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Spiritual Practices
DHUN
Dhun means chanting of the Swaminarayan mantra out loud, i.e. Mantra Jaap
In the word Jaap;
jaa – janma maran ne talnaar (restrainer of the cycles of birth and death)
p – paap matra ne balnaar (the forgiver of all sins)
In short, chanting of the Swaminarayan mantra avoids the cycle of birth and death and burns away the sins of all the lives we took in the past.
The word "dhun" can also mean a strong passion . For example, some people have a passion for money, others for studying, and some for sports.
So we are Maharaj's children. We want to please Him. Therefore, we should develop a strong passion for Him! Imagine, closing your eyes, chanting His name with devotion, how pleased Maharaj would be! He would say, "Ah, look at my devotee, so dedicated to pleasing me! Thank you!" And yes... the chanting should be done with clapping because just like we clap to scare away birds sitting on a tree, similarly, to drive away the evils of lust, anger, greed, and pride from within, we should clap while chanting.
Every day, whether in front of our ghar mandir, during family gatherings(ghar sabha), in the street, while playing with friends, at school, whenever we have free time, and especially in the temple or during bal sabha (children’s assemblies), we should chant together. Let’s chant, friends!
Swaminarayan... Swaminarayan...
Murti ma rahine bolo Swaminarayan
(Chant Swaminarayan while engrossing in murti.)
Khata bolo, pita bolo, harta bolo, pharta bolo
(Chant while eating, drinking, walking, and moving around.)
Swaminarayan... Swaminarayan...
Murti ma rahine bolo Swaminarayan... (Chant Swaminarayan while engrossing in murti.)
It is said that through chanting, God protects us. Interesting, isn't it? So, listen carefully...
In an enormous banyan tree, Collared-Dove family made a nest where they lived with their babies. Both father and mother dove took turns to get food for the babies every day. Like so, all of them would enjoy together. One day, doves and their babies were sitting in the nest; male dove looked outside the nest and saw a hunter on the ground with a bow-arrow to attack them. As he looked up, there was a Hawk waiting to kill them all. There was death on both the ground and in the sky.
Both panicked. What will happen now? Death was near and certain, but mother found a solution. She told male dove, “God is the protector; we should worship Him by doing bhajan and mantra Jaap.” They started chanting while sitting in the nest.
Friends, who would even touch them if God were the one keeping them safe? God will have mercy on them because He is very gracious. And soon enough he came to help Hola and Holly. It turns out that there was a poisonous snake’s burrow at the bottom of the tree trunk. Suddenly, snake came out and bit the hunter’s leg, so he fell to the ground. He missed his aim, and the arrow pierced the hawk. It fell to the ground. Thus, both the killers died, and the dying ones survived. How did they survive? It is apparent that God saved them.
When God sees, how pleased He is that my devotee remembers me so much!
So, let recites, friends...
"Bolo re tame Swaminarayan bolo (2)
Harata ne farata tame Swaminarayan bolo
Swaminarayan bolo bhaio, Swaminarayan bolo
Murtima rahine tame Swaminarayan..."
