THE VISION, January 2026, Vol 93, Issue 4:
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Beloved Readers,
Our spiritual Masters have lovingly reminded us that the simplest and most effective means of constant God-remembrance is the chanting of the Divine Name — done with faith, devotion and a clear awareness of its purpose: the realisation of our oneness with Him. “Ram,” they tell us, is a synonym for the Self, the Atman. You are already That. By remembering the Self, you awaken to what you truly are. This remembrance does not create something new; it merely removes forgetfulness. Through the repetition of the Divine Name, we rediscover our own immortal, infinite and eternal nature.
When the Name flows through our lips and heart, its melody descends like a gentle rain, soothing the restless fires of the mind and ushering in peace and stillness. Yet our Masters also caution us that the sweetness of this inner peace can be fully tasted only when certain outer conditions are honoured. Our outer life — in the family, workplace and society — must harmonise with our inner aspiration. The wall that separates the outer from the inner must slowly dissolve. Though we may have heard these truths many times, they need to be lovingly revisited again and again, until they no longer remain mere ideas but quietly permeate our consciousness, shaping our thoughts, words and actions from within.
— EDITOR
AS WE SCROLL DOWN...
- ‘The Name Is God’ — Swami Ramdas affirms that God and His Name are one. The moment the Divine Name is uttered, the presence of God fills the mind and heart. Constant repetition of the Name is the simplest and most powerful means of focusing on God, awakening deep love, sweetness and joy. Through the rapture experienced in Nāma Japa, the devotee realises that the Name itself is Brahman — embracing both the manifest and the unmanifest, the personal and the impersonal — the beginningless Source of creation and creation itself.
- ‘Pujya Mataji Krishnabai Answers’ — reminds us that true mental Japa can arise only after sincere, concentrated repetition of the Divine Name. Mataji emphasises that Japa is not mere mechanical chanting, but a practice that transforms the heart. When mental Japa begins, ego drops away and love flows naturally towards all.
- ‘Control Anger Through Nāma Japa’ — urges Swami Satchidananda. Constant chanting of the Divine Name is the surest means to overcome anger and the other Shadripus. Like a lamp that keeps darkness at bay, unbroken remembrance of Ram Nam protects the mind from negative impulses. By praying to the Sadguru within and learning to see all beings as forms of Beloved Papa, anger is replaced by love, calmness and harmony, enabling one to radiate peace even in challenging situations.
- ‘Editor Answers’ — explains that inner awakening is hastened not merely by chanting the Divine Name, but by lovingly contemplating the Nāmi — the One whose Name is chanted. As awareness deepens, we recognise that life, existence and even awareness itself are not our personal achievements but gracious gifts of the Supreme. When this understanding permeates daily life, all actions become expressions of gratitude and devotion. Heartfelt prayer greatly accelerates spiritual progress.
- ‘The Gita Touch in Daily Life’ — through the simple yet profound story of Vinobaji’s mother, illustrates that true dedication lies not in efficiency or calculation but in devotion of the heart. When every action — however small — is performed as an offering to the Divine, the act itself becomes worship. What matters is not the quantity of what is offered, but the loving awareness and remembrance with which it is done.
- ‘Constant Association Creates Love for Nāma’ — affirms Sri Gondavalekar Maharaj. Steadfast, heartfelt chanting of the Divine Name, with the conviction that it is our very life and purpose, inevitably awakens love for God. Constant association with Nāma purifies the heart, and as purity deepens, love naturally rises. By keeping the mind continually attached to the Name in all activities, love for the Divine becomes spontaneous and abiding.
- ‘Japa Sadhana’ — as endorsed by the Bhagavad Gita, is perhaps the best spiritual practice, highlights Swami Krishnananda. Endowed with an inherent transformative power, the Divine Name purifies the practitioner inwardly, affecting both body and mind, just as fire inevitably burns on contact. Beyond personal transformation, sincere and concentrated Japa radiates harmony into society, making it not only a spiritual discipline but also a silent form of selfless service.
- ‘Power of Chanting “OM”’ — reveals Swami Rama Tirtha, is such that the soul awakens to the truth of oneness. OM carries a subtle charm and intrinsic power that harmonises thought and feeling, subdues inner weaknesses, and lifts the mind into peace and unity with God. Though beyond intellectual explanation, its transforming efficacy is verified through direct inner experience.
- ‘Beauty of Repetition’ — Mahatma Gandhi explains that each repetition of the Divine Name carries a fresh meaning and draws the seeker ever closer to God. Speaking not as a theorist but from lived experience, he affirms Japa to be a definite need of the soul — so vital that life itself seems to flow through its unbroken continuity.
- ‘Mataji Jnaneshwari Attained Mahasamadhi’ — on 26 December 2025 at the age of 94. Her life was rooted in surrender and devotion, and her humility, love and self-effacement radiated profound spiritual truth through silence.
- ‘Epistles Of Swami Ramdas’ — makes us aware that the Divine Name purifies the mind by dissolving the false sense of separation, which is the root cause of human misery. Love for the Name is love for Truth itself, for the Name and the Named are one. Beloved Papa emphasises that sincere, personal prayer to the Supreme Lord seated in one’s own heart is the most effective Sadhana for eradicating Vasanas, for inner transformation cannot be delegated — each seeker must pray and walk the path for himself or herself.
- ‘Important Days In 2026’
- ‘Anandashram News’:
- ‘Awakening The Inner Light In The New Year — 2026’
- ‘Thought For The Month’
- ‘Download THE VISION’ in PDF format and the Audio Book.
THE NAME IS GOD
By Swami Ramdas
God and His Name are not distinct from one another. Name is God Himself. The moment we think of the Name our mind is filled with the presence of God. There is no easier way of focussing thought upon God than constantly taking His Name. When we repeat the Name aloud, we feel our heart is flooded with the ecstasy of love, because the sound awakens the heart to the bliss and love of God. Although mental repetition of the Name is held to be far more efficacious than verbal repetition, still the rare experience of sweetness and joy derived by uttering the Name aloud is incomparable. When the entire being of the devotee thrills with rapture to the music of the Name, he realises that the Name is Brahman.
God is both manifest and unmanifest. The Name stands for such a God. Here, the unmanifest is the all-pervading, infinite, immutable, tranquil and static spirit of God. The manifest is the entire universe of name, form and movement with all its beings, creatures and things. The Name stands for this all-inclusive and all-transcendent Godhead, who is both personal and impersonal. The Divine Name is thus the beginningless Source of all creation and the creation itself. God, the absolute, is the nameless Name.
PUJYA MATAJI KRISHNABAI ANSWERS
Devotee: “I read a Kabir song yesterday, in which he prays that he should be enabled to turn the beads of his mind.”
Mataji: “Quite right. But, before you learn to turn the beads of the mind, you must first turn the beads of the rosary. This will give you the necessary practice to help you to start turning the ‘beads of the mind.’ Only by Japa you will gain peace of mind, not from reading books.”
Devotee: “Yes, Mataji. I am deeply grateful.”
Mataji (turning to Sriram): “ You can do Japa mentally only when you have done incessant, concentrated repetition of the Mantra first. I do not see any external sign of change in the ways of people who claim to do mental Japa.”
Sriram: “Should there be any external signs?”
Mataji: “Of course. When your mind starts doing Japa , you shed your Abhiman and feel love towards everyone. As long as you hug your ego, Abhiman, you cannot be said to be doing Japa mentally. It is like people who keep on talking while telling their beads. The Mala moves on but so does their talk! Where is the Ram Nam chanting then?”
CONTROL ANGER THROUGH NAMA JAPA
By Swami Satchidananda
Chanting of the holy Ram Nam constantly, remembering Him ceaselessly, is the only way to get over the ‘Shadripus’ (six enemies: lust, anger, greed, attachment, pride and jealousy).
Chanting of the holy Name is like keeping a lamp burning in the room without permitting darkness to get in. The moment light is extinguished darkness overpowers. So, you have to keep the lamp of Ram Nam burning constantly in order to free yourself from attacks of the Shadripus.
Besides chanting of the holy Ram Nam, pray to the Sadguru seated in your heart to free you from your sudden fits of anger.
Also try to train your mind to look upon everyone in your house, and outside, as different forms of Beloved Papa and, as such, deserving of your love and respect, and not shouts. If you follow this practice, you are sure to overcome your temper and be able to remain cool and calm even in the most trying circumstances. Not only that, one and all will love you, and you will be spreading harmony and peace wherever you are.
EDITOR ANSWERS
Question: I sincerely believe the words of Beloved Papa that through chanting the Divine Name I shall, in due course, realise my true Nature. Yet, what can I do to hasten this inner awakening?
Answer: By lovingly and steadily contemplating the Nāmi — the One whose Name we chant — we remain firmly established on the path. As this contemplation deepens, a quiet understanding dawns within us: we have done nothing to earn the fundamental gifts of life. Our birth, the body we inhabit, air, water, earth, sunlight, food and even the comforts of modern living are not our achievements. All are freely bestowed by that Supreme Power, flowing through Nature and human cooperation.
When this awareness awakens, daily activities transform into acts of gratitude, infused with love and dedication. We also realise that even life’s vital processes — the heartbeat, blood circulation, digestion, breathing — are not of our doing. We further become aware that we are aware; that we see, we think and we exist. This knowing Presence, Consciousness itself, is not created by us — It simply is.
When such reflection deepens and is lovingly linked to the Nāmi, the spiritual journey gathers momentum. The path becomes effortless and luminous. Along with this, sincere and heartfelt prayer greatly accelerates inner growth, drawing us ever closer to the Truth that already dwells within us.
THE GITA TOUCH IN DAILY LIFE
Chapter 9, Shloka 27 — Dedication
Vinobaji’s mother had resolved at one time to offer to the Lord one hundred thousand grains of rice. Every day she took a handful of rice and offered one grain at a time, counting as she did so. Her husband saw what she was doing, and said: “Why not weigh up one tola of rice and count the number of grains in that? Then you can easily reckon up how many tolas will make one hundred thousand grains, and you can add an extra half-tola to be sure you have the full number.” Mother did not know what to say to this, so when Vinobaji came home that evening, she asked him about it: “Vinaya, this is what your father suggests. What do you think about it.” Vinobaji said: “Well, this offering of yours, these hundred thousand grains of rice, is not just a matter of accounts or arithmetic. It is a matter of devotion, done in the name of God and the Saints. With every grain you count, your mind is fixed on the Name, so you should go on counting one by one, I think.” This is the message implied in this Shloka:
यत्करोषि यदश्नासि यज्जुहोषि ददासि यत्।
यत्तपस्यसि कौन्तेय तत्कुरुष्व मदर्पणम्॥
“Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer as oblation to the sacred fire, whatever you bestow as a gift, whatever austerities you perform, do them as an offering to Me.”
CONSTANT ASSOCIATION CREATES LOVE FOR NAMA
By Sri Gondavalekar Maharaj
It is necessary to chant Nama with the firm conviction that it is our natural and prime duty, that to live without it is like being dead, that our supreme interest lies in chanting Nama, nay, that we are born solely to chant Nama and ultimately to become one with it. If this is done, love for Nama will inevitably come.
Living in Nama purifies the heart; and in a pure heart springs love for God. Love for Nama is, as a matter of fact, inherent in it. Just as butter in milk or curds is not visible but rises to the surface on churning, so also love for God becomes perceptible on chanting Nama. Even ordinary words affect the mind and evoke feelings; then, will not chanting of Nama evoke love for God? So, to begin with, try to spend all your “spare” time in chanting Nama.
We feel attachment even for a house in which we have lived for a long time. Love for Nama will be similarly evoked by constant association with it. Maintain awareness of Him as you sit or act, talk or walk. Keep your mind ever attached to Nama.
Source: Discourses
JAPA SADHANA
By Swami Krishnananda
In the Bhagavad Gita, the Lord has referred to (Japa Sadhana) this aspect of spiritual Sadhana as perhaps the best among the known methods of approach to God. Yajnanam Japa-Yajnosmi: “Among all the sacrifices, Sadhanas, austerities or forms of Tapas, I am represented by Japa,” says Bhagavan Sri Krishna...
The Name of God is compared to fire that burns. Knowingly or unknowingly we may touch fire; it shall burn, it shall have its own effect. Likewise, this potency of the Name of God has its action upon our entire system, physically as well as psychologically, so that it purifies us.
Japa Sadhana not only brings a transformation in our own inward personality, but also produces an equal effect in the society of which we are a part. Therefore Japa Sadhana is also a social service… We become a source of inspiration to people when we actually take to Japa Sadhana with concentration of mind and with real faith in the efficacy of the practice. God’s Name is a wonder. It is a miracle by itself.
Source: Yoga, Meditation And Japa Sadhana
POWER OF CHANTING ‘OM’
By Swami Rama Tirtha
Just sing, just chant OM and while chanting it, put your whole heart into it, put all your energies into it, put your whole soul into it. Put all your strength in realising it. The meaning of this syllable OM is ― I AM HE, ― I AND HE ARE ONE, OM. ― THE SAME AM I. OM, OM. While chanting, be conjuring up, if possible, before your mind all your weaknesses and all your temptations. Trample them under your feet, crush them out, rise above them and come out victorious…
The language of music is not of the same kind as the language of our thought. There is a charm about it. Similarly, OM, OM has a charm about it, an efficiency, a virtue in it which directly brings the mind of one who chants it under control, which directly brings all feeling and all thought in a state of harmony; brings peace and rest to the soul and puts the mind in a state where it is one with God. Science may not be able to explain this, but this is a fact which can be verified by experiment. Woe unto Science if it goes against the truth connected with the efficacy of the sacred syllable OM.
Source: In Woods Of God-Realisation, Vol. 2
BEAUTY OF REPETITION
By Mahatma Gandhi
A mathematician said, “This repetition of one and the same thing over and over again jars on me. It may be the defect of my rationalist mathematical temperament. But somehow, I cannot like the repetition. For instance, even Bach’s wonderful music fails to appeal to me when the text ‘Father, forgive them, they know not what they do,’ is repeated over and over again.”
“But even in mathematics, you have your recurring decimals,” said Gandhiji smiling.
“But each recurs with a definite new fact,” said the mathematician.
“Even so,” said Gandhiji, “each repetition, or Japa as it is called, has a new meaning, each repetition carries you nearer and nearer to God. This is a concrete fact, and I may tell you that you are here talking to no theorist, but to one who has experienced what he says every minute of his life, so much so that it is easier for the life to stop than for this incessant process to stop. It is a definite need of the soul.”
Source: Ramanama
MATAJI JNANESWARI ATTAINED MAHASAMADHI
Although everything unfolds as part of the Divine Play, it fills our hearts with deep sorrow to know that Pujya Mataji Jnaneshwari of Shanti Ashram shed her mortal frame on the 26th of December 2025, after a brief illness, at the age of 94. She lived in quiet surrender and devotion.
Pujya Mataji joined Pujya Swami Omkarji Maharaj of Sri Santi Ashram, at a tender age and under his loving guidance she blossomed into sainthood. In his autobiography, Pujya Swamiji described her as selfless, noble and Divinely ordained — one who often became his own teacher through her silent example. Her life was a living embodiment of humility, love and self-effacement. Though she rarely spoke, her silent presence, gentle smile and compassionate glance conveyed profound spiritual truths that touched hearts far beyond words.
With reverence and gratitude, we bow at the holy feet of Pujya Mataji, who is now in the form of remembrance, and offer our heartfelt homage.
EPISTLES OF SWAMI RAMDAS
Beloved Ram,
…The Divine Name purifies the mind and frees it from the ignorant sense of diversity which is the one malady responsible for the misery of man. Love for the Name is love for the Truth itself, because the Name is not different from the named.
Ramdas agrees with you, that prayer is the one most efficacious Sadhana for getting rid of the Vasanas of the mind. But the prayer ought to be offered, by each person for himself, to the Supreme Lord, seated in his heart, pervading in, and appearing as, the whole world. Ramdas does not believe that somebody else could pray for us…
IMPORTANT DAYS IN 2026
- Jan 25 Sun Mataji Krishnabai’s Mahasamadhi Day
- Apr 2 Thu Beloved Papa Swami Ramdas’ Jayanti
- Jul 29 Wed Guru Purnima
- Aug 17 Mon Beloved Papa’s Mahasamadhi Day
- Oct 10 Sat Mataji Krishnabai’s Jayanti
- Oct 12 Mon Swami Satchidananda’s Mahasamadhi Day
- Nov 12 Thu Swami Satchidananda’s Jayanti
- Dec 27 Sun Beloved Papa’s Sannyas Day
ANANDASHRAM NEWS
15500-CRORE NAMA JAPA YAGNA FOR WORLD PEACE:
The total Japa received in the fourth round of the 15500-Crore Nama Japa Yagna for World Peace in the month of November 2025 is 210 crores, chanted by 184863 devotees. The grand total of the Japa done so far in this round now stands at 6250 crores.
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SESSIONS WITH CHILDREN AT ANAND KUTIR IN ANANDASHRAM:
In the month of November 2025, 12 interactive sessions were held with children at Anand Kutir, in which 424 students participated. As the sessions are free from teaching and preaching, they help the children to bring out their own learnings like:
- Shama Hassan reflected, “I realised that while doing anything, I need to consider the attitude and feelings of those around me.”
- Nandana K shared, “I realised how I should and should not be.”
- Jyotika said, “I will correct my shortcomings and try to change from ‘me’ to ‘we.’”
- Sania expressed, “I realised that happiness has to be created by us.”
- Arpita noted, “We discussed the challenges in life and the ways to face them.”
- Suraj reflected, “I will consciously correct the mistakes I have made and try to become a new person.”
- One participant shared, “I realised that many things that disturbed my peace of mind — in my family and student life — were due to my own mistakes. I felt as if the negative energy within me had disappeared.”
- Tejashree noted, “I realised that it is not money that determines happiness and peace, but our habits.”
- Mariamammath Asmeena said, “I will start doing things myself that I expected others at home to do, and I will speak to my parents with care.”
- Fatimath Serena stated, “I will stop blaming others for my problems and mistakes.
MOUNA SADHANA IN ANANDASHRAM:
A day-long Mouna Sadhana is scheduled on the 11th of January 2026. Devotees interested in participating may kindly inform through WhatsApp (+91-9037466744) or by email (pms.anandashram@gmail.com).
NAMOTSAV 2025:
Coinciding with Beloved Papa’s 103rd Sannyas Day, a 5-day Namotsav was organised in the Ashram from the 27th to the 31st of December 2025. A report on the programmes will appear in the February issue of THE VISION.
PUJYA MATAJI KRISHNABAI’S 37th MAHASAMADHI DAY:
Pujya Mataji Krishnabai was an embodiment of Universal Love and Service, and Guru-Seva. For her, Beloved Papa was not confined to the form of Swami Ramdas alone, but was the entire manifestation. Her dedication was so complete that she never felt she was serving another, for to her there was no ‘other’ — she served all as she would herself, in the spirit of perfect oneness.
As we commemorate Pujya Mataji’s 37th Mahasamadhi Day, let us endeavour to grow more earnest in our spiritual pursuit, and live the ideals she exemplified — loving all, serving all, and offering every thought, word and deed at the feet of Beloved Papa (God).
THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH
“Constant repetition of Ram Nam will still the waves of the mind, and thoughts, as they come, will dissolve by themselves. Finally, you will attain a state of consciousness which is unchanging and eternal. The Name stands for the Atman. To be in tune with the Name is to merge in the Atmic Consciousness.”
— Swami Ramdas
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