The Holy Name (Nāma)

In the devotional traditions the name of God is not a mere label but a living presence of the deity, charged with the same grace and power. To utter, remember, or sing the holy name is therefore held to purify the heart and draw down blessing — and in the bhakti movements it is exalted as a path open to all, regardless of learning or status. Whole traditions of communal name-singing grew up around this conviction that the name and the named are, in their power, one.