Naam Japa

Chanting the Divine Name

Hindu scriptures recommend chanting the divine name as a sure and easy means to realize God. One may chant the same name repeatedly; or, chant the list of thousand names (sahasranaams of Vishnu or any other deity).

However, Judaism regards pronouncing the name of God as a sin. Even writing the name of God, or even the word ‘God’ is a sin. A Jew writer would mention God as G_d or G_ _ to avoid committing the sin.

In Christianity, there are no alternative names for God. Christians never chant the name of God. They pray God.

According to Buddhism, there is no God; Buddha was not God, nor an incarnation of God, nor a messiah sent by God. So in Buddhism the question of chanting the names of God does not arise.

In my opinion, chanting the divine names is a useless activity. A person may be chanting Vishnusahasranaam, but while chanting those thousand names his mind may be elsewhere. Instead one should regularly pray God, not to ask for favors, but urging God to give him desire to speak the truth, compassion to help the needy, strength to support the weak and courage to fight injustice. Such a prayer said regularly may have a psychological impact on the mind of the person, even if he does not believe in God.