To understand the process of Japa, understand different layers of the mind

2. Golden Nuggets To understand the process of Japa, understand different layers of the mind Japa begins when the mantra becomes pure thought in the mind

3. Section 1 - Understanding the Mind

4. Mind - The subtlest energy field in the Universe • What is Mind? • It is a shakti kshetra (energy field), a field of energy; closest of the form of Prakriti (matter) • What is the function of Mind? • Mind is the link between consciousness and the physical personality • Through Mind one goes beyond annamaya (anatomical body), pranamaya (vital body) and reaches Atman / Purusha (Spiritual self) Mind has the highest frequency vibration of all the energy fields

5. Mind is a wave in the vast ocean of the mind of the Universe Understanding Meditationrequiresunderstanding the nature of mind that consists of: • Manas - Active mind • Buddhi - Faculty of wisdom • Citta - Entire mind field • Ahamkara - That by which we identify our being • Characteristics of Mind • Mind has no size and no form of its own • It takes the form of whatever is presented to it by way of the senses • Mind is vast and deep, like an ocean • Mind fills the entire Universe • Mind is a wave in the mind-ocean of the Universe Mind is the most agile and the speediest

6. Mind operates differently at each level and layer • Understanding the Practices of Meditation requires understanding the different levels and layers of the mind • At Surface Level – Active in the Kshipta (disturbed state opposite of one pointed), Mudha (state of stupefaction) and Vikshipta (distracted from meditative state) states • At Deeper Level - Ekagra (one-pointed) and Nirodha (fully controlled) States You will know how to receive knowledge from Within

7. Section 2 – Process of Japa

8. Relaxation of effort (Prayatna Shaithilya) is a MUST for Japa • Annamaya (physical), Pranamaya (organic), Manomaya (emotional/mental), Vijnanamaya (intellectual/discriminative), and Anandamaya (blissful) koshas (sheath)are all interlinked • States of annamaya and pranamaya are being fed into mind at all times • Any kind of tension - physical body or Prana (life force) body, gets transmitted into the Mind • Learn prayatna shaithilya (Relaxation of effort ) to settle your Mind in your Japa. Remember any jerk in breath jerks the Mind Practice Khechari mudra to avoid moving tongue whilst doing Japa

9. Breath is to be long, subtle, without interruption & pause To do one mala of a Mantra in shorter time • learn to relax muscles and nerves as taught in the Yogi Parampara (tradition, lineage) • Slow your breath and make it dirgha (long), sukshma (subtle), nairantarya (continuous) and without virama (pause) • Let Mantra thought come like a wave and become pure thought in the mind This is only the beginning of Japa

10. Make Japa deep and subtle • To deepen your Japa • Increase the duration of Mantra thought coming like a wave • Let the thought not turn into words on the tongue • Let the thought not be interrupted by other thoughts • Understand the Mind – Nature, Layers and Levels • When you get deep into the layers of the mind field, the Mantreshvaras (lords of mantras) send their grace into your meditation By the anugraha (grace) of the Lords of Mantras, the Japa will deepen

11. At each layer of the mind the Spandanam is higher frequency • Journey in Japa • Doing the Japa at the shallow layer of Mind as a conscious thought • As Mind’s vibrations become more ajiram (agile, free of decay) and javishtham (speediest, most high frequency), the brain waves slow down • At each deeper layer the Mantra becomes a faster vibration; a high frequency • As you take your Japa into yet deeper layers of the mind you will do more Japa in shorter period of time; rather you will not do • After much abhyasa (practice), finally you reach a point where mauna (silence); where the knowledge is received wordlessly • The wordless knowledge is received as the knowledge of the Vedas was received Relaxation of effort MUST be there at all levels of the practice of yoga

12. Section 3 – Practical lesson

13. How to reduce the time taken for doing long mantras? 1/3 We will practice with the mantra ‘Akhanda-mandalakaram vyaptam yena characaram, tat-padam darsitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah’ • Bring your attention to yourself, your asana, your posture, your back, all in perfect order • Relax all parts of your body • Bring your mind’s attention to your breathing, observe your breath and establish diaphragmatic breathing • Feel the flow of breaths in your nostrils • Establish khechari mudra, the tongue lock with your mantra • Continue to feel the slow, smooth, gentle breaths, without a break, sound, jerk in your nostrils • Let there be no break in the flow of your mantra thought, with your breaths • Merge your left and right nostril-breaths into the sushumna stream • Let the mantra continue, feeling the stream of energy on the sushumna path from the nasagra Cont/d….

14. How to reduce the time taken for doing long mantras? 2/3 • Following the sushumna path, go into your mind. Ignore the breath flow • Let only the mantra thought arise. Same wave. Not word by word, but the complete mantra thought all at once • The same way that the entire mantra is coming as a single wave, remember just ‘Akhanda-mandalakaram’. • Let that become the wave, the entire pada, the entire quarter/order, all at once. Remember, remember, and remember • Remember ‘vyaptam yena characaram’, the entire pada, the entire quarter as a single thought • Remember ‘tat-padam darhsitam yena’. No words, only the thought • Remember ‘tasmai sri-gurave namah’. No words, only the thought • Remember the entire half of the verse ‘Akhanda-mandalakaram vyaptam yena characaram’ . Think that as a thought over and over, without a break, the same wave Cont/d….

15. How to reduce the time taken for doing long mantras? 3/3 • Remember ‘tat-padam darsitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah’ • Let the entire ‘Akhanda-mandalakaram’, complete mantra, be remembered as a thought in the mind. The entire thought, like a wave • Having completed the desired number of japa, come back to your personal diksha-mantra. Same wave, as a thought flashing, thought flashing • Come to the sushumna breath, with the same mantra thought. • Keeping the mantra in the mind, by usual procedure, open your eyes A blockage would mean that you got tensed, have broken your breaths and brought the mantra to your tongue Change the whole situation in you May Gurudeva and God bless you

16. Feeling in the shallows? Contemplate the Ocean. - Swami Veda Bharati

17. Glossary • Abhyasa – Practice • Ajiram – Agile, free of decay • Anandamaya kosha - The blissful sheath • Annamaya kosha - Anatomical body, the physical sheath • Anugraha – Grace • Atman – Individual spirit • Dirgha - Long • Ekagra state - One-pointed attention • Javishtham – Speediest, most high frequency • Khechari mudra - Tuck the tongue • Kshipta - Disturbed state opposite of one pointed • Manomaya kosha – The metal or emotional sheath • Mantreshvaras – Lords of Mantras • Mauna - Silence • Mudha – State of stupefaction • Nairantarya - without interruption • Nirodha - Fully controlled state • Parampara – Tradition, lineage • Prakriti - Matter • Prana – Life Force, vital energy • Pranamaya kosha - Vital body, the organic sheath • Prayatna shaithilya – Relaxation of efforts • Purusha – Spiritual self • Shakti kshetra - Energy field • Sukshma – Subtle • Vijnanamaya kosha – The intellectual or discriminative sheath • Vikshipta – Distracted from meditative state • Virama - Pause