The Holy Name (Nāma)
The name of God carries his very presence — so to sing it is itself to be touched by grace.
In the devotional traditions the name of God is not a mere label but a living presence of the deity, charged with the same grace and power. To utter, remember, or sing the holy name is therefore held to purify the heart and draw down blessing — and in the bhakti movements it is exalted as a path open to all, regardless of learning or status. Whole traditions of communal name-singing grew up around this conviction that the name and the named are, in their power, one.
Key passages(8)
'He who meditates on the name as Brahman, is, as it were, lord and master as far as the name reaches—he who meditates on the name as Brahman.' 'Sir, is there something better than a name?' 'Yes, there
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Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad · Vedic Revelation (śruti)
Then he gives him a name, saying: 'You are Veda.' So this becomes his secret name.
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Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad · Vedic Revelation (śruti)
'Yagnavalkya,' he said, 'when such a man dies, what does not leave him?' 'The name,' he replied; 'for the name is endless, the Visvedevas are endless, and by it he gains the endless world.'
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Glorifying Me always and striving with firm resolve, bowing down to Me in devotion, always steadfast, they worship Me.
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