Japa is the murmured or mental repetition of a mantra or a name of God, counted on a mālā of 108 beads, until the Name fills the mind.
Tagged: Meditation Prayer Remembrance Hindu
How It Is Practiced
The practitioner sits, usually at a set hour, and repeats the mantra — Oṃ, the Gāyatrī, or the name of the chosen deity (Rāma, Kṛṣṇa, Śiva) — audibly, in a whisper moving only the lips, or purely mentally, which the texts rank highest. The tulasī or rudrākṣa mālā counts the rounds; the thumb moves bead to bead without crossing the head bead. The great modern vehicle of japa is the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahāmantra, chanted as much as repeated, in the street as in the shrine room.
Purpose and Meaning
Japa rests on the doctrine of nāma: the Name is not a label for God but a form of his presence, and its repetition is communion, not reminder only. Where dhikr and the Jesus Prayer walk nearby paths in other faiths, japa's own account is sonic — the vibration of the mantra itself purifies. Its fruit is one-pointedness (ekāgratā): a mind that can stay.
References
- Japa — Wikipedia Free / open access
Related Practices
- Dhikr — The Remembrance of God — Dhikr is the repeated invocation of God's names and phrases — Subḥān Allāh, Alḥamdu lillāh, Allāhu akbar — counted on beads until remembrance becomes a state.
- The Jesus Prayer — The Jesus Prayer repeats one sentence — 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner' — until it becomes continual.
- Sandhyā and the Gāyatrī Mantra — At dawn, noon, and dusk the twice-born Hindu greets the junctions of the day with water, breath, and the Gāyatrī — Hinduism's most sacred verse.
Related Across the Site
- Dhikr — The Remembrance of God Devotion — Dhikr is the repeated invocation of God's names and phrases — Subḥān Allāh, Alḥamdu lillāh, Allāhu akbar — counted on beads until remembrance becomes a state.
- Home Pūjā Devotion — The household shrine's daily worship: the deity awakened, bathed, dressed, fed, and offered lamp and flowers as an honored guest in the home.
- Nām Simran — Meditation on the Name Devotion — The repetition of the divine Name — Vāhigurū — in meditation and through the day: the central interior practice of the Sikh path.
- Sandhyā and the Gāyatrī Mantra Devotion — At dawn, noon, and dusk the twice-born Hindu greets the junctions of the day with water, breath, and the Gāyatrī — Hinduism's most sacred verse.
- The Jesus Prayer Devotion — The Jesus Prayer repeats one sentence — 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner' — until it becomes continual.
- Vandana and Taking Refuge Devotion — Buddhist devotion opens with homage: bowing before the shrine and going for refuge to the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha.
- Dhikr Prayer or Creed — The remembrance of God through repeated short formulas of glory, praise, and greatness.
- Gayatri Mantra Prayer or Creed — The most revered mantra of the Rig Veda, a meditation on the divine light that illumines the mind.