POWERS OF NAAMA JAPA - MANTRA SAKTHI

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Mantra Sakthi

Powers of Naama Japa

The Name of God, especially when it is given to us in the form of what is known

as a Mantra, is a power by itself. It has a Shakti of its own, and this is the

reason why Bhaktas, sages and saints have told us that even a mere repetition

of the Name of God has the capacity to produce an effect of its own, though you

may not be really meditating, though you may not be in a position to contemplate

the actual meaning hidden behind it. The Mantra-Shakti, or the power of the

Mantra, arises on account of the fact that is beautifully and scientifically

described in a science known as Mantra-Shastra, which is akin to the science of

chemistry in our own ordinary life. Chemical elements act and react upon each

ocher. You know the action between an acid and alkali, for instance.

Sometimes the chemical reaction is such that it can produce a tremendous effect.

Mantras produce such effect, similar to the reaction of chemical elements,

because of the peculiar combination of letters. The Mantra-Shastra is a secret

which tells us that every letter of the alphabet is a condensed form of energy.

Sounds are really energy manifest. The sound is not merely an empty form of

verbal manifestation, but enemy that is made to express itself in a particular

shape. And when this packet of enemy, this tied up form of force, which is a

particular letter of the alphabet, is made to come in contact with another

packet of energy called another letter, they collide with each other act upon

each other or fuse into each other, so that the utterance of a group of

tellers, which is the Mantra, produces, by the process of permutation and

combination of these letters, a new form of energy which gets infused into our

system. Because it has arisen from our own mind, thought and the recesses of

our being, we get charged with that force, as if we have touched a live

electric wire.

There is special name given to this science, as Gana Shastra, in Tantrik

parlance. Words are forces, thoughts are things. They are not empty sounds. It

is because of the fact that thoughts and expressions are powers by themselves,

that the words of saints lake immediate effect. The words that a saint or a

sage utters are not empty sounds that he makes. They are forces that are

released like atom bombs, and they can manifest themselves in the physical

world, and events can take place.

That is why people go to a Mahatma for Asirvada, or blessings. His words are

forces, powers that he releases to take immediate effect, or even a remote

effect, as the case may be.

The utterance of a Mantra is the release of an energy, not only inside our own

personalities, but also in the outer atmosphere of which we form contents. Japa

Sadhana not only brings a transformation in your own inward personality, but

also sympathetically produces an equal effect in the society of which you are a

part. So Japa Sadhana is also a social service. It is not merely a personal

Sadhana, inwardly practised by your own self in your Puja room, but it is a

great Seva that you do to mankind also. An aura is produced around that Sadhaka

who takes to Japa Sadhana honestly and sincerely. You purify not only your

nature inwardly but also you purify the atmosphere outside. You become a source

of inspiration to people when you actually take to Japa Sadhana with

concentration of mind and with real faith in the efficacy of the practice.

God's Name is a wonder. It is a miracle by itself. "More things are wrought by

prayer than this world dreams of," said the poet. The prayers that you offer to

God are definitely capable of producing the desired result. What works is not

your personal strength or your individual thought, but that which your thought

is able to rouse into

activity and which is omniscient.

Your prayers or the invocations that you make through Mantra Sadhana or Japa are

converted into an impersonal force, which is the power of God, and the miracle

is worked by God Himself. You cease to be the ultimate agent of the action.

Your agency is only incidental. What really works is something higher than

yourself. God Himself seems to be doing Sadhana for ourselves. Who can do

things in this world other than God? The whole universe is divinity,

resplendent, gorgeous in its glory and abundance. We have forgotten that we are

an integral part of it. And in Japa Sadhana, particularly, we try to attune

ourselves, attune our inner psychological constitution with that Omnipresent

structure of the cosmos which is Ishvara Shakti, or Divine Will operating. You

can appreciate how important Japa Yoga is. In the Mahabharata, in the Shanti

Parva an entire chapter is devoted to this exposition of Japa Sadhana. "Japaka

Upakhyana" is worth reading. No wonder that Bhagavan refers to this system of

Yoga as the best, in the Bhagavadgita-"Yajnanam japayajnosmi".

May I request you, brothers in the spiritual field, to take to this Sadhana

sincerely, wholeheartedly and stick to it tenaciously. You will see for

yourself, that it makes you a different person. You will be surprised how

things take shape without your knowing what happens. The atmosphere will slowly

change. Prayers are powers, please remember this. It would not be an

exaggeration if I say that you will be doing the greatest service to mankind,

if you honestly offer prayers to God from the bottom of your heart. God will

hear your prayer through His All-Pervading ears; "sarvatah panipadam tat

samatokshi-siromukham" ---- "everywhere It has ears; everywhere It has eyes",

your prayers will be heard, and this would be a service that you do to your own

Atman, your soul, for its salvation. Not only that, it will be a great service

that you do to humanity itself. May I repeat the request once again, that you

take to this Sadhana honestly, with intense faith, and you will see wonders,

miracles manifesting themselves..

(H H Sri Swami Krishnanandaji Maharaj in Fruits From the Garden of Wisdom)