Aptavani-4
179
Dadashri: It is all done for the sake of concentration
(ekagrata). ‘Name’ is something sthool (gross-concrete);
therefore it is bhakti at a gross level. Then instillation of an idol
(sthapana) is subtle worship (sookshma bhakti). Dravya
(actual presence) constitutes subtler worship (sookshmatar
bhakti). And lastly, bhaav (intent; here it means vision as the
Self) which is subtlest worship (sookshmatam bhakti). There
are these four types of worship (bhakti). Even reciting Lord
Mahavir’s name is sthool worship. When one does sthapana,
i.e., placing a picture of Lord Mahavir and then reciting,
“Mahavir…Mahavir,” it is considered subtle worship (sookshma
bhakti).
Instead of doing bhakti in front of my picture, if you do
it in my presence, it is considered subtler worship (sookshmatar
bhakti). Moreover, if you just abide by my Agnas, it is
sookshmatam bhakti (the subtlest kind of worship). What I am
saying is that when my Agnas become established in Your
bhaav (vision and understanding), it is considered bhaav
bhakti. This will give you immediate results. The other three
kinds of worship (naam, sthapana and dravya) give you
worldly benefits. But only ‘this’ one will give you the real ‘cash’
(the fruits are realized immediately), which is why I say, “This is
the cash bank in the world.” The reason it is called a cash bank
is because it is ‘here’ (in the presence of the Gnani Purush),
that the final and the ultimate bhaav worship happens.
Naam bhakti is not entirely wrong. There is no rule about
names. As far as names go, it is fine to utter Rama, and it is also
acceptable for someone to keep saying ‘limdo, limdo (Neem
tree)’. All that is needed, is a name for it to be uttered. It allows
you to maintain focused concentration (upayog) in whatever you
are saying, so that your attention is not diverted somewhere else.
The atma (self) must never be allowed to stay idle at any given
moment, which is why you need something to preoccupy it, and
that is why recitation of a name (naam-smaran) is not entirely