. When repetition of a divine name consistently calms fear or restores health across different cases, that’s evidence of a force greater than placebo — a channel of power.

Why should problems push people towards God? Isn’t that just escapism?
No. Escapism ignores reality. Turning to God happens when reality overwhelms you. It’s not escape but search for a higher solution when ordinary means fail.

Miracles are just stories. Why should anyone take them seriously?
History and tradition preserve them because they happened often enough to impact society. Even if you reject them as impossible, the fact that generations held them true shows they carried undeniable transformative power.

You say taste addiction is a shackle. But isn’t enjoyment of taste natural?
Natural doesn’t mean harmless. Fire is natural, but unrestrained fire burns houses. Taste is natural, but when it controls you, it proves you lack control over yourself.

If science finds chemicals safe today and harmful tomorrow, doesn’t that just mean science is correcting itself?
Correction means limitation. A tool that always changes its verdict cannot claim final authority on what sustains life. That gap is where reverence for higher wisdom steps in.

How can repeating a name give self-control? Isn’t that psychological conditioning?
Call it conditioning if you like. But unlike other habits, this conditioning breaks harmful impulses instead of creating them. It steadies the mind, and anyone practicing it sees the difference.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi