What is Japa? Inspired by a willingness to move beyond suffering to peace and a youtube from the AmritYoga Institute, a link will be included on the article page.
Japa is a practice of repeating a Mantra or Divine Name to uplift the mind and support the union with the individual soul to the Greater Soul in the state of meditation. Often times the mind stands in the way of communion with our friend meditation. The Divine Name that is used when we Japa Meditate acts as a vehicle or helper, carrying our soul to that of the greater Soul, our heart to the Heart of all hearts. It takes practice for this connection to be established, but with a regular practice your Divine Japa helper will open the path for you my friend. You will feel love blossom in your heart this way if done with faith and devotion!
A good first Mantra or Divine Name is “Aum.” Simply repeat “Aum” without any expectations of what should happen and the effect will eventually be a nice experience with our good friend meditation. This is the ideal situation after preparation work has been done to still the mind through, Pranayama, Asana, and study of scripture in my experience. We will look into study of Shastra or scripture next, but it seemed appropriate to discuss Japa at this time because, like Pranayama, it can be a very immediate fix for me, calming me down if negative thoughts arise. After all how can you hold on too a hurtful thought if your mind is fixed on a Divine Name of the Lord!
By simply repeating “Aum” with a long calm breath, I have met my good friend meditation in many stressful situation especially while under pressures like angry drivers, angry shoppers, angry mind, etc. Be cautious not to drift off into a groggy state if you are operative a vehicle. I invite you to give it a try in these everyday situations. When you see how effective it can be in these practical situations, you may want to explore Japa in a deeper way, seeking your own Mantra. I was initiated into the Mantra “Aum Sri Hanumate Namah” two or three years ago. Hanuman has been my good friend ever since, a sacred verse that I can go to whenever I need inspiration, courage, and strength! The intellect becomes interested in the mysterious stories and legends of Sri Hanuman, which pulls the mind into service of the heart to Heart connection. Looking into “Aum” in a similar way we learn that it is the essential vibration of the Cosmic Creative force in all creation, the Breath or Word of God present in all beings.
When you are feeling separate, angry, sad, or in a state of suffer, remember “Aum” is vibrating you and all being into existence, feel this great Unity as you repeat “Aum.” Hamuman is also manifest from Aum, so before we learn about Hamuman or any other Divine Name it is very helpful to spend some time with its origin. Japa connects us to something beyond mere intellectual ideas, beyond positive and negative, to the bliss of the present moment. Repeat “Aum” today with faith and devotion, feel the connection of your heart to the Heart of hearts. Try it with your eyes open, eyes closed, in a store, at work, with the voice, mentally, in a spirited deep hardy voice, in a melodic light voice, have joy as you practice, have stoic sacredness, have a bit of both :-) A practice in faith and devotion will open the door of your heart to the Heart of all hearts! :-)
Thank you my friend for lending your attention to this exploration of "What is Meditation?" Next time we will look at another tool that can aid us in meditation with “What is Shastra?”