While the study of the Vedas can be demanding in terms of one's effort and time, there is no guarantee that one would reap the full benefits from it, that is, become realised or experience God, even after arduous effort. But scriptures, Puranas, Acharyas and Azhwars celebrate the efficacy of chanting and meditating on the Lord's name as capable of conferring Bhakti and realisation, said Asoori Sri Madhavachariar in a lecture.
Azhwars never cease to sing the praises of the Lord and also never cease to wonder at the fact that though people have the power of speech to utter His name and also the awareness that this will lead to salvation, they still defer the option to choose salvation as they are attracted to the worldly pulls.
Sage Vasishta, knowing the supremacy (Paratva) of the sons of Dasaratha, chose appropriate names for each one of them. Skanda Purana relates the trajectory of the two letters Ra and Ma that Siva recognised as the Taraka Mantra. It is said that Brahma had originally scripted the Ramayana comprising one hundred crores of verses and had once expounded it to the celestials living in Vaikunta, Satya Loka and Kailasa. Overwhelmed by the recital, the celestials requested Brahma to give the text to them.
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Siva offered to distribute the text equally between the three groups. He gave 33 crores of verses to each one of them, and the remaining one crore was split into 33 lakhs each; the remaining one lakh came down to 33,000 each. The remaining 1,000 was split into 300 each and the remaining 100 into 33 each. The remaining one verse made up of 32 syllables was further divided into 10 syllables each and finally what remained were the two syllables Ra and Ma. Siva realised the tremendous value of these syllables and out of compassion for the Jivatmas, chose to reside in Kasi and utter this powerful mantra in the ears of the dying people so that they could gain liberation.
The Lord's name is always held higher than the Lord, because it has the power to purify the mind of one who chants the name. One thus gets absolved of one's sins.