Repetition of the Name of God- Parallels in Hinduism and Christianity

Repetition of the Name of God- Parallels in Hinduism and Christianity

Repeating the name of God is a practice well known not only in Hinduism, but also other religions, even Christianity.
What does repetition of the Name of God mean, and what are it's goals and benefits?
Repetition of the Name of God can be done with any chosen Divine Name, or Mantra, and as stated above, is not bound to one religion or path only. It can be done in different ways- singing, chanting aloud, whispering or, internally. My Gurudev Sri Swami Vishwananda often speaks about the importance of Japa, as continuous chanting of God's Name is called in Hinduism. It is a way to establish a close connection with the Divine and to imprint our minds and hearts with the vibration of the One we are calling. In Hinduism, we use a Japa Mala, a string with 108 beads on it, similar to the rosary in Christianity. It is used to help us focus and actively chant our Mantra or Name, and the counting beads of the Mala are often made of substances related to the Divine, like Tulsi or Sandal wood or certain stones like crystal or rose quartz.

Chanting the Divine Name turns our mind and heart towards God, and the more we practice it, the more it will begin to "chant on it's own" internally, a practice which is described in the Old Testament by King Solomon: "I was asleep, yet my Heart was awake...". Our mind can be asleep to everything around us, yet the Heart can be conscious of the Divine at the same time; this is, what continuous repetition of the Lord's name does. With every breath, it draws the Divine closer and closer into our Heart, or in other words: draws us closer to remembrance of Him (or Her) within us, and we begin to see Him everywhere, wherever we go. Lord krishna, the great Avatar (Incarnation of God) of Hinduism, taught Japa Nama- the repetition of the Divine Name- as the easiest way for anyone to achieve realisation in this time and age. In Christianity, this practice is called "prayer of the heart", and it is still very alive especially in certain parts of the Orthodox church- I recently read a book about this, called "The way of the Pilgrim" translated into English by Olga Savin, and was very surprised and delighted to see the significant parallels between Hinduism and Christianity.
 One way I personally love to invoke the Divine, is through devotional singing of Kirtans and Bhajans, as they are called in Hinduism. These songs tell about the different names, incarnations and attributes of the Divine, and are a wonderful way of stopping the mind's constant chatter. Most Bhajans and Kirtans are sung in Sanskrit, which is supposed to be the oldest existing language and it is also called Devanagari, the "language of the Gods". There have been interesting studies and researches done on the effect this language has on our brain, and by far the most significant fact is, that even if we do not understand the meaning of it's words, it still effects our brain in a very positive and healing way. It is believed that, being the oldest language and coming directly from the Gods, the vibration of it's words are closest to the object they are describing compared to any other language- thus, if I am singing the Name of God, I am invoking a very high and positive vibration, even if I may not consciously be aware of it.

Here is the link to a video of a Bhajan, sung in Sanskrit