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Originally posted by Wanders

is it best to ignore japa while working with the AYP system?

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Originally posted by Wanders

I've been reading alot about tantric practices and was wondering about using deity mantras, such as a kali mantra. I am interested in working with these energies to help with my progress but I am confused on how to integrate them with the AYP system. Can the mantras be said during the day mentally outside of meditation, or must they be said sitting, and repeated a certain number of times?

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Originally posted by HathaTeacher

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Originally posted by Wanders

is it best to ignore japa while working with the AYP system?

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Perhaps Yogani has an answer?

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Originally posted by yogani

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I don’t know what Yogani's stance is on the practice, but I have noticed that continuous mantra repetition (japa) has not made it into the top 20 advanced yoga practices in AYP.

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That's right, and there is a reason for it. There is a big difference between a "meditation habit" and a "mantra habit." One naturally enlivens our normal daily activity with abiding inner silence, while the other divides our thought process between constant mantra repetition and normal activity (which limits the mantra as a vehicle for cultivating inner silence). People with a mantra habit sometimes have difficulty learning the simple procedure of deep meditation because they are so used to mechanically droning on with mantra during all other activity, giving attention to both (dividing the mind), which is not meditation. This is discussed in the deep meditation book.

Which is not to say continuous japa is not useful for some, but it seems to be a small minority of those who use it.

It boils down to the statistics. We aim for reliable results.

The guru is in you.

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If you undertake other mantras during the day, like Gayatri, it will certainly speed up purification, but maybe excessively. With all the good techniques available these days, the challenge is not in achieving the purification. It is in digesting it in a way that facilitates stable progress and the rise of ecstatic bliss over the long term. The lessons take a particular approach to the task. There are other approaches too. Mixing them together may not bring the best results.

In the approach here, daily activity is used to stabilize the effects of practices. The best way to do this is to go out and engage in worthwhile activities of our choice. Then our activities, inner silence and ecstatic energy are naturally blended to bring about higher functioning in our nervous system. The end result is life lived in ecstatic bliss with divine love flowing out into everything we do. Our life naturally becomes joyful service, wherever we may be.

There are many things you can do that will hasten purification in your nervous system. But there is only so much purification the nervous system can assimilate in a given period of time. The order in which practices are done is important too. Think of it as being like athletic conditioning. It takes time, particular exercises, and a gradual build-up. That is the approach here. The practices in the lessons, combined with prudent self-pacing (very important), provide a means to go gradually faster without risking excessive instability. Then we can keep up our daily practices indefinitely without overloading and burning out.

Stable long-term daily practice is the key to enlightenment. The journey is more like a marathon than a sprint. With right practices and good self-pacing it can be a pretty fast marathon!

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Originally posted by Wanders

I was just looking for a mantra for daily activity to boost the purifying process like the Gayatri mantra that was mentioned, or even a Kali or Shiva mantra.

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