Some Thoughts On Making Japa Faster

January 11, 2007

Hi,

Our new sankalpa mantra is rather a long one, and an unfamiliar one

(at least as far a japa is concerned). I know how daunting it can be

to approach such a mantra when you know you have to complete a whole

lot of repetitions and it just isn't going fast enough.

I'm going to present some ideas, gleaned from my own experience, about

doing japa aloud, and making the process more efficient (faster). Now,

I'm not the King of Japa, or anything, but perhaps I can help a

little. Hopefully, something I say will help create a connection in

you, if you're having trouble, and help you move to the next level of

your practice.

If you want to make japa more efficient, both faster and more

powerful, you have to bring it inside, and you have to make it more

subtle. This is what occurs naturally in the course of mantra japa.

Whether or not anything anyone can say will speed the process up is an

open question, to me, but perhaps...

There are three types of japa: aloud, sub-vocal, and silent. Silent is

by far the most efficient, if (and it's a big if) your mind is quite

pure and disciplined. Doing japa aloud has the advantage that it is

easier, but it is also slower (if your mind is quite pure and

disciplined).

As I see it, what is needed in order to make japa more efficient is to

combine the advantages of verbal japa with those of silent japa, in

doing so we cancel out some of the disadvantages of each, and we do

this by bringing our verbal japa inward.

After what I've just said this may seem a strange statement, but it is

nevertheless true: All japa is silent japa.

If you remember the discussion on the Kashyapa Sutras, you'll recall

that there are three levels of perception, pratyaksha, pratyaya, and

prakasha. Pratyaksha corresponds to the external world, pratyaya, to

the "mind's eye", as it were, and prakasha corresponds to intuitive

perception, that which is perceived in the mind, but which is beyond

thought.

All three of these levels are operating simultaneously when we are

perceiving the external world - we are simply unaware of all of them.

The same is true of verbal recitation of mantra. All we have to do is

bring the focus inward, bring it higher.

Mantra has the advantage over other objects of pratyaksha in that it

is directly representative of prakasha - it produces prakasha in the

mind. But it still requires a great deal of effort.

I think there is a correspondence between these three levels and how

they are expressed in verbal japa, and the process of meditation. When

you sit in your asana and close your eyes, at first you are still

aware of your surroundings, of sounds and smells, of the sensations of

the body - this is pratyaksha. With some practice, your perceptions

become more refined, and more inward, and pratyahara, the closing off

of the senses, occurs. This is the sphere of pratyaya, of thought, but

in meditation, as in japa, it is a directed, a disciplined pratyaya.

As meditation progresses, the focus becomes more acute, more inward,

and more subtle and dharana begins. With the continuation of dharana,

comes dhyana, and with the continuation of dhyana, comes samadhi, or

continual prakasha.

This process isn't a smooth one. It's not a series of discrete steps.

It's more like the jumping of a drop of water on a hot skillet. One no

sooner moves into pratyahara, than something distracts and the mind is

once again focused on the external. As dhyana is achieved, a stray

thought bubbles up and the mind gets caught, and it's back to dharana

again. It takes time to purify the mind and the pranas so that these

different states become steady.

So, what has all this to do with making my japa better? Well, it's

like this. When you're doing silent japa you go through the process of

closing the senses to the outside by focusing on the internal

vibrations of the mantra in the mind and on their effects on the

subtle body, feelings of pressure and release, feelings of bliss,

lights, etc. But there comes a point in silent japa where the mind S l

o w s w a y d o w n. At this point, silent japa becomes very

frustrating. There is a breakthrough point, a technique to raise the

subtle form of the mantra in the mind to a more subtle place where

speed can increase dramatically, but it is difficult (I never achieved

a solid foundation in this).

Verbal japa does not have this particular problem. But any form of

verbal japa is slower than breaking the speed barrier in silent japa.

However, it can take considerable time and practice of silent japa

before one achieves this breakthrough, and until then, an efficient

verbal japa is faster, and easier.

I said before that all japa is silent japa, that all three levels of

japa are occurring at the same time. What we need to do to make our

verbal japa more efficient is bridge the gaps between them - actually

just as one does in silent japa, except for one important difference.

In silent japa when one runs up against the "mind of molasses" there

is little one can do but struggle with it. In verbal japa the mind

simply shifts back to the gross form of the mantra (the words coming

out of your mouth) and uses that to guide the mind back to the correct

speed.

The process is kind of like this. When the japa begins, the focus is

on the pratyaksha, the speaking of the words, and their sound. Then

one notices there is a vibration in the body from the speaking, and

the mind begins to focus on that sensation. [Actually, I think that

feeling of vibration from the mantra in the body is the connection,

from the gross vibration to the subtle vibration, just as feeling the

breath pass certain places in the throat and sinuses is the connection

to the more subtle movement of prana - grasp the thread and eventually

climb down the rope.]

This gross vibration of the sound of the mantra takes on more subtle

characteristics. It begins to be felt moving, spreading, in a way that

is difficult to describe, very softly, into the mind, and to various

places in the body. Its action is felt on the mind as inner clarity

and external stupifaction - one-pointedness - and as feelings of bliss.

As the vibration of the mantra begins to focus the mind, there is a

recognition that it is not only the lips that are speaking the mantra,

but so is the mind. If you look, you can see it there, each time the

words come out of the mouth. This is the pratyaya of the mantra, the

beginning of the experience of nada, the beginning of the process of

meditation (dharana).

There is a shakti each time the mantra is spoken. There is a shakti

each time the mantra is thought in the mind. Bring these two together

as one, focusing on the more subtle body of the mantra in the mind.

The mind is said to be infinitely fast, but it is undisciplined. The

act of speaking is disciplined, but slow. Bring the two together, and

make them one with the mantra shakti. There is a progression here, of

thinking the mantra, speaking the mantra, experiencing the shakti of

the mantra. When you are doing japa, this progression becomes a

circular relationship, that has no beginning or end. Any part of it

can be the focus of the mind, while the others continue on around it.

Allow the mind to drive the speed of the lips; allow the lips to push

the mind and reconnect the mind to its task; allow the shakti to drive

them both, according to Her divine will. When mind, lips, and shakti

become one, the japa will flow with divine speed. She will empower the

mouth and the vocal chords to wonderful efficiency.

So, find the gross vibration and follow it inward. Watch the mantra as

it appears in the mind and perceive its relationship to shakti. Focus

on the Divine Mother in Her guise as mantra shakti. Use the

relationship between speech, thought, and mantra shakti to keep you on

track and deepen your experience.

Finally, let me say a few things about the mantra shakti and the

pranic sheath. It is, as I understand it, shakti's affect on prana

that produces its effects in the mind. If your pranic sheath is

anything like mine, there are likely some impurities and some

blockages. When moving through the gross vibration of speaking the

mantra to the subtle experience of its vibration in the body, the

experience will be of the pranic sheath.

The prana will begin to move until it reaches a block. At this point,

the shakti will want to bring its vibrations there to dissolve the

block (or energize that place). You may feel a lack of strength in

your voice, or a sense of unlocalized, or barely localized,

frustration. Let it go there. This may be aided by changing the pitch

of your japa, either higher or lower. Sometimes, increasing the volume

of your recitation will help, too. Don't be afraid to experiment. I

have never had any advice to the contrary, so I always let Her go

where She wills. As these blockages are freed, that prana rises to

produce more bliss and better concentration.

Here's to a successful and bliss-filled sankalpa.

Jai Maa!

Chris

January 11, 2007

Chris this is great!

Very Hdlpful.

Definately something I will have to work on.

Wow!

The slowdown i hv experienced and so keep going bk to out loud.

Can't figure out how the mind can say mantras in sleep but when awake it's just as you discribed MOOOOOLLLLLLLASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSES

Have found that if I do it out loud and let my finger guide my eyes to follow writed words that I can almost fly. Is that kind of like the two together since the mind is following the finger and reading the words as I speak? At that point I can lose track, at time, of what's being said out loud so just let fingers pull speach forward. At this point it's almost trance so is that a med. state?

My most dif. times is the inbreath of japa can't get it at the spead of the out breath of recitation even when the in mantra is shorter that the spoken one. Maybe because they are two dif. mantras.

Hope everyone gets to read your post as it is very well stated and informative.

Also look forward to hereing other peoples ideas for working through this japa practice as you have explained it.

Grateful,

Debi

Chris Kirner <chriskirner1956 > wrote: