How to Make Remedies Work for You

Let’s take a look at the meaning of the DivyaNama, Shuchishrava and also understand something very important in the context of performing remedies.

Shuchishrava from 

रुद्रो बहु-शिरा बभ्रु: विश्वयोनिः शुचि-श्रवाः

of Vishnu SahasraNama.

shuchisrava – श्रवांसि / नामानि शुचीनि श्रवणीयानि अस्येति शुचिश्रवाः

Shrava means names.

His divine names are purifying.

They are worth listening to.

Merely by listening to them you get purified.

Taking his name is one thing. Listening is another thing.

Even if you listen to his names, his names fall on your ear, they purify you.
 

Another meaning - 

Bhagawan himself says -

शुचीनि श्रवणीयानि शृणोमीह धनंजय।

न च पापानि गृह्णामि ततोऽहं वै शुचिश्रवाः ।

I will only listen to prayers that are pure nature.

If you pray that my neighbor should face a financial crisis so that he will do a distress sale of his house and you can grab it - No. He will not listen to you.

He will only answer prayers with pure intention. 

But if your prayers are pure. Pure does not necessarily mean that there should be no worldly desire. Pray for health, wealth, peace - no problem. He will listen and answer. Don't pray for anything that can harm yourself or harm others. Anything that involves committing a sin.

That he will not listen to.

As a thumb rule he would definitely listen to his devotees.

तदुक्तानि अवश्यं शृणोति 

Bhagawan spent a whole night listening to Vidura.

धर्म्या रम्याश्च अर्थवतीः विचित्रार्थ-पदाक्षराः ।

शृण्वतो विविधा वाचः विदुरस्य महात्मनः ।

अकामस्यैव कृष्णस्य सा व्यतीयाय शर्वरी ।।

Because Vidura was talking about virtues, his words were meaningful, his style was great. This is what the Lord likes to listen to.

This is what the Lord wants you to talk about, always.

Not gossipping or worthless topics. 

Another meaning - 

Indra is called वृद्धश्रवाः - वृद्धं श्रवो धनं कीर्तिर्वा यस्य सः वृद्धश्रवाः

Someone who has abundance of wealth or fame is Vriddhashrava. 

Shrava means wealth or fame. 

Bhagawan here is Shuchi Shrava.

His wealth is pure. Wealth that he blesses with is pure.

Wealth that comes  with his blessing is pure.

Also his glory is pure, spotless.

Fame that comes with his blessings will never get affected by bad reputation. 

We do remedies, some as prayaschittas, elaborate rituals such as gaya shraddha.

Mrityunjaya when facing health issues.

Navagraha Shanti when period as per horoscope is bad.

Or even chant certain specific shlokas or stotras or mantras.

Visit particular temples.

Undertake fasting - on Thursdays, Saturdays.

Read certain scriptures - Ramayana, SundaraKanda. 

Some seem to yield results immediately.

Some, apparently no result is seen. 

Why is this so? 

Are we missing out on something important? 

We expect that  purohitas have come, the ritual was conducted properly, good amount of money has been spent, it should yield result. 

There is a very very important point connected to prayaschittas, remedies.

Unless you do this, nothing is going to work. 

प्रायश्चित्तानि चीर्णानि नारायणपराङ्मुखम् ।

न निष्पुनन्ति राजेन्द्र सुराकुम्भमिवापगाः ॥ 

If you ignore Naryana and do any prayaschitta , it will not purify.

What is the purpose of doing remedy, prayaschitta ?

Prayaschitta is detoxifying.

Past karma has accumulated as toxins inside.

Which is acting on the body, mind. 

Performance of prayaschitta is detoxification. 

Here, it is being compared to dipping a liquor filled sealed pot in Ganga. 

Ganga can purify anything.

But not a sealed liquor filled pot. 

The act of dipping the pot in Ganga is done.

But the liquor still remains inside. 

In the same, even if you perform all the external acts or remedies, prayaschittas, the toxin inside is still there. 

It is the toxin accumulated inside which is harming you. 

How to get rid of that ?

Only Sri Hari can make you pure inside.

Allow him inside.

Don't ignore him. 

Take his name at the end of whatever you are doing.

Like how you do Ganesha puja at the beginning, take Lord Vishnu's name at the end. 

Then it will work like magic. 

प्रायश्चित्तान्यशेषाणि तपः कर्मात्मकानि वै ।

यानि तॆषामशेषाणां कृष्णानुस्मरणं परम् ॥

श्रीकृष्ण कृष्ण कृष्ण

Take his divine name at least three times.

It is anusmaranam. To be done after the prayaschitta is completed.

If you are reading SundaraKanda to get relief from a certain problem, once you finish reading say - 

Krishna Krishna Krishna or

Narayana Narayana Narayana 

This has another benefit as well.

यस्य स्मृत्या च नामोक्त्या तपोयज्ञक्रियादिषु । 

न्यूनं सम्पूर्णतां याति सद्यो वन्दे तमच्युतम् ॥ 

Be it tapas such as fasting, be it yajnas, if there is a shortcoming it will get compensated if you remember the Lord and take his name.

The effect is immediate.
 

Next time you do a remedy or any kind of prayaschitta make sure that you don't miss this very very important point. 

• Why do some rituals feel powerful while others leave no trace of effect?
  Because it is not the external fire, flowers, or mantras that alone purify. The inner toxin of karma is dissolved only when the Lord’s name enters the heart. Without that, it is like washing a sealed jar from the outside — the inside remains untouched.

• Can ordinary worldly prayers be considered pure?
  Yes. Asking for health, stability in work, harmony in family life — all of these are natural and accepted. Purity lies in intention. When the request does not harm anyone and does not arise from malice, Bhagavan’s ears are open.

• Why is listening to divine names said to purify even more than speaking them?
  The human ear is like a gateway to the mind. When the names of Vishnu flow in, they clean out impressions lodged in memory. That is why even passive listening to Vishnu Sahasranama or nama japa can lift one’s mental heaviness and give clarity.

• How does remembering the Lord at the end of a remedy make such a difference?
  It is the sealing act. Like locking in the medicine after taking it, remembrance of Vishnu fixes the effect of the ritual. The prayer reaches its destination, and whatever small errors may have crept in during performance are covered by his grace.

• What is the link between remedies and physical health?
  When karma works as an unseen toxin, it often shows up as ailments, weakness, or repeated fatigue. Remedies act like detox processes. But when done with Vishnu’s name, the relief goes beyond symptom-level — the inner agitation that fuels illness begins to quieten.

• Why do elders say gossip or negative speech blocks blessings?
  Because the Lord loves listening to words filled with meaning and virtue. Just as one avoids feeding the body with stale food, the soul should not be fed with stale talk. Conversations that uplift the family, that carry remembrance of dharma, keep the channel of grace open.

• What about wealth gained after prayers — how do we know it is pure?
  If the wealth comes without guilt, without the shadow of cheating or harming others, then it is touched by Bhagavan. Such wealth brings peace in the home and respect in society, not constant fear or blame. That is the mark of ‘shuchi shrava’.

• Is there a simple practice to make sure remedies bear fruit in family life?
  Yes. After completing any ritual — whether it is Sundarakanda parayana, a fast, or a homa — gather the family and chant the Lord’s name three times together: ‘Krishna Krishna Krishna’ or ‘Narayana Narayana Narayana’. This binds the remedy to collective remembrance and ensures its light spreads across the household.

If remedies really work, why don’t we see instant results like switching on a light bulb?
Because remedies are not mechanical switches. They work on living systems where multiple forces act together. Just like medicine takes time to heal the body, remedies align subtle forces that take time to show visible outcomes.

Isn’t it just coincidence when someone says a remedy worked?
Coincidence is random. Remedies show repeatable patterns across centuries of practice. When thousands of people, across regions and generations, record similar effects, it stops being coincidence and becomes observable consistency.

If remedies influence life, why can’t they be proven in a laboratory?
Laboratories measure physical matter. Remedies act on subtle energy and consciousness, which are not fully capturable with current instruments. Just as electricity was unknown before proper tools were built, subtle forces await the right tools for measurement.

If chanting or ritual affects reality, how does sound or offering do that?
Sound is vibration, and vibration changes matter. Ultrasound breaks kidney stones, radio waves carry voices. Similarly, mantras and offerings generate vibrations that interact with the human system and environment, though on subtler planes.

If remedies are real, why do some people still fail even after doing them?
Because remedies are like medicine. If the dose is wrong, if the disease is too advanced, or if the patient ignores other needed care, results vary. Failure doesn’t mean medicine is fake; it means factors affect outcomes.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi