Japa
देहबुद्ध्या तु दासोऽस्मि जीवबुद्ध्या त्वदंशकः। आत्मबुद्ध्या त्वमेवाहमिति मे निश्चिता मतिः॥
“Lord, while I identify myself with my body, I am Your servant.
When I consider myself as Jiva, I am a part of You.
But when I look upon myself as the Atma, I am You.” - Hanuman
The Sadhana (spiritual practice) contains three components:
- Recitation of the Hanuman Chalisa
- Nama japa of Bhairava for one or more malas
- Meditation on our Ista (Personal Diety)
The sadhana is based on Rajeshi Nandy's Kamakhya Bhairava Upasaka Foundation. I have modified it a bit. It takes around 25 minutes to complete. But what I find is that the extreme concentration and focus of this practice leads to an immense amount of energy and focus throughout the day.
The sadhana will follow the same layout across every time we do it whether at satsang and can also be done at home. If done at home please face North or East.
| Light a Diya/Deepam | |
|---|---|
| Om x 8 | Settling the mind to start our sadhana. |
| Shukla-Ambara-Dharam Visualize Vishnu or Ganesha while repeating. शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुं शशिवर्णं चतुर्भुजम् । प्रसन्नवदनं ध्यायेत् सर्वविघ्नोपशान्तये ॥ Śuklāmbaradharaṃ viṣṇuṃ śaśivarṇaṃ caturbhujam । prasannavadanaṃ dhyāyet sarvavighnopaśāntaye ॥ Shook-laam-ba-ra-dha-ram Vish-noom Sha-shi-var-nam Cha-toor-bhoo-jam Pra-san-na-va-da-nam Dhyaa-yet Sar-va-vigh-no-pa-shaan-ta-yeh (We Meditate on Sri Vishnu) Who is Wearing White Clothes, Who is All-Pervading, Who is Bright in Appearance like the Moon and Who is Having Four Hands, Who is Having a Compassionate and Gracious Face; One should Meditate on Him to ward of all Obstacles. | We need the guidance of Vishnu or Ganesha to remove obstacles in our meditation path. |
| Sankalpa "May this sadhana uplift dharma, purify my mind, open my heart, and bring me closer to the Divine. May it benefit all beings. May my guru Hanuman guide me. Jai Shree Ram" | Need to state why we are doing this. Also you may add your own reason either material or spiritual for doing the sadhana. Do not need to lie to the deities, be true to yourself and what you want out of this. |
| Hanuman Chalisa Recite | We chant the Hanuman Chalisa to invoke Hanuman and remind of ourselves of what a committed devotee looks like. |
| Gratitude to Devatas and Gurus Visualize the dieties and mentally pray at their feet. Om Saraswati Namah Om Hanumate Namah Om Swami Vivekananda Namah Om Sri Ramakrishna Namah Om Namah Shivaya Om Sri Narayanaya Namah Om Bhairavaya Namah | We offer our prayers and love to the devatas and gurus that will guide us on our path. |
| Nama Japa Close your eyes, Focus on the tip of your nose. If you deviate just bring it back to the nose. Repeat for 1 whole mala. Reverse and do it the other way. Do as many full malas as you like. - Om Bhairavaya Namah (Pronounciation: Om bai-ra-va-ya nam-aha) | We do a nama japa mantra recitation for 1 mala. (108 repititions), Do additional if time permits. We repeat the name of Bhairava who is a fierce deity in Hinduism and Buddhism. He represents a fierce form of Shiva who targets our ego and ignorance. Note: Use a separate mala for each mantra that you use. One mala, one mantra. |
| Ista Contemplation Meditate on your Ista whether a Sanatana (Hindu) deity such as Shiva, Vishnu, Devi or other dieties/gurus like Buddha, Jesus, etc. Bring back to your deity if concentration is deviated. Still focus on your nose. | Once our Nama Japa is completed we sit in silent contemplation of our Ista. Hopefully the recitation of the nama japa clears our mind so we can meditate on the form. |
| Om x 8 | Coming out of our sadhana. |
| Gratitude "I dedicate this sadhana to my guru, Shree Hanuman. May I be His instrument." "Om Namah Shivaya" "Jai Shree Ram" | We give thanks to Hanuman for guiding us. |
FAQ
What do I need for the sadhana?
- Diya
- Cushion or mat
- Mala. https://minimela.org/product/mala108/
What is the goal of the Sadhana?
The goal of the Sadhana is for us to experience the light of the divine. There have been enough words written about nirvana/moksha, whether there is a divine or not, etc. We want to see for ourselves.
Why is Hanuman our guru?
Hanuman represents the ultimate devotee of Lord Rama characterized with strength, wisdom and devotion. While traditionally Rama is seen as the avatara of Vishnu in the Ramayana, Rama also translates to Ra - light, Ma - myself, or the light within. So Hanuman guides us to the light within ourselves.
Why Bhairava Nama Japa?
We are going through a period of turmoil in the world where the old world is dying and a new one is being formed. This will be the time that Lord Shiva takes his fearful form as Bhairava to do his transformation. Thankfully, Bhairava is also the one who helps destroy our egos and ignorance allowing to progress on our spiritual path faster.
Do I have to be a vegetarian, stop alcohol, etc.?
No. This sadhana is to be practiced and to be met where we are. We don’t need to be at some arbitrary definition of purity to start. Our goal is to just start!
What sastras (texts) should I also read?
- Hanuman Chalisa
- Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
- Bhagavad Gita.
Do you have a lineage?
No. We are following a sadhana that does not need guru initiation. Nothing we do requires a guru as we are just using nama mantras.
How do I hold a mala?
The pointy finger represents ego so you use your middle and thumb.