MEOW..!(म्याॅऊ..!)

 
         Meow..! (म्याॅऊ..!)

I have a cat.
She utters only one word ‘Meow’.
When she is hungry she says “meow.” When she gets angry she says “meow.” When she wants to go to litter box, she says “meow,” looking at the closed door. We open the door to let her go. When she wants to get patted she meaws. When she hears the bark of a dog, and chirp of the sparrows, she says “meow”. When accidentally our leg happens to fall upon her tail, she says “meow”.

The word remains the same but what differs is it’s tone and pitch. She communicates all her needs and wants with us through this one word and we too do understand it.

I find her just as a tapaswi, who continuously chants the name of God and nothing else. Even while interacting with the world , he neither leaves nama smarana/chanting Lord’s name nor get tempted to utter anything else.

Agreed, animals have been endowed with only few words and sounds by the Lord. ( Animal birth is only the bhogyoni. Their birth is only to exhaust the prarabdha/bhog. They don’t have Agami karma or free will.) But these few sounds are sufficient enough for them to communicate, to get their needs fulfilled.
I like her ( my cat) life..just chanting her allotted word and sound every now and then, and  rest of the time living in silence.
We see ‘n’ number of people with good vocabulary and skills to use it. Still most of the time they are not heard and listened carefully by the others.

What I learned from my cat, that the urge for something makes  even a small word or sound as a sermon. The bhava behind the word conveys the zest of the message.
So;  many times, in a funny mood, I ask her, ” Selvie, say ‘Hari Om! “. She does respond and says ” Meow”.
I appreciate her, pat gently and compliment, ” Good! You said it! ” And she again respond with happy meow.

It is said, यत्र भाव तत्र देव। ( जहा भाव है, वहा भगवान है।). Even a stone addressed earnestly as a God, becomes a God.

We know how the Lord assures us,
“अनन्याश्चिन्तयन्तो मां ये जनाः पर्युपासते।
तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां योगक्षेमं वहाम्यहम्।।”( ShrimadBhagvad gita & Shri Vishnusahastranam)

अनन्य भाव से ( न अन्य – nothing else/exclusively) मेरा चिन्तन करते हुए जो भक्तजन मेरी ही उपासना करते हैं, उन नित्ययुक्त पुरुषों का योगक्षेम मैं वहन करता हूँ।।
I take care ( yog and kshem) of those who chant and contemplate upon me and nothing else.
That proves, Lord is so compassionate that He doesn’t need anything else but the intensity of the bhava for Him.

A semiparalized person can’t chant ‘Rama’ as ‘Rama’. Pronunciation of the words become difficult for him because of the defective articulation of speech. We may or may not understand his chanting, but Real Rama does hear, listen and respond to him for sure.

Few years back, we were at Ernakulam to attend upanishad camp for 7days.
Everyone there was saying ” Hari Om! ” in different tones and pitches as per the necessary bhava behind.
Instead of ‘Good morning’ and ‘ Good night’, they used to say ‘Hari Om!’ 
Whenever one has to call someone, insted of “hey…or Mr….or excuse me, ….they were saying ‘Hari Om…..!’
Instead of ‘please wait’ they said .. “Hari Om….”
To admire something….to say ok….to ask ‘ got it?…, etc, etc, they were saying “Hari Om! ” in different tones.
Believe me, everybody used to understand the message or wish  behind this single word with different tones.
I also joined them in the sankalp of the divine monosyllabic expression. (I had a feeling like my cat. Every time meow, meow in different tones.)

In the great text, ‘Bhaj Govindam’, Bhagwan Adi Shankaraachaarya says, ” If one utters the Lord’s name at the time of death, he gets released from the sansar chakra/ birth and death cycle by the Lord’s grace.”

Uttering or remembering the Lord’s name spontaneously/ at ease at the time of death is possible only for those  who are used to take Lord’s name regularly throughout their life. Those who have cultivated the habit/ routine of chanting the Lord’s name throughout their life will never forget it and it will be at ease even at the time of death.

Cat meows from birth to death. That word and sound is automatic for her. She has no free will to change it.
But we humans have a free will to utter any word. So why not to take a sankalp of chanting the Lord’s name regularly throughout our life??

Now, I am going to start chanting ‘ Jai Sri Hari’, initially at list everytime my cat will say  ” Meow”.  I am sure, she will help me to make it a habit.

          Hari Om!

Featured image- Photograph of my cat , Selvie .