Mantra

The Power of Mantra

"Music is the celestial sound, and it is sound that controls the whole universe, not atomic vibrations. Sound energy, sound power, is much, much greater than any other power in the world." This is what Swami Satchitananda tells us about one of the most important power sources known to religion or science.

Mantra or Devanāgarī is a Sanskrit word combining Man & Tra which in Sanskrit means, 'Mananat Trayate'.

Mantra is used to achieve a state or a sense of withdrawal, also called Pratyahara. We change our focus from external to internal by repeating a grouping of words having a particular vibration. Samadhi, or the ultimate state of consciousness can be achieved by repeating Mantras.

The repetitive action of Mantra Yoga, leads to an awakening of an inner force, which, if controlled properly, can lead to enlightenment. It is like planting seeds in the deep subconscious which will eventually bloom.

In Meditation from Tantras - Paramhansa Swami Satyananda Saraswati compares the consciousness to a concentrated sun beam in a Convex lens, the rays can burn through paper if the concentrating lens is used, similarly the consciousness can be made concentrated and powerful by repetitive chanting of Mantra.

Mantras can be repeated verbally, mentally or written. Malas or Rosary beads are used to count the repetition of the Mantra.

Mantras are primarily an instrument of vibration and are used as a spiritual conduit for enlightenment. Different mantras have different purposes as they carry different energy.

Ways to Practice Mantra

There are several methods of chanting mantra:

First is called Baikhari or Audible chanting. When we cahnt out loud, in such a way that it can be heard by all, this is called "Baikhari" Chanting. There are several advantages of this kind of mantra practice. Audible chanting removes thoughts, makes the conceptualization of thought easy and eases the mind into meditation.

Another type of chanting is called Upanshu or Whispering chanting. This type of chanting of mantra is done with a lowered voice so that only the practitioner can hear him/herself.

Advantages of "Upanshu" are that it can commence for a long duration (in Indian tradition up to 8 or 10 hours!) This type of mantra also allows for purposeful or intentional mantra to help alleviate specific concerns such as increased prosperity, relief form a physical ailment or to obtain greater peace. Errors in our destiny which have been created by deep seated samskaras can also be removed with Upanshu chanting.

Additionally, we can practice mantra of the mind, or Manasik (Mental Mantra). This is the most difficult type of mantra practice since the mind is apt to drift away to something besides the repetition of the mantra. It can, however, be learned with practice and perseverence. The advantages of Mental Mantra are that one can practice it any any time and due to its subtle nature, change the self or environemtn without disturbing others. This type of mantra practice also leads to enlightenment as it purifies the mental states

Finally, mantras can be written as a way to further entrain the mind into the vibratory quality of the mantra being repeated. It is not uncommon for the emotions to be stirred up from their depths when mantra repetition commences - written mantra can help us to stay focused when desires, fears, and jealousy from the subconscious mind rise to the conscious level as thoughts.

Some Common Mantras

Surya Namaskar Mantras

1 om hrām (ॐ ह्रां) om mitrāya namaḥ (ॐ मित्राय नमः) Anahata Chakra

2 om hrīm (ॐ ह्रीं) om ravaye namaḥ (ॐ रवये नमः) Vishuddhi Chakra

3 om hrūm (ॐ ह्रूं) om sūryāya namaḥ (ॐ सूर्याय नमः) Swadhisthana Chakra

4 om hraim (ॐ ह्रैं) om bhānave namaḥ (ॐ भानवे नमः) Ajna Chakra

5 om hraum (ॐ ह्रौं) om khagāya namaḥ (ॐ खगाय नमः) Vishuddhi Chakra

6 om hraḥ (ॐ ह्रः) om puṣṇe namaḥ (ॐ पूष्णे नमः) Manipura Chakra

7 om hrām (ॐ ह्रां) om hiraṇya garbhāya namaḥ (ॐ हिरण्यगर्भाय नमः) Swadhisthana Chakra

8 om hrīm (ॐ ह्रीं) om marīcaye namaḥ (ॐ मरीचये नमः) Vishuddhi Chakra

9 om hrūm (ॐ ह्रूं) om ādityāya namaḥ (ॐ आदित्याय नमः) Ajna Chakra

10 om hraim (ॐ ह्रैं) om savitre namaḥ (ॐ सवित्रे नमः) Swadhisthana Chakra

11 om hraum (ॐ ह्रौं) om arkāya namaḥ (ॐ अर्काय नमः) Vishuddhi Chakra

12 om hraḥ (ॐ ह्रः) om bhāskarāya namaḥ (ॐ भास्कराय नमः) Anahata Chakra

The Gayatri Mantra

One of India's most well used mantras is the Gayatri mantra:

Om Bhur Buvaha Suvaha

Thath Savithur Varenyam

Bhargo Devasya Dheemahi

Dhiyo Yonaha Prachodayath

It translates to mean:

We contemplate the glory of Light illuminating the three worlds: gross, subtle, and causal.

I am that vivifying power, love, radiant illumination, and divine grace of universal intelligence.

We pray for the divine light to illumine our minds.

It is thought that the repetition of this mantra brings great spiritual energy and purity to the pracitioner. Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba teaches us that the Gayatri Mantra extolls several categories, basically permeating al things as a primordial vibration: "The categories are speech, objects, world, body, breath, and heart (vak, butha, prithvi, sarira, prana, and hridaya)." Essentially, the Gayatri Mantra is a Vedic prayer used to purify the intellect. It affects "that form from which all is born" as said in the Vedas.

OM Trayambakam

OM Trayambakam Yaja Mahe Sugandhim Pushtivardhanam Urvaru kamiva bandhanan Mrityor mukshiya – Amamratat

The meaning of the mantra : We worship the Lord of the three lokas, the 3 gunas, the 3 mandalas, the 3 tattvas and the tridevas. Just as the fragrance in a flower is supreme, similalry, Lord Shiva in this entire creation is supreme. He is the one who provides nourishment to this entire creation. He is responsible both for our bondages and liberation. We pray to Lord Shiva that just as a cucumber plant holds its fruit in its tendrils and lets it go when it ripens. Similalry, Lord Shiva too frees us from our present form, liberating us from our present afflictions.

Hari Om Tat Sat

As many mantras are, Hari Om Tat Sat is an ancient jewel from the Vedas. Translated from Sanskrit, the phrase “Hari Om” refers to unmanifest reality. “Om Tat Sat” refers to unmanifest reality. If you put the two phrases together they essentially mean, “that is truth.” It also can translate to mean “all that is” or “the Supreme Absolute Truth.” This mantra is used as a greeting, especially among followers of Bhakti yoga or the yoga of devotion. It is a gentle reminder of the true reality of the Universe. When you greet someone with this mantra you are acknowledging the vastness of “all that is” within their being. The subtle understanding of this mantra comes from understanding what exactly THAT means.

Unmanifest reality is the unseen, absolute, divine behind all creation. It is beyond that which with see, hear or smell, beyond the understanding of the limited five senses. The creator of all phenomenon or all “things” and the created are one in the same. Creation has manifested from this ultimate reality. The Hindus call this nama-rupa of Brahman. The Buddhists call this the phenomenon of interdependence, and the physicists call this an organizing principle or nonseperability. All these various interpretations are represented in the mantra 'Hari Om Tat Sat'.

This mantra can be found in the Bhagavad Gita, specifically, verses 24 through 27 of Chapter XVII. Om Tat Sat is there defined, and Hari was later added in reference to “the Lord” often meaning Shiva in the Hindu tradition. The exact excerpt from the Gita follows:

The three words om tat sat are uttered

in conjunction with the holy name of the Supreme Lord, e.g., om tad

visnoh. Whenever a Vedic hymn or the holy name of the Supreme Lord is

uttered, om is added. This is the indication of Vedic literature.

These three words are taken from Vedic hymns. Om ity etad brahmano

nedistham nama (Rg Veda) indicates the first goal. Then tat tvam asi

(Chandogya Upanisad 6.8.7) indicates the second goal. And sad eva

saumya (Chandogya Upanisad 6.2.1) indicates the third goal. Combined

they become om tat sat. Formerly when Brahma, the first created living

entity, performed sacrifices, he indicated by these three words the

Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore the same principle has

always been followed by disciplic succession. So this hymn has great

significance. Bhagavad-gita recommends, therefore, that any work done

should be done for om tat sat, or for the Supreme Personality of

Godhead.

There are different interpretations of every mantra depending upon the school or philosophy of yoga one subscribes to, but another translation describes Hari Om Tat Sat as the three different names of Brahman. Brahman is the concept of God in the Hindu tradition, but not in the same guise as the Christian or Muslim perception, for instance. In this case, Brahman is the unchanging, infinite, and transcendent reality which is the Divine Ground for a transcendent reality beyond the manifest world as we experience it. This Divine Space (what the Buddhists call nothingness which is everything) is the base of all matter, energy, time, space, being, and everything we can see, touch, feel and hear in the Universe. Tat is from Tat Tvam Asi (Thou Art That). Om is the infinite sound, the primordial sound of all creation. Sat is also a name for Brahman. A translation of the Bhagavad Gita by S. Radhakrishnan reads the syllables very similarly: Om is the infinite spirit or the primeval sound of all that there is. Tat is again from Tat Tvam Asi (Thou Art That) and Sat simply means reality as we understand it (the limited one that is not ephemeral) You can find some of these same syllables from the bajans or devotional songs of Hinduism also. The Om Asato Ma – peace song contains the following phrase:

OM ASATO MA SAT GAMAYA

From the unreal let me travel to the real, or,

from untruth let me travel to truth.

TAT means THAT when literally translated, but the word is more

often interpreted as a reference to all that is known or sensed or

perceived (as in TAT TVAM ASI). That is why the Bhagvad Gita calls it a

name of Brahman.

Any mantra we use in chanting, or in this case, often as a greeting to fellow yoga students, or as a way to close a yoga class are to bring us into mindfulness that there is another reality besides the one we experience in our daily lives. We are constantly changing our perspective and hopefully this is happening more quickly than normal if you are practicing yoga consistently. Meditation, chanting, asana practice, ad breathing exercises all help to strip away the layers that cover this expansive reality which is normally hidden from us. Compared to our normal experience of the world, through our emotions we have an extremely distorted view. It is after the consciousness becomes more and more subtle, through lifting these ‘veils’ of manifest reality one after the other that the transcendental consciousness is revealed. It is a wonderful vantage point. Hari Om Tat Sat is a way to subtly remind yourself and the person you greet that there is so much more in store for them. In their most pure state, they are part of the transcendent and infinite creation.

Rama Krishna Haray (Bhajan - song of devotion)

Rama Krishna Haray, Mukanda Murari

Rama Krishna Haray, Mukanda Murai

Pandu Ranga Pandu Ranga, Rama Krishna Haray

Jai Raam Shri Raam, Jai Jai Rama

Vithal Vithal Paandu Ranga Rama Krishna Haray

Raama Krishna Haray, Mukanda Murari

Pandu Ranga Pandu Ranga, Rama Krishna Haray

Radhay Shyamm Radhay Shyaam, Raadha Madhava Radhay Shyaam

Seeta Raam, Seet Raam, Seeta Vallabha Seeta Ram

Raadha Mukunda Radahy Shyaam, Raadha Govinda Radhay Shyaam

Raadha Raadha Raadha