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Thread: Mental Shivling & Is Japa considered Meditation?

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    Mental Shivling & Is Japa considered Meditation?

    Namaste,

    1. I usually pray at my altar atleast once daily and I have two shivling pictures among the other various statues and items residing there. Knowing the external act of Puja is to create an environment for internal changes I mentally offered milk to both shivlings just like I would in a mandir. Would this be considered a superior, equivalent or inferior practice to pouring milk over a shivling with a pure heart in physicality? I would imagine it is purely down to you opening up your consciousness and flowering into Siva with genuine intent. So physicality or mentality is irrelevant. Would you agree? I ask because I have trouble concentrating doing it in physicality in a Mandir while others are behind me waiting to do the same and so forth and thus I can't give my all to the act.

    2. Is Japa considered as a genuine practice that could take you into Dhyana? I had two seperate sessions set for myself one for Japa and one for attempting Dhyana without anything. I was wondering that since I do mental japa would that be considered a good avenue for going into a state of Dhyana? Or would I still require a session only dedicated to only Dhyana.

    Thanks.

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    Re: Mental Shivling & Is Japa considered Meditation?

    Dear friend ,
    AT any given time , mental puja and mental homa are far too superior to physical doing . In the begining any sadhana starts with offering of flowers , prayers , pujas , Abhishakas , homas , japas etc and after some time much contentment comes through mental worship . In course of time it leads to meditation . In the long run one does not feel doing all those things , but just gets lost in meditation. First ideas , then words , then images , then wordless sound , then light , then just supreme conciousness which is not felt as a different substance , an egoless state , that is the sequence in which a true sadhaka travels . I don't know whether I could explain clearly.
    rgds .

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    Re: Mental Shivling & Is Japa considered Meditation?

    hari o
    ~~~~~~
    namasté

    Quote Originally Posted by IcyCosmic View Post
    Namaste,
    1. I usually pray at my altar atleast once daily and I have two shivling pictures among the other various statues and items residing there.
    When 'I' and 'mine' are no longer there then pūja & homaṁ i.e. yajña has been done perfectly.

    ...but yajvan if 'I and 'mine' are not there then there is no 'one' doing pūja.

    Precisely - then what remains ?

    iti śiva
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

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    Re: Mental Shivling & Is Japa considered Meditation?

    Quote Originally Posted by IcyCosmic View Post

    Would this be considered a superior, equivalent or inferior practice to pouring milk over a shivling with a pure heart in physicality? I would imagine it is purely down to you opening up your consciousness and flowering into Siva with genuine intent. So physicality or mentality is irrelevant. Would you agree? I ask because I have trouble concentrating doing it in physicality in a Mandir while others are behind me waiting to do the same and so forth and thus I can't give my all to the act.
    Vannakkam Icy:

    I think it varies, depending on the individual. I don't see it in superior or inferior terms. For me personally, the shrine room by myself is the best. We do quite a bit of 'mental only' puja while travelling, on birth/death retreats etc., and I always find that takes more concentration to stay on task.

    But it's like oral versus visual learners. In educational circles, that difference has been well documented, so I think it's like that.

    I have the same difficulty at mandirs where there is a line-up, but generally I attend a style temple where that doesn't happen.

    Aum namasivaya

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