Benefits of Japa II

Benefits of  Japa II

Excerpts for Japa Yoga by Swami Sivananda (p.19-20)

Swami Sivananda
Swami Sivananda

The mind is purified by constant Japa and worship. It is filled with good and pure thoughts. Repetition of Mantra and worship strengthen the good Samskaras. “As a man thinketh, so he becomes.” This is the psychological law. The mind of a man who trains himself in thinking good, holy thoughts, develops a tendency to think of good  thoughts. His character is moulded and transformed by continued good thoughts. When the mind thinks of the image of the Lord during Japa and worship, the mental substance actually assumes the form of the image. The impression of the object is left in the mind. This is called Samskara. When the act is repeated very often the Samskaras gain strength by repetition and a tendency or habit is formed in the mind. He who entertains thoughts of Divinity becomes transformed actually into the Divinity itself by constant thinking and meditation. His Bhava or disposition is purified and divinised. The meditator and the meditated, the worshipper and the worshipped, the thinker and the thought, become one and the same. This is Samadhi. This is the fruit of worship or Upasana or doing Japa.