This One Practice Will Perfect Your Naam Jap!

Pure paramarth means—
seeing the cause behind every action.
Seeing only the Lord everywhere.
"There is nothing but Shri Krishna alone."
Whatever is happening to me is being done by my Lord.

Vyavahar (material perspective) means—
taking objects, people, and actions as real,
and not being able to see God in them.

As soon as the sadhak focuses on the action,
he descends into vyavahar.
And where vyavahar is,
there attachment-aversion, desire-anger, envy and suffering automatically arise.

The Testing of the Sadhak

In the stage of sadhana, the sadhak is not yet mature,
so negligence comes again and again.

What is negligence? We are chanting naam, but our focus is on people's actions.
Someone showed respect and ego awakened, someone showed disrespect and anger arose.
Not seeing the Lord in objects, actions and matter, and getting entangled in them instead.

This is the test of the sadhak—where he is keeping his focus at every moment—
on the cause (the Lord) or on the action (vyavahar).

Words of the Great Masters—The Secret of Pure Paramarth

"See the Lord everywhere."
If someone insults or disrespects you, still think—"Lord, it is You. This is the leela of the Lord, it is my destiny."
If someone honors you, still keep your focus on the cause—"Lord, it is You."

This practice makes sadhana full of nectar and lasting.

The Formula for Practice

Lord Shri Krishna said to Uddhav Ji:

See Me alone in all beings.
If you meet with opposition, endure it and see the Lord in that too.
If you consider someone inferior to you, still see them as a form of the Lord and keep the inclination to bow to them.

In the beginning this seems difficult. Therefore, the sadhak should select a few hours in the day to practice—

When someone disrespects you, at that moment look not at the action, the object, or the person, but only at the cause.
Don't react for the next two hours. In the third hour, you won't even have the desire to react.
Gradually this practice will become natural.
When you taste the nectar, you will see the Lord everywhere without effort.

Be Cautious of Ego

If while practicing, you ever find success,
such as enduring an insult and finding peace within,
do not think, "I have conquered this."
Instead, think—"This was a formula given by the Lord, the Lord held me up."
Otherwise ego will snatch away the benefit.

A Strong Heart in Paramarth

A weak heart is one that holds the feeling of revenge.
A strong heart is one that endures.

To progress on the path of the Lord, the sadhak must become tolerant and patient.
This strength does not come from our own strength, but from naam jap and the grace of the Lord.

The Result—The State of Pure Paramarth

When the sadhak practices continuously, his heart is transformed:

Wherever the gaze falls, he sees only the Lord.
Suffering, pain, attachment-aversion disappear.
The world remains the same, but the vision changes.

The great masters call this state "pure paramarth."

Conclusion

Shri Krishna Himself says:

"Among all the means to attain the Lord, the most beautiful way is to see Me in all."

This sadhana is indeed difficult, but not impossible.
When the Lord and Guru give instruction, they also provide the strength to fulfill it.
We need only humbly accept it and practice.

The path of paramarth is this—

Focus on the cause
Seeing the Lord everywhere
Tolerance and humility

These principles gradually lead the sadhak toward perfection.

Original article: bhajanmarg.com