Mantras & Japa - #1

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Introduction to Chapter 11 - Mantras and Japa

 

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 realization 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-realization. Sri Ramana 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 namajapa (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. It was pointed out that 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 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 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 repeats 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 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 Ramana's answers later in the chapter. He first discovered it in I937 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.

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>> taken from >> Be As You Are, The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi>> Edited by David Godman