Faith Is The Key To Spiritual Progress

सिद्धिः – attainment of objective. You do mantra sadhana and when the desired proficiency to apply the mantra is achieved it is said that you have siddhi in that mantra.

Sri Hari is the only objective goal worthy of achieving. Even swarga is not permanent. When your punya is exhausted you have to come out of swarga.

स्वर्गाद्यनुभवक्षीणशिष्टप्राचीनकर्मणां भोगाय जननं नॄणाम्

Your own karma takes you to experiences such as heaven or hell. When the quantum of karma is too much, heavy so that it can not be exhausted with human experience then you go to heaven or hell.

Say you have fed 10000 people. The satisfaction, the enjoyment that all those 10000 people had while taking the food served by you has to come back to you. You have only one tongue and one stomach. It is going to take 10000 days to take you through that experience. There is a limit to the pleasure you can have through your sensory organs such as tongue. In heaven the rules change. This threshold is quite high. The intensity of pleasure is much much higher. The pleasure you get from having 1000 meals on earth will be derived from having a single meal in heaven. Don’t take it in the literal sense.

So is the case with pain. Beyond a threshold you don’t feel pain. You don’t feel more pain beyond a point. Even if the intensity of the source of pain increases your pain does not increase. That is why some patients in extreme trauma go into a shock. They go numb. They don’t feel pain anymore. In hell there is no such limit. So if you have to suffer 100 units of pain in total, on earth you can suffer only 1 unit per year, even if you are constantly in excruciating pain. It will take 100 years to suffer all that pain. In the hell it will be ten units per year, because the level of pain is ten times more. So the same 100 units can be exhausted in 10 years.

So heaven and hell are fast track systems where excess of punya and papa that can not be handled through earthly experience are taken care of.

Man takes rebirth on earth once this quantity of punya or papa or their mix are taken care and exhausted in heaven or hell so that he can be again accommodated in the realm of human experience.

What I mean to say is that even swarga is not permanent. Even apsaras and gandharvas whose natural dwelling place is heaven get debarred when they commit some mistake.

The only objective worthy of achieving is Sri Hari, after achieving whom there is no rebirth.

There is a precondition in obtaining siddhi:

मन्त्रे तीर्थे द्विजे देवे दैवज्ञे भेषजे गुरौ
यादृशी भावना यस्य सिद्धिर्भवति तादृशी

This is very interesting.

Mantras – belief that mantras take you close to divinity. Teerthas – such as Ganga and Godavari, belief that if you take a dip in them your sins are washed away, you are purified. Dvija means noble Brahmin – belief that if he blesses it works. Deva – faith in God. Daivajna – faith in an astrologer. Bheshaja – means medicine, faith in medicine. Guru – faith in your own guru, that he will show you the right path.

Now these results, whether you get them or not, or what you get from these depends on your attitude, your attitude towards them.

Mantra – if you believe from the bottom of your heart that mantras can transform you, they will. If you think that everyone is doing some mantra or the other, let me also do a trial, then you are always in a trial, never near your goal.

Teertha – oh look at this water, it is so dirty, filthy. I am going to get some skin disease if I take bath in this. Be it Ganga, be it Godavari, be it Kaveri. That is what you will get, skin disease. Whereas those who have blind faith, pure faith that it can cleanse you from inside, from deep, they shed their sins.

There is a story. A Brahmin wanted to go on a pilgrimage, to go all around and take dips in all the holy rivers. He didn’t want to go alone. He called a friend for company. This friend was a rationalist. He didn’t believe in all this. But for the sake of friendship he went along. Still he wanted to prove a point. So he carried a bottle of bitter gourd pickles with him.

They went to all the holy rivers and completed the pilgrimage in one month. They returned home and sat down for a homely meal. The Brahmin’s wife served meal. This friend took out the bottle of bitter gourd pickles, put a spoonful in the Brahmin’s plate and also on his plate. The friend tasted a little bit of the pickles and exclaimed, oh it is still bitter. Wherever the Brahmin took a dip, the friend would also dip the bottle of pickle for the Brahmin to see.

He was trying to prove that even after taking dips in so many holy rivers the bitter gourd was still bitter. Its bitterness did not go. He was trying to say that taking dips in holy rivers is a waste, it can not clean you from inside. This is what is called attitude. One man does it with faith. The other man does it to prove his point. They both get what they want.

Dvija – if you are prostrating before a Brahmin thinking, what is different in him, his blood is red, my blood is also red. He has learned religion, I have learned science. How is he greater than me. Then better not do it. You might only end up getting a muscle catch.

Deva – what power that piece of stone has got? They call it pathar pujan, stone worship. Idol worship is not there in the Vedas. When you make such statements do you know for sure, or are you just repeating what you have heard somewhere or read in one of your WhatsApp forwards.

चक्षुषा वा एतत्प्रज्ञायते यदप्रज्ञेयम्

Whatever is imperceivable, know it with your eyes.

Do these people know about शुल्बसूत्र, how imagery is used in Vedas, why do the Rigveda mantras give descriptions of what gods look like? So slightest doubt in your mind that how can stone help you, then you go to a temple, then you are not worshiping God, you are only worshiping stone.

Daivajna – astrologer, the exploiters of the gullible in the name of a pseudo science. That is what you will end up with, being exploited. Go to him with faith, the divinity will talk to you through him. If you go for the wrong reason, you will end up with the wrong person. If you go for the right reason you will meet the right person.

Bheshajam – medicine. You take a tablet and after that notice that it had crossed expiry date. It has crossed the expiry date does not mean that it will turn into poison. It will lose some of its potency. It may not be as effective. If you don’t know that you would have fainted by now and will be in the ICU of the nearest hospital. Medicine which was supposed to cure you has landed you in ICU. The only difference is what you thought about it.

Guru – three week program in this asram, nothing happened. Two weeks advanced course in the other asram, nothing happened. Yoga pranayam, nothing happened. Mantra deeksha, nothing happened. Bhajan satsang, nothing happened. With this attitude nothing will happen.

यादृशी भावना यस्य सिद्धिर्भवति तादृशी

सर्ववस्तुषु संविद्रूपत्वात् सिद्धिः

He is the knowledge, consciousness that is present in all objects, beings. He can be realized from anything and everything. He can be achieved from anything and everything. Hence he is called siddhi.

यं पृथक् धर्मचरणाः – he is not attained by only a single method, but by many different methods.

अयमेव ह्युपायैश्च सिद्धिः स्यात् साध्यते यतः

उपायैः – plural – indicating various methods.

There are several methods to get close to him. All of them work. Some sooner, some later. Taking his names is the easiest and fastest way.

• If Bhagavan is already perfect, what is my role? Your role is to align. Chant Vishnu sahasranama and do steady nama japa so your mind becomes fit to receive his guidance. Fitness invites grace; grace makes effort fruitful.

• How does repeating a divine name produce real change? Repetition clears inner noise and steadies attention. A steady mind makes right choices quickly. Begin with 108 repetitions of ‘Om Namo Narayanaya’ every morning after bath.

• Is nama japa enough to start a spiritual life? Yes. It is the safest, most traditional doorway. Keep japa daily, read a few sahasranama names with meanings each week, and live by simple dharma. The path deepens naturally.

• What does it mean that the Lord is ever ready to help? It means you do not wait for a special moment. Call him with the name now. Consistent japa is the signal; protection and direction follow.

• How do I bring this into a busy schedule? Fix three anchors: dawn japa, a brief midday mental japa, and evening sahasranama section. Small, fixed blocks win over irregular long sessions.

• Can japa help with anxiety and disturbed sleep? Yes. Slow japa in the evening settles breath and calms the nervous system. Do a gentle mala before dinner and 12 names at bedtime. Sleep becomes deep and restorative.

• What about physical health discipline alongside japa? Keep a simple rule: sattvic food, regular sleep time, and daily walking while softly doing mental japa. Body becomes light, mind becomes bright.

• Our home gets tense; how do we restore harmony? Start a weekly family sahasranama on Saturdays. After chanting, each person states one gratitude and one small help they will offer this week. Friction reduces, warmth returns.

• How do I prevent ego from hijacking my sadhana? Begin each session with a sankalpa: ‘By Narayana’s grace, for Narayana’s world.’ End with quiet pranam. Credit remains with the Lord; the heart stays soft.

• I keep slipping into anger; what is the traditional reset? As soon as heat rises, shift attention to the name and do 12 firm repetitions silently. Post sunset, do a short apology and reconciliation after your japa. Habit weakens.

• How do I check if an inner prompting is genuine guidance? After sahasranama, ask: does this step increase truthfulness, responsibility, and usefulness to others? If yes, proceed. If it feeds pride or laziness, drop it.

• What is a steady plan for one month? Week 1: daily 108 names. Week 2: add Saturday family round. Week 3: add one hour of quiet seva with pre and post japa. Week 4: one full sahasranama recitation.

• How do I involve children without pressure? Keep it short and rhythmic. Let them recite a small set of names, offer a simple flower, and sit for one minute of silence. Praise effort, not volume or speed.

• What if faith feels weak some days? Do the practice anyway. Faith grows by doing. Keep the name on the tongue, keep conduct clean, and keep showing up. Constancy itself becomes strength.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi