Staying Focused during Chanting/japa

[Guest guest]

Namaste:

 

The other night, a devotee asked Swami how to keep the mind focused on

puja. It wanders off the mantras, and one looses focus, and gets

absorbed in other thoughts.

He said the mind will wander, so when one realizes it is off the

mantra, then just bring it back.

For example, while chanting the Chandi, if one does not know the words

one is chanting, the mind will wander because it is not engaged. So,

one can keep focused on the action or plot line of the chapter.

Keeping the central theme in mind, one can stay in the bhav, or

attitude, of the chapter. I tried this for the last 2 weeks and it

really helped me stay focused and present. In addition, as specific

thoughts were being destroyed, per the text, I offered my own thoughts

of self conceit, etc., to the fire. It added a whole other dimension

to the chant.

During meditation, while chanting one's mantra, one can keep focused

on a light in the third eye, or visualize Maa in the heart, or in the

crown chakra, or anything that gives a form, or focus, for the mind to

attach itself to. Then when the mind wanders off the mantra, there is

something to come back to. It also serves to engage the heart. I

have meditated on, and chanted at the fire, the Navarana mantra. I

visualized Maa inside and the chanting became even more powerful.

There are no hard and fast rules. One has to use something which

resonates with one's experience and one's heart.

 

Jai Ma Jai Swami

 

Love

 

vishweshwar

[Guest guest]

Namaste,

 

This issue, " For example, while chanting the Chandi, if one does not

know the words one is chanting, the mind will wander because it is not

engaged " is one that I have been contemplating for a few years. It

really brings home to me the value of really learning the sanskrit. I

find that without something to engage my attention, the meaning,

devotion, etc., the chanting can just end up draining me and being a

chore. The beauty of it and the bhava that can come are just not there

if understanding or some other connection is not there. I appreciate

the ideas of holding Maa in the heart or ajana, or some other way to

" engage " . Otherwise the great mind and ego will go a-dancin around.

 

Thanks,

Sadhu Maa

[Guest guest]

Hi Sadhu Maa,

 

I agree with everything you said, but let me add something more for

you to think about, too.

 

You know, or course that the mantras contain their own shakti that is

not dependent on the meaning. When that shakti is awakened in the

practitioner (even a little bit) the mere act of chanting engages one

in the practice as a matter of course (there is still a necessary act

of will involved, of course), the mind becoming more and more

one-pointed as the chanting progresses.

 

But the other side of this process is the nature of the chanter.

Impurities of various kinds interfere with the activity of the shakti.

One can only go so far toward total absorption until one is purified

sufficiently.

 

If one is having trouble engaging in the mantras of the Chandi,

sometimes it may only be necessary to " push through " the desert to the

river beyond. At least this has been my experience. Once the " surface

impurities " have been burned-off, the natural action of the shakti

will tend toward bliss instead of dullness. Then the mind will not

wander so much and will be much more focused.

 

This is the really great thing about a sankalpa like this one. Taking

the text in small chunks helps to push through the dullness and awaken

the mantras, and each time I do this I find that She remembers me,

even if it has been a long time...

 

Jai Maa!

Chris

 

 

 

 

, " Sadhu Maa " <sadumaa wrote:

>

> Namaste,

>

> This issue, " For example, while chanting the Chandi, if one does not

> know the words one is chanting, the mind will wander because it is not

> engaged " is one that I have been contemplating for a few years. It

> really brings home to me the value of really learning the sanskrit. I

> find that without something to engage my attention, the meaning,

> devotion, etc., the chanting can just end up draining me and being a

> chore. The beauty of it and the bhava that can come are just not there

> if understanding or some other connection is not there. I appreciate

> the ideas of holding Maa in the heart or ajana, or some other way to

> " engage " . Otherwise the great mind and ego will go a-dancin around.

>

> Thanks,

> Sadhu Maa

>