To Be Holy – Ajapa Jap

To Be Holy – Ajapa Jap

July 12, 2009 by devsuroopkaur

To be holy!  To revel in our own inner purity, sensing the alignment of our experience of Infinity, and projecting that purity and light all around us.  Chanting and evoking the meditative experience of sound through mantra is a delightfully direct means of experiencing our holiness – our wholeness – and cultivating a happy and healthy state of being.
Amongst the thousands of rich and profound messages within the Siri Guru Granth Sahib, the living Sikh scriptures and the source of many of the mantras that we use in Kundalini Yoga, there is surprisingly only one single command.  That command – Jap – is found in the very beginning within the Mool Mantra.   Jap literally means ‘to repeat’.  It is the continuous, meditative repetition of a mantra.  By repeating mantra in the proper cadence of the Naad — the correct sound current — of that mantra, we train the mind in a rich and deep way to vibrate at the frequency of the mantra.  Bit by bit, our inner reality vibrates at that same frequency.  Less elevating vibrations within the mind and body are replaced with the sound current of Infinity, limitations fall away, and greater inner peace comes forward.
As we continue to chant, another beautiful thing begins to happen.  By repeating again and again, the mantra begins to repeat itself within us.  As we chant ‘Sat Nam’ with our lips and tongue, our mind chants ‘Sat Nam’ as well.  The more we chant, the more the mantra begins to chant us.  This is the state of ajapa jap[1] where we find that we are repeating the mantra without the actual mental effort normally required to repeat it.
Over time and with continued repetition, an even deeper state of ajapa jap takes place where the uplifting words and vibratory frequency that we need at any moment come to the mind unbidden.  Not only do the words and the vibration repeat themselves easily and freely in the mind without our conscious effort, but the sound current actually reveals precisely what you need to hear at each moment.  The elevated breath of Infinity speaks to you and guides you.  And all of this was initiated by a simple action:  Jap – to repeat.
What a great way to move through your day, your breath, and your existence!  Rather than the mind reeling in random, self-defeating, and limiting language, uplifting mantra moves effortlessly through your mind and acts as a elevating touchstone!  We become ‘whole’, in alignment with our Infinity within, our heart, and our true voice.  We become holy.

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[1] The letter ‘a’ in front of the word means without.  Very simply, ajapa jap means ‘repeating without repeating’.