Reflections and gratitude

 Hari Aum.

As the year 2025 draws to a close, I was reflecting upon the events that have occurred during this period. And, I have to admit that, on the whole, I am truly very grateful to the universe. So much has happened, on so many levels (both on the outer/3D and inner/5D). Overall, I feel things are much better today than at the start of this year.

This year has, of course, not been without significant challenges (as is usual for many of us). But, once again, I would say that, in every challenge, there has been the protecting hand of the Divine.

One major challenge I have faced in the past year involves my mantra practice which has been absolutely terrible (in terms of both quality and quantity-- poor concentration/devotional feeling and malas reduced from 7 to 5 a day). This has been a source of huge frustration for me but I have not been able to solve this problem--it feels like a sort of spiritual test and I feel I have to accept it (I have requested the universe to help fix it but it continues to be difficult). 

I have no problem concentrating on other topics such as work, dance, and even other spiritual matters- but my mantra japa currently feels very uninspired. I feel anxious and worried about this at times but have been forced to accept that this is a phase that I am currently going through (I have been through something similar before, so am hopeful that it will improve again with time and patience).

In the meantime, I remain very grateful that I am able to still have a daily mantra japa practice. Fortunately, despite my not enjoying the japa one bit these days (unfortunately this currently feels like a really boring but important chore), not a day has passed without at least 15-30 minutes of recitation of my Guru mantra (the ashtakshara of Narayana). (There has been an unbroken thread of daily mantra japa since November 2011 for which I am very thankful to my Guru Sivananda and God).

And during the day, there continues to be ongoing periodic remembrance of God (sometimes joyful, and often times complaining-- but present nonetheless). Also, despite the dissatisfaction with my japa, I have felt inspired to worship God by performing occasional pujas (including of Tulsi-Shaligram) and through my dance practice (Bharatanatyam). 

Coming back to the subject of this year, I feel that many significant milestones have occurred both in outer (3D) and inner (5D) life-- and there has been some vital progress made in harmonising the two. There has been a degree of reconciliation in various situations. For this too, I am very grateful.

On the whole, I am deeply grateful to the Divine for helping me to step up and face the challenges that were given this year. I continue to feel that the mantra japa connects me to the Divine within-- regardless of anything else that is happening in my life.

Once again, as already mentioned in previous posts over the years, it is my experience that the name and mantra of God is the foundation of life, the basis for dharma, artha, kama and moksha (the four goals of life according to the yogis). 

And the main message I therefore have, is it is vital to continue the mantra japa every day even, and especially, when life feels difficult and challenging. Even when the mantra practice feels frustrating and uninspired. Such phases come and go in the life of every spiritual seeker, but we simply have to keep going. It is no joke and not easy but we just have to keep at it and trust in the process-- because it does work.

It is to be expected that spiritual life will have major ups and downs. In terms of acceptance of the will of God, this year has been good. I have had to accept all sorts of things (both in material and spiritual life) and resign myself to the will of the universe (including accepting uninspired japa!).

As I have said before, the mantra is for the many not the few. It is for ordinary people living ordinary lives-- not only for yogis, sannyasis and brahmacharis living in ashrams and mountains. It is very much meant for busy householder yogis, rushing about here and there, performing household chores, looking after children and family and performing work. All this work we do, when dedicated to the Divine, becomes yoga.

In my view, every day should begin with at least 10-15 minutes of mantra japa--regardless of whether or not we are in the mood, regardless of whether the quality feels good or bad. Japa is always powerful and has an effect regardless of what we feel about it. And, if one is not too exhausted, the day should also end in a similar way with at least 5-15 minutes of japa. In addition, during the day, whenever possible, in a spontaneous manner, one should remember God (by privately talking with Him/Her, offering food before eating to the Divine and so on and so forth). 

It is extremely unwise to spend even a day without mantra japa in my view--there are so many challenges that people on our planet face today-- the idea of handling them without Divine protection seems impossible. 

The mantra of God provides protection to both ourselves and our loved ones {in the recent case of my father becoming unwell last week (that I mentioned in my last post), it so happened that a cousin of mine who is a doctor (specialising in the field of medicine in which my father required help) was visiting the family home when this occurred. He ensured that my father was promptly taken to hospital, accompanied him there and saw to it that he received all the care required. If my father had to face this karma of illness, I feel that God ensured that he received all the help he needed to get through it. Anything may happen, but so far, so good).

In this mysterious journey called life, we truly never know what is around the corner, what challenge we will have to face next. Truth is really a lot stranger than fiction (and modern science, while very valuable, cannot at all explain everything that we go through in life, especially in spiritual life).

One thing is certain though-- all will be well in the end as long as we do our best (with all our flaws and imperfections-- which are usually many) to adhere to dharma (righteousness/ethics) while performing regular, daily spiritual practice, particularly recitation of the name/ mantra of God (from any spiritual tradition that appeals to us). 

So, onwards and Godwards we go-- regardless of whether our spiritual and material lives are looking good, bad or downright ugly. :)

On that optimistic note, I wish all of you a very happy New Year. May the year 2026 bring great spiritual and material blessings for all of us. May there be a victory of the forces of dharma/goodness on our planet (and may negative forces be subjugated-- both within and without).

Om Namo Narayanaya. Om Namo Narayanaya. Om Namo Narayanaya.

Hari Aum Tat Sat.

P.S. As in previous years, the four Kindle books I have written on the life of Lord Krishna will be available for free download from the Amazon website over the New Year period (from January 1st, 12 am PST to January 5th 11.59 pm PST). 

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Vishnupriya-Devi/author/B07B95YQCV?ref=ap_rdr&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

(Note- I will continue writing about the life of Sri Rama on this blog in the New Year)

P.P.S. I will conclude by sharing a short video describing the beautiful 'Divine Light' invocation meditation taught by a disciple of Sivananda Radha (the disciple of my Guru, Sivananda) (I sometimes perform a variation of this while seated and find it very soothing):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaqQlW-3yDg

(Note- Please accept my sincere apologies for not replying to Vedic astrology queries in the past few months. As mentioned on this blog, I have had a lot going on recently hence the delay. I will aim to resume this in the New Year as far as I am able. Thank you very much for your patience and understanding.)

Hari Aum Tat Sat.

Mantra writing

 Hari Aum.

Swami Sivananda used to strongly encourage his students to practice mantra writing (likhita japa) as a form of meditation. He used to recommend practicing silence (mauna) while writing the mantra and concentrating the mind on its sound, the letters and its meaning. He used to say this is a very potent way to develop good concentration and meditate on the mantra.

I used to practice this a long time time ago and recently decided to take it up again as it adds some much-needed variety to my practice. Sivananda used to say that books that are filled with the mantras or names of God have a certain positive energy associated with them. He used to recommend keeping these books near one's altar or meditation place as he said this would create a sacred atmosphere. 

While any notebook can be used for mantra writing, I feel it can help to have a special notebook set aside for this purpose. To help create a sense of joy and interest when doing this practice, I recently purchased a sturdy notebook with a rather pretty and inspiring cover and also purchased a special set of pens of different colours to write (it can get a bit tedious to write pages and pages in a single black/blue colour sometimes in my view). I started this practice about a week ago and find that I really look forward to it now. I do about 1-2 pages of writing the mantra (around 65-120 times) and find that it brings me peace.

I conducted a puja at home for Lakshmi and Narayana recently and placed some of the flowers that had been offered to the deities into the notebook (as I like pressed flowers)-- somehow this makes the notebook feel even more special. 

I plan to keep up this practice in the coming months and try to do the mantra writing at least 4-5 times a week for 15-20 minutes at a time. I will hopefully be able to build up to 30 minutes a day over time.

Sivananda says the following on mantra writing or likhita japa:

"Likhita Japa or Mantra-writing is a sharp goad to direct the mind towards God. Fix the mind on the Lord. Think of His attributes when you write the Mantra. Forget the environments. Forget everything. Remain alone with your Ishta Devata. Daily write the Mantra in a notebook with ink for at least half an hour, observe Mouna. You can write the Mantra in any language. Stick to one Mantra, your Guru Mantra or Mantra of your Ishta Devata."

See link here for the full article: 

https://www.sivanandaonline.org/?cmd=displaysection&section_id=428

The coming weekend is that of Narasimha Jayanti, the celebration of the day when the man-lion avatar of Narayana is said to have manifested to protect the child, Prahlada. There is also a lunar eclipse on the coming Sunday/Monday (depending upon where you live). This is a good period to spend some additional time on spiritual practices and staying grounded. According to the yogis, eclipses can create some mental/physical disturbances in people and spiritual practices can help. 

A single recitation of a mantra of God recited during an eclipse is said to have 100 or 1000 times the effect of it being recited at other times. Needless to say, the yogis say that this is therefore a wonderful time for doing some extra mantra practice including mantra writing that spiritual seekers should not miss.

On an astrological note, this lunar eclipse takes place in the sign of Scorpio and involves the south node of the moon (Ketu in jyotisha). This is an interesting combination. The moon representing the mind is debilitated (weakened) in the sign of Scorpio, which is quite an intense sign representing deep hidden and complex karmas. Ketu is a volatile and unpredictable entity in Vedic astrology representing sudden events and changes in our lives as well as past life karmas. The combination of these two intense and volatile factors, Scorpio and Ketu, is likely to pose a challenge on some level for most of us.

This eclipse will have different effects based on our zodiac sign i.e. ascendant and moon signs (I find the effects seem particularly accurate when seen from the ascendant sign) and various karmas can suddenly manifest. Therefore, it is generally regarded as wise to avoid making any important decisions about any aspect of one's life during the period in the few days before and after an eclipse due to the risk of cloudy thinking and poor judgement. The best advice during this time is to engage the mind in spiritual practices, keep worldly activities (including travel, new projects etc) to an absolute minimum and generally be patient and wait for this to this tricky period to pass. 

On that note, I will conclude by wishing all of you a pleasant weekend, a joyful Narasimha jayanti and a spiritually productive lunar eclipse with hopefully some enjoyable mantra-writing. 

Hari Aum Tat Sat

  

Completion of purascharana four

Hari Aum.

I completed my fourth purascharana of the ashtakshara mantra in the last few days. I want to write a bit about my experiences with it here. The aim of this is to make the point that spiritual sadhana does produce results even while living an ordinary life as a householder in a city (and that one does not have to be a wandering sadhu in the Himalayas for this). The name of God has a transformative effect in all places.

Since November 2011, by the grace of God and my Guru, Sivananda, not a day has passed without my doing some form of sadhana involving the name of God, specifically the names of Vishnu/Krishna and more specifically, the ashtakshara mantra of Narayana.

Also, since January 2012 till date, I have completed four purascharanas of the ashtakshara mantra. My Guru defines a purascharana as 100,000 x the number of syllables in the mantra. So a purascharana of ashtakshara, the eight-syllable mantra, is 800,000 and I have completed four times this number (actually a bit more, as I've done japa in between the purascharanas too of course).

After completion of this japa portion of the purascharana, my Guru says one can do the required amount of homam (fire ritual), tarpanam (water offerings) and marjanam (water ritual) if possible. If not possible, he says "you can do feeding and charity according to your capacity if you cannot adhere to the above strictly" (i.e. to the post-japa rituals). http://sivanandaonline.org/public_html/?cmd=displaysection&section_id=525

I have done a few homams myself and with the help of a priest during the four purascharanas. I have also done as my Guru advises and donated to various charitable institutions including his ashram in Rishikesh.

What has been the effect of these four purascharanas? What has been the benefit for me in doing them?

Well, after the first three purascharanas, the main effect was feeling much more connected to God, much better at remembering God (which itself is an important sadhana). Also development of the witnessing side of the mind-- the side of the mind that watches what is going on in the rest of the mind (again, a necessary quality in a yogi). I also feel that this practice has improved my character and made me a kinder and more patient person.

The fourth purascharana was more challenging than the others for a variety of reasons. It also took longer to complete (2 years and 3 months approximately; normally takes me under 2 years). This is mostly because I had a baby during the purascharana (the arrival of my daughter has been a blessing though, and looking after her is an important spiritual sadhana for me as I feel that she too is a manifestation of God). It has also been more rewarding in terms of spiritual experiences.

I know yogis say one should not run after spiritual experiences but  rather,  just keep doing sadhana until one attains God. However, many gurus including my own, have also written about spiritual experiences as being useful signposts on the spiritual path. They are not a goal in themselves, but they do encourage one to continue sadhana until the real spiritual goal is attained.

So I would say I had more spiritual experiences in this purascharana compared with the others. I've had some very auspicious dreams of my Guru and God, and some dreams than came true (predictive dreams--I've written about these in other posts). These things never happened before and made me feel my sadhana is definitely having some effect on those aspects of my being that modern science does not yet understand very well (the deeper layers of the mind).

During this purascharana, I also felt inspired to read about the life of Krishna from the beginning to the end as described in the sacred book, the Srimad Bhagavatam which was a useful sadhana in itself (and I also published books on Krishna's life on Amazon, the proceeds of which go towards  the free medical work performed by my Guru's ashram in Rishikesh).

I'm feeling tired but happy on completion of this purascharana. I feel an important milestone has been crossed. I plan to take a break and then start the next purascharana in a couple of months. During the break, I will be doing a reduced amount of ashtakshara mantra japa (5 malas). I will also do some different worship during this time-- worship of the Divine Mother. I feel She gives me the strength to do sadhana and I want to thank Her by doing some worship.

I will recite the saptasloki Durga daily during this break, and do some japa of Her mantras. I want to keep the sadhana during my break light and easy so that it feels like a proper break before I start the next purascharana-- this will be a two year commitment (doing 11 malas a day which takes me about an hour) and I want to be able to keep going until the end. I will also be juggling life as a mother of a young child and as a doctor during this time so I know I will need to be very motivated to complete it.

I just want to say one thing before I conclude. I do feel that, japa sadhana even while living an ordinary life as a householder, has an effect. Even while running a household, doing a job, having a spouse, children and other family around, it has an effect. A single recitation of "Narayana" destroyed the sins of Ajamila. Daily recitation of His name and mantra by us does have a powerful effect.

Sadhana is meant for the many, not for the few. It is meant for every single soul who has been blessed with a human birth. It is not meant for just a few yogis in the far-off Himalayas. It can help us who live ordinary lives in ordinary places. It is not meant only for people who live exotic yogi lives eating leaves, walking barefoot in the snow and fasting for days. It is meant for you and me, with all our flaws and imperfections. It can transform us and will transform us. I've experienced some of this transformation and will keep going until the end, God-willing.

Never let anyone tell you a purascharana can only be done if you're willing to commit 6-10 hours a day and nonsense like that. The beauty is that, even if one commits to only one hour of seated japa per day (as I do), this one hour inspires one to think of God very often during the day, even in the midst of other activities. So one spends much more than one hour thinking of God. And remembrance of God purifies the mind and takes one to God.

I would say, do what you can and trust that it will have an effect, because it will. A little recitation daily goes a very long way.

With that, I will conclude this post. I wish you the very best with your sadhana. Keep going and trust yourself-- you are important to God, that is why He/She has given you a human birth. Start some japa sadhana and do it daily and feel the results for yourself. Life is short and time is fleeting as my Guru and the yogis say. Each day that passes without the name of God is a waste. Each day with the name of God is a blessing that takes us towards the experience of the Supreme Blessedness, the state of Self-realisation, of peace, bliss and immortality.

Om Namo Bhagavate Sivanandaya
Om Namo Narayanaya


Hari Aum Tat Sat

Eclipse: enhancing the power of japa

Hari Aum.

There are two eclipses coming up in the next two weeks. On August 7 or 8 (depending on where you live), tomorrow, there will be a lunar eclipse. On August 21, there will be a solar eclipse.

Here is a link which gives the timings and other details regarding the eclipse:

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2017-august-7

Significance of an eclipse - a spiritual and jyotish perspective

Eclipses are given great significance in spirituality and vedic astrology. In general this period is very good for spiritual activity, and very negative for material matters.

Sivananda writes in his book 'Japa yoga': "It should be borne in mind that japa done during the time of solar or lunar eclipse will produce a tremendous effect and hence this rare opportunity should not be missed by anybody, whenever it offers itself."

Elsewhere he writes: "Those who do Japa at the time of the eclipse derive great benefits. The effect of Japa and Sankirtan during the eclipse contributes towards relieving the suffering of humanity and also of the planets. These people receive the blessings of the gods. They attain perfection quickly."

Vedic astrology states that this period is highly inauspicious for material projects such as starting a new job, signing a contract, setting off on a journey, getting married, or any other 'worldly activity'.

This is because, during an eclipse, either the sun (soul) or the moon (mind) are afflicted by one of the shadowy planets 'Rahu' or 'Ketu'. This can cause lack of clarity in thinking, decision-making, and cause emotional disturbances.

Furthermore, the eclipses take place in a particular astrological sign. While an eclipse affects everyone to some extent or another, those people are maximally affected in whose lagna/ascendant or rasi/moon sign the eclipse takes place. On a personal level, these effects may not always be negative- it depends on the nature of the individual chart- but in general, some form of change or new event can be expected relating to the house in which the eclipse takes place.

The origin of the eclipse: A puranic legend

There is an interesting ancient Puranic legend related to how the eclipse originated. The story relates to Vishnu's second avatar as a tortoise (kurma). The devas (demi-gods such as the gods of fire, sun, wind, water, etc) were weakened and afflicted by the the asuras (demonic beings). They go to Vishnu and plead for help. Vishnu advises them to seek 'amrita' or divine nectar (this makes the body strong and invincible, but does not grant immortality in the form of spiritual liberation) by churning the milky ocean. He advises them to team up with the asuras who are also keen on acquiring the amrita, as considerable effort is required for the churning.

The devas and asuras then team up and churn the ocean, using mount Meru as the churning rod, the king of serpents Vasuki as the rope, and Vishnu Himself in the form of the tortoise as the support of the churning rod. They churn for a long while, and then to their alarm, a terrible poison emerges from the ocean. The poison threatens to engulf the whole of creation and destroy everything.

At this critical moment, hearing the distressed prayers of living beings, the compassionate Lord Shiva appears. He takes up the poison and swallows it, thus preventing it from harming anyone else. His divine consort, Parvati, is determined that the poison should not enter the body of Shiva, and so stays awake all-night pressing His throat with Her hands to stop the poison descending down. She is successful and the poison remains in Shiva's throat, staining His fair skin, blue. Thus Shiva came to be known as 'Neela-kantha', the blue-throated One. (This event is also said to have lead to the annual tradition of Maha-Shivaratri, when devotees stay awake all-night worshipping Lord Shiva in a variety of ways).

The relieved devas and asuras continue churning the ocean, and now, many wonders and treasures begin to emerge one by one. A divine wish-fulfilling cow, jewels, and even the Goddess Lakshmi. On seeing Lakshmi (appear this way in this Lila, or play of God), the devas and asuras eagerly try to win Her as their wife. However, Lakshmi (symbolising auspiciousness) is the eternal wife of Vishnu (symbolising Dharma, goodness), and She chooses Him alone as Her husband. (This also symbolises the eternal truth that good fortune and happiness follows those who adhere to goodness/dharma. Good fortune and goodness are wedded together. Where there is no goodness, there ultimately will be no fortune).

The intense churning continues, and finally, at long last, there appears the God of healing and ayurveda, Dhanwantari, holding in His hand a pot with the divine nectar amrita. Seeing this, the asuras grab the pot and run off with it in haste to have it all for themselves. The gods are dismayed but Vishnu tells them not to fight the asuras but to relax and watch the play. Vishnu then assumes the form of the enchanting Goddess 'Mohini', She who deludes.

Mohini walks up to the asuras (who are squabbling among themselves as to who should get to taste the nectar first), and seeing Her wondrous beauty, the asuras are stunned and lose their ability think clearly. Mohini then sweetly offers to distribute the amrita fairly between them, and the asuras eagerly agree, thinking it would be very nice to receive the nectar from the hands of this charming lady. She also manages to persuade them to agree to the devas being given a share of the amrita.

Mohini then requests the asuras and devas to stand in two rows facing each other. She then walks between the two rows, supposedly to give the divine nectar to both the demi-gods and the demons. However, She only gives the amrita to the demi-gods and not the demons. Most of the demons are too enchanted by Her appearance to notice what She is actually doing. However one demon, realises what is happening and quietly enters the row of the demi-gods, and stands between Surya (Sun god) and Chandra (Moon god) to receive the nectar.

This demon receives the nectar and has just drunk it, when the Sun and moon gods notice his presence and raise the alarm. They inform Lord Vishnu, who promptly releases His famous discus, the Sudarshan Chakra. The whirring Chakra cuts off the head of the demon, but as he had already drunk the nectar by then, his body is now 'immortal'.

The de-capitated head becomes a living being called 'Rahu'. And the headless body, becomes a living being, called 'Ketu'. These two parts of the demon, furious with the Sun and Moon gods for informing Vishnu and leading to the de-capitation, declare their enemity to these gods.

They swear that they will cause suffering to the Sun and Moon gods, and all living beings, periodically by the phenomenon known as the 'eclipse'. During an eclipse, either Rahu or Ketu, causes suffering to the Sun or the Moon god, according to this legend. Furthemore, as the human being is a microcosm of the macrocosm, the 'eclipse' of the Sun/Moon causes corresponding disturbance and upheaval within human beings (and also other living beings).

Thus ends the story of the eclipse.

This story is said to have an esoteric meaning. The devas and asuras are two forces within us, the forces of good and evil in our minds, which are ever doing battle. During an eclipse, the forces of evil try to overcome those of good, and therefore this time is especially conducive to spiritual practices which call upon the Supreme Being for protection and deliverance.

The churning of the ocean is also said by some to be a metaphor for meditation. When one 'churns' the mind or meditates, often the first thoughts that arise may be negative (anger, fear, and other suppressed emotions)- this represents the 'poison' in the story. But if one patiently continues one's efforts, later 'treasures' emerge from the ocean of the mind, such as peace, bliss, wisdom, virtue and feeling the presence of the divine. And finally, realisation of the immortal nature of one's being, 'amrita' is obtained.

World peace and the eclipse

As per the advice of my Guru Sivananda, I plan to take the opportunity of the eclipse tomorrow to do some extra sadhana. This will be for my own spiritual progress and also for the reduction of suffering on this planet and for world peace.

Eclipses are regarded as having a negative impact on global events generally. While the eclipse affects the entire Earth, those areas where the shadow of an eclipse falls are believed to be more affected. As always, it is important to remember that vedic astrology does not say that planets and their shadows are the cause of human problems. Astrology states that the planets merely indicate the good and bad karma that is to come. An eclipse is generally an indication of upcoming negative karma to be experienced.

With various people predicting a third world war in the near future (and the alarming negative attitudes of some world leaders and violent religious groups), it is vital that we all pray to God for peace. The saints say that prayers and mantras work, and frankly, I feel we don't exactly have any other better alternatives than to believe them and give it a try.

To accept that war and nuclear destruction is inevitable, and feel hopeless, is giving in to asuric negative thinking. A war may happen if God wills it, and then we will have to accept it. But until then, we must do our duty as per the saints, and pray, do japa, kirtan etc to our utmost ability to reduce the possibility of such a war.

There is already much suffering, particularly in some countries, on this planet. We already have a serious duty to pray for the relief of suffering of these people. Let us do this daily, and also take the opportunity of the upcoming eclipses to do some intense prayers for the welfare of all.

Om Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu
May all beings be happy.

Hari Aum Tat Sat

Purascharana

Hari Om,

I created this blog today to connect with others who are performing purascharana of a mantra. I started my first purascharana in January 2012 and am keen to connect with others who are doing the same. It is a long process (in my case will take nearly 2 years) and needs a fair amount of determination and motivation to keep going. It would be nice to be in touch with other purascharana practitioners- to hear what is going well, what obstacles have been encountered and so on. It would be great to motivate and inspire each other to keep going on this long but rewarding path.

I'm doing 11 rounds a day of the Ashtakshara mantra Om Namo Narayanaya with the aim of spiritual development. I have been a follower of the Swami Sivananda Saraswati of Rishikesh for the past 7 years and was initiated in this mantra about 6 years ago. Since then I have always wanted to do an extended mantra practice but never managed to because of work commitments. I finally decided that it was high time I made a beginning as I realised that there will never be a perfect time. I took the sankalpa to do a purascharana in mid January and contacted a respected Swamiji whom I know well in Rishikesh for advice. He was very encouraging and said that I should go ahead- I contact him regularly for advice and to update him on my progress. I have been keeping a daily record and have worked out that I will finish the required 800,000 repetitions in September 2013! I initially started out with 24 malas a day, but then had to reduce to 11 malas a day due to increased work pressures. For anyone who's interested in mantra repetition (japa), here is a link to Swami Sivananda's wonderfully clear and concise article on Japa Yoga. The link below that is about Purascharana. If you haven't yet considered mantra japa or purascharana, his words may well inspire you to get started and experiment for yourself!

If you are already a mantra practitioner from any tradition, or someone with experience in purascharana or currently doing one, it would be great to hear from you. I'd be interested in how your practice is going.

http://www.dlshq.org/teachings/japayoga.htm


http://www.sivanandaonline.org/public_html/?cmd=displaysection&section_id=525