Archiving good posts

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Dear Vidyaji,

 

This is such a beautiful post. Thank you very much.

 

Moderators, here is an idea. I think we should start archiving such

beautiful posts - either in the file section or just provide a link

and description of the post. What do you all think????

 

 

 

guruvayur , vidya suresh <vidyansk wrote:

>

> Dear friends,

>

> I am sharing this information regarding japam.

>

> vidya.

>

>

> Japa is the repetition of god's name

> A Mantra is a word or phrase, which has been given to a disciple by

a Guru, usually as part of an initiation rite. If the Guru has

accumulated spiritual power as a result of his realisation or

meditation, some of this power is transmitted in the Mantra. If the

disciple repeats the word continuously, the power of the Guru is

invoked in such a way that it helps the disciple to progress towards

the goal of self-realisation. Sri Ramana Maharshi accepted the

validity of this approach but he very rarely gave out Mantras himself

and he never used them as part of an initiation ceremony. He did, on

the other hand, speak highly of the practice of Nama-Japa (the

continuous repetition of God’s name) and he often advocated it as a

useful aid for those who were following the path of surrender.

> Surrender to God or the Self could be effectively practised 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 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 realised the name of God

reappears itself effortlessly and continuously in the Heart.

> This ultimate stage is only reached after the practice of Japa

merges into the practice of self-attention. Sri Ramana Maharshi

usually illustrated the necessity of this transition by quoting from

the words of Namdev, a fourteenth century Maharashtra saint: ‘The

all-pervading nature of the Name can only be understood when one

recognises one’s own ‘I’. When one’s own name is not

recognised, it is impossible to get the all-pervading Name’. This

quotation comes from a short work by Namdev entitled ‘The

Philosophy of the Divine Name’ and the full text is given in one of

Sri Raman’s answers below. Sri Ramana first discovered it in 1937

and for the last thirteen years of his life he kept a copy of it on a

small bookshelf by his bed. He frequently read it out when visitors

asked him about the nature and usefulness of Japa and from the number

of times he spoke of it with approval it is reasonable to assume that

he fully endorsed its contents.

> __

> Question: My practice has been a continuous Japa (continuous

repetition) of the name of God with the incoming breath and the name

of Sai Baba with the outgoing breath. Simultaneously with this I see

the form of Baba always. Even in Bhagavan, I see Baba. Now, should I

continue this or change the method, as something from within says

that if I stick to the name and form, I shall never go above name and

form? But I can’t understand what further to do after giving up

name and form. Will Bhagavan enlighten me on this point?

> Sri Ramana Maharshi: You may continue in your present method. When

the Japa becomes continuous, all other thoughts cease and one is in

one’s real nature, which is Japa or Dhyana (meditation or

contemplation). We turn our mind outwards on things of the world and

are therefore not aware of our real nature being always Japa. When

the conscious effort of Japa or Dhyana, as we call it, we prevent our

mind from thinking of other things, then what remains is our real

nature, which is Japa.

> So long as you think you are name and form, you can’t escape name

and form in Japa also. When you realise you are not name and form,

then name and form will drop of themselves. No other effort is

necessary. Japa or Dhyana will naturally and as a matter of course

lead to it. What is now regarded as the means, Japa, will then be

found to be the goal. Name and God are not different. This is clearly

shown in the teachings of Namdev:

> The Name permeates densely the sky and the lowest regions and the

entire universe. Who can tell to what depths in the nether regions

and to what height in the heavens it extends. The ignorant undergo

the 84 lakhs (8.4 million) of species of births, not knowing the

essence of things. Namdev says the Name is immortal. Forms are

innumerable, but the Name is all that.

> The Name itself is Form. There is no distinction between Name and

Form. God became manifest and assumed Name and Form. Hence the Name

the Vedas established. Beware there is no Mantra beyond the Name.

Those who say otherwise are ignorant. Namdev says the Name is Keshava

(God) Himself. This is known only to the loving devotees of the Lord.

> The all pervading nature of the Name can only be understood when

one recognises one’s own ‘I’. When one’s own name is not

recognised, it is impossible to get the all-pervading Name. When one

knows oneself, then one finds the Name everywhere. To see the Name as

different from the Named creates illusion. Namdev says, ‘Ask the

Saints’.

> No one can realise the Name by practice of knowledge, meditation or

austerity. Surrender yourself first at the feet of the Guru and learn

to know that ‘I’ myself is that Name. After finding the source of

that ‘I’ merge your individuality in that oneness which is self-

existent and devoid of all duality. That which pervades beyond dvaita

(duality) and dvaitatita (that which is beyond duality), that Name

has come into the three worlds. The Name is Parabrahman itself where

there is no action arising out of duality..

> The same idea is also found in the Bible: ‘In the beginning was

the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God’.

> Question: So the true name of God will ultimately be revealed by

Self-enquiry?

> Sri Ramana Maharshi: Since you yourself are the form of the Japa,

if you know your own nature by enquiring who you are, what a wonder

it will be! The Japa which was previously going on with effort will

then continue untiringly and effortlessly in the Heart.

> TOP <To top of this page

> Question: How long should I do Japa for? Should I also concentrate

on an image of God at the same time?

> Sri Ramana Maharshi: Japa is more important than external form. It

must be done until it becomes natural. It starts with effort and is

continued until it proceeds of itself. When natural it is called

realisation.

> Japa may be done even while engaged in other work. That which is,

is the one reality. It may be represented by a form, a japa, mantra,

vichara (‘I’ thought), or any kind of attempt to reach reality.

All Bhakti (devotion), vichara and japa are only different forms of

our efforts to keep out the unreality. The unreality is an obsession

at present but our true nature is reality. We are wrongly persisting

in unreality, that is, attachment to thoughts and worldly activities.

Cessation of these will reveal the truth. Our attempts are directed

towards keeping them out and this is done by thinking of the reality

only. Although it is our true nature it looks as if we are thinking

of it while doing these practices. What we do really amounts to the

removal of obstacles for the revelation of our true being.

> Question: Are our attempts sure to succeed?

> Sri Ramana Maharshi: Realisation is our nature. It is nothing new

to be gained. What is new cannot be eternal. Therefore there is no

need for doubting whether one could lose or gain the Self.

> Question: Is it good to do japa when we know that enquiry into the

Self is the real thing?

> Sri Ramana Maharshi: All methods are good since they will lead to

the enquiry eventually. Japa is our real nature. When we realise the

Self then japa goes on without effort. What is the means at one stage

becomes the goal at another. When effortless constant japa goes on,

it is realisation.

> Questioner: I am not learned in the scriptures and I find the

method of self-enquiry too hard for me. I am a woman with seven

children and a lot of household cares and it leaves me little time

for meditation. I request Bhagavan to give me some simpler and easier

method.

> Sri Ramana Maharshi: No learning or knowledge of scriptures is

necessary to know the Self, as no man requires a mirror to see

himself. All knowledge is required only to be given up eventually as

not-self. Nor is household work or cares with children necessarily an

obstacle. If you can do nothing more at least continue saying ‘I,

I’ to yourself mentally as advised in ‘Who am I?’. If one

incessantly thinks ‘I I’, it will lead to that state (the Self).

Continue to repeat it whatever work you may be doing, whether you are

sitting, standing or walking. ‘I’ is the name of God. It is the

first and greatest of all mantras. Even Om (AUM) is second to it.

> Question: For controlling the mind, which of the two is better,

performing japa of the ajapa (unspoken) mantra or Omkar (the sound of

Om)?

> Sri Ramana Maharshi: What is your idea of unspoken and involuntary

japa (ajapa)? Will it be ajapa if you go on repeating with the mouth

‘Soham, Soham’ (I am He, I am He)?Ajapa really means to know that

japa which goes on involuntarily without being uttered through the

mouth. Without knowing this real meaning people think that it means

repeating with the mouth the words ‘Soham, Soham’ hundreds of

thousands of times, counting them on the fingers or on a string of

beads.

> Before beginning a japa breath control is prescribed. That means,

first do Pranayama (regulating of breath) and then begin repeating

the mantra. Pranayama means first closing the mouth, doesn’t it?

If, by stopping the breath, the five elements in the body are bound

down and controlled, what remains is the real Self. That Self will by

itself be repeating always ‘aham, aham’ (‘I, I’). That is

japa. Knowing this, how could that which is repeated by mouth be

japa? The vision of the real Self which performs japa of its own

accord involuntarily and in a never ending stream, like the flowing

down continuously of oil, is ajapa, Gayatri and everything.

> If you know who it is that is doing japa you will know what japa

is. If you search and try to find out who it is that is doing japa,

that japa itself becomes the Self.

> Question: Is there no benefit at all in doing japa with the mouth?

> Sri Ramana Maharshi: Who said there is no benefit? Such japa will

be the means for Chitta Shuddhi (purifying the mind). As the japa is

done repeatedly the effort ripens and sooner or later leads to the

right path. Good or bad, whatever is done never goes to waste. Only

the differences and the merits and demerits of each will have to be

told, looking to the stage of development of the person concerned.

> Question: Is not mental japa better than oral japa?

> Sri Ramana Maharshi: Oral japa consists of sounds. The sounds arise

from thoughts, for one must think before one expresses the thoughts

in words. The thoughts form the mind. Therefore mental japa is better

than oral japa.

> Question: Should we not contemplate the japa and repeat it orally

also?

> Sri Ramana Maharshi: When the japa becomes mental, where is the

need for the sound?

> Japa becoming mental, becomes contemplation. Dhyana, contemplation

and mental japa are the same. When thoughts cease to be promiscuous

and one thought persists to the exclusion of all others, it is said

to be contemplation. The object of japa or dhyana is the exclusion of

several thoughts and confining oneself to one single thought. Then

that thought too vanishes into its source †" absolute consciousness,

the Self. The mind engages in japa and then sinks into its own source.

> Questioner: The mind is said to be from the brain.

> Sri Ramana Maharshi: Where is the brain? It is in the body. I say

that the body itself is a projection of the mind. You speak of the

brain when you think of the body. It is the mind, which creates the

body, the brain in it and also ascertains that the brain is its seat..

> Question: Sri Bhagavan has said that the japa must be traced to its

source. Is it not the mind that is meant?

> Sri Ramana Maharshi: All these are only the workings of the mind.

Japa helps to fix the mind on a single thought. All other thoughts

are first subordinated until they disappear. When it becomes mental

it is called dhyana. Dhyana is your true nature. It is however called

dhyana because it is made with effort. Effort is necessary so long as

thoughts are promiscuous. Because you are with other thoughts, you

call the continuity of a single thought meditation or dhyana. If that

dhyana becomes effortless it will be found to be your real nature.

> TOP <To top of this page

> Question: People give some names to God and say that the name is

sacred and that repetitions of the name bestow merit on the

individual.. Can it be true?

> Sri Ramana Maharshi: Why not? You bear a name to which you answer.

But your body was not born with that name written on it, nor did it

say to anyone that it bore such and such a name. And yet a name is

given to you and you answer to that name, because you have identified

yourself with the name. Therefore the name signified something and it

is not a mere fiction. Similarly, God’s name is effective.

Repetition of the name is remembrance of what it signifies. Hence its

merit.

> Questioner: While making japa for an hour or more I fall into a

state like sleep. On waking up I recollect that my japa has been

interrupted. So I try again.

> Sri Ramana Maharshi: ‘Like sleep’, that is right. It is the

natural state. Because you are now associated with the ego, you

consider that the natural state is something which interrupts your

work. So you must have the experience repeated until you realise that

it is your natural state. You will then find that japa is extraneous

but still it will go on automatically. Your present doubt is due to

that false identity, namely of identifying yourself with the mind

that does the japa. Japa means clinging to one thought to the

exclusion of all other thoughts. That is its purpose. It leads to

dhyana which ends in Self-realisation or jnana (knowledge).

> Question: How should I carry on japa?

> Sri Ramana Maharshi: One should not use the name of God

mechanically and superficially without the feeling of devotion.

> Question: So mechanical repetition is unproductive?

> Sri Ramana Maharshi: Acute disease will not be cured merely by

repeating the name of the medicine but only by drinking the medicine.

Similarly, the bonds of birth and death will not cease merely by

doing many repetitions of Mahavakyas such as ‘I am Siva’. Instead

of wandering about repeating ‘I am the supreme’, abide as the

supreme yourself. The misery of birth and death will not cease by

vocally repeating countless times ‘I am that’, but only by

abiding as that.

> Question: Can anyone get any benefit by repeating sacred syllables

(mantras) picked up casually?

> Sri Ramana Maharshi: No. He must be competent and initiated in such

mantras. This is illustrated by the story of the king and his

minister. A king visited his premier in his residence. There he was

told that the premier was engaged in repetition of sacred syllables.

The king waited for him, and on meeting him, asked what the mantra

was. The premier said that it was the holiest of all, Gayatri

(mantra). The king desired to be initiated by the premier but the

premier confessed his inability to initiate him. Therefore the king

learned it from someone else, and, meeting the minister later, he

repeated the Gayatri and wanted to know if it was right. The minister

said that the mantra was correct, but it was not proper for him to

say it. When pressed for an explanation, the minister called to a

page close by and ordered him to take hold of (arrest) the king. The

order was not obeyed. The order was often repeated, and still not

obeyed. The king flew into a rage

> and ordered the same man to hold the minister, and it was

immediately done.. The minister laughed and said that the incident

was the explanation required by the king. ‘How?’ asked the king.

The minister replied, ‘The order was the same and the executor

also, but the authority was different. When I ordered, the effect was

nil, whereas, when you ordered, there was immediate effect. Similarly

with mantras.

> Question: I am taught that mantra japa is very potent in practice.

> Sri Ramana Maharshi: The Self is the greatest of all mantras †" it

goes on automatically and eternally. If you are not aware of this

internal mantra, you should take to it consciously as japa, which is

attended with effort, to ward off all other thoughts. By constant

attention to it, you will eventually become aware of the internal

mantra, which is the state of realisation and is effortless. Firmness

in this awareness will keep you continually and effortlessly in the

current, however much you may be engaged in other activities.

> By repetition of mantras, the mind gets controlled. Then the mantra

becomes one with the mind and also with the prana (the energy that

sustains the body).

> When the syllables of the mantra becomes one with the prana, it is

termed dhyana, and when dhyana becomes deep and firm it leads to

Sahaja Sthiti (the natural state).

> Questioner: I have received a mantra. People frighten me by saying

that it may have unforeseen results if repeated. It is only Pranava

(Om). So I seek advice. May I repeat it? I have considerable faith in

it.

> Sri Ramana Maharshi: Certainly, it should be repeated with faith.

> Question: Will it do by itself, or can you kindly give me any

further instructions?

> Sri Ramana Maharshi: The object of mantra japa is to realise that

the same japa is already going on in oneself even without effort. The

oral japa becomes mental and the mental japa finally reveals itself

as being eternal. That mantra is the person’s real nature. That is

also the state of realisation.

> Question: Can the bliss of Samadhi be gained thus?

> Sri Ramana Maharshi: The japa becomes mental and finally reveals

itself as the Self. That is Samadhi.

>

>

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