2.2 Yoga
2.3.2 Types of mantras
• Mantras without a specific meaning
Introducing a mantra that does not carry a specific meaning helps to interrupt the incessant association process that keeps the mind busy. It breaks the cycle and offers you the opportunity to glimpse the silent space between your thoughts. This is the beginning of the transformation of your identity from mind to spirit. The cosmic soundAum, or its condensed fonm OM, is the origin of all other sounds and is itself a mantra. It is called a pranava or sacred syllable and symbolises Brahman or the spiritual reality. Aum is a one letter mantra, has no word meaning but its significance is definite; it is the smallest and most effective mantra. It is made of three and a half (3.5) strokes. These strokes are linked to the three and a half coils of Kundalini, the coiled power that lies within us (Kumar, 2000; http://www.spiritsound.com/aum.html).
The most common feature of all religions is the hearing of this unstruck sound through the inner ears by the practitioner. In the Sanskrit tradition, this sound is called "Anahata Nada: the "Unstruck Sound." Literally, this means "the sound that is not made by two things striking together." Sound, which is not made of two things striking together, is the sound of primal energy, the sound of the universe itself.
Christians call it "the Word" or Logos; Hindus and Buddhists call it Om or Aum;
Muslims call it Kalma-i-Jlahi, which is God in first hand (Kumar, 2000:162). Indian Sikhs call it Shabad, Pythagoras called it "Music of the Spheres," Paul Twitchell (founder of Eckankar - The religion of Light and Sound) called it "the Audible Sound Current" (Kumar, 2000:86). Parallel expressions can be found elsewhere. This sound is like the "humming of a swarm of bees" (Kumar, 2000:159) or the sound you hear "on opening the refrigerator" (Goel, 1985:24) or like the "hissing of a serpent" (Avian, 1981:57) or the "blowing of a conch" (Goldman, 1996:109). Joseph Campbelllikens this unstruck vibration to the humming of an electrical transformer, or the (to our ears) unheard hummings of atoms and molecules (Campbell, 1988).
The sound of Om is said to be the after effect of Kundalini. It is the sound of instinctual wisdom of the earth and it is said to take the spirit beyond personal individuality to higher realms of existence (Kumar, 2000).
• Siddha mantras
The tantric scriptures say, "Inconceivable is the power mantra". The liberation of the Kundalini can be interrupted by a single stroke of a siddha mantra, a "proven" or effective mantra. A Siddha mantra is one which has been invested with spiritual power by a true guru. In the process of investing a mantra, the guru raises his own Kundalini to the highest point, sahastrara chakra, and then repeats the mantra, giving it intense spiritual energy. Then he lowers his Kundalini again. When the mantra is given correctly in the process of initiation, spoken directly from teacher to disciple, the vibration of the phrase or word will actually "strike" (mantra' gha't) the sleeping spiritual Source within the individual and awaken it. For this reason mantras learned from books or other sources will not carry the force of a siddha mantra. The
scriptures say: "Only that mantra which is received through the Grace of the Guru can give all fulfilment" (Kularnava Tantra). From the time the mantra is given, the more frequently and intensely the spiritual aspirant repeats it, the more the Kundalini rises under its vibrational impact When the repetition stops, it again returns to slumber. If the mental repetition of the siddha mantra continues all the time, day and night, the Kundalini remains perpetually awakened. When the Kundalini is sleeping, the individual remains in one of the three states: wakeful, dream or dreamless sleep.
Once the Kundalini is awakened the individual enters the fourth (turiiya) state, known as 'thoughtless awareness' (http://www.anandamarga.org/kundalini.htm).
• Chanting mantras
In Hinduism and Buddhism, the repetition of the names of God constantly during meditation is called chanting mantras. In Sufism, a branch of Islam, the shortest route to reaching God is taken through faqr (pious poverty), studying religious literature, and prayer with dhikr, that is, endless repetition of the holy names of God and sacred passages from the Koran, like the chanting of mantras. Devotees use prayer beads, which are similar to the rosaries of Hindus. In Judaism, Kaballah, the shortest route to God, is supposed to have been taught by God to angels, then to Noah, Abraham and Moses, who finally initiated seventy elders. The Merkabah mystics endeavoured to reach the "God's Throne Chariot" after passing through seven heavenly mansions (Kumar, 2000:30-31). The process included fasting with repeated recitations of hymns and prayers to induce a state of trance. It is similar to meditation with the chanting of mantras leading to Samadhi. Practical Kabalism, introduced by Adam Ben Smith in Italy, spread to Germany and became the basis of Hasidism. It involved prayer, contemplation and meditation leading to witnessing the Divine Fire Shekinah
(likened to the Shakti of Hindus), the mother or female aspect of God (Bloom, 2000:59). Orison, the repetitive and devotional meditation on Christ, repetition of the Holy Names, the spiritual teachings of St. Ignatius, and the Eastern Orthodox practice of the philokalia are examples from the Western contemplative tradition that come nearest to meditation as it has been cultivated in Asian countries (Kumar, 2000:31).
The practice of chanting mantras sets up a vibration throughout the entire upper body. It stimulates the alveoli inducing a greater exchange of gasses in the lungs.
Everything has a particular vibration, the mantra too has a particular wave-length, and that wave-length vibrates the mind with the feeling of infinite happiness. The meaning of the mantra is vital. It must be the most uplifting ideation; the most positive of thoughts of infinite happiness, perfect peace and contentment. The vibration also has an effect on the endocrine system and it massages the internal organs. It reaches into the deep lying tissues and the nerve cells and increases blood circulation. By its nature, the sound rises up through the body from the base of the spine to the crown of the head, stimulating the pineal and pituitary glands. The science of the relationship between the glands, hormones and the mind is known as bio-psychology. The glands are the link between the body and mind. They secrete the hormones that affect the way we feel. Thus, they determine the emotions, based on signals from the mind. We feel love in the heart through subtle glands in the chest.
Normally that love is for our close family and friends, especially children, but it can be expanded to universal love. The thyroid gland (at the throat) controls the metabolism of the whole body. It also gives the feeling of self-reliance. The para-thyroids (around the thyroid) cause intellectuality and rationality. The pituitary gland (in the center of
the brain) controls all the lower glands. It is also the seat of the mind. Through it, it is possible to know everything about the past, present and the future. The pineal gland, at the top of the brain, is the master gland. It controls the mind as well as the body and it becomes activated when we meditate. The hormone melatonin, which it secretes, gives the feeling of bliss and infinite happiness (Goldman, 1996;
http://www.hathayoga.co.zalsound.htm).