[Advaita-l] Sadhana?

[H S Chandramouli]

Dear Boris,

Just a suggestion. Performance of Japam is most effecive only when the Japa
Mantra is  administered ( upadesha )  to the sadhaka in the prescribed
shastraic pocedure by a competent Guru. Since you are prepared to spend so
much time and effort in performance of Japam regularly , I would suggest
you approach a Guru in this regard . He will also guide you on the specific
Japam appropriate for you .

Best wishes for the success of your sadhana.

Regards

Chandramouli

On Sun, Sep 27, 2015 at 8:45 PM, Boris Nikiforov via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> Thank you very much.
>
> The replies are very good and helpful indeed. I understand the importance
> of the early hours before the dawn. As far as I know, there is a special
> time, Brahmamuhurta. Wiki says it starts 1h 36mins before sunrise.
> Probably, I should arrange my life in such a way that I could do japa and
> study Vedanta during Brahmamuhurta and before sleeping. Sadhana Panchakam
> by Sri Shankaracarya is just great. Thanks a lot.
>
> ~
> Boris
>
> 2015-09-27 17:57 GMT+03:00 Sunil Bhattacharjya <
> sunil_bhattacharjya at yahoo.com>:
>
> > Dear Boris,
> >
> > It was nice that you got good replies from our fellow members. If I may
> > add, please look at you own situation and necessities. In the olden days
> in
> > India, devout people used to get up early in the morning before Sunrise
> and
> > offer the daily prayers and meditate and then only start the day. So also
> > around the Sunset the people said their prayers. That is not all. People
> > offered prayers in the bed in the morning immediately after waking up and
> > before leaving the bed and so also people prayed in the bed before
> > sleeping. There has also been the practice of praying at at any time of
> the
> > day and that is called Ajapa japa and some say this to be the best japa,
> as
> > that is spontaneous.
> >
> > Secondly, sleep well. may be 7 hours a day or more as your body needs
> > depending on the physical exertions during the day and do not sacrifice
> the
> > sleep in order to get up early in the morning to pray. Sleeping early, if
> > possible, may be the best way to accommodate good sleep and early morning
> > prayer.
> >
> > Best wishes,
> > Sunil KB
> >
> >
> >
> > On Sunday, September 27, 2015 3:05 AM, Venkatraghavan S <
> > agnimile at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >
> > Sri Boris, you have received good answers from the group to your queries.
> > Hope this helps you get started. The important thing to note is not focus
> > on what others are doing, but to focus inward on yourself. Each person is
> > at a different point in the path, so the specifics of what works for one
> > person are not relevant to someone else.
> > In general though, one should be regular and timely in the performance of
> > japa - that is, settle on a time of the day and duration of japa that you
> > are comfortable with and stick to it daily. As you get settled into a
> > routine, you will start observing how your mind operates, how long it is
> > able to repeat the mantra, how often it gets distracted halfway through
> the
> > mantra with some other passing thought. Don't worry or feel frustrated if
> > the mind gets distracted - that is the mind's nature - gently bring it
> back
> > to the words of the mantra.
> > Remember, don't get caught in achieving a specific outcome from the japa,
> > the idea is to let the process "prepare your mind" over time to be ready
> > for vedAnta. A goal-oriented approach (sa-kAma karma) may lead you to
> > achieve the goal, but that only serves to perpetuate samsAra. Instead,
> what
> > we want is to do is prepare our mind to be able to accept and assimilate
> > VedAnta, and that only happens through the performance of a
> > process-oriented nishkAma karma for some time.
> > Just my 2c worth.
> > Regards
> > Venkatraghavan
> > On 26 Sep 2015 20:01, "Boris Nikiforov" <boris108 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Thank you very much for your kind answers.
> >
> > My spiritual level is low, I'm just a beginner.
> >
> > As far as I can understand, mantra japa is an important step to Advaita
> > and is very helpful. So probably I can continue chanting Hare Krishna
> > mantra, Pranava, and Mahavakyas. Also, vedAnta shravaNam, mananam, and
> > nidhidhyAsanam are very important parts of sadhana. Do I understand
> > correctly?
> >
> > How much time do you usually spend for mantra japa every day?
> >
> > ~
> > Boris
> >
> > 2015-09-26 20:38 GMT+03:00 Venkatraghavan S <agnimile at gmail.com>:
> >
> > I would qualify your statement and say that it depends on the level of
> > spiritual maturity of the aspirant. Within advaita tradition, mantra japa
> > would fall under upAsana, and is an accepted preparatory step required to
> > earn the qualifications necessary to commence vedAnta shravaNam, mananam
> > and nidhidhyAsanam.
> > In answer to Sri Boris' question, hare krishna mantrA is a great mantrA
> > and if chanted with sincerity and devotion, will greatly advance you in
> > your spiritual quest.
> > Regards,
> > Venkatraghavan
> > On 26 Sep 2015 18:24, "Sunil Bhattacharjya via Advaita-l" <
> > advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
> >
> > Namaste,
> > For an advaitin the Mahavakyas are the mantras.
> > Regards,Sunil KB
> >
> >
> >
> >      On Saturday, September 26, 2015 9:24 AM, Boris Nikiforov via
> > Advaita-l <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
> >
> >
> >  Pranams,
> >
> > I have a question on sadhana (the regular spiritual practice) for
> > advaitins.
> >
> > Back in 1990s, I spent two years in Hare Krsna movement (ISKCON). We
> > chanted 16 rounds of japa daily, we followed so called "4 regulative
> > principles" (no meat, no alcohol etc.), and studied some books like
> > "Bhagavad Gita."
> >
> > These days I have a great interest in Advaita, especially Shankaracarya's
> > teaching and I read regularly some books in English (Shankara's bhashyas,
> > translation of Brahma Sutras by Swami Sivananda, translation of
> Upainshads
> > by Swami Nikhilananda) but I would like to have some sadhana too like
> japa.
> > What is the common traditional sadhana which can be adopted by a white
> > married middle aged man like me? I love to do some japa regularly but I
> > don't know a mantra I can chant without diksha. Back in ISKCON, I would
> > chant "Hare Krsna mantra." Are there any other mantras I could chant
> > without a diksha? Some years ago, one of the senior members of
> Advaita-List
> > kindly explained me that Advaita means a world view. I do my best to
> > understand Advaita world view studying books but this question is about
> > practice.
> >
> > I would be thankful for any recommendations.
> >
> > ~
> > Boris
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