"What should I tell those who deny God?"

You should not have any fear in chanting the name of God. You should not give room to attachment and a false sense of self-respect. Because of these two you lose all your strength and energy. You should surrender everything at the lotus feet of the Lord. 

Drive away the ghosts of fear and become fearless;

Fear of sin is what you should have; why fear the world?

Afraid of one and all, shying away from chanting the name of God;

You one day, die of delusion; with the Lord of Death, dragging you away;

It is then you cry in remorse; but who can come to your rescue then?

Prahalad was also educated. He was also a student. But he did not accept anything uttered against God, even though it was told to him by his teachers or his father. Prahalad taught the world that one must be ready to oppose his own father if he speaks against God. Meera taught to the world to stand against one’s husband if he speaks against God. Bharata condemned the act of his mother when she sent Rama to the forest. Vibhishana left his brother and took refuge in Rama. Bali went against his teacher, Shukracharya, and gave his promise to the Lord who had come to him as a dwarf-Brahmin. 

If you waste your time and do not chant the name of God today thinking about people around, who will come to your rescue when the pangs of death are next to you on the final day and force you to the kingdom of hell? Who will save you then? Whatever Namasmarana you do in your life time is only to save you at the end of your life. Hence, if you keep chanting the name of God from a very young age, there is a chance that you will be saved from the pangs of Samsara (worldly life) at the end of your life. 

Many people go to sacred rivers like Krishna, Godavari, Ganga, Yamuna, etc. and perform sacred rites. They believe that performing these rites would confer merit upon them. They take the river water in their hands and pour it back into the river after chanting a Mantra. From where did they get the new water? Whatever you give back to God is not your property. It is God’s property. Why should there be ego in offering back to God that which He has only given us? Who gave you this body? Who gave you this mind, discriminative faculty, the system of digestion, the life-force, the mechanism where life gets infused into every nerve? Think about it. And pray, “It is You Oh Lord who gave me everything. I give You back whatever You gave me. This is not something which I brought along with me. Neither is this something which I gave myself. I give You back whatever You have given me”. 

Importance of Faith

You should not be afraid of singing the name of God or singing His glory. Anyone can come and argue with us. They may say that there exists nothing called God. They may even make fun of you. You should face them with unflinching faith in God asserting that, “God may not be present for you, but He exists for me. If you don’t believe in God go around saying that. But who are you to say that God, whose existence I believe in, is not present?” It is good to respect the faith of others. You are breathing in air and others are also breathing in the same air. For your breathing to take place is it necessary for you to withhold your breath? Or is it possible for you to stop my breathing for yours? Respiration of each one of us is independent. So too is faith. Why should you follow others’ faith and belief? Follow your faith, your religion. Just because someone’s eyes are as bright as the sun and the moon, can you close your eyes and depend on them? The other person has to depend on his eyes and you have to see the world through your eyes only. You have to be steadfast in your faith. That is steadiness. Man without steady mind cannot achieve peace and happiness. When you are steadfast in your faith you go along the right path. This gives you success in your endeavours. Hence you should not worry about the world. When you do Sadhana with utmost sincerity, you will get anything you want. It may be success in your exams, in your life, business, or job. There is nothing you can’t achieve if you have the grace of God. You should have your mind on God and God alone. That is enough. You can achieve anything. That is the last Shloka in the Bhagavad Gita – ‘Yatra Yogeshwara Krishna ...’ You get good results when you have God in your heart and when you pray to Him with courage and faith. Victory will be yours always.

Source: Chant the Name of the Lord, Discourse 17, My Dear Students Volume 4