Ganapati Japa

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font-family:Arial">Namaste all,

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font-family:Arial">I thought this piece on Ganapati Japa, from Loving Ganesha,

was worth sharing again this now. This chapter can be found at

http://www.himalayanacademy.com/books/lg/lg_ch-10.html

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10.0pt;font-family:Arial">Om Shanti,

font-family:Arial">Neil

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font-weight:bold">Ganapati Japah

font-weight:bold">Mantra

Recitation

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APA, OR RECITATION, IS THE SPIRITUAL

PRACTICE

of devotedly repeating a mantra, generally a specified number of times, such

as 108, often while counting on a strand of beads, called a japa mala, while conscientiously

concentrating on the meaning of the mantra. The repetition should be

dutifully slow. This brings punya,

merit, to the devotee. It should not be thoughtlessly mechanical or the

hurried, so-called rapid-fire or machine-gun japa, which demonstrate

ignorance of the tantras. Such casual, nonchalant negligence and disregard

for contemplative traditions brings papa,

demerit, to the devotee, creating internal strife, community opposition and

turmoil for all concerned.

Japa is a form of devotional worship, invocation,

supplication, praise, adoration, meditation and direct, experiential

communion. Unless we are actually in a state of

italic">samadhi (total absorption), which is rare for most people,

japa provides a means to disengage from our racing thoughts and our memories

of the past -- mostly the bad ones. The repetition of positive, uplifting,

spiritual mantras over and over again lifts consciousness and causes the

muladhara chakra to spin clockwise. We

feel uplifted. Life does not look so bad, and neither does the past. A sense

of forgiveness comes and the future looms bright. The past is forgiven and

forgotten.

The

power of thought and mind is embodied in sound form, that is, in the Word.

The ancient rishis made this knowledge of the Word into a science and turned

their minds toward the inner worlds, invoking the beings therein and offering

their thoughts to the Deities and devas through Vedic hymns, prayers and

mantras. According to the Vedas, the holy scripture that forms the

basis of Hinduism, out of the mind of the Deity came the Word, vak. Its evolutes

precede and give rise

to the forms of the inner mind -- the astral forms. These subtle forms in

turn give rise to the outer, material forms that we see.

By that

Word of His, by that Self, He created all this, whatever there is.

Shukla Yajur Veda, Shatapatha

Brahmana

10.6.5.5. VE, 106

This

[in the beginning], was only the Lord of the universe. His Word was with Him.

This Word was His second. He contemplated. He said, "I will deliver this

Word so that she will produce and bring into being all this world."

Sama Veda, Tandya Maha Brahmana 20.14.2. VE, 107

The

Word is infinite, immense, beyond all this.... All the Gods, the celestial

spirits, men and animals live in the Word. In the Word all the worlds find

their support.

Krishna Yajur Veda, Taittiriya

Brahmana

2.8.8.4. VE, 107

The

Vedic view brings increasing confirmation that modern physics is on the right

track. Quantum electromagnetic field theories tell us that, in fact, there is

no such thing as matter. There are only force fields of time and space that

are observable as varying intensities. Thus, a carbon atom is not a bit of

matter; it is a time-space-energy force field of a particular intensity.

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Nuclear physicists can change the energy force

fields in a chamber and transform one element to another. If we knew the

carbon mantra and could say it properly, we would cause the particular

time-space-energy force field to act and some carbon would precipitate.

Certain occult practitioners can actually do this with their minds and cause

objects to appear. Such magic does show the correspondence that there is between

mind, sound and form. This is the basic mystical reality behind mantras. What is

important for us to realize is

that each Mahadeva can be experienced, expressed, in a mantra form that

corresponds to that Being. This phenomenon is akin to remembering someone by

his name rather than his face. When we utter such a mantra, we call forth the

Mahadeva or cause a particular inner truth to rise up in our minds. Then we

feel His presence and enjoy.

There

are two basic kinds of mantras.

One class is a very powerful set that causes immediate, direct changes to

occur in the force fields around us, whether we know the meanings of the

sounds or not. These mantras should only be used after initiation and proper

instruction, because if they are mispronounced they can do us serious harm.

The mantra singers of the Navajo Indians of North America used very powerful

healing mantras that would last for days and days. Even in recent times, a

Navajo singer wrongly chanted on the fifth day of a nine-day chant and

crippled himself physically. This is a documented occurrence. He had to

resort to less powerful mantras after that.

The

second kind of mantras are either weaker, or the strong vibrations they

produce cannot be distorted by misuse or mispronunciation. With this class of

mantras, it is the power of our own minds concentrated upon the inner-plane

being or concept that makes the mantra most beneficial. If we are not

concentrated, still the energy of the mantra can evoke only one vibration or

image. The majority of the Vedic mantras, all the names of the Gods and the

Gayatris fall into this category. Most of the Vedic chants are simply short

hymns and prayers, while the Sanskrit language itself causes positive,

uplifting force fields that penetrate immediately into the inner realms.

My satguru, Sage Yogaswami placed

tremendous emphasis on the performance of japa, repeating the name of the

Lord with concentration and feeling. This great

italic">jnani explained, "May we not forget that mantram is

life, that mantram is action, that mantram is love and that japa, the

repetition of mantram, bursts forth wisdom from within. Japa yoga is the

first yoga to be performed toward the goal of jnana

italic">. In the temple perform japa

italic">. Under the sacred tree perform japa. I performed japa all this life as a

silent sadhana. It is automatic

now."

Sage

Yogaswami enjoined his Saivite devotees to "Wear rudraksha beads and repeat the

Panchakshara. Let your heart grow soft and melt. Chant the Letters Five and

in love you will discover His will. Chant so that impurities, anxieties and

doubts are purged. All hail Namah Sivaya!"

Repeating

mantras slowly purifies the mind, like running fresh water continually into a

container of discolored water. A fresh stream of water causes the mud at the

bottom of a container to rise and flow out over the top edges, eventually to

be completely replaced by crystal-clear water. Similarly, japa cleanses the

mind of impurities as the pure vibrations of the mantras loosen and wash away

the impure vibrations.

Lord

Ganesha is invoked through the mantra Aum. The

italic">Mandukya Upanishad elucidates the inner meaning of Aum,

which embodies the highest wisdom. Aum has three syllables. A represents the

waking state. U represents the dreaming state. M represents the state of deep

sleep.

Aum in its entirety, plus the moment of silence which follows it, represents

the shanti, the peace beyond

understanding. Thus, Aum japa performed as an invocation to Lord Ganesha, the

Lord of Wisdom and Knowledge -- while love is welling up from our hearts and

tears are for no reason flowing simultaneously -- calls forth the knowledge

of the entirety of our existence in these four categories of consciousness.

These are realms that God Ganesha rules over as Lord of Categories, and this

is the knowledge that He can grant devotees who perform Aum japa and

meditation on the meaning of Aum.

For Aum

japa to be effective, the mantra must be pronounced correctly. The first

syllable is A, pronounced as

the English word "awe," but prolonged: "aaa." The second

syllable is U, as in

"roof," pronounced "oo" but prolonged: "ooo."

The third syllable is M,

pronounced "mm" with the front teeth gently touching and the sound

prolonged: "mmmm." Each repetition is sounded for about seven

seconds, with two seconds on A,

two seconds on U and three

seconds on M, with a silence of

about two seconds before the next repetition. The three syllables are run

together: AAUUMM (silence), AAUUMM (silence), AAUUMM (silence). On the first

syllable, A, we feel the solar

plexus and chest vibrating. On the second syllable, U, the throat vibrates. The third

syllable, M, vibrates the top

of the head. Thus, proper chanting of Aum also is a high form of yoga, moving

energy from the lower chakras

of the body up to the highest chakra, or energy center -- the sahasrara chakra at the crown of the

head.

Another

traditional way to do this japa is to take a full breath and then chant the

AUM three times as you exhale. The first repetition is audible, the second is

more quiet and the third is barely audible, as you concentrate within. Then

inhale slowly as you visualize the image of our loving Lord Ganesha in your

mind. Then repeat the AUM again three times as you exhale. The breathing

should not be forced, but natural, slow, gentle and rhythmical. We can use a

japa mala with 108 beads and

pass over one bead for each repetition, or do the japa for a prearranged

period of time.

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font-family:Arial">Loving Ganesha by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami

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font-family:Arial">Web sites: http://www.hindu.org/

& http://www.himalayanacademy.com/

font-family:Arial">email: contact (AT) hindu (DOT) org

Arial">

font-family:Arial">Himalayan Academy

Kauai's Hindu

Monastery

107 Kaholalele Road

Kapaa, HI 96746-9304

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