OM

One God: Many Names

Narrator: This script is based on
a lecture given by Svami Rama
Tirtha on January 26, 1903 in the
Golden Gate Hall, San Francisco,
California...

the name Gopal.

The man left. He bought &
brought a covered fruit, put it
in a hidden place, and cut a 1/3
piece).
The man: Come on John. Have
The Teacher: Come on boys! You your (desired fruit).
have done a good job. Here is a
John: Oh, this is my watermelon.
dollar. Go and buy the thing of
I love it. Thank you, Sir.
your choice.
The man: John, now you can
(They leave)
leave.
English boy: I want to have
Come on Mujib! Have the fruit of
watermelon.
your choice.
Persian boy: I want to
Mujib: This is my tarbuz. How
have tarbuz. I have not seen
nice of you. I am very happy.
watermelon. I dont know what
Thank you, Sir.
it is.
The man: Mujib, you can leave
Panjabi boy: I want hindvana.
now.
I have never tasted either
Come on Gopal, and have what
watermelon or tarbuz.
you wanted.
(They started quarrelling among Gopal: Oh how nice! I got my
themselves while walking on the hindvana. I love it. Many many
street.)
thanks, Sir.
I want watermelon;
John: Let me see what you got,
I want tarbuja;
Mujib! [Sees] This is the same
I want hindvana.
watermelon that I got by the
They went on singing their songs. Grace of Jesus Christ.
A passersby (the wise man)
Mujib: No, this is my tarbuz. I got
who knew their languages, was
it by the Grace of Allah.
smiling. All the boys approached
Gopal: To John & Mujib: Let
him and requested him: Please
me see what you both got! Oh,
help us.
you got the same thing I got by
The man said: Give me money! I the Grace of Bhagavanji. Oh,
will solve your problem.
wonders! We all got the same
The man asked the English
thing.
boy: What is your name?
John: No, I got watermelon, not
English Boy: My name is John.
hindvana, by the Grace of Jesus
The man asked the Persian
Christ.
boy: What is your name?
(They started arguing, shouting,
Persian boy: I am called Mujib.
jumping, dancing about the
The man asked the third boy:
names of their favorite fruits and
What is your name?
their Gods).
Panjabi boy: My parents gave me Narrator: The wise man had

not yet left, because he wanted

to see their reactions. So the
boys came to the wise man and
requested him: Please help us.
We all will appreciate very much.
Wise man: Formerly you were
quarrelling about the names of
fruit. Now you all are arguing
about the names of gods.
Wise man: John! Who is Jesus
Christ?
John: Jesus is the Son of God in
Christianity. Thus, He is my God.
Wise man: Mujib! Who is Allah?
Mujib: Allah is the God of Islam.
So He is God we all Muslims pray.
Wise man: Gopal! Who is
Bhagvanji?
Gopal: Bhagavanji is the name of
Hindu God. Since I am a Hindu,
He is my God.
Wise man: You all know; you
belong to different countries; you
speak different languages and
you pray to different gods. That
caused this problem. I hope you
all understand now.
All: Yes, we all understand now.

Name and form are illusion

Here the wise man plays the role
of the Master and all the boys as
disciples.
Master: John: Tell me if you
remove all the different names
such as watermelon, tarbuza, and
hindvana, what will be left?
John: I think just a fruit will be
left.
Master: Mujib: What is your
idea?
Mujib: I also have the same idea.
Master: What do you have to say,

John, Mujib and

Gopal shared
one fruit that
goes by many
names. It was
offered to them
by the grace of
Om.

Gopal?
Gopal: I agree with John.
John: Master! If our names
are removed, then what will
happen?
Master: Gopal! Can you answer
Johns question?
Gopal: I think without the
names we all will be simple
human beings.
Master: Do you all agree with
Gopals answer?
All: Yes, Master! We will become
human beings without any
difference.
Master: Yes, you all are right.
Now we have to talk about the
form.
Mujib: Yes, Master. We like to
know about the form.
Master: Let us take an example
of china crockery. All the
crockery was arranged on the
china cabinet in order. Plates in
one row; half plates in another
row; Cups in one row. All of a
sudden a cat saw a mouse there;
she jumped over to catch it. The
Cat threw all the crockery on the

floor. What happens? They all

got broken in pieces and there
was no longer any difference in
their shape or size. Same thing
happens to every thing, such as
human beings, birds etc. Did you
all understand, or do you still
have any more questions?
All: Master, no more questions.
It is very clear to us and we all
understand.
Master: Now we talk about the
gods you were quarrelling about.
It was your ignorance. Now I
will tell you about the gods. The
fact is that different countries
have different Gods and different
names due to lack of knowledge.
Let us take an example: All the
rivers, small, large, brooks, lakes
etc. are flowing in crooked or
straight ways, but ultimately
they all reach the ocean and
merge into it. Now the waters
of oceans or rivers cannot be
separated. They have become
one. Similarly, all the religions,
all the gods, ultimately get
merged into one Supreme God

or OM. They are all similar. All

exists in OM and all dissolve in
OM.
John: Master! What is the
significance of OM.?
Master: The significance of
Om is that it exists in every
religion. Every religion has OM
in one way or the other, such
as Christians use OM as Amen;
Muslims use OM as Ameen etc.
They all use Om.
All say: We understand.
The Master: OM; I am very
happy to know that you all
understood. Now, in the future,
you will not quarrel for the sake
of names. OM to you all. OM is
All and All is OM.
Narrator: Svami Vivekananda
says: OM is a common name, not
a proper name. Everyone should
accept OM. It is a universal
name.
Svami Rama Tirtha, a great
orator and teacher tells
everyone in the world: Every
one should adopt Om.