RE: Introduction

From the Bhakti List Archives

• March 5, 2003


Sri Akaal Ji Sahai

Just a small query if you will....(please correct me if I am incorrect)

As far as I understand, "Jap"/"Jaap" means "to contemplate" within Sanskrit texts, and not "to recite".  To recite would be to do "simran"/"simar".  Surely if we contemplate upon the Almighty, whatever that may be (ie, "Raam", "Raheem", "Allah", "Vaaheguroo", "Mahavishnu", "Mahakaal", ""God", "Lord", etc) to whatever faith an individual adheres to then that is what counts?

To quote an old saying, 

"..even a parrot can be taught to recite a name, but it does not mean it has understood its depth or comprehended its meaning"

As Krishan Maharaj within Bhaagwad Gita speaks of time and again, to do any task without any heart leads to fruitless ventures...the same would also apply to reciting the Lord's name without any depth of contemplation. 

Sri Akaal Ji Sahai

Nihang Teja Singh
Panjvah Takht 96 Crore Budha Dal Akali Nihang Khalsa Panth
www.sarbloh.info

--- Sangeetha Padmanabhan  wrote:
>Sri Ramanujaya Namah:
>I completely agree with what you say Sir. We have to make "Nama Japa" with a clear conscious. Counting the Namas might cause a distraction and an intervention of a new element in thought while mentioning God's name. There should be no intervention while performing Nama Japa and hence we should not count and our inner mind should always be reciting God's name all the time. I do this all the time. Outwardly, I answer to people, do my work, and read while my inner mind always recites God's Name all the time. This is a process which i cultivated some years back and it gives us a lot of peace when we do so. This is just my view and may not be correct.
>Please forgive me if my views are wrong.
>Om Namo narayanaya Namah:
>Sangeetha Jagan
> Sukumar  wrote:Dear Sri Sivanandam,
>
>Welcome!
>
>The normal practice, as far as I know, for Nama japa is actually done 11 
>times, 33 times and so on. But in a real union with God (Yoga) what I 
>feel and do is not counting the namas. I think nothing should come in 
>between us (atman) and namas of Lord. We should be so passionate that we 
>should not keep anything obstructive or slightly misleading when we do nama 
>japa. Mind is the one which is advantageous and disadvantageous in this 
>aspect and therefore I will not count nama japa though earlier I used to 
>do.
>
>It is just the degree/amount of bhakti is what is required ultimately. 
>Pardon me if I am wrong.
>
>regards
>sukumar
>
>
>
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           - SrImate rAmAnujAya namaH -
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