Japa Yoga: Efficacy & typology

Dr satish 

k kapoorThe Tantrasara of Abhinavagupta defines japa as aksharavrittih – repetition of letters. Both the Bhagavadgita (X.25) and the Manu Smriti ( II.85-86) liken  japa  to yajna, a sacrifice mentioned in the Vedas for  man’s spiritual evolution. Both proclaim that japa is superior to ritualistic sacrifices. Pouring the oblations of japa into the fire of the inner spirit involve knowledge (jnana), action (karma) and devotion (bhakti). Hence,  japa is called the inner sensibility (antarabhava) of the three major yoga-s –path of knowledge, path of action, and path of devotion. Japa is an essential ingredient of tapasya, asceticism or austerity in pursuit of god realization. It is also a part of formal worship along with fire-offering (homa), meditation (dhyana), and other religious rites. 

Patanjali suggests in the Yoga Sutra (I.28-29) that japa should be accompanied by proper deliberation on the meaning of words or syllables that are repeated (taj-japas tad-artha-bhavanam).       TheVaikhansa school of Vaishnavism (known after the sage Vikhana), suggests that repetition of Gayatri mantra should be followed by chanting the mantras of Lord Vishnu and, finally, by   mahamantra-s of eight or twelve syllables, with the mind focused on the Lord.

Sri Ramakrishna advised that japa should be done with single-minded devotion in solitude. ‘Suppose there is a piece of timber sunk in the water of the Ganges and fastened with a chain to the bank. You proceed link by link, holding to the chain, and you dive into the water and follow the chain. Finally, you are able to reach the timber. In the same way, by repeating God’s name you become absorbed in Him and finally realize Him.’ 

Japa is a spiritual method in its own right.  The Japaka Upakhyana in Shanti parva of the Mahabharata, delineates the efficacy of japa, specially of Gayatri mantra, also called Savitri mantra, because it is addressed to the sun. Not surprisingly, Lord Krishna proclaims in the Bhagavadgita : yajnanam japayajno’smi - ‘Of sacrifices, I am the japa.’

The practice of reciting the dhikr (zikr,zekr) to glorify god in  Islam, of  spinning the prayer-wheel ( Mani-wheel ) in Buddhism or of repeating the Jesus’ prayer  in Eastern Orthodox Church, comes somewhat close to the concept of japa. Japji, the Morning Prayer of the Sikhs is a veritable call to repetition of and deliberation on the Lord’s name, in ambrosial hours. 

Om (AUM) is used for japa in Hindu, Buddhist, Jaina, and Sikh traditions, sometime as a prefix to mantra-s or sacred words. It is the Word of God, the sound of the Absolute which manifests existence. The letters ‘A’ ‘U’ ‘M’ represent creation, preservation and dissolution respectively. ‘A’ represents the physical plane, ‘U’ represents the mental and astral planes and ‘M’ represents the deep sleep and the waking states.

Japa has been variously classified. Nitya japa is a part of daily duty. Naimittika japa is an occasional obligation on special or sacred occasions. Kamya japa is a means to attain desired results. Prayshchitta japa is an expiatory rite. Achala japa is performed at fixed time and place unlike the chala japa, which has no such restriction. Pradakshina japa is repetition of the holy name while taking round of a shivalinga or a sacred tree. Akhanda japa is undertaken without break for a specified period of time. Likhita japa is the writing of an incantation or a guru-mantra many times at a stretch, for weeks or months, while observing silence (mauna). Balivaishavadeva  japa is feeding  the fish, insects or dumb creatures, uttering a holy name at  same time.

 In terms of spiritual quality (guna),  japa is of three types. When the seeker tries to establish affinity with divinity,  it is sattvic japa; when he tries to please higher powers for the fulfillment of some desire, it is rajasic japa and; when he intends to harm others through obnoxious rites, it is tamasic japa. 

Progressing steadily on the sattvic path, japa is absorbed by the inner self, resulting in its spontaneous reverberation  in the subconscious mind, day and night. This is ajapa-japa , the apogee of all types of japa. It leads to samadhi.

—Dr Satish K Kapoor, former British Council Scholar and former Registrar, DAV University, is a noted author, educationist, historian and spiritualist based in Jalandhar city.