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Likhita Japam: A Powerful Tool in Bhakti Yoga
Likhita Japam is an important sub-branch of Bhakti Yoga. Bhakti is the top most form of yoga, especially in this current age known as Kali Yuga. We can follow other forms of yoga, but unless Bhakti Yoga is integrated with other popular forms of yoga, the goal of life, Nirvana or liberation, shall remain a far-fetched dream.
The Importance of Chanting in Bhakti Yoga
Most of the Bhakti schools recommend chanting the holy names of the Lord as the essential process for Bhakti. It was Swami Shivananda, the founder of the Divine Life Society, who maintained that Likita Japam is the most powerful tool that can be employed as part of the Bhakti process to attract supreme grace.
Likhita Japam: A First-Hand Practice
The author of this video has been a strong follower of Likita Japam for over 12 years now and has found that Likita Japam is in fact the most powerful device that can attract the Lord like a powerful magnet. This video material is an outcome of a first-hand tried and tested process.
What Is Likhita Japam?
Let us now understand what Likhita Japam means. It means that, as one chants the names of the Lord such as Rama, Krishna, Shiva, or Durga, if one simultaneously writes those names in Devanagari script or in English or in one’s mother tongue with concentration in a notebook which is preserved carefully, the potency of chanting shall become a thousand fold.
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The Benefits of Likhita Japam
All our senses are engaged in glorifying the Lord as we do Likhita Japam. As one writes, our lips chant, our eyes are following the script. As we write, our mind is steady, concentrating on the written material. Our hands are busy writing the name. Our entire concentration is one-pointed.
Why Writing Enhances Concentration More Than Chanting
The possibility of mind wandering is far less because of the process of writing, as against the process of chanting with beads where our mind has greater chances of wandering. One should note that it is not the number of times of chanting the Lord’s name or a mantra that gives the actual benefit, but the concentration of the mind that derives the actual benefit of chanting.
Writing the Lord’s Name to Strengthen Focus
More focus of the mind brings manifold benefits. If we chant 1000 names of the Lord, but given that our mind is wandering, the effectiveness is far less as compared to a case when we write 100 names with much greater concentration. Writing the names of the Lord will intensify our concentration levels as we do it over a longer period of time.
Likhita Japam and Mental Control
Our attention spans will also increase manifold. Our capacity to restrict or divert the mind from unwanted thoughts shall also increase. We will have more control over our senses because of the greater mind control that one develops as a result of Likhita Japam.
Long-Term Spiritual and Material Benefits
Likhita Japam, if pursued for more than a year with a fixed number of page writings per day, shall have the capacity to draw favorable conditions into our lives, conditions that shall end material suffering and enhance spiritual practice.
The Process of Likhita Japam
One can use any name of the Lord for writing—any name that is included in the Vedic Shastras. Ideally, it should be the Ishta Devata or favorite form of the Lord of the practitioner. Have a set of red pens, preferably ballpoint pens, as the writing tool. Ball pens shall ensure that there is no unnecessary leakage of ink.
Tools for Likhita Japam Practice
Red pens are used so that the color keeps our attention fixed. Other colors may also be used, but red color ink-based ball pens are the best. Keep large registers of single-line pages to write. Use medium quality paper so that there is no smudging of the ink. Draw vertical lines with spacing enough to write neatly the names of the Lord.
Meditative Approach to Writing
Maintain steady handwriting. Ensure that one’s mind is not overburdened as one is writing the names. Have a meditative approach towards Likhita Japam. Chant the names by lip as you write them. Write at least one side every day. Depending on your interests, maintain a fixed number of page sides every day.
Consistency and Commitment in Likhita Japam
If the practice is done with love, Likita Japam can be addictive. If so, increase the number of sides after a fixed number of months. But do not overburden yourself under any compulsion. The more one is addicted to Likhita Japam, the more one gets relieved from material compulsions and addictions.
Keeping Track of Your Likhita Japam Journey
Write the date when you started the JAPAM for that register. This will help you track your regularity. As you change the register, on the new register, write the date of start of the register on the first page. Maintain the registers over several years and go through your previous registers as you finish them.
Attachment to the Practice and Spiritual Growth
This shall bring joy to your heart, and inspire you to continue the practice. Develop attachment to the registers inside which you have written the Lord’s names. This attachment shall cut off all other undesirable worldly attachments. The registers have to be your topmost possession. If you develop love towards the names of the Lord, you shall automatically qualify as the Lord’s favorite.
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