Remembrance

Remembrance is an act of remembering or the state of bearing in mind. Almost all religion emphasis of remembrance of God according to their own tradition. In most of religious tradition the method of remembrance of God is using recitation of the name of God. In Hindu tradition, the recitation of the Divine Name is known as japa, in Islamic tradition known as dhikr, in Christian tradition know as Jesus prayer (Hesychast tradition), Buddhist tradition on repetition Buddha name and also in Zen tradition known as Nembutsu.

In sacred scripture, Quran says, “Verily of all things the remembrance of God is greatest” (Al-Ankabut: 45). In Bible, recommended in Ecclesiastes 51: “I will praise Thy Name continuously and will extol it in all things.” Bhagavad Gita stated: “Therefore, at all times, meditate on Me with your mind and intellect. Fixed on Me. In this way, you shall surely come to Me…”(Song VIII). Buddha says, “Give yourself with undivided mind to the repetition of the name of the Buddha who is in Himself endless life.”

God and His Name are not distinct from one another. The Name is God Himself. God the absolute is the nameless Name. All religions pronounce the name of God in their particular language. The essence of remembrance according to Titus Burckhardt: “The Divine Name, revealed by God Himself, implies a Divine Presence which becomes operative to the extent that the Name takes possession of the mind of him who invokes It. Man cannot concentrate directly on the Infinite, but, by concentrating on the symbol of the Infinite, attains to the Infinite Itself. When the individual subject is identified with the Name to the point where every mental projection has been absorbed by the form of the Name, the Divine Essence of the Name manifests spontaneously, for this sacred form leads to nothing outside itself; it has no positive relationship except with its Essence and finally its limits are dissolved in that Essence. Thus union with the Divine Name becomes Union with God Himself.”

Shaikh Al-‘Alawī expressed beautifully in his statement:

“Remembrance is the mightiest rule of the religion. . . .”

Let us always practice remembrance of God with all our mind and yearning heart until the Divine Name take the place of veiled Heart.