Affirmation · “The Subconscious Says Yes”
Japa
To steady, purify and divinise the mind through disciplined, counted repetition of a chosen Name of God, following a fixed set of rules.
Rise at Brahmamuhurta, same place and time, facing north or east. Sit steady in a comfortable cross-legged pose. Take a 108-bead mala; roll with thumb + middle + ring fingers, never the index, and never cross the head bead. Repeat your chosen Name — loud, then whispered, then mental (the most powerful) — keeping love for the Lord in it. Vow a daily count, record it, and let it become continuous.
What it is
Japa is the repetition of a mantra or Name of God. The general practice exists across the whole yogic world (see the base ); what is distinct here is Sivananda’s version — unusually prescriptive, rule-bound and householder-friendly.
In Japa Yoga he reduces the practice to a set of plain, checkable instructions: when to sit, which way to face, how to hold the beads, which finger to avoid, the three grades of repetition, and a daily count. It is japa written as a discipline manual rather than a mystical description.
The Method
Sivananda’s rules, faithfully:
- Time — Brahmamuhurta. “Get up at 4 a.m., and do the Japa for two hours. Brahmamuhurta is most favourable for Japa and meditation.” A beginner may start far smaller (one mala) and build.
- Fixed place and time. “Sit in the same place and at the same time.” The regularity itself does the work.
- Direction. “Face the North or the East when sitting. This enhances the efficacy of the Japa.”
- Steady posture. “Have a steady pose. Have Asana-Jaya or conquest over Asana” — be able to sit in Padma, Siddha or Sukha Asana, head-neck-trunk in a line, still.
- The mala. Use a 108-bead mala. “Use not the index finger while rolling the beads. Use the thumb, the middle and the ring fingers. When counting of one Maala is over, revert it and come back again. Cross not the Meru“ (the head/guru bead). Sometimes drop the mala and “go by the watch.”
- The three grades of japa. Vaikhari (loud, audible), Upamsu (whispered/humming, inaudible to others), and Manasika (mental, silent). Sivananda ranks them: “Mental repetition. is more powerful than loud Japa.” Begin aloud when sleepy or distracted; move inward as the mind settles.
- A fixed daily count. In the Twenty Instructions he gives the range “108 to 21,600 times daily according to taste and inclination.” Vow a number and keep it; record it in your spiritual diary.
- Attend to the meaning and the Lord. Japa is not mechanical noise — keep love and the sense of God’s presence in the Name; let it gradually become continuous (ajapa-japa).
Source & Lineage
Swami Sivananda Saraswati (1887–1963), founder of the Divine Life Society, Rishikesh, codified japa for ordinary modern aspirants in Japa Yoga. → (author id sivananda swami).
The wider practice and its cross-tradition parallels (Jesus Prayer, Nichiren daimoku, Naam Simran) are covered in; this file is Sivananda’s specific rule-set.
Common refinements
Rushing the count to “finish” the mala — quality of attention beats speed.
- Forcing silent (manasika) japa too early — Sivananda has you build from loud → whispered → mental.
- Crossing the Meru bead / using the index finger — minor lineage points he is explicit about; reverse at the head bead.
- Switching mantras constantly — stick to one Name long-term for depth.
- Treating it as a wish-machine — its purpose is purification and union, not procurement.