Here the Guru provides a Deeksha where a certain mantra is passed down to an in individual and the individual is expected to chant this with utmost sincerity as prescribed by the Guru.

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A Mantra is a sacred chant or utterance that is usually associated with ancient scriptures like the vedas or the Upanishads. These are a collection of sacred utterances that have survived through many generations through oral transfer. A mantra is intrinsically connected to sound and the powers of the mantra are as much deeply obtained through the vibrations as the meaning.

Simply translated, Mantra means an instrument of thought and can have multiple meanings.
Quoting  Sri Swami Satyananda, the etymological  meaning of the word mantra is “by repetition of  which the mind becomes free from external experiences”. Mantras are not simply syllables or words, but mystic sounds that were revealed to rishis or seers while in deep states of meditation . These mantras have been handed down from Guru to disciple for thousands of years. Such mantras says Sri Swamiji can completely explode the  whole personality and open the gates to higher awareness.

Many meditative techniques assimilate mantras. An important attribute to consider is that mantra should be heard internally.
When Mantras vibrate in silence within us internally they have an exceedingly enhanced effect on our being. The purpose of meditation should be to build a communion with the Divine Being. 
Japa is the constant chanting of a Mantra. It is important to chant with concentration, devotion and deep faith. This form of dedicated repetition has a cleansing and purifying effect on our “antah karna” or inner instrument.

 

The root Sanskrit word for Japa is Jap, which means to utter in a low voice or repeat mentally . Constant repetition  of a chosen Name or mantra can even lead to a sense of identification with the object of mediation – the supreme lord

Japa inspires and awakens the practice of bhakti yoga, Through the mystic powers inherent in the Name or the mantra, there is a rise in Divine energy, grace and shakti. Japa has the capacity to burn all the karmic residues of our past sins and negative karma leaving us in a state of higher consciousness that is close to true bliss or sat chit ananda.  

As we become habituated to Japa, it becomes such a natural part of our lives, that it is no longer an activity restricted or exclusive to certain places and times. It becomes as natural as breathing. This state of habitual Japa can only be attained after long and sustained practice of intensive repetition

Fire or Agni is a symbol of God, and the process of invoking a scared fire with the intentions of cleansing one’s self ( material and spiritual) is called a Homa or a Havan. To this sacred fire, offerings of grains, ghee and herbs are made as offerings to the God.

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The homa or havan  has 2 major steps. The first step is to start the holy fire with due invocations to the almighty and prayers that the reason for which the homa is being carried out is successful. This is done by lighting wooden logs that fit into the homa kunda. 

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Ancient Hindu dharmic practices have indicated that fire be started with the women of the house and in very religious places this practice is still followed. 

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Once the fire is started, the next step is to sustain the fire till the end of the Homa. This is done by offering ghee to the homa periodically.  There are lot of herbs, cowdung cakes and specific wood that are placed in the homa as offerings to the God. 

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In ancient times, these offerings of herbs emitted significant types of smokes , by inhaling these medicated smoke a lot of health issues were treated with direct delivery of the medicine to the lungs.  This is still the case, however due to the overall increase in pollution these days, the resulting benefit can be nullified especially when done in dense environments.

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The process of conducting the homa is done under the guidance of a learned one or a guru. Mantras specific to the Lord are chanted and offerings for each mantra are made as per the shastras. 
Towards the end of the homa, the major offering is termed Purnahuti, where specific offerings that are identified for each God / Godess are made in a silk cloth. Post Purnahuti the process is to take the blessings of the Homa by performing an aarti to it.

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It is important to allow the homa to burn itself out.

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At Sharmalaya, we have homas for Ammavasyas, Pournamis and specific festivals like Navratri and Diwali. These homas are conducted for the well being of the devotees. These homas are done to invoke the blessings of Maa Kali.

Each temple has an unique attribute. Temples are sources of high positive energies due to the way they are built, and the type of holy activities that occur in the temple.

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Daily activities like Abhishekam ( holy bath to the God’s idol), Alankara, Aradhana, performing the puja and offering Naivadaya with prayers and chantings increase the positive energies inside the temple. Since temples have been built with the Agamashastras as the guidelines, the energy levels in the temples increase manifold with these daily activities. 

For devotees a visit to the temple is a process of absorbing these energies. However each temple has a different type of energy associated with it. These energies play a critical role in each aspect of our life. Certain temples’ energies impact our physical well being. Certain temples impact our thought processes and certain temples impact our material lives.

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It is very important that our visits to temples be arranged in a way that all these energies be balanced.  Gurus can determine the different energy deficiencies or increases and suggest visits to certain temples at certain times to accommodate this balancing. 

At Sharmalya, periodically visits to temples are arranged to help the devotees’ energies to be balanced. 

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In addition certain themes of temple darshans like visits to the Pancha Bhoota Lingas, Jyothirlingas, Triranga Darshana during Dhanur Masa , Kalighat and Dakshineshwar are arranged.

Training the mind to conquer anything including the self is termed meditation.  Indian heritage is full of instances where yogis and rishis have been shown to be permanent states of meditation to conquer the self.

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Since this is not a one solution fit all, meditation has acquired different techniques and each individual needs to try various forms till they are comfortable with the method that suits them.

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Some of the different types of meditation are  Mindfulness meditation, Breath awareness meditation, Kundalini Yoga, Zen Meditation, Transcendental Meditation and guided meditation.

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Meditation can allow the body to heal on its own, optimize the energy levels and helps in the creation of a healthy body and mind.

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At Sharmalaya, meditation methods are accentuated with vedic practices like chanting, by concentrating on the elements like fire, water, earth, air and space, meditation with silence, meditation with music and various other methods.  When meditation is coupled with other methods, the healing process for the body and stability of the mind increases rapidly and connect with the inner self happens much faster.