Ram Naam Likhan Yagnya
Welcome to the Ram Naam Yagnya! This is a simple practice handed down by realized Masters. It will benefit not only you but also the whole of mankind. Join the Order of Ram Naam Writers today! Inspire an idol and build a temple with your own hands!
The Power of Ram Naam
"Ram" is perhaps the single most uttered word in the whole world. No other word whether of God or man or of things most coveted has found an equal expression!
It is said:
Since the beginning of the breath, someone in some part of India says "Ram".
What is this magic conjured by the word ‘Ram’? Every Indian has heard of the beautiful child born to Kaushalya and Dashrath as a result of prayers and penance. Sweet vatsalya rasa (parental affection) is generated by stories and songs that tell of Ram’s childhood. ‘Ram’ is a youthful, princely and noble form. He is full of stoic resolve and courage in the face of extreme adversity. He is possessed of all the virtues that one could want in a man. His spiritual capabilities are never misused. He gains victory over the mighty Ravana. ‘Ravana’ is a symbol of the misdirected use of power, earthly and spiritual. We triumph when Ram triumphs over the evil Ravana. Diwali is a celebration of this triumph. It is an occasion for everyone to celebrate this victory! Homes and public places are lit up with festive lights. The stories of the celebrated ‘Ramayana’ are inspiring, whether understood literally or metaphorically.

Ram.
It is that one word which transformed the murderer and dacoit, Ratnakar, into the sage Valmiki, the composer of Ramayana.
Ram.
It is one word with which the ultimate truth flashed into Kabir's being.
Ram.
It is one word with which Goswami Tulasidas could pour forth the Ramcharitmanas.
Ram.
It is one word with which Mahatma Gandhi found a holistic philosophy for India

Mata pita bandhau sot dharma
Dhan jaan saran kasha pyara
Ant kaal de sake na sahara
Ram naam tera taaran hara

None shall be of avail then; neither thy mother, father, brother and wife
Nor children, wealth, kith and kin
When thy last hour strikes, none shall give thee company
Only Ram Naam; yes, that alone will be your saviour!

Ram naamnaiv naamnaiv mam jivanam
Samsaar-vishay-andhaanaam naraanam paap-karmanaam
Kalau nastaiv naastaiv naastaiv gatir-anyathaa
- Skand Purana


Except Ram Naam there is nothing else in my life. In the kaliyuga, of sinful men blinded by their attachment to life, there is no other path, none else, and none whatever.

The Vasistha Ramayana declares the order of Ram Naam as follows---
1.Ram 2.Sri Ram 3.Tulasitribhuvan Ram 4.Ahilyodhaaran Ram 5.Patitpaavan Ram 6.Janakijeevan Ram 7.Tratikaamardan Ram 8.Kausalyaanandan Ram 9.Sitapate Ram 10.Marutidarshan Ram 11.Daashrathe Ram 12.Sitashodhan Ram

But of these just ‘Ram’ is the first and most magical.

Ram Naam, Name And Spirit Of God
Is God’s Name same as God?
Can the spirit of God be reached merely with His Name?

This point is best illustrated with an interesting anecdote.
One young kid asked his grand dad:
" Dadaji, Naam aur Naami bhinn nahi hain. Kya yeh baat bilkul sach hain? " [Is it true that Naam and the Naami, i.e. the name and the named, are one and the same?]

The old man borrowed a breath saying ‘Ram Ram’ as was his habit and made a reply:
" Woh aadmi jaa raha hain na, usse do chaar gali de ke dekho, abhi pata lag jayega yeh sach hain ke nahin." [Do you see that man on the street? Just go and call him with a few abuses; that will settle your query]

How true! Human beings have spent a whole lifetime identifying every thing, every deed, every little notion of selfhood with the Name. Why should it be otherwise with God? If a man’s signature embodies his full identity in this world, the written name of the Lord is indeed a super-coin.

Let us acquaint ourselves with the word ‘Naam’. ‘Naam’ quite simply means the name of God. How can God have a name? Is He someone or something? No, for Buddha said of God, ‘neti, neti, neti…’ God cannot be particularized. Hence He cannot be delimited by particular attributes.

But then, God is omnipresent! He pervades all forms by transcending all forms! ‘Ram’ means the All-pervading. One such name is ‘Ram’. No ordinary name this, it is the most ancient name in India. It has been uttered as a holy name longer than any other name. Hence there revolve tremendous vibrations about this name. To join oneself to this tradition is merely to take advantage of this characteristic of the name of Ram. Then again, He may be referred to by a name that He is popularly known by, namely, ‘Ram’.

Ram Naam And Karma

Why do we eulogise Ram? In Indian mythology Ram is an avatar of Vishnu. Vishnu is the Preserver among the holy trinity, Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwar. The descent of an avatar is the descent of the saviour of Mankind. By invoking Ram one joins hands with the forces that are keeping evil at bay. The spirit of God does not act in only a limited sphere. The invoking of Ram will destroy sinful tendencies in one’s own self. The accumulated sins (karma) of this life as also past lives are keeping all of us in a state of bondage. This bondage is reflected in the absence of discrimination in our behaviour and responses to people and situations.

The word ‘Ram’ is the seed mantra of the manipura chakra. Manipura chakra is a psychic centre in the subtle body of man. This centre is an immense storehouse of our karmas. Further evolution is blocked because we remain distracted by ‘happy’ and ‘sad’ things that keep happening to us. The chanting and writing of’ ‘Ram’ enables us to cross this centre relatively painlessly. When this practice is undertaken diligently, the karmas are exploded in a psychic space. Karmic debts are written off to the extent that the dynamics of our spiritual practice balance the dynamics of our karma. Some material wishes get fulfilled so that our cravings cease to be a hindrance in our spiritual endeavours.

Sitaram Omkarnath tells us in an essay (see ‘Omkarnath Rachnavali’) how Ram Naam may be used to rid oneself of indisposition. Changes in diet, mode of conduct and medication may be necessary. Treatment becomes far more efficacious with meditation on Ram Naam and/or the writing of Ram Naam.

The writing of Ram Naam makes impure diet and conduct repulsive.
The crazy vibrations of the mind cease.
A cure of a holistic nature can be brought about.


Ram Naam And Ram

You must have heard of Kabir’s song ‘Ram se badhkar Ram ka naam'. This translates as: The Name of Ram is greater than Ram Himself! Kabir was a sufi mystic, a great devotee of Ram.
A story is told about Hanuman. The power of Bhakti is such that it may exceed the power of the adored One Himself! This is illustrated in the story…..

Ram se badhkar Ram ka Naam:
[A story retold by a seven-year child]


Say Ram, Ram, Ram—
Bolo Ram, Ram, Ram---
Our gurus tell us to say the God's name always. But why?
Why is God's name more powerful than God?
Listen to this story.
One day Sri Hanuman was standing on the shores of Indian Ocean.
He looked ahead at the water. It was very deep and wide.
He wanted to build a bridge on the ocean for his master, Sri Ram.
"Oh, how can I build a bridge on water?" he said.
He was very unhappy for he was helpless.
"Who can help me? Who can help me?" he said.
"Yes, my lord Ram is very powerful. Only Ram can help me,” he surmised.
Then he closed his eyes, said "Ram" and threw a stone in the sea.
What a surprise! That stone started floating.
"Very good! I will throw some more stones with Ram's name and make my bridge," Hanumanji said.
He closed his eyes, said 'Ram' and threw the stone, closed his eyes, said 'Ram' and threw the stone.
My friends, all the stones floated like magic.
God Sri Ram was passing from there. He saw Hanuman throwing stones into the sea.
"Oh, what a surprise! The stones are floating on water!" Sri Ram said.
Hanuman saw Ramji and bowed down to him.
"Master, what do you want?" Hanumanji asked.
"Hanuman, how come these stones are floating on water?"
"My lord, it is the power and magic of your name. I just take your name sincerely and the stone floats," Hanuman replied.
Sri Ram was surprised. He thought, "If my devotee can do it with my name, I can surely do it. Let me also try."
And he took a stone and threw it in the sea.
Plock, plock, plock, and plock---the stone sank down. It did not float.
Ram was surprised. He tried again but plock, plock, plock---stone sank down in the water.
Ram thought for a while and then hugged Hanuman. There were tears in his eyes.
"Hanuman, you've taught me who I am!" said Sri Ram. “I do not exist anywhere other than in the heart of the devotee where my name is imprinted. My strength and my existence come from the belief of my devotees."
Friends, the moral of this story is this---
Ram and Ram Naam are one and the same.

Ram Naam And Kundalini

Chanting and writing of Ram Naam explodes the stored karmas. Then the physical and psychic bodies are purified. And the kundalini begins to sport quite freely! Kundalini is the dynamic form of Divinity. The one who writes Ram Naam may see points of light or bright crystal-like shapes dancing over the Ram Naam book, in space or elsewhere. Perhaps over the bodies of those who are extremely beloved! One may see such visions in sleep when the usual physical and mental propensities are in a state of abeyance. Soon other kundalini phenomena may start happening. Mantras related to the deity Ram may be heard or seen in the realm of unstruck sound (naad) and in the realm of light (jyoti). Sitaram Omkarnath promises that ‘Ram’ will collapse into ‘AUM’.

Ram Naam Likhan

The writing of Ram Naam is an enterprise that is always successful and attended by no risks! Those who would meditate often complain of distractions of a visual nature or of a sensual nature. The mind runs hither and thither like a maddened monkey. Who can expect to really control the organ of the mind that is obdurate, possessed of a will of its own? Only long practice makes one a master of one’s mind. However the writing of Ram Naam has no such limitations. Deceptively simple as the practice is, it is powerful. The hand and fingers (having abundant supply of nerves), the eyes (the bridge between the outer and the inner world), and the mind, are all cooperatively engaged in writing. The distractions are necessarily absent. Wishes of the one writing Ram Naam amazingly get fulfilled and with apparently no effort. Those writing without harbouring any wishes progress rapidly on the spiritual path. The practice of sitting quietly in one place and concentrating the faculties on writing Ram Naam will prepare one for japa practice as well. Writing Ram Naam supplements every other spiritual practice.

Writing Ram Naam: Likhita Japa

Writing of Ram Naam is called a "likhita japa" since the basic principle in writing Ram Naam is the same viz. repetition of lord's name. When you resolve to write Ram Naam a fixed number of times, you undertake a ‘satsankalpa’ or a 'meritorious undertaking'.

Our Guru Sri Sitaramdas Omkarnath encouraged the disciples to undertake a Likhita Japa of Ram Naam throughout the year and requested from them a dakshina (offering) of 4 lakh Ram Naam.

The votaries and original worshippers of Ram Naam have declared a three-column page format for writing Ram Naam. A sample of the same follows in this note.

This format constitutes a standard page consisting of 325 Ram Naam, in three rows of 108 each, plus one. Four such pages are to be written daily, reciting Ram orally as every name of the lord is written. Thus one writes 1300 Ram Naam daily. The aggregate rashi [sum] at the end of the year is 4 lakh 74 thousand and 5 hundred. This rashi, the shastras (scriptures) say, constitutes the equivalent of Brahma or Siddha Daan---being one of the greatest religious offerings.

One has to begin on any auspicious day, praying first of all to lord Ganesha, for the achievement of success in the undertaking. One or two central wishes may be borne in mind at the point of writing the first Ram Naam and contemplating upon the divine form of Sri Ram. It is a guarantee that the wishes thus held in the sankalp-likhan are achieved at the end of the year. If there are no wishes, the nissankalp-likhan achieves religious merit in the form of liberation
This guarantee lies in the following:

Sri Ramamaiti ye vedantyapi sarvadaa
Teshaan bhukti muktischa bhavishyati na sanshayaha

There is no doubt about the fact that those who constantly take the name of Sri Ram, obtain their worldly objects and final liberation.

Srimad Bhagwata and other texts directly state that in the last and the most pernicious and terrible yugas viz. the kaliyuga, all spiritual and religious practices will fall apart. Nothing will yield fruit, God will then incarnate in the form of His own sweet Name, as Naam Avatar, to save mankind.

Ram Naam likhan is greatly helped if one undertakes to bow before Tulasi (holy basil) daily and offer a Tulasi patra (leaf) to the small vigrah (idol) of Sri Ram/Vishnu at home. For centuries now, Indians have kept up the tradition of maintaining a holy Tulasi plant at home while undertaking the writing of Ram Naam. But this is not mandatory.

Normally it takes close to fifteen minutes to write one page in this format, the quota of 4 pages is accomplished in one hour. But once you are habituated to the process, you can complete the day’s quota in 45 minutes. If you have time, you can, and you should write more number of pages.

The date for sending the completed notebooks every year is Margashirsha Sankranthi, 14th January.

Of all the spiritual practices, likhita japa (meditation by writing) and shravan bhakti (hearing of lord's name, praise, sports etc) are the most effective methods. Likhita japa is writing of Ram Naam and shravan bhakti is listening to Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Mahamantra being sung.

In other methods such as meditation, prayers and worship etc. there is lesser chance of being able to concentrate all our senses at one time. But this is not so in the case of Likhita Japa. Unless all the senses such as the mind, eyes and limbs cooperate together to concentrate, the proceeding of Likhita Japa will not be possible. So, by this method the sadhak develops higher degree of concentration. Again, the Likhita Japa is possible only in sattwik state, when tamasic and rajasic gunas are not predominant. This is how the most needful sattwik element could be enhanced through the regular practice of Likhita Japa! ‘Sattwa’ denotes the modality (guna) of purity and dispassionateness. ‘Rajas’ denotes the modality of the power-drive and activity marked by ambitiousness. ‘Tamas’ denotes dullness and ignorance.

The super power of sattwik vibrations of Ram Naam Likhan emanate from the practitioners doing Likhita Japa, and the storehouse of their written Ram Naam Khataas (notebooks) is a beacon light of spiritual waves. Many Ram Naam mandirs (temples) are instituted in this country.

His holiness Gurudeva Srimad Dasharathideva Yogeshwar initiated a committee of spiritual endeavour resulting in the establishment of a temple which incorporates 125 crores of Ram Naam. The Radhagovind temple at Sri Nilanchal Ashram and Sri Ramashram are yet other places where 125 crores of Ram Naam is established.

Sitaram urges all the disciples to write out the scrolls of Ram Naam. In completing Ram Naam notebooks as prescribed and sending them, immense delight is offered to Sitaram.

The undertaking of writing “Sri Ram Ram Ram” with a pure heart, daily and regularly, rids the diseased of their ailments and delivers the desired objects of the worldly man. The glory of the same is outlined in detail in the book entitled “ Ram Naam Likhan Mahima.”

One has to write upon good quality paper with permanent red ink. In the absence of specially printed Ram Naam notebooks, exercise books may be used.

Ram Naam utterance or writing is a humble coin, seemingly simple and artless and yet most dynamic and interpenetrating in nature that overcomes the rajasic and tamasic vibrations with which the world is filled today.

Let more and more Ram Naam fill the world, for the new era of spirituality to dawn. It is the individual's Ram Naam that will link to another in forming the stupendous mass of Ram Shakti.

Let the Holy Spirit be set in motion!

Download Ram Naam Likhan Page

Testimonials by Ram Naam Writers

On February 1, 2001, Raj Supe got a message from Thakur (Sri Sitaramdas Omkarnath) during meditation. He commanded that Raj Supe with Rudrarjun Rao, Kishore Rao & Ramya Lakshmi must offer 4 crore Ram Naam within 4 years to Gurudeva Sri Vitthal Maharaj.

“ 4 saal mein
4 karod Ram Naam logon se dilaanaa hain.
Phir swarna aksharon mein 4 pattaa Ram Naam
Bithu ki charanomein denaa….”

With Gurudeva’s blessings this sankalpa was achieved in less than 3 years with over 5 crore Ram Naam… 108 bhaktas from the 4 states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu & Karnataka undertook Ram Naam sadhana, writing Ram Naam daily for one year, contributing over 4 lakh individually.

On January 14th 2004 when Raj Supe & Kishore Rao went to Omkareshwar to make an offering of Ram Naam at Vitthal Maharaj’s feet, a miracle took place.

Raj Supe took water from Narmada in a copper vessel, for Thakur had asked that it be offered like one performs japa samarpan and sent word that they were coming up to see Vitthal Maharaj. No words had been exchanged about why they were there. But the moment they entered, Vitthal Maharaj spontaneously, unthinkingly, held his open palm in front…and Raj Supe poured the Narmada jal.

How did He know that water was being offered? Never before had such rite been performed. Nothing had been told. Perhaps, He didn’t know it, but ‘His body in the divine’ knew it and casually acted in godly sync.

JOIN THE
ORDER OF
RAM NAAM WRITERS:
(When you complete writing 4 lakh Ram Naam you join the ranks)

MAHARASHTRA
MUMBAI
Kalpana Vora Nivedita Bhattacharya Sangeeta Narang Suman Raheja Balaji Iyer
Mamata Mehra Mukesh Bhatt Sitesh Patel  
PUNE
Sunil Sukhu Seema Jaisinghani Neelima Rane Bharati Vora Soumya Venkatesh
Sujata Hindhuja Meera Rohira Shakuntala Supe Srimati Mehra Jayant Vaidya
Jharana Patel Amarendra Athalye Jayant Punekar  
JALGAON
Pratibha Rane Atul Vora Vasant Sejpal Rajkumari Talreja Sunita Punjabi
Pradnya Supe Shailaja Raju Jignya Vaidya Sarayu Patel Anjali Athalye
Alka Punekar Hemant Thomre Sanjeev Mehra Preeti Vora Mukund Sejpal
Krutika Talreja Reshma Chhabria Ritu Rajpal Purandar Shetty Kirit Dhruva
Meena Dhupelia Sadhana Athalye Yamunabai Kanade  
SAWANTWADI
Anju Udeshi Jagruti Modi Kanta Usha Melwani Nimrata Lilani
Sharada Shetty Priti Mayani Upasana Rajani Sunil Kanade Reshma Sawant
 
TAMIL NADU
CHENNAI
Smt. Leela Rajeshwari Rao Sarala Devi Kalyani Uma
Neerada Navneet Maheepal Smitha Maheepal Sujatha Niranjan Raju
Ahalya Raju Amitha Jalagham Gayatri Rao Sunanda Archana
 Jyothi Sreelatha Raju Sreeram Rao Nischala Rao Yashodhara Raju
Ramchandra Raju Rekha Ethendra Sneha Mahipal COIMBATORE Madhu
Lavanya Kumari Rama Ranjini Tulasi  
 
KARNATAKA
BANGALORE
Sivananda Mohanti Sitaram Iyengar Raaji Iyengar Ratna  
Kishore Rao Ramya Lakshmi Sunanda Gitanjali Janaki Ramachandran
Hema Vandana Marol Ramana Padmavati Girija
Bikramjeet Ghosh Narayan Agarwal  
 
ANDHRA PRADESH
HYDERABAD
Sreenath Rao Geeta Rao Yashodhara Rao Rita Rawlyan  
Uma Anand Reddy Leela Devi Venku Reddy Dipika P.V. Samrajya Lakshmi
Mythili Devi Sambhavati Devi Chanduri Murthy Mahalakshmi

 

Annavaram
Rajeshwari
Satyanarayan Rao  
 
DELHI
Vandana Das Navaneet Kapoor Santa Manna  
 
LUCKNOW
Santa Manna Chetna Singh Vinita Ghosh Smt Arati Singh
 
MADHYA PRADESH
INDORE
Varsha Chotwani Dhirendra Singh Kiran Gangwani  
 
U.S.A
Karishma Shruti Singh  
 
MIDDLE EAST
MUSCAT
Nischala Rao Yashdhara Raju  
DUBAI
Ramchandra Raju Sreelatha Raju  
 
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