Question: “Experience shows me that the practice of mantra japa is a central aspect of sadhana, at one time or another, for the majority of those following Sanatana Dharma. Further understanding of Bhagavan affirms that his teaching accentuated the foundations of this eternal religion. However, I have been lead to believe that the teachings of Bhagavan regarding japa state that this practice was prescribed only for those of weak (lacking maturity) minds. Is this assumption true?”
   
    A common misunderstanding regarding the teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi is the belief that he never advised his disciples to take up a practice that involved mantra japa (continuous repetition of one of many sound formulas representing a Name of God). The truth is that such advice was given, though rarely, and even given to some of those in the innermost circle. In the memoirs of one of Bhagavan’s close disciples such an occurrence is recorded:

    “Though Bhagavan rarely gave out mantras, when he did, he generally recommended “Siva, Siva’. Muruganar himself was given this mantra by Bhagavan, as were several other devotees including Annamalai Swami, the brother of Rangan (who was one of Bhagavan’s childhood friends), and an unknown harijan.” 

    Muruganar continues, making special note of Bhagavan’s teachings regarding the use of mantras:

    “Through grace, Padam (Muruganar’s epithet for Bhagavan) ensures that there is never any danger to those who remain in their heart, meditating ‘Sivaya Nama’.”

    “The mantra ‘Sivaya Nama” on which you meditate will reveal itself within your heart to be your father and mother.”
 

(In this verse the father implies Siva, who is Sat [being], while the mother denotes Sakti, who is Chit [consciousness].)

    “The mind that does japa, ‘Siva, Siva,’ will later automatically lose itself in ajapa (samadhi).” *

          The Joy of Perseverance

    When it is said that this practice of meditation (with or without the use of japa) and samadhi is persistent, it is of two types, disciplinary and pervasive. Disciplinary means that you have chosen a time in the morning or evening to do the practice. The morning hours are considered best because you are rested from sleep, and the world around you is also at rest. In meditation we are leading ourselves to a state of quietude by conscious movement. In sleep we are being led by the unconscious. Sleep can give a feeling of refreshment, but it cannot give our thought vitality. Philosophically, the stages toward enlightenment are the progressive movement toward the stage where the ego is not dominating you. The final enlightenment is the burning down of the ego entirely.

     The pervasive type of practice is the most important. The revelations of yoga that are achieved while practicing privately in the recesses of your heart must be applied in your daily life. The strength, beauty and rapture of focused attention that one experiences in meditation becomes even more wondrous when applied to everything one does.
   
    A sense of joy will pervade the life of one who applies this yogic concentration in the actions of everyday life. Others will not only perceive this joy, it will uplift them. This uplifting of humanity is the prime characteristic of one whose life is one of service to God. Maintaining this mental focus within during outward activities also produces a stream of unimaginable peace. This profound peace is undreamt of for it is the peace wherein the ego is transcended, even though one remains active in daily life.
 
    How will you know it? Even when you are insulted, you will not feel at a loss, because you are not dominated by the ego personality. You are never shaken when put into difficult circumstances. You have experienced dhyana and samadhi at a deeper level of your personality. The goal is that by practicing meditative absorption in a disciplinary way you direct that experience to permeate your life.

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*   Padamalai, Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi Recorded by Muruganar, Avadhuta Foundation 2004, p. 224 - 225.