Holy books tell us of the innumerable merits of Naam or Word. The Word has been described in the Gospel as the Bread of Life and the Water of Life for it alone quenches the hunger and thirst of the soul.

Let him that is athirst, come,
And whosoever will, let him take the "Water of Life" freely. 150
                                                               THE BOOK OF REVELATION

"A healthy mind in a healthy body" is a well-known aphorism, and both derive their health and vigor from the soul; and if the soul is not provided with an adequate supply of nourishing and appropriate food-stuff the whole system, physical and mental, will be paralyzed. Soul is a Conscious entity and must, therefore, feed freely on Love, Life and Light, the three essentials of Greater Consciousness.

  (i) Naam or Word is the panacea for all ills: Adhibhautik or bodily ailments like disease, sickness,
  old  age, etc.; Adhidevik or ills coming on of themselves, like accident, storms and earthquakes,
  etc., over which a person has no control, and Adhiatmic or mental ills, like desires and fascinations
  of  the world, anger, greed and attachments, etc.

 
Naam is the sovereign remedy for all ills;
It is a Comforter and a Bestower of bliss. 151
                                                        GURU ARJAN

It is a constant companion in both the worlds:
Leave aside all else and be devoted to Naam alone. 152
                                                                         GURU NANAK
 

On the lonesome and dreary path of the soul after death,
Naam acts as a Guide and a Comforter. 153

O my tongue! repeat ye the Naam,
Thou shalt be blessed here
And hereafter thou shalt have comfort. 154
                                                    GURU ARJAN
 

By communion with the Naam, one can attain the status of a Sidha,
  a Pir, a Sura, or a Nath,*
By communion with the Naam, the earthly regions, the heavenly plateaux
  and the nether worlds stand revealed;
By communion with the Naam, one can escape unscathed
  through the portals of death;
O Nanak! His devotees live in perpetual ecstasy, for the Naam
  washes away all sin and sorrow.
(* Respectively, a man endowed with supernatural  powers; a Muslim divine or spiritual teacher;
      a god; and an adept in yoga.)
 
 

By communion with the Naam, one can attain the powers of Siva, Brahma and Indra;
By communion with the Naam one can win esteem from all,
  irrespective of one's past;
By communion with the Naam, one can have Yogic insight,
  with the mysteries of life and self all revealed;
By communion with the Naam, one can acquire the true import
  of the Sastras, Smritis and the Vedas;
O Nanak! His devotees live in perpetual ecstasy, for the Naam
  washes away all sin and sorrow.
 
 

By communion with the Naam, one becomes the abode of Truth,
  contentment and true knowledge;
By communion with the Naam, one gets the fruit of ablution at Sixty-eight* pilgrimages;
By communion with the Naam, one wins the honor of the learned;
By communion with the Naam, one attains the state of Sahaj;**
O Nanak! His devotees live in perpetual ecstasy, for the Naam
  washes away all sin and sorrow.

(* Literally, ath-sath; refers to the Hindu belief that ablution at sixty-eight places of pilgrimage brings purity from all sinful acts.)
(** Refers to the state beyond the turmoil of the  physical astral and causal worlds with all their  enchanting panorama, and where the great principle  of life is seen within.)
 
 

By communion with the Naam, one becomes the abode of all virtues;
By communion with the Naam,  one becomes a Sheikh, a Pir and a true spiritual king;
By communion with the Naam, the spiritually blind find their way to realization;
By communion with the Naam, one crosses beyond the limitless ocean of illusionary matter;
O Nanak! His devotees live in perpetual ecstasy, for the Naam
  washes away all sin and sorrow.
 

By "hearing" or "communion" Guru Nanak meant communion with the Naam and nothing else, as would be clear from Gurbani:

By hearing the Sound Current, one is truly blessed and riches follow at his heels;
By hearing the Sound Current, one acquires miraculous powers
  and all his desires are fulfilled;
By hearing the Sound Current, one gets fully contented
  and becomes devoted to Him;
By hearing the Sound Current, one reaches the Sehaj and finds comfort;
By hearing the Sound Current, one knows the Truth and escapes the angel of death;
By hearing the Sound Current, one becomes self- luminous, and all darkness departs;
By hearing the  Sound Current,  one becomes  the knower of the self
  and reaps the full benefit of  Naam;
By hearing the Sound Current, one is washed of his sins and meets pure Truth!
O Nanak! by hearing the Sound Current, one glows with the Divine Light;
And rare indeed is the elect of the Guru who comes in contact with the Naam.
By hearing the Sound Current, the mind gets docile and one feels satiated;
By hearing the Sound Current, one feels perfectly contented and is rid of all ills:
By hearing the Sound Current, the Naam becomes fully manifested and
  one becomes Naam personified. 155
                                GURU RAM DAS

None can describe the condition of one who has made God's Will his own:
Whoever tries to do so, must realize his folly.
No supply of paper, pen or scribe can ever describe the state of the Conscious Co-worker
  with the Divine Plan,
O Great is the Power of the Naam;
But few there be that know It.
 
 

By practice of the Naam, one rises into Universal Consciousness
  and develops right understanding;
By practice of the Naam, one develops clairvoyance and transvision of the whole creation;
By practice of the Naam, one is freed from sorrow and suffering;
By practice of the Naam, one shall not go to Yama* after his death.
O Great is the Power of the Naam,
But few there be that know It.
(* The angel of death; agent of the Lord of Judgment.)
 

By practice of the Naam, one speeds on to the higher spiritual planes unhindered;
By practice of the Naam, one gets into the spiritual planes openly and honorably;
By practice of the Naam, one escapes the bypaths of Yama, the angel of death;
By practice of the Naam, one gets in close touch with the Truth.
O Great is the Power of the Naam,
But few there be that know It.
 

By practice of the Naam, one finally attains salvation;
By practice of the Naam, one leads one's kith and kin as well to freedom;
By practice of the Naam, one saves not only himself but, when he becomes an adept,
  many others whom he guides;
By practice of the Naam, one freed from desires escapes from the wheel of transmigration.
O Great is the Power of the Naam,
But few there be that know it.
 

The state in which such persons remain is indescribable, being beyond the limitations of mind and intellect. The Divine contact, when established, makes one the knower of the Divine Plan and the working of the Divine Will. Hereafter he remains unattached and the mind and matter can have no effect on him; and at the time of death, his spirit quits the body as a matter of daily routine, as he  has been doing in life, and the luminous form of the Guru escorts him on.

  In his ascent to spiritual regions, there are no hurdles and no barriers. The magic of Naam works as an "Open Sesame" to him, enabling him to traverse any spiritual region he may like.

 Sikh scriptures tell us:
 

By contact with the Naam, the entire family gains salvation and remains in comfort;
By contact with the Naam, the entire following gains merit when established therein;
By contact with the Naam, all the hearers get benefited by repetition thereof;
By contact with the Naam, all ills vanish and one feels satiated
  by constant remembrance;
O Nanak! they alone get contact with the Naam, who are contacted
  by a Master-soul.
By contact with Naam, the mind gets right under standing;
By contact with the Naam, egotism and lusts fall off;
By contact with the Naam, the Power of God becomes manifest;
By contact with the Naam, there comes in peace of Godhead;
O Nanak! Naam is a crest-jewel which only a true devotee of the Guru adores. 156

By contact with the Naam, one rises in Pure Consciousness and gets absorbed therein;
By contact with the Naam, one becomes the abode of virtues and feels comforted;
By contact with the Naam, one escapes all delusions and never gets into trouble;
By contact with the Naam, one sings true praises of Truth and is washed of all sins.  157                                                                                                                                                                          GURU RAM DAS

  (iii)  The practice of Naam awakens a person from a long-drawn sleep of ages to knowledge of
  the Self and knowledge of God.

 
Through the grace of the Master, one gets interested in Naam
  and is awakened from long slumber of ages. 158
                                                              GURU ARJAN

By listening to the Naam, one gets to Self-knowledge
    and reaps the profit of God-knowledge. 159
                                                   GURU RAM DAS

 
Naam is the abode of all virtues and miraculous powers,
One easily gets to the fountain by devotion to the Lord. 160
                                                                              GURU RAM DAS

One merged in Naam lives in the light of God,
The worship of the Divine Light comes only through a Master. 161
                                                                                     GURU AMAR DAS

With Naam in one's heart, all his works shape out of themselves. No more
  does he depend on the people of the world, for God does everything for him
  and resides with him. 162
               GURU ARJAN

The Naam makes manifest the inner light and grants glory,
The Naam brings in beatitude and leads Godward. 163
                                                               GURU AMAR DAS

Absorption in the Naam brings in Cosmic Awareness,
O Nanak! those who engage in the Naam are ever blissful. 164
                                                                                       GURU NANAK

By Thy Grace whosoever is given contact with the Naam,
O Nanak! the Naam leads one to the Turya state. 165
                                                                       GURU ARJAN

  (vi) Naam snaps all bondages and grants salvation:
 

O Nanak! whatsoever is attached with Naam, the messengers of death
  cannot come near him. 166

By listening to the Naam, ye get near the Truth and the messengers of death
  do not molest thee. 167
        GURU RAM DAS
 

He who engages in the practice of the Naam,
Not only saves himself but saves man another with him. 168
                                                                          GURU AMAR DAS
 

Naam hath made us fearless,
Naam hath taken us out of the gyres. 169

O Nanak! he escapes the fires of hell,
Whose body and mind are saturated with the Naam. 170
                                                                           GURU ARJAN
 

One escapes all bondages and lives in Truth,
The Naam is a rare gift in this age and a Gurumukh (devotee) gets It. 171
                                                                                                      GURU AMAR DAS

Besides these, many other benefits can be derived from Naam. The mind gets satisfied and is no more swayed by desires. All worldly  passions disappear and the poison of the world and worldly objects and relations has no effect on one devoted to Naam. All his acts and deeds are performed in a spirit of detachment and hence have no longer any binding effect. Established in Truth, he becomes one with Truth and thus attains salvation. A devotee of the Naam is always dear to the Master.

O my friend, Gurumukh be thou, ever engaged in Naam.
By devotion to Naam, thou shalt be blessed, keep It safe within thee;
Without Naam, one is just a leper, obsessed with blind infatuation,
Fruitless are all his acts and keep him in bondage. 172

So long as thou livest, be thou devoted to Naam,
God escorts those on the Path and He takes them over in the end. 173
GURU RAM DAS

In the Sikh scriptures, we very often come across sincere and earnest prayers for the attainment of Naam:

Satguru and Sat Purush is Godman indeed, and to Him I ever pray,
We worms, tiny and crawling, are yet Thine, O grant us the light of Naam. 174
                                                                                                                  GURU RAM DAS

We wish for nothing else but the light of Thy Word,
O Master! the light that permeates in all hearts. 175
                                                                    GURU ARJAN

Those who have communed with the Naam, their toils shall end,
And their faces shall flame with glory,
Not only theirs shall be salvation, O Nanak! but many more
  shall find freedom with them. 176
                                GURU NANAK

  Naam is above everything. He is the Creator. There is nothing else besides Him and He is immanent in all things. In the scriptures  Lord God is often described as Hari. "Hari" and "Naam" are practically the same; Hari in action is Naam, and hence Hari Naam, i.e., Naam emanating from Hari. To bring this aspect of Naam into broad relief and for the proper understanding of It, the term "Hari Naam" is used in several places in the scriptures.

   Again, Naam or the Power of God, call it what you will, is the creative Life Principle. It is all-pervading and is engaged in the work of creating and sustaining all that is visible and invisible. To bring home the idea of His Omnipresence or ubiquity, He is often described as "Ram Naam."