Transcript Process of Japa - the Himalayan Yoga Tradition

Process of Japa
Swami Veda Bharati
May 26th, 2010
SRSG, Rishikesh
Golden Nuggets
To understand the process of Japa, understand
different layers of the mind
Japa begins when the mantra becomes pure
thought in the mind
Section 1 - Understanding the Mind
Mind - The subtlest energy field in the Universe
What is Mind?
• It is a shakti kshetra (energy field), a
field of energy; closest of the form
of Prakriti (matter)
What is the function of Mind?
• Mind is the link between
consciousness and the physical
personality
• Through Mind one goes beyond
annamaya (anatomical body),
pranamaya (vital body) and reaches
Atman / Purusha (Spiritual self)
Mind has the highest frequency vibration of all the energy fields
Mind is a wave in the vast ocean of the mind of the Universe
Understanding Meditation requires understanding the nature
of mind that consists of:
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Manas - Active mind
Buddhi - Faculty of wisdom
Citta - Entire mind field
Ahamkara - That by which we identify
our being
Characteristics of Mind
• Mind has no size and no form of its own
• It takes the form of whatever is presented
to it by way of the senses
• Mind is vast and deep, like an ocean
• Mind fills the entire Universe
• Mind is a wave in the mind-ocean of the
Universe
Mind is the most agile and the speediest
Mind operates differently at each level and layer
Understanding the Practices of Meditation requires
understanding the different levels and layers of the mind
• At Surface Level – Active in the Kshipta (disturbed state opposite of
one pointed), Mudha (state of stupefaction) and Vikshipta (distracted
from meditative state) states
• At Deeper Level - Ekagra (one-pointed) and Nirodha (fully controlled)
States
You will know how to receive knowledge from Within
Section 2 – Process of Japa
Relaxation of effort (Prayatna Shaithilya) is a MUST for Japa
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Annamaya (physical), Pranamaya (organic), Manomaya (emotional/mental),
Vijnanamaya (intellectual/discriminative), and Anandamaya (blissful) koshas
(sheath) are all interlinked
States of annamaya and pranamaya are being fed into mind at all times
Any kind of tension - physical body or Prana (life force) body, gets transmitted
into the Mind
Learn prayatna shaithilya (Relaxation of effort ) to settle your Mind in your
Japa. Remember any jerk in breath jerks the Mind
Practice Khechari mudra to avoid moving tongue whilst doing Japa
Breath is to be long, subtle, without interruption & pause
To do one mala of a Mantra in shorter time
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learn to relax muscles and
nerves as taught in the Yogi
Parampara (tradition, lineage)
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Slow your breath and make it
dirgha (long), sukshma (subtle),
nairantarya (continuous) and
without virama (pause)
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Let Mantra thought come like a
wave and become pure thought
in the mind
This is only the beginning of Japa
Make Japa deep and subtle
To deepen your Japa
• Increase the duration of Mantra thought coming like a wave
1. Let the thought not turn into words on the tongue
2. Let the thought not be interrupted by other thoughts
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Understand the Mind – Nature, Layers and Levels
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When you get deep into the layers of the mind field, the Mantreshvaras
(lords of mantras) send their grace into your meditation
By the anugraha (grace) of the Lords of Mantras, the Japa will deepen
At each layer of the mind the Spandanam is higher frequency
Journey in Japa
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Doing the Japa at the shallow layer of Mind as a conscious thought
As Mind’s vibrations become more ajiram (agile, free of decay) and
javishtham (speediest, most high frequency), the brain waves slow down
At each deeper layer the Mantra becomes a faster vibration; a high
frequency
As you take your Japa into yet deeper layers of the mind you will do more
Japa in shorter period of time; rather you will not do
After much abhyasa (practice), finally you reach a point where mauna
(silence); where the knowledge is received wordlessly
The wordless knowledge is received as the knowledge of the Vedas was
received
Relaxation of effort MUST be there at all levels of the practice of yoga
Section 3 – Practical lesson
How to reduce the time taken for doing long mantras? 1/3
We will practice with the mantra
‘Akhanda-mandalakaram vyaptam yena characaram,
tat-padam darsitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah’
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Bring your attention to yourself, your asana, your posture, your back, all in
perfect order
Relax all parts of your body
Bring your mind’s attention to your breathing, observe your breath and
establish diaphragmatic breathing
Feel the flow of breaths in your nostrils
Establish khechari mudra, the tongue lock with your mantra
Continue to feel the slow, smooth, gentle breaths, without a break, sound,
jerk in your nostrils
Let there be no break in the flow of your mantra thought, with your breaths
Merge your left and right nostril-breaths into the sushumna stream
Let the mantra continue, feeling the stream of energy on the sushumna path
from the nasagra
Cont/d….
How to reduce the time taken for doing long mantras? 2/3
10. Following the sushumna path, go into your mind. Ignore the breath flow
11. Let only the mantra thought arise. Same wave. Not word by word, but the
complete mantra thought all at once
12. The same way that the entire mantra is coming as a single wave,
remember just ‘Akhanda-mandalakaram’.
13. Let that become the wave, the entire pada, the entire quarter/order, all at
once. Remember, remember, and remember
14. Remember ‘vyaptam yena characaram’, the entire pada, the entire
quarter as a single thought
15. Remember ‘tat-padam darhsitam yena’. No words, only the thought
16. Remember ‘tasmai sri-gurave namah’. No words, only the thought
17. Remember the entire half of the verse ‘Akhanda-mandalakaram vyaptam
yena characaram’ . Think that as a thought over and over, without a
break, the same wave
Cont/d….
How to reduce the time taken for doing long mantras? 3/3
18. Remember ‘tat-padam darsitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah’
19. Let the entire ‘Akhanda-mandalakaram’, complete mantra, be
remembered as a thought in the mind. The entire thought, like a wave
20. Having completed the desired number of japa, come back to your
personal diksha-mantra. Same wave, as a thought flashing, thought
flashing
21. Come to the sushumna breath, with the same mantra thought.
22. Keeping the mantra in the mind, by usual procedure, open your eyes
A blockage would mean that you got tensed, have broken your
breaths and brought the mantra to your tongue
Change the whole situation in you
May Gurudeva and God bless you
Feeling in the shallows?
Contemplate the Ocean.
- Swami Veda Bharati
Glossary
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Abhyasa – Practice
Ajiram – Agile, free of decay
Anandamaya kosha - The blissful sheath
Annamaya kosha - Anatomical body, the
physical sheath
Anugraha – Grace
Atman – Individual spirit
Dirgha - Long
Ekagra state - One-pointed attention
Javishtham – Speediest, most high
frequency
Khechari mudra - Tuck the tongue
Kshipta - Disturbed state opposite of one
pointed
Manomaya kosha – The metal or emotional
sheath
Mantreshvaras – Lords of Mantras
Mauna - Silence
Mudha – State of stupefaction
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Nairantarya - without interruption
Nirodha - Fully controlled state
Parampara – Tradition, lineage
Prakriti - Matter
Prana – Life Force, vital energy
Pranamaya kosha - Vital body, the organic
sheath
Prayatna shaithilya – Relaxation of efforts
Purusha – Spiritual self
Shakti kshetra - Energy field
Sukshma – Subtle
Vijnanamaya kosha – The intellectual or
discriminative sheath
Vikshipta – Distracted from meditative state
Virama - Pause