Japa means repeating or remembering the mantra, and Ajapa-Japa means constant awareness. The letter A in front of the word Japa means without. Thus, Ajapa-Japa is the practice of Japa without the mental effort normally needed to repeat the mantra. In other words, it has begun to come naturally, turning into a constant awareness. The practice of constant remembrance evolves in stages:

• At first, you intentionally repeat the syllables of the mantra internally, as if you are talking to yourself in your mind. You allow the inner sound to come at whatever speed feels comfortable to the mind. Sometimes it is very slow, as if the mind were wading through a vat of honey. At other times it is very fast, as if flying through the sky without restraint.

• With practice, the mantra japa is repeated automatically, like a song that you have heard many times, which just comes on its own. (Some practitioners consider this automatic repeating to be the meaning of Ajapa-Japa, though there is a subtler meaning, as described below.

• Gradually, you merely remember the mantra with attention drawn to it. It is more like noticing what is already happening, rather than causing it to happen. It is somewhat like the attention stance of listening rather than speaking, though you might not literally hear the sound.

• In time, the feeling of the mantra is there, even when the sound or remembering of the syllables is not there. For example, sometimes people will say, “OM, Shanti, Shanti, Shanti,” where the word Shanti means peace or tranquility. During the remembering of the word there may be two things–the word and the feeling of peace or tranquility. When the syllables fade away, the feeling may still be there; this is remembrance of the feeling of the mantra.
  • As the practice evolves, there comes a pervasive awareness of the mantra, subtler than both the syllables and any surface level meaning or definition. This constant awareness is the meaning of Ajapa-Japa of the mantra.

The Practice

• Be seated in any comfortable meditation posture. If you can sit in padmasana or siddhasana it is better, otherwise use one of the easy poses such as sukhasana or vajrasana.
  • Place your palms on the knees.
  • Close your eyes and your mouth.
  • Make your head, spine and back straight.
  • Do not open the eyes unless I ask you to.
  • The palms should remain on the knees.
  • Don’t strain your head; keep it straight as if you were looking in the mirror, at the eyebrow centre.
  • Remain with eyes closed and follow the instructions.
  • First of all, breathe in deeply from the navel and exhale with the sound of Om.

Try not to move your physical body. The head, spine and back must remain straight, but without tensing.

Breath awareness between navel and throat

• Visualize the psychic passage between the navel and the throat.
  • Focus your consciousness on the process of your natural breath, ascending from the navel up to the throat on inhalation and descending from the throat down to the navel on exhalation. Try to breathe soundlessly, with complete control, not with force. Breathe in and out comfortably.
  • Do not make the breath so long that your body starts jerking or shaking.
  • You should be sure that you are breathing deeper, longer and milder than the natural breath.
  • Remain aware of the process of the breath going from the navel up to the throat and from the throat down to the navel.

Constant ascending and descending breath.

• Slowly, deeply, mildly and soundlessly.
  • Then gradually again reduce the speed of the breath; make it a little bit softer and bring it back to normal; But not all at once.
  • Each time make it a little shorter until it becomes normal.
  • Previously, you have been breathing with effort; now change the breathing process so that you breathe effortlessly.
  • At the same time remain conscious that your spine does not bend.
  • Your head should not lean, either to the right or left, either forwards or backwards.
  • You are not unconscious, you are aware that you are preparing to practise ajapa japa.

Ujjayi breathing

‘Now, contracting the throat muscles slightly, breathe in ujjayi pranayama.

• Inhalation is from the navel up to the throat, with the contraction of the throat muscles. When exhaling, relax and release them. This contraction and releasing of the throat makes a sound.
  • Do not try to control it.
  • The sound comes from the throat, not from the nostrils. The breath should become slower and longer than natural, but do not make it too long or too slow.
  • Breathe in and out in ujjayi.
  • As you breathe in, make the throat small and narrow, and as you breathe out release the throat.
  • Though the breath is through the nostrils, the process of the breath seems to be from the navel up to the throat and from the throat down to the navel.
  • Remain aware of this process.

Your consciousness is ascending from the navel up to the throat and descending from the throat down to the navel.

Mantra repetition with the breath

• If you cannot concentrate on the breath alone, then you can use the mantra with it, to occupy another sphere of your consciousness.
  • With one level of your consciousness, you are aware that you are breathing upwards in ujjayi, and with another level of consciousness you repeat the mantra mentally, in coordination with your inhalation and exhalation.
  • So the three spheres of your gross consciousness are occupied with ujjayi breathing, awareness of ujjayi, and using the mantra with the ascending and descending breath.
  • For the practice of ajapa japa you should use either the general mantra Soham, your personal mantra given by the guru, a mantra given by a saint or superior soul, or the mantra of your choice which you like the most.
  • The best mantra to use is the guru mantra. If you don’t have a personal mantra, use Soham. Say the mantra mentally with each ascending and descending breath. Please try not to move the body. Remain aware of ujjayi and the space between the navel and the throat.
  • Repeat the mantra mentally with the breath. While ascending from the navel up to the throat, say the mantra So. While descending from the throat down to the navel, say the mantra Ham. Likewise, you may use your guru mantra. If you use the mantra Om Namah Shivaya, while ascending from the navel up to the throat, mentally repeat Om Namah Shivaya.
  • While descending from the throat down to the navel, mentally repeat Om Namah Shivaya. Or you may use the mantra Om Satyam from the navel to the throat and again Om Satyam from the throat back down to the navel. Likewise, you may use whatever mantra you have. If you don’t have a personal mantra, repeat the mantra Soham with the ujjayi breath.

Spontaneous mantra repetition

Now release ujjayi, breathe normally and if the mantra continues to repeat itself, be aware of it, but do not make any effort to repeat it. If it is being repeated spontaneously, without your doing, that’s very good. Let it continue, but you should not make any effort to repeat it.

Awareness of chidakasha

• Try to become aware of the space in front of your closed eyes, the space of your consciousness, the chidakasha.
  • ‘Chid’ means consciousness and ‘akasha’ means space. The space of consciousness is chidakasha. In this chidakasha, whatever is happening, just witness it, become aware of it.
  • Whether the image of your guru or God, a pencil, tree, plant or animal appears, see it without judging, without deciding whether it is beautiful or ugly, pleasant or unpleasant, wrong or right, good or bad.
  • Just let it come and be aware of it.
  • Know what is coming in front of you.
  • Then choose one thing to focus your awareness on in front of your eyebrows.
  • Choose anything you can see comfortably, whether the image of your guru or your God.
  • You shouldn’t have to try too hard to bring it into your vision.
  • Keep gazing at one object and try to see it with the closed eyes as clearly as if it were in front of you.
  • Make it as clear as if it were real.

Ending the practice

• Now get ready to end the practice.
  • Become aware of your whole body, your emotional feelings, your mind, this environment, this whole room, you and me, the guide and the subject being guided.
  • Become aware of everything around you.
  • Repeat aloud Om, Om, Om. You may open your eyes and move your body.