Yogic
Mantra Chanting and its benefits
„In
the beginning was the word, and the word was with god, and the Word
was god.“ John 1,1 The
Bible
“Om”
- is THE holy Word. It’s the originally sound of the universe.
Everything is made of this sound vibration. We are vibration with
every part of our body: every cell vibrates. If you dissect the body
and see the inner organs, you can actually see the vibration of the
cells and all the fluid that surround every cell; this applies to
every organ and especially the brain and the nerve system.
The
Om-Chanting is also the most known Chant.
And
it is a Mantra. Mantra is Sanskrit, the holy old Indian Language, and
means a song, a word or a sound that is believed to have a special
spiritual power.
History
of Yoga
Mantra
Chanting is a part of Bhakti (Devotion) Yoga. Almost everybody may
have heard about Yoga but not everybody does exactly know what Yoga
is or what it means by differentiation of its style. Hatha Yoga,
Ashtanga, Vinyasa yoga popular types. However, you will only know
what yoga is and what it means profoundly, when you go deeper in to
it and experience through a teacher or a Guru (a teacher is someone
who brings you from darkness to light).
Yoga
is a very ancient science, which was recognized around 4000 B. C.,
when they found some stone carvings and paintings in the northern
parts of India. In between 1500 and 500 B. C., it’s evident that
there was some Yogic knowledge which apparently has been transferred
to texts and books later on.
The so called Vedas (knowledge) is about “what is heard from higher
sources”, is not written; The
„Upinashads“, transmitted wisdom from teachers to students about
the concepts of Brahman (ultimate reality) and Atman (soul/inner
self); The „Bhagavad Gita“ is a text of great importance in Hindu
culture and it also reflects the holistic human being. It narrates a
tragic family story and the final conversation between Krishna and
Arjuna. For the modern interpretation, it could be the old testament
in the bible; And finally one of the newer works “Hatha Yoga
Pradipika” (1400 C. E.) and before, there was The “Yoga Sutras of
Patanjali”(500 B. C. to 400 C. E.) It was the first systematic
presentation of Yoga, and describes the path of Raja Yoga (Royal Yoga
or classical
Yoga).
Patanjali organised the practice of yoga into an “eight limbed
path”: Yamas – ethical considerations, Niyamas – self
observations, Asana – physical poses, Pranayama – Breath control,
Pratyahara – withdrawal of senses, Dharana - concentration, Dhyana
meditation and Samadhi – freedom/peace. Containing the steps and
stages towards obtaining Samadhi or enlightenment.
Another
path of Yoga is Bhakti Yoga – Yoga of Devotion, its a path of love
and devotion. Bhakti Yoga or Love and devotion have no restrictions.
It could be devotion for a Hindu deity (Shiva, Vishnu, Krishna) or
another God or a formless object. And one of those paths is “Chanting
of Mantras”.
Om
Chant
Mantras,
as described before, are a sound or a song or a word with constant
repetition, and it helps to focus the mind and develops withdrawal of
senses to become a master of such senses and not a victim.
Patanjali
called it chitta, vritti, nirodah, - the stilling of the mind waves,
to calm down our wondering mind, to overcome overwhelming thoughts
and eventually succumb suffering. Being aware in the here and now.
When chanting Mantras, practitioner is usually given a personalized
mantra by their guru. If someone has no guru, they may choose a
universal mantra like the most known – “Om”
There
are three methods of reciting a mantra: audible, whispered and
mental. The mantra is usually repeated with the aid of a “mala”
or rosary of 108 beads. Each time the practitioner repeats the
mantra, one bead in their mala is moved along. How useful this is, to
do so and without any awareness is another thing. But to sing a
mantra joyfully in awareness is much more effective as explained in
the latter part of this.
Anyhow,
this path is an integral part of the “Tantra Yoga Path” (it has
nothing to do with sex or the predominant misunderstanding in the
western world about it). Tantra Yoga is the Yoga of Technology, the
concept of Kundalini – Shakti is central to Tantra Yoga. The
literal translation of tantra is “technology” and so Tantra can
be considered an inner technology, as Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev puts it.
In an article about Mantras he wrote:
“Mantra
means a sound, a certain utterance or a syllable. Today, modern
science sees the whole existence as reverberations of energy,
different levels of vibrations. Where there is a vibration, there is
bound to be a sound. So, that means, the whole existence is a kind of
sound, or a complex amalgamation of sounds – the whole existence is
an amalgamation of multiple mantras. Of these, a few mantras or a few
sounds have been identified, which could be like keys. If you use
them in a certain way, they become a key to open up a different
dimension of life and experience within you”.
Om,
or spoken from the 3 Letters AUM is not some religion’s trademark.
It is the fundamental sound in the existence. It is said that Shiva
can create a whole new existence just by uttering three AUMs. It is a
vibration and vibration is energy.
That’s
why also the bible spoke about THE Word – which is the Creator of
all Creations. Someone can create this sound without the tongue. If
someone sings it with open mouth and slowly close, this Sound will be
created. Aaa, Uuu an Mmm.
So
actually the sound is Aum and not “Om”. Also Christians say Amen,
two first letters are again Aum. Almost every language has a Sanskrit
Background and words originally came from Sanskrit. Aum is the basis
of our creation. So to chant this Aum Mantra every day for at least
two months can make an enormous change within us. If one feels
unbalanced, sad or angry, it will help within 20 Minutes of chanting
to bring him back to balance.
Sadhguru
gives hundreds of examples where people had psychological diseases
and taken pills, tranquilizer and others against depression, PTSD or
ADS: as a result of Aum chanting for half a year, they all could live
without pills, because it is the basic sound of our physical
existence. And it’s healing.
Chanting
of OM Mantra purifies the environment around the chanter and produces
positive
vibrations.
•
It
takes you alpha, a meditational state which gives you deep
relaxation.
•
Your
concentration
and focus
increases
•
Chanting
removes
negative mental impressions
from your mind
•
It
gives you better
immunity
and health
•
Improves
your voice,
gives
strength to vocal cords
and thyroid
gland
•
Has
a cardiovascular
benefit
and normalizes
blood pressure
•
Helps
with emotional
regulation
•
Increases
energy
and
removes fatigue
Combining
mind and body with Mantra
How
does it work in our physical body? Around 80 % of our Body is from
water element. In the last few years, much of the science researches
have been based on water. It is now proven, that water has memory. If
you give a cup of water a certain thought it will remember. If it is
a positive or a negative thought it will remember. This is modern
science. Dr. Masuro Emoto began in the 90th with researches how water
reacts on playing different kinds of music or different kinds of
words on water. Then he froze the water and took photos of the water
crystals. He showed that the water under the influence of certain
words and music creates a special structure. For example, the crystal
structure of Love or Harmony shows a beautiful organized structure.
Heavy Metal or bad words like Hate has a chaotic unorganized
structure.
How
it looks like after giving the water a word, and spoke to the water:
Human
consciousness has also an effect on the molecular structure of water.
Emoto's conjecture evolved over the years, and his early work
explored his belief that water could react to positive thoughts and
words, and that polluted water could be cleaned through prayer and
positive visualization.
Many
people these days know about this fact and they are aware how words
and music influences us and what impact certain words and even
thoughts have. They talk and pray and bless their water, before they
drink it.
So
if we are also aware about our thoughts and words and understand that
we are made of 80 % Water and the memory that we create in our self
with our words, than we will think and speak or sing only good and
positive words.
Our
Brain itself has even more water than our Body, which is about 90 %
of water. It is the so called Liquor, the Cerebral Liquid, produced
in the middle of our brain in the ventricles and flows around our
brain and down in our spinal cord and protect our brain and nerve
system. If we imagine all those fluid or water molecules has the
memory, whatever happened in our life and what is spoken and thought,
then we can imagine how this will influence our present thoughts and
nerve system and finally our emotions (which are coming from our
thoughts) and actions, so we can take care of our thoughts and
speech.
And
a mantra is exactly what we can use as a recipe to even heal
ourselves.
There
are many other Mantras which have different impacts on us.
In
YouTube you will find lots of healing Mantras and frequencies which
are helping to overcome difficulties and come to a healthier state
and improve our awareness and consciousness.
The
Mantras are in harmonious frequencies like 432 Hz. It creates a
harmonious feeling and being inside of us. Unfortunately they changed
the standard frequency (convention 1939) into 440 Hz as a worldwide
norm. There's
been a debate floating around about whether instruments
sound
better tuned to 440 Hz or 432 Hz. While 440 Hz is the standard tuning
(and what the vast majority of songs today are tuned to).
Ancient
instruments are tuned by 432 Hz. Also Giuseppe
Verdi was an
Italian
Romantic composer primarily known for his operas. He is considered,
together with Richard Wagner, the preeminent opera composer of the
nineteenth century. Naturally concerned for the well-being of his
opera singers, Verdi proposed that the French government adopt a
standard where C=256 Hz. This is the same scale where A=432 Hz. He
claimed that it was the natural range for singing.
But
when we choose a mantra, it should be just chanted with full
awareness within ourselves and with joy and happiness.
As
I already explained the benefit of “Om” - Chanting, what else are
the benefits?
Benefits
of Mantra Chanting
The
power of mantra is revealed in the roots of the Sanskrit word, “man”,
meaning mind, and,- “tra“,
meaning deliverance, or, projection. Thus, chanting the sacred sound
of the mantra delivers us from our sense dependency, from our
unrelenting habit of looking toward the senses for gratification;
pleasures that are and that will always be, fleeting and limited–how
much can you eat? Or drink? Or have sex? Or buy? Sense gratification
never really gratifies. We are always left either unfulfilled and
guilty–wishing we had never started, or else, wanting more and
lamenting the loss.
Chanting
is a pleasure that transcends the senses; it takes us beyond the
bounds of time and space (which is why we don’t have to understand
the mantra). Thus it soothes in a most profound way. It soothes on a
cellular level. It merges our finite identity with the infinite, and
so dissolves us. It relieves us from the sights and sounds and
stimulation of the material world and delivers us into a spiritual
space, where the sound is God. The material needs are reduced to
nothing but mind chatter, and like smoke pumped into the sky, will be
scattered into the expanse. Through the sweetness of devotional
surrender, mantra turns the negative into positive. I once heard it
said: “as music has charms to soothe a savage beast, so the
spiritual sound of mantra soothes the restless mind.” - And that is
what Yoga means with „vritti“ to sooth the mind and stilling the
mind waves. Once you achieve this state you will be more aware about
your thoughts and things. This will bring us to be more thankful for
each and everything. - We can grow in this awareness and see finally
how things really are.
Personal
Experience
These
days I had a lot of emotional things going on and it had also an
effect on my circulative system and my health status. So experienced
it with and within myself what Mantra Chanting does:
After
an exhausting week of school and study and outside influences which
made me sad and powerless, I couldn’t do anything anymore. I just
lost my power and was unbelievably tired. My circulatory system was
not working in the right way and I suffered from headache and low
blood pressure and felt dizzy.
So
I started chanting Mantras for one hour. First the „Aum“ then
„Hari Om – Shiva Om“ and the „Gayatri“ Mantra.
Within
this hour I felt emotional 100 % better and balanced again and after
another two hours even the dizziness was gone.
The
Sanskrit Mantras are often about Shiva – He is one of the main
Hindu deities. He is the destroyer. - Destroyer of all negativity.
And he activates the goodness in you. This is only one of the
examples.
A
Mantra can give us comfort and help to overcome sufferings. There are
plenty of benefits of Mantra chanting and here some others:
–Free
of costs
–Reduces
Anxiety and Depression
–Releases
Neuroses
–Engenders
Compassion
–Boosts
Immunity
From
Hinduism to everybody’s lives
In
the Hindu and related Dharmic traditions that use mantra meditation
as a regular part of practice, you will find there is a mantra for
everything – for every disease and every challenge. To note just a
few examples, in the Tibetan tradition, the „Om Mane Padme Hum“
mantra has been used for centuries to invoke the blessings of
compassion. In the Hindu tradition, the Ganesh mantra "om gam ganapatayei namaha" is chanted to the elephant-headed deity Ganesha to remove obstacles.
And, in the Kundalini Yoga tradition, the „Siri
Gaitri Mantra – Ra Ma Da Sa“–
is chanted for healing.
To
make it as a new pattern in your life, take all this benefits and
bring it into your daily routines, to get a better health state,
calmness, happiness and to sing, have fun, and to enjoy life. Have
you ever sung under the shower or in the rain, or when you walked in
a lonely place? Give it a try and start your own favourite Mantra.
The effort to make a daily (-morning and/or night) practice will
bring you lots of surprises and happiness. 20 Minutes a day will
bring a change of positivity in your life if you chant the right
mantras.
Since
I traveled to India and learned so much about Yogic living, I have
been intensifying living a more Yogic lifestyle.
To
study and practice Yoga gives me a better perspective of life and
improved my awareness. I feel like I am a newborn. It already
affected my life to live more conciously in every part of life. How I
approach others, how I treat myself (self love), how to let go of
what doesn't serve me anymore, how to be more thankful, and how I
treat animals and the environment, how I eat and drink healthily, how
to be grateful for everything and how I serve people.
Closing
Mantra:
“Lokah
samastah sukhino bhavantu”
(translated as ”may all beings be happy and free”)
Manuela
Müller
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