Japa

Hello Kaushal,

There is ultimately one, single, supreme entity which has created this world and is responsible for all creation, preservation and finally destruction -- The Almighty Lord. The various forms of God's such as Rama, Krishna, Vishnu, Shiva, Christ or Allah are merely the different names by which different people address this one and only Supreme. Based on their individual beliefs, approach and perspectives, people apply a different form, name and concept to the one universal Lord. There is a beautiful saying in the Upanishads addressing this phenomenon:

|| "Tad ekam sat, Vipraha bahudha vadanthi" ||

- "He is only one, he alone is real, the sages call him by various names".

It is the intensity, devotion, surrender and love behind prayer that matters. The purpose behind Japa (mental repetition of God's name) is to inundate the body, mind and psyche with positive, divine vibrations and help develop a spiritual state that leads to single pointed mental concentration towards God. One should focus the mind and thought completely on God during Japa and not let any other idea crop up. Deviations that occur in the mind are to be displaced and replaced with God thought.

There are four kinds of God contemplation through Japa. Each method is higher to the previous.

1. The first kind where the person closes his eyes and chants the name of the Lord, aloud, repetitively.
2. The second kind where the person chants the name silently but with lip movement.
3. The third kind where there is only mental repetition of the name without lip movement.
4. The fourth and the highest kind of contemplation where God-thought, love for God and yearning for God have reached such intensity that the mind and Prâna merge into God. There is nothing but God everywhere to the meditator and the person loses external consciousness further to complete internal union with the Almighty. This is the 'Nirbîja Samâdhi' of Yoga or the highest state of super-consciousness.

The Upanishads describe this state as that where the 'Jivâtma' (embodied soul) swims in ecstasy like a fish in the 'Oceanic bliss of Brahman'. Shri Ramakrishna Paramahansa the great saint described the bliss of 'Nirbîja Samâdhi' as being equal to the pleasure derived from a million sexual orgasms if they were to take place all at once and in continuum, so the common man could get an understanding of its intensity. All physiological functions of the body such as those of the brain, heart and lungs stop in this state. All organs stop working. There is no inhalation or exhalation of air. Yet the person is fully alive. Great Yogi's stay in this 'Nirbîja' state of super-consciousness for days, months, years and decades savoring the bliss of Brahman and in complete merger with the Almighty occurring at the 'Sahasrara chakra' located in the brain. The body of the Yogi is fed by 'Amrita' or divine nectar that flows down from the brain to keep the physical body in a state of disease-free and death-free suspension. The Yogi can defy death and stay for very long periods of time in this state if God wills. He gets the ability to burn many of his past karmas. There are great Yogis in the inaccessible depths of the Himalayan mountains, unseen to people and at places very much below sub-zero temperatures who are in this state of Tapas from hundreds of years in God-contemplation. Physically speaking, their bodies are hundreds of years old and yet not ravaged by the effects of time and age.

The 'Amrita' or divine nectar which is spoken about is nothing but the transmuted and sublimated 'Rethas' (semen) which after rising up to the brain has become 'Ojas' and finally 'Soma' or 'Amrita. Hence a Yogi who wishes concrete progress in a life of meditation leading to 'Samâdhi' and finally self-realization conserves and transmutes his 'Rethas' with absolute efforts and by never letting sexual thoughts grow; for unless there is an enormous store of 'Prâna' in his body through complete conservation and transmutation of semen leading to production of much 'Soma' or 'Amrita', the body can never go into 'Samâdhi' or sustain itself in the state of super-consciousness without breath. In a complete 'Urdhvaretha Yogi', there is constant production of 'Amrita' for as long as he wishes.

Ram Naam can be used for Japa. The preferred mantra among Yogis aspiring self-realization is "Om Namo Nârâyanâya"-- which means "Salutations to the supreme being who resides in the heart of all mankind"

Chanting the mantra mentally is always much better than using a Japa Mâla; for the physical rosary of beads is a mental distraction. One's mind should be immersed in God and not in counting beads!

ॐ तत् सत्
(That Supreme being is the absolute truth)