Japa - My Take

[Guest guest]

Welcome Srirangamji:

 

There is not much that I can add to What Mr. Kirk has posted here.

 

Have found that japa is something that the mind takes to quite easily.

Its the nature of the mind "to think". Repeating the mantra gives the mind

something to do..but the power of a mantra is such that it fills the mind

with a power that actually allows us to transcend the mind's constant

chatter.

 

Om Namah Shivaya has been called the great liberating mantra for Kali Yuga

and is associated with all of the rudraksha and yes, when approached with

respect and love, I feel that receiving authentic rudraksha is diksha in and

of itself.

 

Besides the Divine Life Society that has wonderful books that can be down

loaded, I have just signed up for a home study course from Amba House and

they have countless teaching available to help any one with their spiritual

practices.

www.ambahouse.org/

 

Thank you for your question. It was a very good one and this is not a topic

that we have discussed here.

 

Namaste.

Kanti

 

In a message dated 12/9/2002 9:14:39 AM Central Standard Time,

kirk_bernhardt writes:

 

 

> Thank you Srirangam (Nice name). Your asking this question about japa malas

> has inspired me to say a few words about some conceptions and recent

> misconceptions regarding this practice. But I don't want to just repeat

> the basic info on this subject. Many places on the web dicscuss how to do

> japa, one very good site is the Divine Life Society of Sivananda. His

> treatise on japa gives basics as well as mantras, etc...

>

> I would rather discuss a few other things, namely, diksha or initiation

> into a mantra, quality of japa bead, release of all concepts as the path of

> liberation, and trust in the Ultimate as source of successful sadhana (as

> opposed to doing japa as spiritual Olympics for a gold medal).

>

> People bandy about the idea that diksha is needed for successful mantra

> japa. Possible, but also not entirely so. Many mantras are open source so

> to speak and are good for all people. I need not say which because you

> already know them or can know them. Many people still maintain that diksha

> is needed, and I can't say whether it's so, because it's possible that real

> newcomers to spirituality can very much use some specific instruction,

> otherwise they may be bewildered by the varieties of practices available,

> and may always question their own practice.

>

> But any practice is good. How to choose one? Just do it! That's it! How

> do you decide what sport to play, what food to eat, what mate to hang out

> with. You just do. That's it. Just choose your sadhana and stick with it

> until it pays off. Simple. When dealing with the divine one can

> definitely ask the divine to give one iniation and make the path clear.

> One might find themselves doing new activities or engaging in a style of

> worship which supports the practice naturally and without a guru to tell

> you what to do. Because we are really discussing the engagement of powers

> which control vast realms of interrelated phenomena in the divine. So have

> some trust and faith, and let go.

>

> Different japa malas have different qualities. Without going into them

> all, definitely using mineral malas like coral have a cold feeling on the

> fingers, same with sphatik, rudraksha are warm, as are wood malas, and seed

> malas also feel warm. Colors appeal to the senses in different ways, and

> when you do japa for hours often you may study the mala and it will leave a

> lasting impression on the mind relating to the practice. Also, the

> rudraksha are considered without need for pranapratishta or deity

> installation. They are especially sacred. Entire scriptures have been

> written on them, and I'm sure this is a unique thing. Does anyone know any

> other jewelry which has it's own scriptures? Relating back to the first

> point on diksha, I have always believed that owning the deity specific

> rudraksha also gives one diksha in that deities mantra. This is not

> shashtrically confirmed however, so don't believe me. But it is my belief,

> share it if you like. I think that the rudraksha will absorb errors in the

> mantra and through their grace confer extra organizing energy to ones

> sadhana, thus making it more effective. Rudraksha exist through the grace

> of Shiva - the Auspicious One. Their same reason for existing is the

> reason they will confer diksha or other helpful energy - to help you

> evolve. These beliefs of mine are synchronistic and quantum mechanically

> oriented. That is, that by introducing the most deity energized products

> into what in Western occultism is called the "sphere of influence" one is

> more assured of a result (if a result is what one is after).

>

> Liberation is spontaneously occuring if one gives up everything to the

> divine. One's thoughts, one's closely held self conception, one's material

> wealth, etc. Where is the divine? Everywhere. One needednt give to a

> church, charity, or brahman. One can give to anyone, anything, and if you

> dedicate it to the diveine then so it is. But this giveing also applies to

> just giving up in general. The world will go on without you. You

> therefore needn't worry about it. I'm not recommending hedonism, but

> rather the opposite, that of just being satisfied in one's natural state.

> A state of satisfaction helps one meditate, do japa, and also be more

> giving. When we find some self content/ self contentment, then we are

> better able to give as we don't need any longer. But mostly I'm just

> describing the practice of becoming free from kleshas, and the wheel of

> samskara. One must let ones thoughts spontaneously self liberate by just

> lettting them go. especially during yoga. One doesn't hold on to things

> but instead lets them just go. Never to return. We all feel dirty, and

> more pufified as we practice, and most people want to know where their

> karma goes as it is released and let go. It just disappears is where. It

> may fel like a liberating thought has some speed or direction or substance,

> but when it is let go it spontaneously liberates into pure awareness. This

> is how karmas are liberated. This is how beings are liberated. Just let go.

> In a recent development I have twenty strands of rudraksha that always get

> tangled. One cannot hold them all in one hand and untangle them with the

> other. One has to just drop them all and work strand by strand at

> untangling. Often tangles that seemed impossible to work on just come out

> effortlessly when you just drop them all, and then work strand by strand.

> This takes only the effort of being effortless. Such is how liberation

> occurs for all sentient beings.

>

> Trust. Just letting go, just choosing a sadhana, or japa, and getting

> diksha, etc all occur as one opens to the divine. The basic needed effort

> is to trust in the divine and not believe all the sacarey stories of

> hobgoblins and spooks (ganas) that one reads. Your favorite deity is

> equipped to deal with all hobgoblins. Doesn't matter if it's Tara, Jesus,

> Buddha, Siva, Ganesha, Devi, or Dakni. All deities have conquesred spooks.

> Most spooks are just a product of imagination. And those that aren't do

> not like rudraksha I'll tell you that much. In the New Testament where it

> says one shouldn't suffer a witch to live, it emphatically did not mean to

> burn witches but instead to burn superstition up altogether in the light of

> the divine knowledge. Burning witches was just another pathertic attempt

> at egoic control over the world. The world is a reflection of the divine

> already. Otherwise no advaita is possible. Instead one must give up,

> trust, burn one's inner superstitions in the light of the divine, and pray,

> surround themselves with the tools of bhakta, and then you will have found

> tantra - the continuum of practice.

>

> The whole world is divine. Just look how beautiful and creative Brahma

> was. It's humans who try to rule it and who tinker with the world who have

> created chaos. Don't worry about it. Give up. We don't really need tools

> of the divine like rudraksha, but they help training, they help our tantra,

> our continuous practice of devotion to liberation. So they are very

> blessed tools for awareness.

>

>

>