[Advaita-l] Sadhana?

[Sunil Bhattacharjya]

Dear friends,
As regards initiation it appears that Mr. Boris has already been initiated and the Shodashakshari mantra has been given to him. I will like to inform him that the mantra received from the guru is considered by many to be  personal and one is not supposed to reveal it to others, even though the others may also receive the same mantra. Sometimes some gurus look at the natal horoscope of the native and select a name of the Ishtadevata, which which is astrologically compatible with  the native.
Regards,Sunil KB 


     On Sunday, September 27, 2015 9:57 PM, H S Chandramouli via Advaita-l <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
   

 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
> > _______________________________________________
> > Archives: http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/
> > http://blog.gmane.org/gmane.culture.religion.advaita
> >
> > To unsubscribe or change your options:
> > http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l
> >
> > For assistance, contact:
> > listmaster at advaita-vedanta.org
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Archives: http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/
> > http://blog.gmane.org/gmane.culture.religion.advaita
> >
> > To unsubscribe or change your options:
> > http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l
> >
> > For assistance, contact:
> > listmaster at advaita-vedanta.org
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> _______________________________________________
> Archives: http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/
> http://blog.gmane.org/gmane.culture.religion.advaita
>
> To unsubscribe or change your options:
> http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l
>
> For assistance, contact:
> listmaster at advaita-vedanta.org
>
_______________________________________________
Archives: http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/
http://blog.gmane.org/gmane.culture.religion.advaita

To unsubscribe or change your options:
http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l

For assistance, contact:
listmaster at advaita-vedanta.org