Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali

Author(s): Prabhavnanda Swami, Christopher Isherwood
Publisher: Ramkrishna Math Madras

Page 42

PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS
But now, if we introduce into this reverie the repetition of the name of God, we shall find that we can control our mood despite the interference of the outside world. We are alway anyhow, repeating words in our minds the name of a friend or an enemy, the name of an anxiety, the name of a decima object-and each of these words is surrounded by its own mental climate. Try saying “war,” or “money,” ten thousand times, and you will find that your whole mood has been changed and coloured by the associations connected with that word. Similarly, the name of God will change the climate of your mind. It cannot do otherwise.
In the Hindu scriptures we often find the phrase: “To take refuge in His name.” (See also the Book of Proverbs, xviii. 10 "The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it and is safe.") This phrase-which at first may sound rather too poetical-comes to have a very real and literal significance in our spiritual life. When the mind is so violently disturbed by pain or fear or the necessities of some physical emergency that it cannot possibly be used for meditation or even rational thought, there is still one thing that you can always do; you can repeat His name, over and over. You can hold fast to that, throughout all the tumult. Once you have really tested and proved the power of the holy Word, you will rely upon it increasingly. Through constant practice, the repetition becomes automatic. It no longer has to be consciously willed. It is rather like the thermostat on a water heater or a refrigerator. Whenever the mind reaches an undesirable "temperature" you will find that the repetition begins of itself and continues as long as it is necessary.
Mere repetition of God's name is, of course, insufficientas Patanjali points out. We must also meditate upon its meaning. But the one process follows naturally upon the other. If we persevere in our repetition, it will lead us inevitably into meditation. Gradually, our confused reverie will give way