Nama-Japa

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Ramana Maharshi also advocated a form of surrender which he called

Nama-Japa. Following is a description of this practice, taken from

pp. 124-25 of "Be As You Are" (1985, Ed. David Godman):

 

"Surrender to God or the Self can be effectively practiced by

being aware at all times that there is no individual `I' acting and

thinking; only a `higher power' which is responsible for all the

activities of the world. Sri Ramana Maharshi recommended Japa as an

effective way of cultivating this attitude since it replaces an

awareness of the individual and the world with a constant awareness of

this higher power.

 

In its early stages the repetition of the name of God

[God....God....God....] is only an exercise in concentration and

meditation, but with continued practice a stage is reached in which

the repetition proceeds effortlessly, automatically and continuously.

This stage is not reached by concentration alone but only by

completely surrendering to the deity whose name is being repeated:

 

'To use the name of God one must call upon Him with yearning

and unreservedly surrender oneself to Him. Only after such surrender

is the name of God constantly with the man'.

 

When Sri Ramana Maharshi talked about this advanced stage of Japa

there was an almost mystical dimension to his ideas. He would speak of

the identity of the name of God with the Self and sometimes he would

even say that when the Self is realized the name of God reappears

itself effortlessly and continuously in the Heart."

 

http://faculty.virginia.edu/consciousness/new_page_24.htm