Japa- Smarana

Devotee in Japa

Japa (जप) is the practice of repetition of Mantras, Prayers, God's names, God's glories, Saint's glories... It can be practiced in low volume (murmer/ whisper) or silent outwardly and completely mentally too.

Japa is usually practiced with malas, where the practitioner counts the repetitions by counting the beads on the malas.

Japa can also be practiced by writing the names and mantras repeatedly on paper to some specific count. Counts in multiples of 12 are usually prefered. 108 is considered quite a good number.

Smarana (स्मरण) (smaraṇa) is rememebrance of God's names, Stories, Glories, Pastimes (as Avatars), Divine Attributions among others.  Namasmarana (Name-remembrance) is the most popular form of Smarana.

 

What are the benefits of Japa- Smarana?

Japa and Smarana help shut the mind away from mental chatter and focus it on one form or one name. Jumping here and there is the nature of the mind, stillness is the base of all spiritual progress. Japa and Smarana help still the mind. 

Japa- Smarana help cultivate devotion and concentration, the purpose of repetitions is to make it a default habit, so that the mind naturally dwells on the name of God.

There is a belief that the state of mind at the time of death decides our destination in the afterlife, that those who die with the name of their ishta devata or beloved saints on their lips, go to their respective ishta devatas. To make sure that the name of God is lingering in their minds at the time of death, people practice life time Japa.

Same stillness and focus promised by the Japa can also be attained through practices of Pranayama, Yoga and Meditation. Japa and Smarana additionally fill one with the sweetness of Love. Devotionally inclined Yogis are thus natually feel drawn to Japa- Smarana.

 

Saints and Sages on Japa- Smarana

  • If you have devotion, take the name of God and call him; if you do not have devotion, even then call him. Do not ever stop calling him. The moment you stop taking his name, you will fall into the realm of 'Maya' and have endless troubles. your only duty is to go on calling him. Do not worry whether you are following the correct method, it is God's worry. - Nagendranath Bhaduri [1]
  • The place where the holy name of the Lord is taken becomes holy, like a pilgrimage. God himself never leaves that place and saints, sages and holy spirits reside there. Good and wise souls love to live in such a place, but the non devotee avoids it and loves to live where there is only worldly talks. - Maharshi Nagendranath Bhaduri [2]
  • One who takes the holy name of sri hari (God) attains all the goodness of pilgrimages and scriptural readings. He has no need to visit holy places nor read holy books.- Maharshi Nagendranath Bhaduri  [3]
  • If you perform all your worldly activities with the consciousness of God in your mind, you have the advantage of remembering God and doing your work, both at the same time. Maharshi Nagendranath Bhaduri  [4]

 

Sources

    1. One hundred and eight messages from Maharshi Nagendranath, message 57, page 32
    2. One hundred and eight messages from Maharshi Nagendranath, message 90, page 41, 2012
    3. One hundred and eight messages from Maharshi Nagendranath, message 92, page 41, 2012
    4. One hundred and eight messages from Maharshi Nagendranath, message 95, page 42, 2012
    5.  

 

Tags