Japa is the process in which a devotee repeats the name of the God. The repeatation can be loud or just the movement of lips or in mind. This spiritual practice is present in the major religions of world. This is considered as one of the most effective spiritual practice.

In Hinduism, often the aid of Japamaala, a garland of beads is taken. The vaishnavas generally use the Japamaala of Tusli beads. The Shaivas use that of Rudrakhsa beads. The number of beads in Japamaala is generally 108. The devotee sits quitely in his/her prayer room in the morning after bath and in the evening and 'tells the beads'. With each repeatation of the Lord's name, a bead is moved. Some people wear the Japamaala in neck. Some keep it in the bags and perform the Japa with their hands hidden in the bag. This is to impress the idea that devotion to God is one's private affair, not to be exhibited. The Mantra or the words repeated while performing Japa are names of Ishta-daiva often prefixed with Bijakshara (holy sounds such as Om, Hrim, Krim etc. as per Tantra shastra] and ending with namah (I salute). One is supposed to keep the mantra secret as it is sacred. The mantra is generally given by the Guru during initiation. Gayatri mantra is a famous mantra. Other famous mantras are "Om namah Shivaya" or Panchakshari (salutations to Shiva), "Om namo Narayanaya" (salutations to Narayana) etc.

Christians practice japa with mantra such as Hail Mary. Buddhists repeat "Mani padme ham".

Japa, or recitation, is the spiritual practice of devotedly repeating a mantra, generally a specified number of times, such as 108, often while counting on a strand of beads, called a japa mala, while conscientiously concentrating on the meaning of the mantra. The repetition should be dutifully slow. This brings punya, merit, to the devotee. It should not be thought lessly mechanical or the hurried, so-called rapid-fire or machine-gun japa, which demonstrate ignorance of the tantras. Such casual, nonchalant negligence and disregard for contemplative traditions brings papa, demerit, to the devotee, creating internal strife, community opposition and turmoil for all concerned.

Lord Krishna says in the Bhagvat Gita

Of all the Vedas I am the Sama Veda!

Of all the Yagnas I am the Japa yagna!!

Thus highlighting the importance of japam.

Japa is a form of devotional worship, invocation, supplication, praise, adoration, meditation and direct, experiential communion. Unless we are actually in a state of samadhi (total absorption), which is rare for most people, japa provides a means to disengage from our racing thoughts and our memories of the past -- mostly the bad ones. The repetition of positive, uplifting, spiritual mantras over and over again lifts consciousness and causes the muladhara chakra to spin clockwise. We feel uplifted. Life does not look so bad, and neither does the past. A sense of forgiveness comes and the future looms bright. The past is forgiven and forgotten. Japam can be done by everyone. However for yagnas certain conditions are mentioned.

There are three ways by which one can do Japam

1. Ucchahi - loud recitation - less effective.

2. Upamshu - soft recitation - more effective.

3. Manasikam - within the mind - most effective.

OM is the basic vibration of the cosmic universe. Hence all mantras begin with "OM".

Benefits of Japam

1. Physical - to energize the system (to tone up the system).

2. Mental - to remove depression/obstacles/mental blocks.

3. Spiritual - Attaining Siddhi,self-development/specific areas of growth(strengthening the inner-personality by projecting positive powers inwards; over-coming/eliminating negative traits).

Extracts from the Articles section on website: http://www.rudraksha-ratna.com

Further Reading

• Meditation and Spiritual Life - Swami Yatishwarananda
• Japayoga - Swami [Sivananda]