Dear ramesh.aba,
I do not see anything wrong with this. After all, the Karma Kanda of our Vaidika sampradaaya does offer fruits for karmas. As we know very well our tradition guides us in the spirit of Dharma-Artha-Kama-Moksha. Lord Krishna in Gita has said:
चतुर्विधा भजन्ते मां जनाः सुकृतिनोऽर्जुन ।
आर्तो जिज्ञासुरर्थार्थी ज्ञानी च भरतर्षभ ॥caturvidhā bhajante māṃ janāḥ sukṛtino'rjuna,
ārto jij?āsurarthārthī j?ānī ca bharatarṣabha.
Among the virtuous ones who turn towards Me (the Divine) with devotion, O Arjuna, there are four kinds of bhaktas, the suffering, the seeker for good in the world, the seeker for knowledge, and those who adore Me with knowledge, O Lord of the Bharatas.
I am sure, each one in their respective stages of lives, have taken recourse to such things in true faith resulting of a goodness of something. If something works for somebody, why not?
Any one verse of VS is capable of taking one from baser desires to the highest Paramartha.
All start from Kindergarten without exception. (unless of purva samskara from previous births)
Moreover, if we look into the Phala Shruti of VS, it clearly states the benefits:
vedāntagō brāhmaṇaḥ syāt kṣatriyō vijayī bhavet |
vaiśyō dhanasamṛddhaḥ syāt śūdrassukhamavāpnuyāt || 3 ||
The Brahmin will get knowledge,
The kshatriya will get victory,
The vaisya will get wealth,
The shudra will get pleasures,
By reading these.
dharmārthī prāpnuyāddharmam arthārthī cārthamāpnuyāt |
kāmānavāpnuyāt kāmī prajārthī cāpnuyāt prajām || 4 ||
He who seeks Dharma,
He who seeks wealth,
He who seeks pleasures,
He who seeks children,
Will all without fail,
Get what they want.
śrī bhagavānuvāca
yō māṁ nāmasahasrēṇa stōtumicchati pāṁḍava |
sōhamēkēna ślōkēna stuta ēva na saṁśayaḥ || 24 ||
|| stuta ēva na saṁśaya ōṁ nama iti ||
The Lord said:
He who likes, Oh Arjuna,
To sing my praise,
Using these thousand names,
Should know Arjuna ,
That I would be satisfied,
By his singing of,
Even one stanza ,Without any doubt.
Om Nama without any doubt.
For full Phala Shruti please view:
http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/vishnu/vishnu_phala.htmlThese steps are so devised so that it brings and develops affinity with the Lord.
So it is quite ok! It is nothing illegal! If something brings peace to somebody so be it. Peace is supreme! Peace is greater than a blind Tatva.
This thought that Bhagavan has taught us the higthest Brahma-Tatva and all others are smaller and are against the teachings of Ramana actually springs from a sense of strong identity with the Knowledge-I. If we look closely, it is actually the Knowledge that binds us more than the ignorance!
After all It is the chanting of the great names of the Lord, One is going to chant in the spirit of his true welfare. Like the Mother who tells a thousand stories to the child to just make the child eat his food, so is the spirit here. I would encourage this. Nothing wrong in it. Moreover, by such things, isn't it wonderful that one would take recourse to the Lord no matter how many problems come to someone. This is true victory!
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