Manasika Japa
Every question on the site tagged Manasika Japa, each answered from a timestamped source rather than a summary written from memory.
Mental repetition of a mantra, entered once its pronunciation is firmly mastered through audible practice — an initial stage with subtle tongue movement, and an advanced stage with the tongue fixed motionless against the palate while the mantra is visualized at the Ajna Chakra, said to be a hundred times more effective than audible chanting.
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What are the three levels of mantra Japa, and when does one progress between them?
Audible Japa (loud enough only for one's own ears) is practiced until the mantra runs effortlessly even in dreams, then one transitions to Manasika Japa — initial mental repetition with subtle tongue movement, then advanced mental Japa with the tongue completely motionless, said to be 100 times more effective.
What is the technique for advanced mental Japa, involving the tongue and Ajna Chakra visualization?
The tongue remains completely motionless, fixed against the upper palate (similar to Khechari Mudra), while each syllable of the mantra is visualized clearly at the Third Eye / Ajna Chakra — the deity's form manifests naturally when the mantra awakens, without needing to imagine its face.
Closing havan of the Datta ekakshari anushthan
The speaker says that when the Purnima-to-Purnima japa is complete, on the last day do a Havan as well if possible — at least 11 malas. In it only the Bija Mantra is uttered, and then Swaha; the beej is said in the mind, not with the mouth, and only the swaha is spoken as each Ahuti is given. This is how the japa is completed, and its samarpan is to be kept on being made to Bhagavan Datta.
The Datta ekakshari as a guru mantra: never spoken aloud, never told
The speaker says that because this mantra is being held in the Guru form, its Japa is never done by pronouncing it aloud. The lips may move and it may be said very softly, but no one should be able to hear it. It is a guru mantra, so it is to be told to no one and never spoken — in the japa, and in the havan ahutis where only swaha is voiced.
What is the danger once naam japa becomes a habit?
Just here naam japa somewhere or other goes wrong, he says, and, to put it one way, begins to give fruit endowed with ill effect. So the first thing is that if you are doing naam japa, do keep caution — because when it becomes a practice, the chintan drops away; this too is a true matter. It is quite right that one should keep doing naam japa always, in every state, so that the mind may not settle upon other things but stay centred on one good thing and not upon vikaras: if a person sits and, looking at a beautiful woman, begins to think that if this woman were ours — then in such a state, if the person's mind is doing naam japa, he will not do such a thought, he will stay centred on the naam japa, that arre, we are taking Bhagwan's name. That is a good thing.
Shiva's name runs on behind while the chintan itself is envy
This will happen, he says, if you do none of this and only say, yes, all right, do naam japa. Once the practice of naam japa has formed, your chintan will be something else and behind it the naam japa will keep running. You are doing naam japa of Shiva ji, naam japa of Bhagavati Radha Rani, but the chintan going on is the very one that should not be — that why does this fellow have so much property, he must be doing shady work; that this girl is very beautiful, how did she come to him, he looks like a langur, how did he get this angoor — and behind it Shiva ji's name is running.
How should a guru mantra be treated?
Whichever mantra is taken as the guru mantra — take the Panchakshari, take the mantra of Shambhu Shiva, by whatever vidhi-vidhan has been told — that mantra should never be uttered from the mouth; it should always be kept secret. The guru mantra is forever secret; even its japa is not to be done speaking aloud.
What can be recited during sutak?
He says that in sutak one can do the manasik paath of kavach and stotra. Do the paath of the Gita and the like.
Can the first mantra of the Argala be recited during the eclipse?
Absolutely, he says: the japa of the first mantra of the Argala can be done in the grahan kaal. Wherever you are, in whatever state you are, you can do it mentally in that way.
Can the Pratyangira Kavach be recited as manasik japa?
Asked whether the manasik japa of the Pratyangira Kavach can be done, the speaker answers plainly: it should not be done.
A childhood fear of bhoots led to the Hanuman Chalisa being recited in secret
A listener writes that as a child she was afraid of bhoots, and for that reason, even after being told not to, she used to recite the Hanuman Chalisa secretly in her mind when alone — and that it had an effect. Very good, the speaker says.
What should someone do who has mrityu sutak till Bhai Dooj?
Asked what to do on Narak Chaturdashi by a person who has mrityu sutak in the kutumb until Bhai Dooj, he says: right now do the path only and only of the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita, or of the Gita of your own ishta aradhya. Do the naam japa of Bhagavan mentally. Only this much should you do now in sutak, and nothing else.
How should the mantra inside the Siddh Kunjika Stotra be read?
Wherever the Kunjika path is to be done, the full mantra that comes in the middle of the Shri Siddh Kunjika Stotra — the mahanava mantra of the Kunjika — should be read in the mind alone, not spoken out, not shouted. Those who read it into a microphone, he says, leave them; that is their matter.
What rules should a household follow when a woman is rajaswala?
By that reckoning, he says, if a house had a mother-in-law and two or four daughters-in-law, the deities would have to be sent away forever. Since a rajaswala occurs every week where there are four or five women, where would the puja come from? His rules: let there be no touch from her; do the seva-puja without eating food from her hand, and if you are eating it then bathe, become pure and wear clean clothes; let nothing of the puja place be touched by her; do not use water or flowers given by her; if she is cooking, take the naivedya before Bhagavan but offer it from a distance rather than handing it over. And if you know how to show the matsya mudra and the vidhi of amritikaran, and know the full vidhi vidhan of pranayama, then the dosha is remedied as well.
Does the bathwater from a tattoo of God going into the drain incur dosha?
Asked whether, after a tattoo of God is made, the water of one's bath going into the drain will not incur a dosha, he asks in return: and God, who is seated within us — within the mind, the atma, the five senses — whom people keep dirty like a drain day and night, does no dosha attach to God there? With this same mind we contemplate a mantra; with this same mind we hear the kathas of the Puranas and the bhav of God forms in it. In that same mind we form the bhav that Bhagavati Jagadamba is eight-armed, three-eyed, has the moon on her forehead, is mounted on a lion — and in that same mind we think wrongly about some woman, and make that same mind a drain. Then it is not wrong; but the tattoo water going into the drain is a dosha.
What does it mean if a mantra is forgotten in the middle of japa?
Nothing. It is an ordinary thing and not a subject to think about. If the mantra is long we forget a little; even reciters of Vedic mantras forget, and it happens often. There is no need to be troubled by it — nor by the clove and camphor falling from the hand.
May the Kamakhya kavach be recited during pregnancy?
Absolutely, he says — the path of the Kamakhya kavach can be done in pregnancy. This much is certain: when the fifth month is completed and the sixth begins, there is no need to go to the puja sthaan and no need to sit there. Sit on your bed, your bistar, on your bed wherever you are, and do the japa. She may even do japa while asleep; if it is by heart, let her keep doing japa, let the Kamakhya kavach keep running in the mind. There is no problem. Even at the time of labour pain, if awareness comes and it is running within, let the Kamakhya kavach keep running; let her keep doing it in any state, and at the time of the child's birth too. Bhagavati will grant a most divine child. There is no need to stop at any time.
Where means are genuinely absent, a Manas Stuti offered with Bhava satisfies Jagadamba and is held the highest worship.
The genuinely poor practitioner. Where Jagadamba has not made someone materially capable, a Manas Stuti offered with Bhava satisfies the household deities and Jagadamba alike — mental worship has always been held the highest, and is best of all for one without means.
A practitioner who has moved to Advaita incurs no fault in performing only Manasopachara worship.
Because he is not performing pretence. Having obtained Dharma, Artha and Kama and become satisfied, he has no material desire left, so his Manasopachara worship carries both fruits — and no fault attaches, because a capable man performing no ostentation is not the same as one skimping.
A shakti seated within, a form of Jagadamba, is watching every thought as it forms
You will see somewhere or other, he says, that this is watching. Within our own mind another shakti too is seated; this is a form of Jagadamba, and here we are about to entertain such a thought — this should not be done. That awareness will be there.
What is the remedy when abuse escapes the mouth during worship?
Whenever a wrong feeling comes into the mind at the time of pujan paath — and this is for everyone, the speaker says, it happens with him too sometimes, since worldly people living in the householder state have this problem — then in that state become quiet and take the name of Bhagavati Ganga again and again. If abuse has escaped once, take the name of Bhagavati Ganga eleven times.
Why does taking Ganga's name clean a mental sin?
Because it is a mental sin, the speaker says — abuse escaped from your mind, from your heart, or the thought came into your brain — you must do the washing at that very place, purify at that very place; and through the name of Ganga ji that thing will be entirely cleaned. Afterwards the thought that you did abuse should not come into your mind: just as the feeling of abusing arose, so too you should bring the feeling of Bhagavati Ganga's purity.
What should someone whose body is not healthy do for sadhana?
A listener says his body does not stay healthy and that he wishes to do sadhana. The speaker says that if you remain unwell and wish to do sadhana, take the support of naam japa and the singing of stuti and the like. He adds that everyone's time comes, and that nothing happens before its time.
How should japa be offered at a Shakti Peeth?
Asked whether the samarpan of japa should be made by going before the main vigraha or mentally without going, when japa is being done daily, he says that going every time is not possible at every Shakti Peeth. There is a great crowd, one has to stand in line — so how will you go to make that much samarpan? Therefore do it mentally.
How does a beginner without good dhyan complete a sadhana?
Told that no sadhana is perfected without a good state of dhyan at the start, and asked how a beginner with a poor level of dhyan should complete a sadhana, he says that whatever may be said, according to him the state of dhyan is what is obtained when you begin to do mantra japa, when the mantra settles within you and manana of the mantra begins, when it becomes fully effective in the mind. After that, dhyan begins to happen of itself. Until the correct effect of the mantra falls on your life, on your body, on your mind and soul, and until the bhav of surrender comes, that dhyan is useless.
What is the fruit of worshipping God mentally?
It is the finest fruit of all, the speaker answers. However physically clean we make ourselves, if our mind is not clean and our thoughts in it are foul, no fruit is properly obtained. If you do bhakti mentally, with God seated in your mind twenty-four hours, doing his shodashopachar pujan in the mind whenever you wish, singing his mantras, doing his abhishek within the mind — that is the very best.
What may be done during sutak kaal?
On the point that during Sutak kaal there is only manasik japa, the speaker says yes — japa of the twelve names of Bhagavan Datta may be done. And, he adds, it would be good for you to recite the seventh adhyaya of the Gita.
Should the havan of a mantra be done aloud or mentally?
He calls it a very good question. Vipin ji, the mantra of which you do japa — as you do the japa, so should you do the havan. If you do japa by speaking, then do the havan by speaking. If you do it mentally, then mentally. Only the svaha is to be said aloud.
What restrictions apply to a pregnant woman?
A pregnant woman should not give bali — she should not give bali at all, of any kind, the speaker says. And once past three months she should not even go into the pujan sthan; she should offer her pranam from a distance. Japa and svadhyaya, stuti and mantra paath she should do sitting on her own asana, wherever she is. Puja and paath are not to be given up; only going to the pujan sthan is. Everything else she may do — and bali and the like are not to be given.
Is nam jap alone enough, without lighting a lamp or offering naivedya?
The speaker says that if you do only nam jap there is a particular vidhan for it; it will not happen merely by going on repeating in that way. Do not remain in the delusion that if you only do nam jap there is no necessity of doing any puja seva — there absolutely is, to the extent your body supports you and your time allows.
May the thirty-two-name path be done mentally?
Asked whether the mantra path of the thirty-two names may be done mentally or should be spoken aloud, the speaker says it may certainly be done mentally, there is no difficulty at all — but do it seated. If you do it while walking about it is a little different, because the ugratmak beej in it is greater; the mantras of Bhagwati Durga are ugra.
Can the Kavach, stotra or raksha mantra be done during sutak and patak?
Asked by a listener whether the Kavach stotra and the raksha mantra can be done in sutak and patak, the speaker answers that at that time it should not be done. In the period of sutak and patak one should only do mansik naam japa, or recite the Gita of one's aradhya, or recite the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita.
What should the mind be doing during the half hour of japa?
Begin with the dhyan of Bhagwan Shiva — devotion is what is needed. For half an hour there should be only the dhyan of Shiva in the mind, and on the breath that is moving there should be Shiva, Shiva. Your dhyan should stay concentrated entirely on Shiva; nothing besides him is to be thought of.
Can the Kaal Bhairav mantra be done as mental japa?
The mental japa of Kaal Bhairav's mantra can be done, the speaker says, and it can be done while seated in the pujan.
He is an ordinary man whose concentration can be broken, and no great siddha
The speaker states plainly that he is no great siddha at all, and that this is where the difficulty begins whenever a sadhana of any kind is performed. People ask why he does not come live for so many days, why videos do not come, why he does not talk — this, he says, is the reason. If we are sitting doing japa, we are like you: the mind has to be gathered. People will say such things that the reflection will then run upon those very things, and the practice of restraining the mind that has been built up will go at once.
Dattatreya beej mantra as guru mantra and the daily prayer for a physical guru
Alongside the mala mantra, the speaker says, a sadhak may take up the japa of Dattatreya's Bija Mantra mantra for the purpose of a Guru mantra, and may also do it mentally. If no guru mantra or naam mantra has been received from any guru in physical form, he says, then until that is obtained the sadhak should take the sharanagati of Dattatreya and pray to him daily: that the Lord bless him as a shishya and grant him a guru in physical form.
What if a few days are missed during a crore of Ram naam japa?
Asked whether, having taken up one crore of Ram naam japa, one may still do the Hanuman Veer sadhana if two or three days are missed for some necessary cause such as an exam, he answers yes — for the one, two or three days that are missed, do mental japa according to your capacity, and the krama will remain intact.
How does a mantra muttered in the mind produce nada and reach the deity?
He answers that by speaking aloud we are doing things related to physicality, whereas all these — manan, niti, mantra — are things that run by the mind. All these are the taking of things from within us outward, and the assimilating of things outside into our own within. There is an outer pujan and there is an inner pujan: the outer pujan is needed only until your practice of the inner state comes about. Once your practice is established, there is no need to show the outer; there is then no need of the outer covering.
If the mind is elsewhere while the mala runs, does the japa reach the deity?
He grants that from the standpoint of surrender, if the mind is not one-pointed then even right things do not bear fruit. But at least, he says, the process of japa that you carry out while seated for that length of time will itself have an effect upon that devata.
May the japa of Batuk Bhairav be done mentally?
Yes — mental japa of Bhairav ji, of Batuk Bhairav ji, may be done; and, he adds, the mental path of the Kamakhya kavach and the like may be done as well.
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