Install the luminous gem in the shape of the divine name, RAMA,
On the threshold of the tongue at the doorway of your mouth,
If you will have light both inside and outside,
The name and the object named,
Though similar in significance, are liked as master and servant one to the other,
That is to say, even though there is a complete identity between God and his name,
The former closely follows the latter even as a servant follows his master,
The lord appears in person at the very mention of his name,
Name and Form are the two attributes of the God,
Both of them are ineffable and beginningless,
And can be rightly understood only by means of good intelligence,
It is presumptuous on one's part to declare as to which is superior or inferior,
Hearing the distinctive merits of both, pious souls will judge for themselves,
Forms are found to be subordinate to the name,
Without the name, you cannot come to the knowledge of a form,
Typical forms cannot be identified, even if they be in your hand, without knowing their name,
And if the name is remembered even without seeing the form, the latter flashes on the mind with a special liking for it,
The mystery of name and form is a tale that cannot be told, though delightful to comprehend,
It cannot be described in words, between the unqualified absolute and qualified divinity, the name is a good intermediary, it is a cleaver interpreter revealing the truth of both,
Even those seekers of truth, who aspire to know the mysterious ways of providence are able to comprehend them by muttering the name,
Strivers hankerings after worldly achievements repeat the name,
Absorbed in contemplation and becoming accomplished,
Acquiring superhuman powers such as that of becoming infinitely small in size,
If devotees in distress mutter the name,
Their worst calamities of the gravest type disappear, and they become happy,
In this world, there are four kinds of devotees of Sri Rama,
All of them are virtuous, sinless, and noble,
All the four, clever as they are, rely upon the name,
Of these, the enlightened devotee is especially dear to Lord,
The glory of the name is supreme in all the four Yogas and all the four Vedas,
Particularly in the Kali age, in which there is no other means of salvation,
Even those who are free from all desires,
And absorbed in the joy of devotion to Sri Rama have thrown their heart as fish into the nectarine of supreme affection for the name,
There are two aspects of the God, one unqualified and the other qualified,
Both these aspects are unspeakable, without beginning and without parallel, to my mind, greater than both is the name, that has established its rule over both by its might,
Friends should not take this as a bold assertion on the part of this servant,
I record my mind's own conviction, partiality, and liking,
The two aspects of Brahma should be recognized as akin to the fire which is latent in wood,
While other corresponds to that which is extremely visible,
The glory of the name is thus greater than that of the absolute,
I shall show how my judgment of the name is superior even to Sri Rama,
For the sake of devotees, Sri Rama assumed the form of a human being,
And, suffering calamities himself, brought relief to the pious,, by fondly repeating his name, on the other hand, devotees easily become abodes of joy and blessings,
Sri Rama himself redeemed a single woman Ahilya,
The wife of an ascetic,
While his name corrected the error of crores of wicked souls,
For the sake of sage Vishvamitra Sri Rama wrought the destruction of Suketu's daughter Tadaka with her army, while his name puts an end to the devotee's vain hopes along with his errors and sorrow even as the sun terminates night,
In his person, Sri Rama broke the bow of Shiva,
While the very glory of His Name dispels the fear of rebirth,
The Lord restored the charm of the Dandaka forest alone,
While His name purifies the minds of countless devotees,
The delighter of Raghus Sri Rama crushed only a host of demons,
While his name uproots all impurities of the kali age,
The Lord of Raghus conferred immortality only on faithful servants like Sabari, that celebrated Bhil Woman, and the vulture,
While his name delivered innumerable wretches, the tale of its virtues is well known in the Vedas,
As is well known to all,
Sri Rama extended His protection to two devotees,
Sugriva and Vibhishan,
His name, on the other hand, has showered its grace on numerous humble souls,
The superb glory of the name shines in the world as well as in the Vedas,
Sri Rama collected an army of bears and monkeys,
And took no little pain over the construction of a bridge to connect the mainland with the island of Lanka,
Through the repetition of his name, however, the ocean of mundane existence itself gets dried up, let the wise bear in mind,
The superb glory of the name shines in the world as well as in the Vedas,
Sri Rama collected an army of bears and monkeys,
And took no little pain over the construction of a bridge to connect the mainland with the island of Lanka,
Through the repetition of his name, however, the ocean of mundane existence itself gets dried up, let the wise bear in mind,
Sri Rama killed Ravana with all his family,
And returned to his own city with Sita,
He was then crowned king in the capital of Ayodhya,
While gods and sages have sung his glories in choicest phrases,
His servants are, however, able to conquer the formidable army of errors by fondly remembering His name.
And absorbed in devotion, move about in joy which is peculiarly own by the grace of the name,
They know not to sorrow even in dreams,
The name is thus greater than Brahma and Sri Rama both and confers blessings even on the bestowed of boons, knowing this in his heart, the great lord shiv chose this word Rama for himself out of Sri Rama's story comprising 100 crores verses,
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