The power of the name that heals

At the end of the war in Mahabharata, it is said that Yudhishtra was despondent though he had, in truth, won the war against his cousins. After all, so many had died in the course of the war.

At that time, Krishna, saw through the veil of his misery, and took him to the Kurukshetra, to visit his uncle, Bhishma, to seek his blessings.

There, Yudhishtra asks his uncle, "…what indeed is superior in this whole wide world, what is supreme," "Kimekam daivatm loke/ kimvapyekam parayanam/" Bhishma's reply to Yudhisthtra is, "Jagat prabhum deva devam /anantam purushottamam". With that begins an elaboration of the various names, one thousand to be precise, of the Lord. It is said that the chanting of these names has the power of liberating one from the kaala chakra, or the cycle of time, and of bringing the jeevatma closer than ever to the paramatma, the Supreme One…

Even the Bible has focused on the pre-eminence of the name of the Lord,’’ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God’’(John 1:1)

The chanting of the name of the Lord, of Jesus, His Son, is all too familiar to the countless devotees who religiously follow it.

An anecdote about Christ elaborates this. It is said that when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. Jesus offered to go to the centurion’s house, to perform a healing; the centurion suggested that Jesus' word of authority, from where he was, would be sufficient. Impressed, Jesus granted the request and the servant was healed then and there.

Even the Sacred Guru Granth Sahib of the Sikhs dwells reverently on the Ekonkar, the 'One' word that reverberates throughout this Holy Book, knitting together in holy unity, the various segments.

Likewise, it is said that the Narayaneeyam, the sacred text of the Hindus, composed by Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri, in praise of Lord Krishna, has the power to heal.

On reciting the various verses with faith, one who ails from any disease, is said to find relief.

Truly, the chanting of the names of the Divine can heal and purify. Not surprisingly, every religion the world over, every faith, advocates prayer that focuses on the name of the Almighty -- be it Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam, or Christianity.