Sound has a definite and predictable effect on the human psyche and body. Japa, or Mantra Yoga can be a way to generate the creative force and experience eternal Bliss. Japa is a practice of repetitively uttering the same mantra for an auspicious number of times, the most popular being 108, and sometimes 5, 10, 28 or 1008, often assisted by malas or strung beads. The power contained within the Mantra can be used for different purposes by practicing Japa. Awaken consciousness when a Mantra is constantly repeated, and when the practitioner becomes one with the sound and power of the Mantra.
The ancient sages were attuned to higher levels of consciousness, and knew of the powers of sound. They used different combinations of sounds to create specific vibrations for different purposes. A certain energy and power within the vibrations of each Mantra will take form, just like different sounds that vibrate a plate of sand will form the particles into a certain design. One theory is that advanced sound vibration techniques were used to move and sculpt the huge stones of the Egyptian pyramids.
Yogic theory teaches that thought, form and sound are all the same, just as steam, water and ice are all the same substance. Thought and form manifest in four states. Japa meditation leads one from the lowest to the highest state. The first stage is spoken word, which is the most concrete state of thought. In the second stage, the speaker selects his words through a mental prism clouded by preconceptions, impressions, emotions and other limitations, which leads to confusion. The third stage is the visible sound of the telepathic state in which one can literally feel the form of the one chosen thought. The fourth and highest state is the transcendental, which is above all names and forms, and is the unchanging, primal substratum of all language. The highest state is pure energy or Shakti, and corresponds to the Divine Vibration that unites all. The witness and the witnessed become one, and a state of bliss prevails. One does not enjoy bliss, but becomes Bliss itself. This is the true experience of meditation. Japa meditation is a method of channeling one’s consciousness from the lowest to the highest level of pure thought. Repeated verbally or mentally, a Mantra lifts one into the telepathic stage and beyond into the transcendental, with silent and subtle repetition of the mantra bringing the highest level of purification of the mind and spirit.
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