Swami Veda BharatiMay 26th, 2010SRSG, Rishikesh

Swami Veda BharatiMay 26th, 2010SRSG, Rishikesh

Process of JapaProcess of Japa

To understand the process of Japa, understand different layers of the mind

Japa begins when the mantra becomes pure thought in the mind

Golden Nuggets

Section 1 - Understanding the Mind

Mind - The subtlest energy field in the Universe

What is Mind? • It is a shakti kshetra (energy field), a

field of energy; closest of the form of Prakriti (matter)

What is the function of Mind? • Mind is the link between

consciousness and the physical personality

• Through Mind one goes beyond annamaya (anatomical body), pranamaya (vital body) and reaches Atman / Purusha (Spiritual self)

Mind has the highest frequency vibration of all the energy fields

Mind is a wave in the vast ocean of the mind of the Universe

Mind is the most agile and the speediest

Understanding Meditation requires understanding the nature of mind that consists of:• Manas - Active mind• Buddhi - Faculty of wisdom• Citta - Entire mind field • Ahamkara - That by which we identify

our being

Characteristics of Mind • Mind has no size and no form of its own• It takes the form of whatever is presented

to it by way of the senses • Mind is vast and deep, like an ocean• Mind fills the entire Universe• Mind is a wave in the mind-ocean of the

Universe

Mind operates differently at each level and layer

Understanding the Practices of Meditation requires understanding the different levels and layers of the mind

• At Surface Level – Active in the Kshipta (disturbed state opposite of one pointed), Mudha (state of stupefaction) and Vikshipta (distracted from meditative state) states

• At Deeper Level - Ekagra (one-pointed) and Nirodha (fully controlled) States

You will know how to receive knowledge from Within

Section 2 – Process of Japa

Relaxation of effort (Prayatna Shaithilya) is a MUST for Japa

Practice Khechari mudra to avoid moving tongue whilst doing Japa

1. Annamaya (physical), Pranamaya (organic), Manomaya (emotional/mental), Vijnanamaya (intellectual/discriminative), and Anandamaya (blissful) koshas (sheath) are all interlinked

2. States of annamaya and pranamaya are being fed into mind at all times3. Any kind of tension - physical body or Prana (life force) body, gets transmitted

into the Mind4. Learn prayatna shaithilya (Relaxation of effort ) to settle your Mind in your

Japa. Remember any jerk in breath jerks the Mind

Breath is to be long, subtle, without interruption & pause

This is only the beginning of Japa

1. learn to relax muscles and nerves as taught in the Yogi Parampara (tradition, lineage)

2. Slow your breath and make it dirgha (long), sukshma (subtle), nairantarya (continuous) and without virama (pause)

3. Let Mantra thought come like a wave and become pure thought in the mind

To do one mala of a Mantra in shorter time

Make Japa deep and subtle

By the anugraha (grace) of the Lords of Mantras, the Japa will deepen

To deepen your Japa• Increase the duration of Mantra thought coming like a wave

1. Let the thought not turn into words on the tongue 2. Let the thought not be interrupted by other thoughts

• Understand the Mind – Nature, Layers and Levels

• When you get deep into the layers of the mind field, the Mantreshvaras (lords of mantras) send their grace into your meditation

At each layer of the mind the Spandanam is higher frequency

Relaxation of effort MUST be there at all levels of the practice of yoga

Journey in Japa

• Doing the Japa at the shallow layer of Mind as a conscious thought• As Mind’s vibrations become more ajiram (agile, free of decay) and

javishtham (speediest, most high frequency), the brain waves slow down• At each deeper layer the Mantra becomes a faster vibration; a high

frequency• As you take your Japa into yet deeper layers of the mind you will do more

Japa in shorter period of time; rather you will not do• After much abhyasa (practice), finally you reach a point where mauna

(silence); where the knowledge is received wordlessly• The wordless knowledge is received as the knowledge of the Vedas was

received

Section 3 – Practical lesson

How to reduce the time taken for doing long mantras?

Cont/d….

We will practice with the mantra ‘Akhanda-mandalakaram vyaptam yena characaram, tat-padam darsitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah’

1. Bring your attention to yourself, your asana, your posture, your back, all in perfect order

2. Relax all parts of your body3. Bring your mind’s attention to your breathing, observe your breath and

establish diaphragmatic breathing4. Feel the flow of breaths in your nostrils5. Establish khechari mudra, the tongue lock with your mantra 6. Continue to feel the slow, smooth, gentle breaths, without a break, sound,

jerk in your nostrils7. Let there be no break in the flow of your mantra thought, with your breaths8. Merge your left and right nostril-breaths into the sushumna stream9. Let the mantra continue, feeling the stream of energy on the sushumna

path from the nasagra

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How to reduce the time taken for doing long mantras?

10. Following the sushumna path, go into your mind. Ignore the breath flow 11. Let only the mantra thought arise. Same wave. Not word by word, but the

complete mantra thought all at once 12. The same way that the entire mantra is coming as a single wave,

remember just ‘Akhanda-mandalakaram’. 13. Let that become the wave, the entire pada, the entire quarter/order, all at

once. Remember, remember, and remember14. Remember ‘vyaptam yena characaram’, the entire pada, the entire

quarter as a single thought15. Remember ‘tat-padam darhsitam yena’. No words, only the thought16. Remember ‘tasmai sri-gurave namah’. No words, only the thought17. Remember the entire half of the verse ‘Akhanda-mandalakaram vyaptam

yena characaram’ . Think that as a thought over and over, without a break, the same wave

Cont/d….

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How to reduce the time taken for doing long mantras?

May Gurudeva and God bless you

18. Remember ‘tat-padam darsitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah’19. Let the entire ‘Akhanda-mandalakaram’, complete mantra, be

remembered as a thought in the mind. The entire thought, like a wave20. Having completed the desired number of japa, come back to your

personal diksha-mantra. Same wave, as a thought flashing, thought flashing

21. Come to the sushumna breath, with the same mantra thought. 22. Keeping the mantra in the mind, by usual procedure, open your eyes

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A blockage would mean that you got tensed, have broken your breaths and brought the mantra to your tongue

Change the whole situation in you

Feeling in the shallows? Contemplate the Ocean.

- Swami Veda Bharati

Glossary

• Abhyasa – Practice • Ajiram – Agile, free of decay• Anandamaya kosha - The blissful sheath • Annamaya kosha - Anatomical body, the

physical sheath • Anugraha – Grace • Atman – Individual spirit • Dirgha - Long • Ekagra state - One-pointed attention • Javishtham – Speediest, most high

frequency• Khechari mudra - Tuck the tongue • Kshipta - Disturbed state opposite of one

pointed• Manomaya kosha – The metal or emotional

sheath • Mantreshvaras – Lords of Mantras • Mauna - Silence • Mudha – State of stupefaction

• Nairantarya - without interruption • Nirodha - Fully controlled state • Parampara – Tradition, lineage• Prakriti - Matter • Prana – Life Force, vital energy• Pranamaya kosha - Vital body, the organic

sheath • Prayatna shaithilya – Relaxation of efforts • Purusha – Spiritual self• Shakti kshetra - Energy field • Sukshma – Subtle • Vijnanamaya kosha – The intellectual or

discriminative sheath • Vikshipta – Distracted from meditative state• Virama - Pause