In this episode of “5 Minutes,” Dr. Robert Svoboda explores japa, or reciting the name of God, and explains its traditional practice and significance in spiritual life.
Japa is a Sanskrit word that literally means to mutter or to whisper. The implication is that you should not be loudly reciting whatever mantra it is that you are reciting, because japa means to mutter or to whisper.
When you are getting started with a mantra, and if your teacher permits you, you may recite it aloud. But, as Vimalananda said again and again, doing your japa mentally and quietly, rather than externally, is a thousand or even a million times more valuable than doing it aloud.
One reason is that it activates what is happening within you more directly. Another is that instead of broadcasting the shakti outward, you retain that shakti within yourself.
In the beginning, you will be focused on repeating the japa. Eventually, however, you want to allow yourself to hear the devata repeating the japa through you. It is important to remember that a mantra is the verbal incarnation of the deity. It is the actual deity.
A mantra is like a seed. There are bija mantras, or seed mantras, but in truth every mantra is a seed for creating the presence of the devata within you, provided you are sincere and willing to go through the process required to obtain the result.
That process involves performing anusthanas and purascharanas. This includes reciting the mantra a prescribed number of times, followed by offerings into the sacred fire, water offerings, and other traditional practices. These are very useful for activating the mantra, but eventually you do not want to remain attached only to the external practice.
There is a well-known story about Hazrat Bulleh Shah, who carried a japa mala, a rosary used for counting repetitions of a mantra. One day he overheard two milkmaids talking. One said, “I am going to give some more milk to my boyfriend.” The other replied, “If you do that, you are not going to make any profit.” The first answered, “What kind of profit am I worried about when it is a question of love?”
Hearing this, Bulleh Shah said to himself, “Here I am keeping an account instead of paying attention to the fact that I want to connect directly with that reality.” So he threw away his japa mala and went on to become a great saint.
Ultimately, you want to reach the stage of ajapa japa. Ajapa japa means that you are no longer actively reciting the mantra, but instead you hear it being recited within you.
This understanding is not limited to Indian traditions. The Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition also has the Jesus Prayer, which practitioners continue repeating until it begins repeating itself within them.
Verbal repetition is not the only way to perform japa. There is also likhita japa, which means writing down the mantra. My astrology guru, Mantriji, once instructed me to write a particular mantra on a particular day and in a particular way. I continued that practice for many years and experienced very good results.
Likhita japa has also been practiced in interesting ways. There was once something called the Rama Bank in Bhuleshwar, Bombay. If you wanted to accumulate extra punya, or spiritual merit, you could borrow a large collection of written mantras from the Rama Bank and receive the benefit of that practice.
But because it was a bank, you also had to pay interest. The interest was paid by writing additional mantras yourself before returning them to the Rama Bank.
On that note, I would like to encourage everyone to recite the name of God and receive the benefit of living in Kali Yuga.