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Mantra Yoga Mantra is one of the few words that has entered the collective consciousness of pop culture in America (along with guru and pandit) and taken on a particular meaning for us that doesn't really do justice to the long history and spiritual depth of the practice. We understand a mantra to be a phrase that one repeats over and over again, until the words of the phrase become incorporated into our lives. So, a businessman may repeat the phrase "motivation is the key to success," to help himself thrive in his career and tell his associates that this is his "mantra." This may be effective to some degree, but it is hardly what the sages of ancient India intended when they first received the divine revelation of Sanskrit mantras that have been handed down to us across the millenia! The technique that the businessman is using is properly known as an affirmation, while a mantra, in the true sense of the word, is something quite different. 
Anyone can take an essentially meaningless phrase or word, "ice cream" for example, and repeat it for a long period of time to attain a relaxed state (and perhaps also a craving for ice cream...). Repetitive activities of any kind can bring on a calm, trance-like state if the person performing that activity has focused their attention on it completely. Most of us have some kind of activity like that which we do in order to relax and wind down from the stresses of our daily lives. An affirmation is similar to those repetitive activities, but an extra dimension is added to the practice because the words used have a definite meaning to the person using them. When the person repeating the affirmation attains the trance-like state that comes about from repetitive action, the meaning of the affirmation will be able to plant itself in the person's subconscious mind, possibly altering their behaviour in the future - hopefully for the better! Repetitive activities and affirmations are both useful tools, but mantras go far, far beyond either of them and have a much deeper, spiritual purpose. The practice of Mantra Yoga uses of the sounds of the ancient, sacred language of India, Sanskrit, to allow the practitioner to enter naturally into the highest meditation, which can be described as an experience of Oneness with the entire universe, or a complete merging with the higher reality known as Cosmic Consciousness. This exalted state, known as samadhi in Sanskrit, may take a long time to achieve - possibly even multiple lifetimes - but it is an important step on the path towards liberation from the cycle of reincarnation, and that is the goal of yoga. Along the way, those who practice Mantra Yoga will discover that those sacred sounds will create all sorts of changes in their lives, some purposeful and others totally unexpected, but all for the greater good of the spiritual evolution of humanity. Mantra Yoga works in this way because Sanskrit is a very special kind of language. Most languages are based on meaning, so that when I say the word "chair" in English, it conjures up images of the various chairs that have been experienced by the one who hears the word. The actual sound of the word "chair" has nothing in particular to do with the physical object that it represents - we make the connection between the two because we have been taught to do so. If we had initially been told that the word for those things we sit on at the dining room table is "hat," that would be just as meaningful for us. Sanskrit, on the other hand, is a language that is based on energy, rather than meaning, so that the sound of the word itself carries a certain energy vibration, and we must determine the meaning based on the effect of the energy contained in that sound. According to yoga philosophies (and some branches of modern physics), the universe is composed of energy (shakti) and that energy manifests itself through vibration at various frequencies. The most direct means of working with those energy vibrations is through sound, not just the physical sound that is transmitted through the air, but also the sounds that one "hears" on the inside. Through many centuries of experimentation with yoga techniques, maps of the energy system in the human body have been charted to a very fine degree of detail. One of the most well known maps of this energy system is the chakras, seven centers of focused spiritual energy that allow us to function at various different levels of reality. The sounds of the syllables in Sanskrit have the effect of shifting the intensity and quality of energy within those chakras, allowing us to experience deeper parts of ourselves and transform the way we interact with the both the world outside and the world within our own minds. Each mantra, ranging in length from a single syllable to a short verse, has been carefully constructed by the sages, in states of deep meditation, to reorient a person's energy system to achieve a particular effect: the dissolution of energy blockages, the purification of thought patterns, or the manifestation of abundance for example, all of which is intended to help move that person forwards on the path towards samadhi and eventual liberation. There are those who say that a mantra is only effective when it has been given by a guru, an enlightened teacher who exists in a state of Oneness, but, while that may have been true at one time, it is no longer the rule in this age of spiritual winter that we now live in. Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh has stated that while it is a wonderful thing to be able to receive a mantra from your guru, it is not necessary and anyone who practices mantra with pure intent and devotion will achieve the highest state. So do some research, or consult with someone who has experience with Mantra Yoga practice, and find a mantra that resonates for you. Once you have a mantra, the best practice is to choose a specific place and time of the day to do your mantra repetition (japa), and then do it every day. You will find that this is a powerfully transformative practice that will propel you forwards on your spiritual path - enjoy the journey! Namaste. |
