Japa is the meditative repetition of a mantra or name of God.

Understanding the Mind

Mind is a shakti kshetra, a field of energy, an energy field like all other energy fields. It is the most subtle energy field in the universe. Mind is the link between consciousness and the physical personality. It is the link between consciousness of purusha, and prana and annamaya and all other forms of prakriti or matter. It is through the mind that one goes beyond annamaya, beyond pranamaya, through manas, buddhi, chitta, and ahamkara and then reaching atman, or purusha.

Mind is the subtlest energy field in the Universe and has the highest frequency vibration of all the energy fields.

If you want to understand meditation, you need to understand the nature of mind, the nature of antahkarana, the inner instrument which consists of manas, active mind; buddhi, the faculty of wisdom, chitta, the entire mind field in which also the samskaras, vasanas, karmashaya are located. Ahamkara, that by which we identify our being, that ‘I am this’ or ‘I am that’.

I repeat that in order to understand meditation, it is absolutely necessary to understand the nature of the mind. What mind is, how mind functions and what we do with the mind through our kriyas, practices of meditation. Mind – I repeat – is a shaktikshetra, an energy field, which has the highest frequency vibration of all the energy fields in the universe. Ajiram, javishtham; the most agile and the speediest.

Mind has no size and no form of its own, no fixed form of its own. It takes the form of whatever is presented to it by way of the senses or by way of samskaras and vasanas. Mind is vast and deep, like an ocean. The mind fills the entire universe. Your mind is a wave in the mind-ocean of the universe. Your mind is a wave in the vast ocean of the mind of the universe.

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

Mind is many levels, many layers. At each level, at each layer, it operates and functions differently. At the surface level that you experience, it is active in the kshipta, mudha and vikshipta states. From there you have to rise or dive deep into the ekagra and nirodhah states. If you understand the mind, you understand all your impulses, all your desires, all your wishes, dreams, wakeful states, sleep state. You will understand memory. How to remember, how to memorize sacred texts or how to remember anything else. And if you understand different layers, different levels of the energy field called the mind, you understand different kriyas, practices of meditation. Because the kriyas, the practices of meditation are in different layers and levels of the energy field of the mind. If you understand these layers and levels of the mind, you will understand how knowledge comes to you. Knowledge that you introduce from outside and the knowledge that comes to the yogi and the rishi from inside the chaitanya, the consciousness. When you understand this system – all the levels of mind – you will know how to memorise things, you will know how to receive knowledge from within, as a shakshatkara, as a realisation, from chaitanya, from the consciousness principle.

Mind operates differently at each level and layer; you will know how to receive knowledge from within

Process of 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 times
3. Any kind of tension – physical body or prana (life force) body,  gets transmitted into the mind
4. Learn prayatna shaithilya (relaxation of effort ) to settle your mind in your japa. Remember any jerk in breath jerks the mind

You cannot understand the process of japa without understanding different layers of the mind. Many of our sadhakas, practitioners, are still doing their japa by moving the tongue. One of the purposes of khechari is to tuck the tongue away so that you are not doing the shallow japa, of words of the mantra.

Your japa begins when your mantra becomes pure thought in the mind. Now understand that your annamaya kosha, pranamaya kosha, manomaya kosha, vijnanamaya kosha, anandamaya kosha are all interlinked. And the states of your annamaya and pranamaya (physical body and prana body) the states of these are all the time being fed into your mind, so that if your body, neuromuscalature, nerves and muscles, are tense, they are sending tension messages into the mind.  Mind is becoming tense and mind is then travelling to all different areas of thoughts, memories, and experiences.

Part of the reason that your mind does not settle in your japa is because you have not yet learned prayatna shaithilya, relaxation of effort. Your body is still tense. As a result of the tension in the body your breath is jerky, which experience of jerkiness of the breath is also fed back into the mind and the mind becomes jerky and travels around in jerks, all over the world.

Relaxation of effort (prayatna shaithilya) is a MUST for japa; practice khechari mudra to avoid moving tongue whilst doing japa

To do one mala of a mantra in shorter time:

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

So for japa, this relaxation of effort is important. A smooth, gentle flow of the breath is important. For which you have to train yourself. Train yourself to abhyasa, which many of our sadhakas are not doing. So the japa remains at a shallow level. Some people take 45 minutes to do one mala of Gayatri. Some take 25 minutes, some take 15 minutes, some take 7 minutes and some fortunate ones can do it in a much shorter time.

This, taking the time, has nothing to do with moving your tongue fast or slow, because you have already placed your tongue away in khechari mudra (placing the tongue above the soft palate and into the nasal cavity). If you want to do your one mala of Gayatri in shorter period of time, then first you have to learn to relax your muscles and nerves by the methods that are taught in the yogi parampara, in the yoga tradition. You have to learn to slow your breath down and make it dirgha shuksma, long and subtle, within nairantarya, without interruption, without virama, without a pause. When you accomplish this and your mantra has become pure thought in the mind, that is only the beginning of japa.

Breath is to be long, subtle, without interruption and pause; this is the beginning of japa

To deepen your japa:

1. Increase the duration of mantra thought coming like a wave
2. Let the thought not turn into words on the tongue
3. Let the thought not be interrupted by other thoughts
4. Understand the mind – nature, layers and levels
5. When you get deep into the layers of the mind field, the Mantreshvaras (lords of mantras) send their grace into your meditation

How long can you keep that mantra thought coming like a wave of the same mantra thought, without other thoughts interrupting?

Condition one: Without the thought turning into words on the tongue.
Condition number two: Without the thought being interrupted by other thoughts. That is the way you deepen your japa, you make your japa subtle and deep.

Now please understand the next step. By understanding the same thing I have said about the nature of the mind. Mind is an energy field with many layers, like the waves of the electric current. Your thoughts are one form, your thoughts including mantra thought, are one form of the wave of the electric energy field of the mind. The word ‘electric’ here is used only as an example, as an analogy. It can be an example of magnetic field or electronic field. Mind is not electricity, mind is not magnetic field, and mind is not electronic field. Mind is a different kind of field, separate from all of these.

Now I repeat again. This mind field has many levels, many layers. Deep like a universal ocean. Let that sink into your understanding. When you begin to go deep into the layers of the mind field the Mantreshvaras, the Lords of mantras, who govern the mantra field, the mind field in the universe, send their grace, their anugraha, into your meditation. This is a secret known only to very advanced yogis.

Make japa deep and subtle; by the anugraha (grace) of the Lords of Mantras, the japa will deepen

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

What does it mean for the japa to go deep?
It means that you are first doing the japa at the shallow layer of the mind, as a conscious thought. As a start of the japa practice, you are doing your japa at a shallow level of the conscious mind. Let me explain next principle, about the nature of the mind, as it has been understood by the yogis. Not from books, but from their own experience of going into these layers and levels of the mind. At each level or layer of the mind, the vibration, the sphuranam, the spandanam, is higher frequency. That is, it is faster. There is another principle, which I will mention here only incidentally. As the mind’s vibration becomes more and more ajiram and javishtham, more and more agile and higher frequency, the brain waves slow down.

Practical lesson

How to reduce the time taken for doing long mantras?

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 body
3. Bring your mind’s attention to your breathing, observe your breath and establish diaphragmatic breathing
4. Feel the flow of breaths in your nostrils
5. 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 nostrils
7. Let there be no break in the flow of your mantra thought, with your breaths
8. Merge your left and right nostril-breaths into the sushumna stream
9. Let the mantra continue, feeling the stream of energy on the sushumna path from the nasagra
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 remember
14. Remember ‘vyaptam yena characaram’, the entire pada, the entire quarter as a single thought
15. Remember ‘tat-padam darhsitam yena’. No words, only the thought
16. Remember ‘tasmai sri-gurave namah’. No words, only the thought
17. 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
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 wave
20. 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

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

So we come to the most important point of learning the japa practice. You have to take your japa into deeper and yet deeper layers of the mind. At each deeper layer the mantra becomes a faster vibration, a high frequency. There must be prayatna shaitiliya, relaxation of effort, at all levels of the practice of yoga.

I would suggest that whenever people start the practice of a special mantra, or a purushcharana during the periods of silence at home, they listen to this explanation about mind, mantra and japa. As you will learn to take your japa into deeper and yet deeper layers of the mind, energy field, not only you will do more japa in shorter period of time….I correct myself: you will not do. More japa will happen in shorter period of time. Not only that will happen, but then, slowly, after much abhyasa, you will learn to go to yet deeper layer and yet deeper layer where finally you reach a point where mauna, silence prevails; where words do not come; where the knowledge is received wordlessly. The wordless knowledge is received as the knowledge of the Vedas was received. This is your journey in japa.

By Swami Veda Bharati

The secret of yantra is one of the most guarded forms of Hindu mystical teaching, since the power of a yantra, when invoked through proper ritual, is believed to be boundless. Every need, every expression, every deep-seated desire in the human heart can be expressed in the form of a yantra. It’s a pure form of energy that’s beyond both religion and theory and its powers are available to all, says Dr H. Vedant

Throughout the process of evolution man has always found ways to guard and secure himself by using cosmic forces. History offers us infinite insights and instances of people who’ve employed these forces of nature to their advantage in the form of talismans, yantras and various other mystic charms. Primarily, every culture has some form of mystic symbol or a secret language that we recognise by different names. Similarly, the realm of tantra is filled with several mystic tools and enchantments that serve and steer us to manifest our desires. One such manifestation tool is yantra.

What is Yantra?
The Sanskrit term yantra originates from “yan” or “yam” meaning “medium” and “tra” meaning “instrument” or “tool”. Yantra is an instrument, apparatus or an amulet endowed with protective powers. Yantras are the visual equivalents of the mantras or thought forms. They are classified and subdivided into various forms, shapes and patterns; however, its ultimate purpose is to unite us with our higher selves.

Yantra holds supreme status among all mystic sciences and disciplines. Tantric gurus have collectively declared yantra as the best medium for manifestation and wish fulfilment. Yantras possess the ability to express the inner aspect of any form of creation. Every tree and every flower is a yantra and through its form, colour and smell, describes the origin of its manifestation.

People frequently use the term “yantra” “talisman” and “mandala” interchangeably. It makes no difference in the end what you call them, just as long as you choose the correct yantra to manifest a specific purpose. The yantras are engraved on a thin sheet of metal such as gold, silver or copper and, according to the Ahirbudhnya Samhita, the metal used to devise a yantra, has a substantial impact on its results.

Use of Yantra
Yantra attunes us with the powers of the deity and thereby adds that missing ingredient to our often sterile lives. It’s vital that you use the yantra with faith and inner belief and that your needs are known in the inner spiritual worlds. Yantras are objects designed to give specific power, protection, encouragement and energy to the user. They are generally used to provide specific results and are usually devised for accomplishing or manifesting a specific purpose.

Types of Yantras
Yantras are broadly classified into four types: yantras of deities – for example Shree Yantra and Mahavidya Yantra; astrological yantras – to harness the energies of the nine major planets; architectural yantras – used for the ground plans of temples and numerical yantras – comprising a select combination of numbers that are generally used as talismans.

How Yantras Work – Exploring Yantra Dynamics
Yantras are energy mapping machines. It is a blueprint that radiates a specific frequency due to its unique geometric construction. When focusing or meditating on a yantra, the mind automatically comes into alignment and resonates to the particular energy of the yantra. This sequence of resonance is magnified as one consistently meditates over it.

Yantras act as a reservoir of divine energies. It is a medium through which the invincible energy acts on an individual. This channelled energy possesses an intense power to attract and manifest desired experiences. The diagrams of yantras are representative of time and space which is clearly visible in the most celebrated yantra, the Shree Yantra.

Yantra Yoga
Yantra yoga is one of the ancient techniques of yoga that exists in the world today. It emphasizes the visualisation of yantra and involves the usage of these symbolic diagrams as a central point of concentration. It works with the breathing to regulate the individual’s energy and ultimately brings you closer to the desired outcome. If a mantra is chanted while visualising the yantra, the momentum is increased several-fold. The effectiveness of the exercise depends on concentration and visualisation ability.

Significance of Yantra in Modern Times
Primitive people began wearing amulets and yantras to protect themselves from an often frightening world. Yantra guarded the user from enemies, animals and provided protection against the evil eye. In our modern societies, our fears, needs and challenges are more sophisticated in nature. In this age we are tortured by inflation, crime, natural and man-made disasters. There are the ever expanding inner demons such as anxiety, frustrations and mental illness too, to name but a few. The use of yantra in present day is therefore much more relevant than ever before. In today’s fast paced life where one craves to achieve definite results in the shortest possible time, yantras are a fitting answer. Yantra is a tool that can boost us and lead us rapidly towards desire fulfilment.

How are Yantras Energised?
The traditional tantric methods of purifying yantra involve various intricate steps. Energisation is one of the most crucial steps– from inscribing a yantra to infusing it with prana (energy), it involves various stages. When we perform the puja (ritual) on the yantra, we are attracting the attention of the deity and inviting their subtle bodies to inhabit the yantra. Preparing a yantra, infusing the mantra and energising it, is performed in a single uninterrupted sequence. Here, the mystic codes, numerals and symbols are engraved on a metal piece. Later, by chanting the primordial sound (beej mantras), lighting celestial fire, offering sanctified water and vapours of herbs, the deity is invoked and invited to reside in the yantra. Only after this ritual, are you capable of manifesting your desired objective. To obtain 100 percent benefits from the yantra you have to make sure that it is energised, sanctified, consecrated and customised by learned pundits. The yantra is activated by tantrics through complex meditative techniques which cannot be satisfactorily used in a Western environment. In such cases, the help of a Vedic priest or a yantra expert is advisable.

Yantras are formulated at spiritually and cosmically significant occasions. This is done on a specific day when planetary forces are favourable for devising a specific yantra. For instance, if you have relationship issues then a yantra devised on Friday will be much more effective and will bestow faster results. Similarly if it’s a yantra for wealth and prosperity like Shree Yantra, energising it on a day like Diwali will be beneficial as its impact is increased several-fold.

At this point we must stop and ask some very natural questions: Do yantras really work? Do they truly possess the power to navigate the course of destiny? Do they really influence and alter the circumstances around us? The answer is, yes! Yantras have stood the test of time and became well known for their benefits. Obviously, if yantra had failed to produce the desired results, they would have been forgotten long ago. Yantras are manifestations of the universal forces and the fate that created all that is, all that was, and all that has the potential of being.

Yantra Trap – Beware of Fake Yantras
There’s a lot of flimsy, false and fraudulent junk being hawked in the name of yantra and it becomes difficult to determine what you are actually getting. Shree Yantra and Mahalakshmi Yantra are quite admired these days but unfortunately these yantras are being sold by unscrupulous online vendors. During my research, I tested some of these yantras and the results were alarming, as only a few focused on the quality of the metal, the geometric construction was incorrect in most cases, the image inscribed was vague and energisation hardy performed. Remember, geometric construction is the prime ingredient of the yantra; if that is inaccurate then the yantra is merely a piece of metal.

By Dr H. Vedant

Dr H. Vedant is the President of Apsra School of Ancient Science (ASAS), a practicing yantra therapist and an expert in Oriental studies. His study in to the realm of yantra and mantra therapy has helped and healed many people. Dr Vedant can be reached on hvedant@apsra.org. For more details visit www.apsra.org and www. yantralogy.com.

AUM  MANI PADME  HUM

AUM  BHRAHMAN  SATYAM  SWAMI  SUNDARANI – Reality is the unity of Being and Becoming, time and eternity. It is quiet, harmonious and non-dual.

AUM  SRI  HARI  AUM – God is the Supreme Love and saving Grace.

After you receive a mantra from a teacher or guru, fix it at the centre of your consciousness, and make it the pivot of your like. You constantly repeat it during meditation with intelligent attention to it’s deep significance. That is not all – during the rest of your waking hours, at odd times, walking along the street, riding in a lift, one lets the mantra flash through the consciousness and, the more power it collects, a source of strength, inspiration and protection against adverse and undivine, negative forces. It gradually builds around you an invisible and impenetrable spiritual armour.

Chant Aum Aum Aum – if one would be free, to extricate the soul from the tunnel of the transient into the transforming rhythmic universal dance of life, which is reflected in the creativity of nature, in the creational activities of art and, above all, in the beauty of life of the enlightened!

Kavi Yogiraj Mani Finger

Mantra is a group of sound vibrations that, when combined withbreath work or pranayama, has the effect of creating positive changes in our constitutions and meaningful transformations in our lives

By Natalie Vlismas

Mantra has been acknowledged as a powerful meditation method for thousands of years. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali composed during India’s classical historical epoch around 300 AD have been interpreted and elaborated upon by scores of scholars. Patanjali taught methods for communicating with “The Source” and demonstrated “magical tricks” through the use of mantra as one method of this communication. Today, many teachers like Deepak Chopra and Dr Wayne Dyer refer prolifically to Patanjali’s work regarding our ability to manifest what we want by repeating the name of God or that primal creative force (japa).

Why Mantra?
Practising mantra connects us to that part of ourselves that is infinite. It does so by vibrating and energising our chakras, stimulating the hypothalamus gland to engage with the pituitary and pineal glands and, when combined with rhythmic breathing, our psychological, neurological, endocrine, emotional, nervous, and immune systems can all be adjusted.

Through the power of conscious vibration, mantra brings our minds to the ultimate state – intuitive, steady and open to action, furthermore awakening feelings of joy, truth, compassion, health and relaxation. Chanting mantra, either silently or aloud directs the mind as it gracefully dances and skirts past the tense shutters of the ego.

Modern science has proven the effect that language has on water (Dr Emoto’s case study is a perfect example) and, considering our bodies are predominantly made up of water, the cellular healing that occurs with the repetition and vibration of the purest sound currents through this water, are both powerful and potent.

The Science of Mantra
Ancient yogis, through listening to infinite sounds, discovered seed syllables that emulate the vibratory structure of God energy. They further noticed that specific
combinations of those seed syllables align us to the energetic frequency of that creative force.

Sanskrit provides us with structures of sound that universally tap into our highest value systems and aspirations for our spiritual journey. The science is that primal sounds said repeatedly, induce altered states of being. The movement of the tongue against the palate for example, promotes chemical neurotransmitter changes in the brain.

Mantra – the Kundalini way
In Kundalini yoga mantra is referred to as the Shabd Guru which relates to the movement from darkness to light through the use of sound. The central channel or  shushumna tunnel is activated and the neutral mind is engaged, thereby bringing us into direct contact with our true nature, the Divine and that universally connected part of us.

The words of Shabd Guru are simple and yet contain universal meaning on multiple levels. The mantra “Satnam” for example, means “God’s name is truth”, and can be used to vibrate anything to its original, untainted nature.

As an attunement, the Adi Mantra can be used. “Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo” means “I bow to the subtle divine wisdom, the divine teacher within”. Attunement is meant to be perfectly literal and is chanted as opposed to sung. The sounds invite a vibratory awakening in the subtle nervous system (nadis), as well as invoking a blessing of the ancients.

There are also English mantras with equally harmonizing effects like “God and Me; Me and God are One”. Sometimes people are opposed to using the word God and so are encouraged to use a word that works for them, like the “Universe”, “Infinite” or “Source”. But, it is the shape of the sound “ah” that is found to be present in all cultures for a description of God and therefore present in most practices of mantra in the form of Aum (unmanifest), or Ong (manifest).

Another favourite English mantra that helps us to connect the small self with the higher self, microcosm to macrocosm, is expressed through the words “I am, I am”. In Kundalini Yoga we combine mudra and movement which simultaneously activate related meridians in the fingertips, for added effect.

The beauty of practising mantra is that e can remove all religious connotations by realising it as a science and trying it out.

There are many pathways to enlightenment and finding your own path requires the courage to explore and experiment. Chanting personal affirmations is one such pathway if the chants are carefully and consciously worded.

Practice
Sitting straight, get in touch with your highest intention and go quietly into mantra meditation. You will find that you develop your own relationship with mantra through the direct experience of doing it.

The trick is to be with the sound – allow yourself to experience the vibration, the action and the breath, noticing how you become present in the “here and now”. You don’t have to think about how or why it’s working, simply be mindful and notice how effortlessly you are drawn into the moment and into your own healing. There will be thoughts, but your attention will be drawn back to the activity at hand.

Mantra becomes the nectar, a sweet and gentle drink from the creative infinite. The activity is a balance of giving and taking, where voice, music, breath and intention open the channels for that nectar to flow into your being. Adding to that the emotive nature of beautiful harmonies and rhythm, you quickly find yourself in an elevated state where you will be humming “I am bountiful, blissful and beautiful”.

Repeat your mantra of choice for either three or 11 minutes er day and you will soon reap the rewards.

OM RA-MA – for balance of everything – physical, mental, spiritual

OM HRIM – for patience

OM SHRIM – for strength

OM KRIM – for love

OM KLIM KANDARPA SWAHA – to get rid of hate, greed, argument or quarelling

OM SO HAM – on the breath for tranquility

OM HAM-SO – on the breath for sleep

The Mantra of the Heart Sutra:

Gate(pronounced ga-tay) gate paara-gate paara-sangate bodhi svaahaa.

Devanāgarī Translation

गते गते                           Gone, gone
पारगते                           Gone beyond
पारसंगते               Gone completely beyond
बोधि स्वाहा                  Praise to awakening.

Close your lips and recite only with the tongue moving. Next, do not move the tongue, rest the vocal chords and only remember the mantra in the mind. Now, keeping the mantra in the mind, feel the breath flow in the nostrils. Next the
mantra is remembered only in the mind.

With thanks to Swami Veda Barahti. Visit www.swamiveda.org