JAPA YOGA: repeat, reflect and realize
- Dr Satish K Kapoor
LOGO: Spiritually speaking
Quote: Japa, performed with earnestness and apperception, changes the chemistry of the mind, making it tranquil and transparent, and catapults it towards spirituality.
Japa means repetition. Japa yoga is a spiritual discipline in which union (yoga) between the microcosmic self and the macrocosmic self is sought by constant repetition of a mystic syllable, sound, sacred text, formulaic prayer, or some divine name. Japa is a prelude to divine remembrance (smarana, simran), that helps one to the cognize the subjective self. It can be chanted loudly (vaikhari), whispered (upanshu), hummed (bhramari), or internalized mentally (manasa).
The place where japa is practiced becomes holy due to spiritual vibrations it generates. By repetition, a perennial wave of godly thoughts is built up in the atmosphere. As a result, the restless mind is tamed, and senses cease to flow out, preparing the ground for deep concentration. Japa installs divinity within and awakens the static life-force. It dilutes passion, fear, sorrow and negative thoughts, strengthens the will, purifies the astral body (linga sharira), and leads to the direct vision (darshana) of god, or one’s adorable deity (aradhya deva). Sometime, japa bestows mystical powers that are beyond the comprehension of mortals.
Delving on the significance of japa, Guru Nanak Dev says in Japji (pauri 32): ‘If there be a hundred thousand tongues, in place of one, and each of these hundred thousand be turned into twenty hundred thousand; then the One Name of the Lord, should be uttered with every tongue, in a cycle, each of hundred thousand times.’
It may be argued that the mechanical repetition of words cannot raise consciousness to an optimum level. But words have power and form, more so, if they have been sanctified. Japa, performed with earnestness and apperception, changes the chemistry of the mind, making it tranquil and transparent, and catapults it towards spirituality.
Japa is the easiest way to spiritual unfoldment . A Puranic story goes that Devarishi Narada was teaching a nomadic hunter about the efficacy of the japa of Rama-nama. As he could not remember the word Rama, Narada pointed to a dead tree, asking him to repeat the word mara( meaning dead) which he knew by heart, and in reverse order, became, Rama. In course of time, he attained supreme realization.
Japa can be practiced individually, or as a part of community worship, as in case of Nama- sankirtana. Nama is the svarupa of the lord (bhagavatsvarupameva nama); sankirtana is the means to invoke him by singing his glory and attributes in a congregation. Music makes japa more efficacious by elevating the mind and the soul without much effort. In Padma Purana, the Lord says: ‘ I reside not in Vaikuntha, nor in the heart of yogis; I reside where My devotees do sankirtana.’
While practicing japa individually, one should sit in a quiet environment at a fixed time and place, facing the east or the north, preferably in a sitting position. But japa can also be done during free time at home or in office, and even while performing the chores of life. ‘Remember while standing, sitting, and sleeping, sing Hari Hari ( name of god) even when on the way’, says Sri Guru Granth Sahib ( Asa: M5).
Although initiation (or guidance) by a guru helps one to understand the dynamics of nama-japa, many people practice japa without formal consecration. Some holy names, words or mantras like, ‘Om’, ‘Hari Om Tat Sat’, ‘Om Mani Padme Hum’, ‘Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya’,‘Soham’, ‘Rama’, ‘Vitthala’, ‘Rama-Krishna-Hari’, ‘Namah Shivaya’, ‘Achyuta, Anant, Govinda’‘ Satnam -Vahiguru’, etc. have become so common that people utter them, without knowing their pronunciation, appropriateness, or esoteric aspects. Japa can be done with or without a rosary. The purpose of a rosary is to keep track of the number of holy words or syllables chanted.
Japa should be done according to the prescribed method (vidhanena mantroccharanam - Shabdakalpadruma), as, for example, in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, the pancha-tattva mantra is recited before beginning japa-meditation, the chanting of Hare Krishna Mantra – Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare.
Each holy word used for japa carries a specific type of cosmic force. If a japa- mantra does not harmonize with the characteristics of one’s chosen deity (ishta devata), it is likely to create spiritual schizophrenia, due to dissonant vibrations, when repeated. Obviously, one cannot have a vision (darshana) of Kali by repeating the name of Rama; or that of Krishna, by chanting the glory of Shiva, even though all represent different aspects of the supreme reality.
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Dr Satish K Kapoor, former British Council Scholar and former Registrar, DAV University, is a noted author, educationist, historian and spiritualist based in Jalandhar city.
