Articles by "Mantra"

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Three mantras are beneficial for all aspects of life: the Mahamrityunjaya mantra for health and well-being, the Gayatri mantra for mental tranquillity and wisdom, and the pranava mantra, Om, for peace and spiritual awakening.


Mahamrityunjaya Mantra

Most people will say it is a mantra dedicated to Lord Shiva and give a definition according to the literal meaning of each word. But more important is the vibration you create. The combination of sounds in any mantra creates a specific vibration in the body. Our body also has a vibratory dimension. All the cells and atoms are vibrating in harmony with each other. The moment this harmony is broken at the vibratory level, destruction of the body takes place and we start to die. In death the pulsations of the body stop, the animation of the cells ceases and the life force leaves the body. The vibrations are the manifest symptoms of the life force.
Symbolically, these vibrations are represented in the various chakras or psychic centres. So when we use a combination of mantras or sound syllables, we are activating and bringing forth the potential of these vibrations that are inherent in the body. Some vibrations, like Om, are used to go into a deep meditative state. The effect of Om internalizes the awareness. From a scientific viewpoint, Om increases the alpha waves and decreases the beta waves. Subjectively, internalization of awareness takes place; we become more focused, tranquil and peaceful. When we use a string of vibrations, as in the Mahamrityunjaya mantra, these vibrations realign the disturbances in the vibratory system. Disease and illness can be managed effectively with this mantra.

Gayatri mantra


Traditionally, the Gayatri mantra is used to develop intelligence, knowledge and wisdom, and to expand the consciousness. Gayatri is taught to children at the age of eight, when they enter the period of academic education. Perception and attention are sharpened, retention and memory power are enhanced, and there is growth in intelligence. In order to develop awareness, wisdom and understanding, practise the Gayatri mantra twenty-four times every day.
One must not  underestimate the power of mantras. It is not necessary to understand the meaning of the mantra, but to connect with the vibration that is being created by the mantra chanting. If you are able to connect with the vibration, then in the course of time you can also learn about the points you need to concentrate on during the chanting of different mantras. Then it will become a very valuable tool for your spiritual growth and development.

Mantra repetition


The third important mantra is Om. Om is the synthesis of all mantras, leading to an enlightened state of consciousness. The tradition describes three methods of mantra repetition. The first is verbal, the second is whispering and the third is mental. Mental repetition is the most potent, provided we are able to steady our minds and there are no distractions to divert our attention from the mantra repetition, and provided we do not doze off as the mind becomes internalized, which is very common when practising the mantra mentally.
Although emphasis is given to mental repetition, the tradition also says that if you find the mind is drifting off and losing consciousness of the mantra, and if you find yourself dozing off, then in order to maintain awareness start to whisper the mantra. The whisper is a simple movement of the lips and should be audible only to yourself and nobody else. If you are still unable to control the introversion of the mind, and sleep comes, then begin to chant the mantra verbally. Even with verbal repetition some people cannot hold their mind steady or at one point. So in order to focus the attention a visual symbol is used.
The mantra becomes the mind and the mind is represented as a bird flying over the ocean. The ocean becomes the consciousness, and in the vast expanse of the ocean or consciousness a point of support is needed, a basis which is away from sensorial interactions. The yantra becomes like a piece of wood floating on the ocean. When the mind becomes tired of going off in unknown directions, it can alight on the piece of floating wood, rest there for a while, then fly off again. This is the concept of mantra and yantra.
Just mental repetition or even verbal repetition of mantra is not enough. The mantra should be given a task, a purpose. The power of the mantra has to be channelled towards a goal, not straight into the environment because it will dissipate. When light is focused, it transforms itself into a laser beam. It is the same with mantra. There has to be one aim when practising mantra sadhana. Traditionally, different purposes have been assigned to different mantras, such as health and well-being to Mahamrityunjaya mantra, and intelligence and wisdom to Gayatri mantra.

Peace – the basis of spiritual growth

The chanting of Om is the easiest and simplest of the mantras because it only has one sound, Om. The purpose of pranava sadhana is to transcend body consciousness, to connect with cosmic consciousness and to realize our spiritual potential. While the chanting is going on, we should have the feeling and awareness of spiritual advancement.
In order to understand the process of spiritual advancement we start with peace, shanti. The state of peace is the foundation of spiritual experience. In the absence of personal peace there can be no spiritual growth or development. That is the reality. The purpose of Om is to awaken the state of inner peace. This awakening of peace has to happen at various levels of our nature, personality and mind.
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For thousands of years, you and your ancestors have been working on mind control, and most have either failed or slipped into a state of hypnosis. The mental process is an involuntary process and you cannot cut through it at any point you like. Even if you can stop the thoughts, you can't stop the process. Mind, thought and consciousness maintain their level. You only have the satisfaction of knowing that you have created a vacuum in your mind- shoonya, void, a thought free mental area. But that's all delusion; man can never be free from the thought process.
You not only think on the conscious plane - you think even though you are unconscious. When you are extrovert and preoccupied, an unseen, eternal, unbroken and protracted process of thought movement continues behind the mental curtain. You don't see anything but there is constant movement.
Mind is not a homogeneous substance- mind is a replica of proto-matter, universal mind. You talk about controlling the mind, but what are you talking about? You can definitely streamline and channelize your emotions, the pattern of your thinking and the structure of your ambition- the social mind. But the real mind is invincible and is completely indomitable. Therefore, intelligent people must realise that in order to understand and control the thought process you have to go into the deeper spheres of your mind. That is the science of mantra.

The process

Mantra is not the name of a god or goddess or of a person. It is not a holy word or part of a hymn.
Mantra is not sacred, nor is it a tool for concentration. It is a vehicle for expansion of mind and liberation of energy.
The sounds which you receive and the sounds you make, create resonant waves in the depths and surface of the mind. These sound waves have various forms known as mandalas which go deep and hit the depths of the mind. If you take a pebble and throw it into a pool- circles, waves or ripples are generated. Deep freeze the whole pool immediately and then look at it- follow the ripples and find the point where the pebble hit the water.
The process of mantra is very similar. First of all fix your mind on the nose tip or one of the centres. This is very important, because when the eyeballs move, the rhythms of the brain are affected and shadows move- the level of consciousness does not become steady. For that reason the eyes have to be absolutely steady. In order to create steadiness, you have to find one centre, the nose tip, close the eyes, and fix your mind there. That is point one. Secondly, the nose is directly connected with the perineum, which is the seat of the most important centre in the body- mooladhara chakra. When you concentrate on the nose tip the impulses keep moving from the nose tip right down to the perineum.
After you have been concentrating on the nose tip, become aware of the breath, the natural breath which moves at the speed of fifteen rounds per minute. The breath has to be felt at the nose tip, flowing through both the nasal orifices. Then synchronise your mantra with the natural stream of the breath, either one mantra with inspiration and one with expiration, or more than one mantra with inspiration. That all depends upon the length of your mantra and on your personal choice.

Unlocking Pandora's box

What happens when you are practising mantra ? More and more thoughts express themselves. Mind becomes wild. As long as you are occupied, you are quiet; your mind is peaceful. But when you begin to concentrate on the mantra, everything comes out from the depths. Does this mean that you are not progressing? Is it a negative symptom? No- during the period when you practise mantra, the wilder the mind becomes, the better it is for you. It is not clarity, tranquility or passivity of mind that is required. The most important thing is to face the mind- to see the entire process.
Thinking is not a process- it is a panorama. Mind does not move, mind does not walk, mind does not run. It is just a thing. But you see the mind in parts, therefore you think it is moving, just as you see the sun moving but the earth not. This is one of the most important things that all of us must understand. This idea is very important in yoga. It influences the whole mental condition, the state of being. You feel thoughts moving, emotions running wild, passions assailing you. But that's your experience, your feeling- that's not a fact. You see the whole thing, part by part, and therefore you feel that the mind is moving from past into present and from present into future, from future into past and from past into future. But it is not like that. Universal mind is a homogeneity; it cannot be separated by time and space. Time and space are in its womb.
Therefore, when you are practising mantra, you should be happy when your mind is developing the areas concerning the past, present and future. When evil and criminal thoughts are awakened in your mind, or when you have thoughts of God and compassion-it is all the same. If you want to crush the evil idea, you must crush the good idea as well. This is a very important point, and it is here that the whole process of life, of evolution, is stuck. Those people who have been able to transcend the barriers of life, have done it only after realising this.
You expect the mind to be calm like a moonlit night, free from clouds and thunder. That's not expecting something which is possible. When you practise your mantra, please remember that you are not practising it to stop this eternal process; to crush the basis of your faculties, your knowledge, your enlightenment. To crush the mind is to kill life. To suppress an emotion is to destroy the very base of your ambition and desire. Man cannot be anything unless he has the whole mind to work from. The greatest discoveries in history, the greatest victories, the greatest paintings, compositions, and realizations-what are they, but products of the mind.
Therefore, when you practise mantra, please be aware of whatever comes to your mind. Do not put things into categories and compartments: 'Very nice thoughts I had today, thank God.' Or, 'Today my meditation was very bad; throughout the practice I have been having horrible thoughts.' No, this is where we are making a great mistake. When you fix your mind on the nose tip, on the breath, and on the mantra - the deeper you go the greater will be the manifestation of the whole mind.

Forget about control

The mind has infinite experiences, pictures, realisations and ideas. Therefore, I cannot agree with those people who say: 'Close your eyes, control your mind and practise mantra. You will come to the light.' I have practised not for one or two years, but for a whole lifetime, and I know this is not the way.
By trying to control the mind, you are creating a split in your personality. Who are you and whom are you trying to control? As you practise mantra, every time a bad thought comes, you set it aside. Who is doing this, and with whom? Who is the controller, who is controlled and who controls the controlling process? It's all you - one mind, myself, and two perceptions. You are creating a conflict between the two perceptions that have arisen in you. That's why the whole civilisation has become schizophrenic and neurotic. For that, you are responsible; your religion, your system of spiritual life, is responsible.
Man does not live by faith or belief. Man lives by an absolutely cruel sense of discovery, and great things have come out of it. Faith and belief have their limitations, but discovery has no limitations. You can explore into eternity, into infinity and keep on going as far as you will. That's discovery, that's adventure. But once you stop and say, 'I have found it', that is faith or belief, and that is setting limitations to your capacity, to your potentialities.
So when you practise mantra, the deeper you go, the greater areas of the mind you explore. You will not only see the passions, ambitions, dreams, and compassions; you will see horrible fears, thoughts which you could never think on the mental, psychic or para-psychological planes. There is not one moment in the life of a practitioner when the mind is totally vacant.
People come to me every day saying, 'Swamiji, my mind is very restless and I am not able to concentrate. Kindly give me a mantra.' I have to tell them, 'This is not possible. I don't teach mantra for this purpose. But if you want your unconscious to be exploded, if you want the great treasure to reveal itself, then, I can give you a mantra.'
The science of mantra is not a branch of hatha yoga; it is a part of tantra. In tantra it is said that mantras can influence the totality of human consciousness and destiny. Therefore, when we set out to practise mantra, we should forget one point, control of mind.
Mantra can be practised at any part of the body, not only the nose tip. You can practise mantra awareness at the navel, the centre of the heart, the eyebrow centre, or even sahasrara chakra - the crown lotus on top of the head.
There are four ways in which mantra can be practised: (i) baikhari - aloud, with the mouth; (ii) upanshu - whispering, with movement of the lips; (iii) manasik - silently in the mind, with no movement of the lips or tongue, no stir in the throat; (iv) ajapa japa - spontaneously with the breath.
When the sound is produced in these four different forms, it has different types of waves. When you chant Om aloud or in a whisper, it creates a standing wave. When you repeat it silently in the mind, it produces a resonant wave. Spontaneous mantra synchronised with the breath creates a continuous, rhythmic wave which has a long range of vibration. When you chant the mantra with your mouth or lips, it has a short range of vibration, a very quick rest period.
This doesn't mean to say that you should not chant aloud, but this is the lower form. Feeling the mantra spontaneously is the higher form. For the best results, mantra should be practised in the following sequence: First chant aloud, producing the sound with your mouth. After a few months, just whisper it on the lips, without producing any vibration. Then later, after a year or so, fix a point at the eyebrow centre, nose tip, or in the heart, and repeat your mantra silently there, synchronising it with the pulse beat. Finally, practise spontaneous awareness of the mantra with the rhythm of the breath. This is the most important form. If the mantra is to penetrate the inner consciousness, to reach the point where thoughts originate, where consciousness emanates and evolution begins, then this last form of spontaneous mantra awareness, ajapa japa, must be practised.
Acceptance of the mind is a very important attitude, especially during the practice of mantra. To live with our own thoughts and feelings is very difficult. People suffer from inferiority and guilt due to their own mind, their own mental behaviour. If you can come out of this by understanding and accepting the mind, many people will want to receive guidance from you. It doesn't matter how long you can sit in the lotus position. You can hold your mala for fifteen years and still be wrestling with the mind. What matters is that you learn to live with the mind, to understand the mind, and to utilise the perceptions that it is projecting before you. Whenever the mind is disturbed, you must find out what is the cause of the disturbance - the sound, the individual, the situation. Try to become a witness of all that is happening- this is the attitude that must be developed in the practice of mantra. Finally, when you have finished the practice, put your mala down and stop the mantra. Fix your mind on one point, for example, the nose tip or eyebrow centre, for five minutes and visualise the symbol of your mantra there.
If you continue this practice regularly you will treat your own mental problems, and correct your abnormal mental behaviour. You will be your own mental doctor. As well as this, you will develop an intimate friendship with the mind, and all of its fantastic faculties will open up to you. This mind is telepathic, clairvoyant, psycho-telekinetic This mind has infinite qualities- it can create a poem and make you a Milton. It can decide your future and make you a warrior, a soldier, a statesman or a saint. But we must know how to make use of this mind.
Tranquility is not necessary when you practise mantra, nor is it the aim. If you want to get rid of hypertension, blood pressure or coronary stress, and you are trying to make the mind tranquil, you can expect another heart attack. Tranquility is an ideal. Man has to learn to live with reality. Nature is living with stress. The universe is living with stress. How long do you want to be like soft butter? Learn to live with stress. That is the ultimate aim. Stress is struggle; struggle is life, and life is progress.

The tantric approach

Why did the tantric tradition give us mantra? In the tantric texts it says that even a person who can't walk, talk, see, or hear, who is absolutely destitute, with everybody against him, can practise mantra and become enlightened.
Mantra eliminates sickness and madness, not by controlling the mind but by letting the mind open itself. The more you practise mantra, the more you see on the beautiful television before you. You will have endless thoughts, dreams and visions. The practice of mantra lets all the wild animals out of the cage. You may think this is not at all necessary, but I have found that before you can get peace of mind, before you can transcend the mind, you must be able to face all the disturbances of the mind.
If I have a problem and am unable to sleep for three days, I don't care that my mind is agitated. I believe that the mind must face truth honestly. If I am up against the agony of death, I must face it and experience it. If I am feeling the turbulence of passion, I must face it and experience it.
The purpose of mantra is not to make the brain inactive to these things, but to increase its sensitivity and awareness. This is the tantric system and it teaches you to face facts, with your eyes open. We don't want people to be like ostriches. Are you ready to unlock the mind and face its manifestations, or do you still want to put a cover over them? If you want to put a cover over them, then you have the hypnotic aspect of mantra meditation. But if you are willing to face them and work them out, then you have the tantric aspect, and mantra is the way.

Satsang on Mantra

I have tried many mantras and have become confused. How do I know which one I should persist with?

Well, the question could be put in a different way, 'I have married so many times and nothing has succeeded.' You see, the first thing is to stay with one mantra and continue it. Don't go on changing the mantra. Don't go on jumping from guru to guru. There is only one secret of success- stick to something. Even if you are stuck to a very ineffective system it does not matter. Maybe you will reach the goal a little later, but you will reach it. Don't get fed up with the practice. If you are practising my system stick to it, and if you are practising some other system stick to that. One guru, one mantra - that is called spiritual chastity.
Remember the words 'spiritual chastity'. Don't go on with your old habits of flirting, or at least don't project them into your spiritual life. In material life you may go from this husband to that husband, from this wife to that wife, from this job to that job, from this flat to that flat, from this country to another, and it may all work out all right. But in spiritual life only one thing will work- one-pointed chastity of spiritual purpose.

What is the difference between a personal mantra and a general mantra?

Up to the point of initiation, you can practise any general mantra, but once you have been initiated into a mantra, this becomes your personal mantra and it should not be changed.
There are also special mantras which can be utilised for specific purposes such as influencing your destiny, or to overcome a specific problem. These mantras are discontinued as soon as they have fulfilled their purpose, and are then classified along with the general mantras.

If you already have a guru, is it possible to receive a mantra from another guru?

According to my understanding, the guru has to be properly defined. If you have learned yoga from someone, he is your yoga guru. If you have learned the Gita or the Bible, he is your Gita or Bible guru. If you have been going to him for a long time and learning about spiritual life, then he is your spiritual guru. If he is a spiritually illumined person and you have great respect for him, he is also your guru. Accordingly, one can have many gurus, and the person who gives you a mantra is your mantra guru. So if you have a spiritual master, a Gita or Bible master, a raja yoga or tantra yoga master, you can also have a mantra master. Guru has two aspects :(i) he teaches you; (ii) he can help you to illumine your consciousness. So you can have these two aspects in one person or in many persons.

What is the benefit of receiving a mantra directly from the guru?

When the mantra is heard from the guru, it is registered by your atman. Then it becomes the seed which grows as you practise your sadhana.

What is the difference between a tantric mantra and a vedic mantra?

Tantric mantras are those which influence the deeper nature of the universe. They are also intended to fulfil certain desires of man. Tantric mantras are very powerful and when you practise them, they create a great force in the atmosphere.
Vedic mantras are intended for worship of the divine and for self-realization. They change the nature of a person and make him more devotional.

Is it necessary to pronounce the mantra correctly?

If you make a mistake in pronouncing the vedic mantras there is no harm. For example, if you are repeating the mantra Om Namah Shivaya and you say Om Namah Shivaya, it won't make much difference. But the tantric mantras must be pronounced absolutely precisely and correctly.
I have found that anyone who listens with awareness can produce the correct sound of the mantra. At first you may not be able to repeat the correct sound aloud, but you can perceive it. After hearing a melody several times, you can think it in your mind, even though you may not be able to sing it. In the same way, if you listen to the pronunciation of the mantra, even if you do not repeat it aloud, you will conceive the correct sound in your mind, and this is enough.

Is the intellectual meaning of mantra important?

The mantra is a combination or assembly of powerful sound waves. As such, the intellectual understanding of the mantra is not at all necessary. It is not the meaning, but the sound waves created by the mantra which influence the cosmos in the brain and outside. There are some mantras which don't even have a meaning.
The mantra has two basic aspects: sound and form. For example, when you chant Om, it is a sound; when you write Om in script, it is a form. So every mantra has a sound and a form, but the most powerful aspect is the sound. All educated people have a concept of script in their mind. If you are not educated and have no concept of script in your mind, then you will conceive Om as sound only. The problem is- you are not able to separate the sound from the script. If you repeat the sound Om, it is not only the sound, but also the script which follows it. When you are practising a mantra, gradually try to leave the idea of script and follow the sound.

How should the practice of mantra be integrated into the daily routine?

Practise for ten minutes early in the morning before everyone gets up, and again at night just before you go to bed. Also try to remember the mantra and repeat it mentally throughout the day, when you are at work or just sitting.

How important is regularity?

Mantra is so powerful that it can change your destiny, economic situation, physical structure, etc. If you want the mantra to change the whole structure of your life, you must practise it regularly, every morning and evening.

Why is it recommended to chant mantra aloud in the beginning?

Unless your mind is steady and one-pointed, mental repetition of mantra can bring more dissipation.

What is the purpose of chanting Om in groups?

Om chanting is done in groups to raise everyone at the same time. There are two types of Om chanting used for this purpose. One practice is where everybody chants aloud together O-o-m-m-m-m- The other is where everybody chants silently Om, Om, Om. The latter is a relaxed way of chanting used for chakra work. It allows you to be independent. When the group is chanting Om aloud together, they have to keep their minds on each other, but when you are practising silently, you can chant freely in your own rhythm. Om is a combination of three sounds 'A', 'U' and 'M'. These three can be pronounced in different ways according to grammatical rules. Generally, however, the combination of 'A' and 'U' becomes 'O'. Thus the pronunciation is really O-o-m-m-m-m'

How does a mantra act scientifically?

Every sound and form has a different archetype inside the brain. The process of knowledge takes place through these archetypes. As I am talking to you, knowledge simultaneously takes place inside you, but this process is not based on the actual sounds I am pronouncing. As soon as the sound goes into the brain, it changes its waves and assumes various geometrical patterns. These patterns are the archetypes. Now, in science, the principle is that perception and cognition take place inside through the intermediary archetypes, and what we perceive is not exactly as it was outside.
There are infinite archetypal patterns. In yoga they are known as mandalas and yantras. Scientists have found that by producing certain sounds, certain flower-like shapes were formed. When certain mantras were chanted, they found that they created the archetype of a lotus flower. That is why the lotus is so common in spiritual literature. In the same way, different forms can be created by different mantras.
Sound is a force, and this force affects a certain part of the universe and creates ripples in the vast ocean of the cosmos, just as the electromagnetic or radio waves can't be heard even though they pass through the atmosphere. In the same way, a mantra has its own field by which it travels. In this universe which we see around us, there are thousands of channels of waves. We call them layers or zones. In one layer radioactivity travels, in another layer electromagnetic waves, in the third layer thought waves.
When you produce a sound it attains a certain frequency. If your mind is dissipated then the frequency is low. If your mind is one-pointed, then the frequency is high. Your mind is a part of the cosmic mind. When you are in concentration, you are a part of the cosmic mind, but when your mind is not concentrated, then you are not in communication with the cosmic mind.

Are the vedic gods created by the archetype of mantra?

Yes, in fact the gods and goddesses that we hear about in religion are only archetypes. Gods and goddesses like Shiva and Parvati are divine archetypes. In Sanskrit, these vedic deities are known as deva, meaning illumination. When your mind is illumined, you can see so many things inside. Within this cosmos there are infinite forms. The human brain is a miniature universe, and whatever you see in the whole cosmos is contained inside. If you can illumine the inside then you can know all about the outside.

What is anusthana and how is it practised?

Anusthana is a traditional practice in which a particular mantra is chanted. There are many kinds of anusthana but the two most important are sadharana anusthana and purashcharana anusthana. Sadharana anusthana is done on all nine days of Navaratri. During this time, simple, bland food is taken and no work is done. Purascharana is a long anusthana in which the mantra is repeated as many hundreds of thousands of times as the number of matras or letters it contains. For example, if the mantra is Om Namah Shivaya, it must be repeated 500,000 times - this means 5000 malas. This can be completed in a short period of time or over a long period at your convenience. If you do not want to undertake the full number, then you can do only half or one quarter. Anusthana is initiated on an auspicious day, for example, the day of an eclipse, when the number of mantras, and perhaps the duration of time, is fixed and a sankalpa or vow is made to complete them. After many years of practice, the sound waves awaken the causal body. We call this mantra siddhi, the perfection of the power of mantra.

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OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUNG
OM AH HUNG are the sublime, essence of the principles of enlightened body, speech, and mind
VAJRA is the sublime essence of the indestructible family
GURU is the sublime essence of the jewel family
PEMA is the sublime essence of the lotus family
SIDDHI is the sublime essence of the activity family
HUNG is the sublime essence of the transcendent family
OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUNG
OM is the perfect splendor and richness of sambhoghakaya
AH is the total unchanging perfection of dharmakaya, the manifest body of absolute reality
HUNG perfects the presence of Guru Padmasambhava as the nirmanakaya, the manifest body of emanation
VAJRA perfects all the heruka deities of the mandalas
GURU refers to the root and transmission gurus and the holders of intrinsic awareness
PEMA perfects the assembly of dakas and dakinis
SIDDHI is the life force of all the wealth deities and the guardians of the treasure teachings
HUNG is the life force of the dharmapalas, the protective deities
OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUNG
OM AH HUNG are the life force of the three classes of tantra
VAJRA is the life force of the monastic discipline and the sutra class of teachings
GURU is the life force of abhidharma and kriya (action) yoga, the first level of tantra
PEMA is the life force of the charya (conduct) yoga, the second class of tantra, and yoga (joining) tantra, the third class of tantra
SIDDHI is the life force of the mahayoga and anuyoga classes of teachings
HUNG is the life force of the ati yoga, the Natural Great Perfection (Dzogchen)
OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUNG
OM AH HUNG purify obscurations arising from the three mental poisons: desire/attachment, aversion, and ignorance
VAJRA purifies obscurations which stem from anger
GURU purifies obscurations which stem from pride
PEMA purifies obscurations which stem from desire/attachment
SIDDHI purifies obscurations which stem from envy/jealousy
HUNG in a general way purifies obscurations which stem from all emotional afflictions
OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUNG
Through OM AH HUNG one attains the three kayas
Through VAJRA one realizes mirror-like pristine awareness
Through GURU one realizes the pristine awareness of equalness
Through PEMA one realizes the pristine awareness of discernment
Through SIDDHI one realizes the all-accomplishing pristine awareness
Through HUNG one realizes the pristine awareness of basic space
OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUNG
Through OM AH HUNG gods, demons, and humans are subdued
Through VAJRA one gains power over malevolent forces of certain gods and demons
Through GURU one gains control over the malevolent forces of the Lord of Death and the cannibal demons
Through PEMA one gains control over the malevolent influences of the water and wind elements
Through SIDDHI one gains control over the malevolent influences of non-human forces and spirits bringing harm and exerting negative control over one's life
Through HUNG one gains control of the malevolent influences of planetary configurations and earth spirits
OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUNG
OM AH HUNG accomplishes the six spiritual virtues
VAJRA accomplishes pacifying activity
GURU accomplishes enriching activity
PEMA accomplishes magnetizing activity
SIDDHI accomplishes enlightened activity in general
HUNG accomplishes wrathful enlightened activity
OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUNG
OM AH HUNG avert all imprecations and curses
VAJRA averts the negative consequences of breaking one's samaya with the deities of pristine awareness
GURU averts the negative influences of the eight classes of gods and demons in samsara
PEMA averts the negative influences of nagas and earth spirits
HUNG averts the negative influences of gods, demons, humans, samsaric gods
OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUNG
OM AH HUNG defeats the army of the five mental poisons
VAJRA defeats anger
GURU defeats pride
PEMA defeats desire/attachment
SIDDHI defeats envy and jealousy
HUNG defeats the armies of gods, demons and humans
OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUNG
OM AH HUNG brings about the spiritual accomplishments or siddhis
VAJRA brings about the siddhi of peaceful and wrathful deities
GURU brings about the siddhi of the awareness-holders and the lineage gurus
PEMA brings about the siddhi of the dakas and dakinis and dharma protectors
SIDDHI brings about the mundane and supreme siddhis
HUNG brings about the siddhi of accomplishing whatever one wishes
OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUNG
OM AH HUNG transfers consciousness to the pure realms of experience
VAJRA transfers consciousness to the eastern pure realm of Manifest Joy
GURU transfers consciousness to the southern pure realm of Glory & Splendor
PEMA transfers consciousness to the western pure realm of  Great Bliss
SIDDHI transfers consciousness to the northern pure realm of Excellent Activity
HUNG transfers consciousness to the central pure realm of Unwavering
If a physical form could demonstrate the benefit of even one recitation of OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUNG, the entire earth would not be sufficient to contain the merit. All sentient beings who see, hear, or remember this mantra will definitely be established in the ranks of the masculine and feminine awareness-holders. If it is the case that these words of truth of
the Vajra Guru mantra do not accomplish for sentient beings what they wish to accomplish just as I havepromised, then I Pema Jungne, am truly deceiving sentient beings. But I have not deceived you, so you should practice according to my instructions.
Even if you are not able to recite the mantra for whatever reasons, you should mount it on the top of a victory banner, even when the wind touches it, and that wind touches sentient beings, it will free them without a doubt. Alternately, you may inscribe it in clay or carve it in stone. This will also guard the path upon which these syllables are placed and guard that region from malevolent effects. You may also write this mantra out in gold ink on dark blue paper and wear it as an amulet. When you die, if this amulet isburned with your corpse, rainbows will be seen and your consciousness will be transferred to the realms of Supreme Bliss. The benefits of writing out, reading or reciting this mantra defy any accurate measure and defy any standard measurement that could be applied. Having established this for the benefit of beings in the future, I am hiding this treasure. May it meet with a fortunate child of mine in the future who has good karma.
Samaya. Sealed. Sealed. Sealed.


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Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Mantra shastra is a very deep and great science which, if understood correctly, can give one victory over the lower nature. It is a very ancient science and in previous ages people knew it well. Now, however, people’s faith in mantra shastra has diminished and the actual knowledge has become hidden to the point that anything is said in the name of mantra. It is therefore necessary to clarify this science for the sake of spiritual aspirants.

Origins of mantra

Mankind’s most ancient scriptures are the tantra shastras, and after the tantras, the Vedas took birth. Mantra shastra has come from the tantras. It was not written like ordinary books are written. The ancient sages had actual realization of mantra. When, in meditation, the rishis were able to rise to a very high level and transcend material consciousness, they heard cosmic sounds. These were called mantra. If you simply make up some syllables in your mind and repeat them, it is not mantra. When the rishis and munis, whose souls were purified, established their consciousness beyond the mind at a very high level through meditation, the sound perceived by them in that state was called mantra.
The rishis had the experience of mantra at three different levels, or planes of consciousness. When the consciousness passes from the gross body into the subtle body, the sound perceived at that time falls under one group. The mantras heard in the subtle body form another group, and when the consciousness enters from the subtle or second body into the third body, mantras realized at that time form a third group.

Different levels of consciousness

We need to understand what is meant by first body, second body and third body. When I say ‘body’, I do not mean only the body form, but body consciousness – that body through which the consciousness is functioning. When the body consciousness is realized through the medium of the five gross senses, it is called gross body consciousness or the first body where the mind, intellect and memory are working.
What is the second body? When you practise meditation, your awareness travels deep inside, and in that inner realm you begin to see beautiful visions and dreams. The second body, therefore, is not something tangible. It is the subtle or astral body, sukshma sharira, psychic consciousness, or the subconscious body. That is the second plane of consciousness.
What is the third body? When meditation becomes deeper and deeper, the state of void or shoonya arises. There is no awareness of the external or the internal. It is the experience of the dark night of the soul, like midnight, formless, sightless, where there is no awareness of ‘I’. That is called the third body, the causal body, karana sharira, or the unconscious body. In the Vedas it has been called hiranyagarbha, the golden womb. There are many names given to it by psychologists also.
There is also a fourth level of consciousness which is transcendental. In the third and fourth levels of consciousness, awareness of the external world is absent. There is no awareness of one’s old name or form, but there is the experience of the eternal self, akhanda swaroopa. This is the fourth level of consciousness called samadhi or turiya.
All these different levels of consciousness have been indicated in the Gayatri mantra: Om bhur, Om bhuvah, Om swahah, Om mahah, Om janah, Om tapah, Om satyam, Om tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya dheemahi dhiyo yo nah prachodayat. ‘Om bhur’ is the first body, bhur loka or the material plane; ‘Om bhuvah’ is the second body, the intermediate or astral plane; ‘Om swahah’ is the third body, the heavenly or divine plane. The mantras that follow indicate the fourth body – mahah loka, janah loka, tapah loka and satya loka. These are not material worlds, they are planes of consciousness.

Revealed sounds

As the rishis sat in meditation and reached higher levels, they received the sounds known as mantra. Mantras, therefore, are not a creation of the human mind. They were perceived from higher sources. In Islam it is said that the Koran was revealed by God, which means that whoever received the Koran had attained a very high yogic state. In the same way, Christians speak of the Bible as a revealed scripture. Sanatana dharma, the eternal vedic religion, too is understood as having been revealed. The Vedas were not written by man. This, however, does not mean that the pen that wrote them was held in God’s hand; it only means that they were revealed to rishis in the transcendental state. The same is said about the Ramacharitamanas.

Bija mantras

Of all the types of mantra explained so far, the first and the highest is Om. Om is the seed or bija mantra of all mantras. The rishis realized this cosmic Om in the very highest planes of consciousness, in the state of self-realization, atma sakshatkar. All the mantras in existence have come from Om. It is composed of three sounds – A, U and M. Om is found in all societies and all religions, in one form or another. Om is the foremost of mantras.
First comes Om and after it the mantras of Gayatri. The twenty-four syllables of Gayatri along with Om should be considered the original Gayatri mantra. The vedic rishis who received this mantra were established at a very high level of consciousness.
Thereafter, there are mantras pertaining to the third body or the unconscious body, also known as bija mantras. We call them bija or potential mantras, because they contain dormant, potential energy of different forces. Each power or force in the world has its own bija mantra, such as ‘Aim’ for Saraswati, ‘Shreem’ for Lakshmi, ‘Kleem’, ‘Kreem’, ‘Hreem’, and so on. All the short, seemingly meaningless mantras you might have heard are bija mantras.
The bija mantras are like little bombs, like time bombs that explode just at the right moment. Just as you plant a seed in the earth and from that a giant tree grows up to give thousands of fruits, the bija mantras contain similar power. With the practice of anushthana, prolonged mantra repetition for a fixed period of time and a specific number of malas, and regular sadhana, the power of the mantra is awakened. When that power is awakened, the consciousness takes the form of the mantra. That’s when the real work of the mantra begins.

Power of mantra

There is much criticism of Hinduism, the objection being that it has a pantheon of gods and goddesses. But you must remember that shakti, energy, is not only of one type. It has innumerable forms. Although the primal shakti, the root shakti, is one, its manifestations are endless. That is why we worship Devi in so many different forms.
The same principle is also found in science. When electricity is flowing from one central circuit, the amplifier, tape-recorder and all other appliances work. The same energy gives heat from the heater and coolness from the fan. The heat and the cold are varied manifestations of one energy. The truth is that shakti is not just of one kind. Intellect is one shakti, memory is another shakti, speech, prana and knowledge are all shaktis without which we cannot exist. That is why there are different bija mantras for awakening these different powers.
Take vidya shakti, the power of knowledge. It is perceived in the form of Saraswati. I am not talking of the goddess Saraswati whose idol is worshipped in the temple, but of the energy which is in the form of vidya or Saraswati. What is the way to awaken this energy? Of all the methods given, the best is to take the bija mantra of that shakti and awaken its sleeping potential.
There are many other types of shaktis pertaining to the body, to disease, even to snake poison. In many diseases, if japa anushthana or prolonged repetition of Mahamrityunjaya mantra: Om tryambakam yajaamahe sugandhim pushtivardhanam; urvaarukamiva bandhanaan mrityormuksheeya maamritaat, is performed, the power of the mantra is awakened internally, giving the desired result. By the practice of mantra japa, the aspirant’s conscious will is awakened and through willpower everything is accomplished.
There are two forces or powers in the mantra. One is the power of consciousness, Shiva or purusha. The other is the force of nature, matter or prakriti. Through sadhana, these two forces are awakened, and when awakened, they continue to help you throughout your life. Now, you must try to bring the science of mantra into your life.
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