Being One with The Name

Once upon a time, a Guru was explaining the importance of chanting God's Name to his disciples (students). He addressed all, saying, “My dear students, The Name is a very important part of our life or you can say that our very life itself is surrounded by The Name. Everyone must try to become one with The Name. Each one of you must try to chant the Name of God so often that you all shall feel that the very aim of life is to chant the Holy Name. This will lead to a constant and eternal state of happiness known as ‘Bliss'.

Upon hearing this, one student asked, “How can we become one with The Name and how to attain this ‘Bliss'?” Immediately, the Guru placed a lump of sugar in the student's hand and said, “Put this lump of sugar in some water and return it to me after some time.”

On doing as instructed, the student looked into the water for the lump of sugar. However, he could not find the sugar, as it had dissolved in the water.

The Guru then said, “Taste the water. How is it?”

“It is sweet,” replied the student.

“Look for the sugar again,” the Guru suggested.

“I cannot see the sugar, Teacher. I only see water that tastes sweet,” commented the student.

The Guru then explained, “Sugar mixed with water cannot be separated from the water. Similarly, The Name, which is embedded in your soul, cannot be separated. Just as this water will always taste sweet, you will also always experience constant and eternal happiness, which is ‘Bliss' by Chanting God's Name.”

Moral: Dear children, we can see from this story how important chanting God’s Name is. It will bring us happiness and Bliss in all situations. It also is the best way to be with Him always, just like sugar is always with sweet water. We can chant whenever and wherever we want, so that we can experience and be close to Him all the time.