Page:Bengal Vaishnavism - Bipin Chandra Pal.djvu/101

 CHAPTER IV. Bengal Vaishnava Lyrics. ^The hymnology of Bengal Vaishnavism goes under the general name of keertana. These keertam-s stand divided into two classes. One is called mma-keertana, which means the chant- ing of the name of the Lord. The repetition of the name of the Lord with everj’- incoming and outgoing breath is an essential discipline of the hhakti cult of Bengal. This is not peculiar to Bengal Vaishnavism. This is our inheritance from Buddhism. In the Geeta it is called japa-yajna. Yajna has been, though somewhat loosely, rendered into English as ‘sacrifice.’ And the Geeta says that this japa- yajna is much superior to the yajna or sacrifice wherein material objects are offered to the Deity. The superiority of this japa-yajna over the sacrifice of material objects consists in its essentially mental character.' The name of the Lord has to be repeated incessantly with a view to help the concentration of the mind upon the Lord. (The name of the Lord is not a mere meaningless word. It represents the thing for which every name stands. And