US-based professional to celebrate ‘Pran Pratishtha’ in Prayagraj by writing ‘Ram’ 11,000 times

PTI, Jan 14, 2024, 10:04 AM IST

Though she will not be present in Ayodhya to witness the historic ‘Pran Pratishtha’ of ‘Ram Lalla’, New York-based Sonal Singh, whose ancestors trace their origin to the temple town, is not feeling disheartened. She believes that Lord Ram is an icon who is not confined to Ayodhya or India only but is the master of the entire Universe.

Singh, who is a software consultant, has embarked upon the spiritual path. Having opted for the work from home mode, she is in Magh Mela camp of Ram Naam Bank at Akshay Vatt Marg in the Sangam area of Prayagraj.

She believes that ”Ram is not merely a name, but a word which generates positive vibrations and a divine force creating positive energy inside us”.

”Lord Ram is not only an icon who is confined to Ayodhya or India. In fact, his aura extends across the globe. He is an icon for the entire humanity. He is the ‘Brahmaand Naayak’ (master of the entire universe). He is the role model for every single civilised person on this Earth. Hence, he is also called ‘Maryada Purshottam’,” Singh told PTI from the Sangam area.

”Chanting the name of Lord Ram once is equivalent to taking the name of Lord Vishnu 1,000 times. And if you just chant Ram-Ram from the core of your heart, you subconsciously get Lord Ram in that frequency and rhythm,” she said.

The 38-year-old resident of New York also said, ”Talking about ancestors, I belong to Ayodhya. My grandfather Ram Lakhan Singh was the last in our family to reside in Ayodhya. I have been out of India for close to 10 years. I have been associated with Ram Naam Bank for close to 20 years. I work on making the new generation aware of the gap which has been created towards our culture and the new generation living in the West.” Asked how she views the upcoming consecration ceremony, Singh said, ”This is going to be a huge uniting factor for every single person who lives outside India, believes in Sanatan Dharm and follows the Ramayan. I have friends who have never ever visited India. But now their curiosity towards the spiritual side of the country has increased significantly. The Ram temple, which is coming up, is giving visibility to the whole civilisation and spiritual values that had vanished a long time ago.” An ardent devotee of Lord Ram, Singh has written the name of Lord Ram close to over 10 lakh times. She will watch the consecration ceremony from the Sangam area.

”On the day of consecration of Shri Ram Lalla in Ayodhya, I will write ‘Ram’ 11,000 times. That will be my prayer and worship to Lord Ram,” she said, and added that a havan will also be conducted at the camp on the pious and glorious occasion.

Asked whether she has observed any tilt among the youth in the western countries towards spirituality in general and Hinduism in particular, Singh said, ”Of course there is a visible tilt. Not just the second and third generations from the Hindu families but even the foreign nationals ask so many questions. All of them want to understand various aspects of Ramayan and Sanatan Dharm.” To a question on how she views the negative comments on Sanatan Dharm in India, she said, ”We all have positive and negative vibrations in our body. We need to balance them to live a successful and positive life. Negative energy of the people who make negative comments is dominant on their positive energy. When we go to any temple, we go to balance our positive and negative energies. People are not bad but they lack knowledge. I would advise them to work on themselves and be positive in life. That will help them a lot and also help all of us.” The Ram Naam Bank is a spiritual bank where devotees deposit booklets after writing the name of Lord Ram. The uniqueness of the bank lies in the fact that it is a bank with neither ATMs nor cheque books. Its only ‘currency’ is Lord Ram.

Ashutosh Varshney, who manages the bank’s day-to-day affairs, is carrying on the legacy of his grandfather who had set up the organisation in the early 20th century.

”This bank was started by my grandfather, Ishwar Chandra, who was a businessman. Now, there are over one lakh account holders of different age groups and religions. It runs under a social organisation, Ram Naam Sewa Sansthan, and has witnessed at least nine Kumbhs,” Varshney told PTI.

The bank has no monetary transactions. Its members have a booklet of 30 pages containing 108 columns in which they write ‘Ram Naam’ 108 times everyday. After completion, the booklet is deposited in the individual’s account.

Varshney said the name of the Lord should be written in red ink as it is the colour of love.