Chanting of the name

[savithri devaraj]

--- Ravi Mayavaram <ravi at AMBAA.ORG> wrote:
> On Fri, 31 Jan 2003 04:36:44 -0800, kuntimaddi
> sadananda
> <kuntimaddisada at YAHOO.COM> wrote:
>
> >As the meditation proceeds the there is a shift in
> the attention from
> >the thought to the silence in between the thoughts.
> >This is the essence of japa-yoga.
>
> The example of krishhNa and gopika-s was cited by
> you is very beautiful and
> can throw one into a devotional rapture.
>
> But how do you reconcile this looking between
> thoughts  with shankara-s
> definition on verse 13-25, meditation is like
> continuous flow of oil.
>
> ekAgrataya tat chintanam dhyAnam tatha dhyAtiitiva
> bakaH dhyAtiitiva
> pR^thvi dhyAtiitiva parvataH iti upamApAdAnat |
> *tailadhAravat* santataH
> avachchhinnapratyayo dhyAnam ....

I think japa-yoga is different from dhyAna. I have not
read much about japa-yoga in Bhagavad Geetha and
elsewhere. This is what made me glad when I saw
references from Ch.Up.

In japa yoga, one constantly repeats a given mantra if
initiated, else a chosen name or mantra of one's
liking. It is not necessary to imagine the form of the
diety, just chanting and paying attention to the
chanting is important. The mantra cleanses the mind
and body of the aspirant as it were. A mantra coming
from a guru is very potent.

I have heard that when you foresee unworthy thoughts
coming, or like to get out of the grasp of unholy
thoughts, it is good to chant the mantra quite fast so
that the mind loses its grip on the unwholesome
thoughts and can easily concentrate on the mantra.

dhyAna yoga seems to be somewhat more advanced form of
upAsana. In dhyAna, the object of meditation - the
form of a diety or object captures the attention of
the meditator to the exclusion of all thoughts.
Initially there is effort, and the attention span is
quite broken, but as the aspirant progresses, it seems
that the object of dhyAna is holding his/her attention
continuosly like the flow of oil. It is possible to
attain sAkshAtkAra (or realization) of the diety by
this method, so it seems.

I am sure Sri SadAnanda and others on this list can
answer this better.

My 2 cents,
Savithri

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>From ADVAITA-L at LISTS.ADVAITA-VEDANTA.ORG Sat Feb  1 01:56:07 2003
Message-Id: <SAT.1.FEB.2003.015607.0800.ADVAITAL at LISTS.ADVAITAVEDANTA.ORG>
Date: Sat, 1 Feb 2003 01:56:07 -0800
Reply-To: List for advaita vedanta as taught by Shri Shankara
        <ADVAITA-L at LISTS.ADVAITA-VEDANTA.ORG>
To: List for advaita vedanta as taught by Shri Shankara
        <ADVAITA-L at LISTS.ADVAITA-VEDANTA.ORG>
From: Jagannath Chatterjee <jagchat01 at YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Name and the named
In-Reply-To: <BAY1-F45HbMPcAKlfpJ00004907 at hotmail.com>
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Dear Bhadraiahji,

Japam is to be practised by all irrespective of which
religious ideas you subscribe to. It may not appeal to
the intellect but then God cannot be realised by the
intellect. Japam is the best method of cleansing the
subconscious. Our shastras say that the name and the
named are one. There may be an intellectual interest
in studying the name but then when I think of the name
"Bhadraiah" I remember you irrespective of what the
name "Bhadraiah" means.

Japam is like the rope that leads to God. You catch
hold of it and steadily progress towards the
objective.

Regards
Jagannath

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