Jewish & JAPA Meditation

Jewish meditation has existed since biblical times.  The practice takes many forms, such as sitting silently and emptying the mind; focusing on Hebrew letters, words, or phrases; an awareness and channeling of breath; chanting; and contemplating Torah philosophy.  The meditated before or after prayer sometimes or other times they did it independent of prayer.

Jewish meditation tradition has been hidden for centuries, since rabbis worried that it might lead to idolatry in the Diaspora, or that might be of danger to uninitiated people. At the time of emancipation, meditation was strongly disavowed by secularized Jews because it was reminder of ghetto life considered “old-fashioned”.  During the Holocaust, most of the Eastern European rabbis who had hanged on to the knowledge of it were killed.

What is Jewish meditation?

Jewish meditation as described is any kind of meditation when done in a Jewish context, in the service of Jewish spiritual activity as it were in the Jewish morphic field.  The basic definition and aim of Jewish meditation is “stabilizing the mind” called in Hebrew “yishuv ha da’at”.  This means reaching a state of mind which is settled, awake, clear, relaxed, and renewed.  Hebrew is understood as the language of the soul, and the root of all human languages, it is the means of communication that exceeds the consciousness of separation between man and God and between everyday awareness and deeper levels of the soul.

There are many Jewish mediation techniques, and is best obtained in any skill with steady effort and practice.  A variety of meditative practices exist with Kabbalah. Each generation making its own contribution, whatever the method though, it should help strengthen our sense of connection with the Source of Life, and this connection should be joined together into our daily life.  Here is a short list of a variety of techniques that has been used in Judaism throughout the ages:

Music

Music has been used to induce a prophetic state of consciousness.  Song has great powers of healing and they open the gates of holiness. 

Visualization

Accurately visualizing a letter (aleph-bet) allows you to get in touch with its particular vibration, just as work of arts remind a certain feeling so does each letter of the aleph-bet call forth certain energy.  Accurate visualization of each letter can be a very powerful meditative technique.

Prayer

Praying from what has been thought by sages of the Talmud and spontaneous prayers that arise in our own heart.  Prayers should not become mechanical and devoid sincerity, and saying a prayer in our own words and in our own language letting Him know all our needs and our thoughts and feelings is recommended.

Mantras

This is also a meditative technique found in Judaism, if one does not know what to say in prayer, then one may just repeat the phrase “Ribbono shel Olam” (master of the universe).

There are other techniques such as I-Thou, Nature, Community, Hashmal, and others in Jewish meditation.  Jewish meditations taught are traditional but timeless method for making ones self new, and in the process arriving at a stabilized mind, basically healthy mind which is believed to be the foundation for a good life and service of man and God.

JAPA MEDITATION

Japa is actually a training of the mind. It is focusing one’s wandering mind, making it act in one single beat, concentrating on one train of thought. The Japa Meditation is known to work better than any other forms of meditation. It will teach one to brush aside any distracting thoughts.

A mind trained with Japa can reach the goals of meditation in a very short time. This is possible because in Japa, one is mede to chant a mantra, making one focus and concentrate on a single thought.

So what is a mantra? A mantra is traditionally a specific combination of Sanskrit letters arranged in a fashion to bring a particular result. Each of these letters represents a sound or vibration which is said to affect the mind. Other sources say that the mantra need not be Sanskrit letters. They can just be ordinary sounds or words that you chant or say during your meditation. However the usual mantra sounds used in Japa meditation are those words taken from the Sanskrit letters. 

Why use a mantra? Mantra sounds are said to open one’s heart and mind. These are believed to be responsible in freeing your mind from its current thoughts and raising it to another state of awareness. 

How to go about doing the Japa meditation: choose a spot for meditation; sit cross-legged on a plain sheet; hold a mala (rosary) with 108 beads; chant your mantra with focus and concentration.

 The use of the mala beads or japa mala is quite similar to the use of the rosary. The mala has 108 beads, representing the 108 times the mantra has been chanted. The additional bead which is bigger than the others is called a meru. When the chanting of the mantra has reached 108 times, the fingers are not supposed to cross the meru. Chanting can be done again with the mala reversed in the hand, going through the beads in the opposite direction using the thumb and third finger. The index finger, considered physically negative, is never used. The mala beads should not reach below the navel. When not in use, it should be kept wrapped in a clean cloth.

Japa Meditation needs variety in terms of its mantra. To avoid monotony, one should recite the mantra in different volumes; chant loud one time, whisper the mantra the next, and even mentally recite it a few times. Disinterest will result if mantras are chanted on the same tone and volume the whole time. 

While the mala beads and the mantras help the mind to focus, the Japa meditation is a mental activity that will only succeed if a person has total commitment to it.