how to do japa/chanting~2

हरे कृष्ण 

गोपाल..

shriradharamanji.vrindavan.

 virtues of  The Mantra

swami shivananda woul say:" a mantra is a mysterious divine formula,which,if repeated,will ultimately lead to divine consciousness.a mantra is a collection of letters scientifically arranged and energised by constant repetition.these symbols were handed down through the technique of  initiation to
 qualified recipieents,who,in turn, through their purified will, firm faith and determination, re-live that experience that their sage guru had lived to ultimately become one with sat-chit-ananda.

all about japa

elaborating upon the tool for japa,the japamala,bhagavad ratan sri mridul krishna goswami of vrindavan,who hails from the illustrious lineage of swami haridas and who has performed bhagavad sapthaha more than a thounsand times in india and abroad says,"Japa, one of the vital vehicles of spritual sadhana,is intenden to evolve a sadhak in his ekagrahatha or single-minded focus, and in connecting him with the supreme.the japamala's physical and metaphysical attributes are the mana or beads as the self,the thread being that of bhakti or devotion, the 109th sumeru being one's gurudev and the phundana,the thread bunch atop the mala is one's aradhya or ishta devta,your chosen god.it is essential to sit in anusthan and complete atleast one full japamala and thereafter,the name should be an incessant  occurrence in one's heart as japa never fails to turn an individual inward."
shri guru ji elaborates that while one attempts japa,images from millions of our past living on the canvas of our consciousness begin to get ruffled since japa acts as cleanser.it is like sweeping garbage.this is bound to rake up bad and impure thoughts.initially your thoughts will run wild.but keep at it and the dust will soon settle down.japa is however,a constant process and initially needs to be performed at a fixed hour.once the rhythm sets in, the mind will catch up with the continous chanting.

three main points

japa vidhan,as guruji cites, has three basic constituents:ek mantra,ek murti and ek mala at all times.by this.he means,keep one form of the god constant as your aradhya,one mantra(ideally guru mantra) and one mala that suits the deity of your worship.while for the vaishans,the tulsi bead mala is prescribed,the shaivites use the rudarksha.those who invoke lakshmi or durga prefer malas made of kamalgatta or lotus-seed,haldi(turmeric) or sphatika.





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