Hari
OM
Application - that is what 'Workings-days' are about!
We are now undertaking basic technical
discourse on Vedanta. The text
forming the basis of these posts is 'Kindle Life'. Please do reread previous posts using the labels 'Workings-days' or
'Kindle Life'.
Ch.
27 JAPA YOGA, continued.
This post is actually outside of the KL text - but necessarily so, as the text assumes an audience already familiar with the mala and the practical saadhana known as japa. This if to fill that gap.
If the two bowl system
mentioned last week is your choice, then the movement of one bead/coin from the
full bowl into the empty bowl, causing that bowl to become full, is a
straight forward action. The symbolism of emptying yourself in order to allow the
flow of Pure Consciousness to enter you is fairly obvious. With each movement
of a bead, don't do it on 'autopilot'. Each bead has a chant uttered over it as
it moves; feel it as it is transported and release it with care and
acknowledgement into the other bowl. At no time touch it with the index finger
(more on this follows).
The
preferred method for the dedicated saadhaka though, is use of the stranded
beads known as a mala. The full saadhana length is 108 + meru. However, it is
possible to use the wrist form which is made of 27 + m, so four circuits = 108
chants. Occasionally, the half mala can found also, 54 + m.
Some
key points apply regardless of which mala (or if bowls) are used.
The items are being used for a sacred act, so
must themselves be treated as sacred.
Do not allow them to fall on floor.
Keep them by the altar when not in use,
preferably wrapped in a clean cloth or pouch.
Give pranaams (prostrations) to them before and
after use. If you are unaccustomed to bowing before an altar, than at least
touch your brow to the focus point and the bowls/mala. This is to acknowledge
your desire to open your ajna through their contact. If you are not prepared in
yourself, their purpose will be lost.
At all times use your right hand only. Many talk
of this as being due to the toileting habits of places and times… not
necessarily wrong, but extremely limited in explanation! The right hand is
operated by the left brain and, as we are clear about in these modern times,
this is our 'logical' mind at work. It is very important to not be overcome
with emotion or to risk fantasy in spiritual practice. Even if one is a
left-hand dominant individual, training the right hand for this purpose is very
balancing.
In this same context, the index finger is to be
kept away from the beads/coins during japa. Those who are familiar with
chirology will be familiar with the concept of the index finger being related
to the ego. In daily use we know it to be so - even if mostly unaware of it;
for the index finger is what is used to point to 'the other', to accuse or
reprimand or emphasise; all of which is about duality and the opposite to the
purpose of yoga.
The mala is not to be worn as if a piece of
jewellery. By all means have a wrist mala to wear so japa can be practiced
outside of the home. The full mala, however, ought to remain in your sacred
space. If at all it be worn (and fully dedicated saadhakas may wish this), it
ought to be with the meru at the nape of the neck and the rest of the mala kept
under the clothing, not exposed to the world.
All
this is about 'mindfulness'. Taking conscious and deliberate action. Having a
routine of when and how to approach your daily saadhana is as important as the
saadhana itself. This is the true purpose of 'ritual' - to keep the mind
centered on the sacred.
Mala.
How to hold and use? When lifting the mala from its pouch or place on the
altar, raise it so that it can drop its full length without touching the floor.
Generally this means that your forearm is extended at right angles from the
elbow and perhaps a little higher - essentially, the operation hand is likely
to be level with the heart chakra. Indeed, if comfortable, you may perform japa
with the hand only a little away from your heart centre. Mostly, though, the
hand will hover above the knee, where any excess length in the mala can also
fall.
Locate
meru. This is to be considered the head of God. After one rotation of the mala,
on reaching meru, the mala will be swung round and rotated in the opposite
direction - at no time is meru crossed over.
Hold
the first bead with meru 'behind'. The mala can rest on either of the middle or
ring fingers. Rotation of the mala is performed with the thumb if using the
first method, or with the middle finger if using the second method. The ring
finger method is a little more tricky to adapt to, but has the distinct
advantage that if the index finger relaxes (which means the mind has too!) it
will rest on the middle finger and not touch the mala. Majority people use the
thumb method to draw the beads over though, as it does give a better control of the beads. Experiment
and find which suits you over the length of the mala.
With
each bead, sound your mantra. For those who do not have a given mantra, AUM is
universal. Hold each bead for the full duration of the sound, only traversing
to next bead during the turiya (silence and inhalation).
Be
in no hurry. Express the mantra, albeit the single-word AUM, with all the Love
(capital 'ell'!) that you have within you. When you reach meru, you have
completed a full 108 reptitions. If you wish to continue japa, then, as stated,
do not cross meru, but rather bring the lower fingers round behind the string
and spin it round, then proceed as before. Obviously, if using wrist mala, then this turning must take place three times for each 108 to complete.
If you are taking up this practice for the very first time, it is
possible to feel self-conscious, clumsy, even a little scared. Take heart! This
is one of the most powerful and meaningful acts you will ever undertake. It is
clarifying, focusing, relieving, pacifying… The first 108 chanting can seem
endless, because the mind is sitting in the mechanics of the practice. Do not
worry, this is perfectly normal.
Practice brings familiarity. The mala becomes your friend and travelling
companion in the chanting.
SAADHANA
Practice
a single mala of AUM chanting each day. Note the effects.