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Everybody will sit on a woollen cloth (katäsanu). Each one will be given a one hundred and eight bead rosaries. As each one has to recite 500 japas., he or she can use the rosary repeatedly. When the whole Namaskara Mantra (all nine sentences), is recited silently, one bead is moved. This way when the one hundred and eight Namaskara Mantras are recited, one round of the rosary is completed. To do the five hundred Namaskära Mantra, a person will naturally do four rounds of the rosary (108 X 4 = 432 japas of the Namaskära Mantra) plus sixty-eight more Namaskara Mantras to make five hundred in all. Last sixty-eight can be done by using the fingers to count.
This takes between one to one and half-hours. And because two hundred and fifty people are taking part, one hundred and twenty-five thousand japas are finished in that time.
People do it for variety of reasons; some take a vow that if something desired happens to them than they will arrange for the "Savä- Läkh Japa'. Sometimes this is done for the peace of a departed soul. Someone may have died in the family and those nearest to him may arrange the japa for the 'eternal peace of his soul'. Some may do it without any reason but purely as a religious ritual thinking that the japas done in congregations spread holy vibrations all round and creates a general feeling of brotherhood and happiness.
After the japas are complete, people may have a group dinner, which is a sign of brotherhood. The host family would provide the dinner.
There is a small ritual of 'starting with determination and will-power' (samkalpa), which may be observed before the actual japas commence. This ritual is explained briefly below. Things required for the samkalpa ritual: A yantra of the Namaskära Mantra (if not a picture, photograph), a pitcher full of water, an empty bronze utensil, a lamp (deepak), incense (agarbätti), sandalwood paste, rice, flowers, and a small bajoth ( a wooden stool about six inches high).
The ritual of the 'Samkalpa' prepares oneself to do the japa with devotion and determination. He puts his heart into it after doing the ritual. In this simple procedure the metal yantra (or a picture) of the Namaskära Mantra is placed on a small platform. Alternately a person can go to the place where such an object is installed. A pitcher of clear water is placed on the right hand side of the picture and a deepak is lit on the left side. A person who intends to do the japas sits in front of the yantra wearing red clothes. The Japa recitation is done with a red rosary that is kept ready near him. Person should ideally sit in a lotus posture, facing the northerly direction.
One can do this ritual without involving any priest but it helps if someone is there who can pronounce the required words properly. A priest, who conducts the ritual, asks the host to hold a teaspoonful of water in his right palm, and say the following words:
Aum Arham.. Today on the month of ......... (name of the month here), on this bright/dark half of the month of, on this day of ......... (the date as per Indian calendar- tithi), at the auspicious time and auspicious juncture of the planets, on this
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