Thursday, April 6, 2017

MANTRA MEDITATION QUESTION AND ANSWERS, WHAT IS BIJA MANTRA, WHAT IS CHAKRA

MANTRA AND MEDITATION QUESTION AND ANSWERS

There are many doubts and misconception among people about mantra.  Even many knowledgeable persons says that mantra is nothing but a boring repetition of words that doesn’t affect our consciousness and the only effect it produce is to take the chanter ( the one who repeats the mantra ) into a state of sleep.

There are many other wrong notions  about mantra which, I think, exist because of the fact that people are not aware of the full  mechanism of mantra. So before you start this meditation technique on Mantra, it is essential that you clear all your doubts about mantra:


QUESTION :What is a Mantra?

Answer :A sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of “creating transformation.” The Sanskrit word mantra consists of the root "Man" meaning “to think” and the suffix -tra, meaning “tools or instruments”, hence a literal translation would be “instrument of thought”.


QUESTION :What is Bija Mantra?


Answer :Bija means seed. “The Bija mantras are one-syllable seed sounds that, when said aloud, activate the energy of the chakras in order to purify & balance the mind & body. When you speak the bija mantras, you resonate with the energy of the associated chakra, helping you focus upon your own instinctive awareness of your body & its needs.”

One immediate tool for working with balancing your Chakras is using meditation and Bija Mantras to connect to each Chakra location. The word 'Bija' is translated as 'seed', and a Bija Mantra is the "Seed Sound". Bija Mantras are formed from the semi-vowels of the Sanskrit alphabet: YAM, RAM, LAM, VAM. Each Chakra has its own Bija Mantra, and because of their Sanskrit pronunciation, they can be felt in the location of each Chakra's center when recited out loud.

Reciting the Bija Mantras also purifies the nadis, which are our subtle energy channels. In addition, when recited in sequential order—from Root Chakra to Crown Chakra—these Sanskrit sounds are felt from the back of the tongue to the front of the tongue moving through all the way to your lips.









QUESTION :Why Mantra make me feel sleepy ?
 

Answer : If you repeat mantra with unconscious you will feel sleepy. It acts as lullaby.

The most important thing in mantra meditation is that you should  repeat it with the full awareness of its meaning. However,  many people repeat mantra without having full awareness of its meaning.


If you repeat a mantra in such mechanical way then it will not produce any effect and will remain an ordinary word.

The emotional feeling in which  a mantra is chanted is the most important requirement of mantra meditation.


In its absence of emotional feeling a mantra is no more than a lullaby. So always keep in mind that whenever you repeat a mantra, you should know what is the meaning of that Mantra.

Otherwise you’ll not be able to draw any benefit from it.

QUESTION: Language of most mantra is strange and difficult to understand.

Answer: To some extent it is true but there is a reason for it.
The entire concept of Mantra meditation began in  India.


That is why most of the mantras are in Sanskrit Language which is the language of the Vedas and Upnishads (the oldest written texts of the world).

Though the language Sanskrit may be ancient & alien to you, what is still intact in various mantras written in this language is their  phonetic significance and their ability  to create powerful vibration of sound .

All mantras were developed after painstaking research and efforts. Therefore, they are very well written tools for achieving a meditative state.  


You should only think about meditating- the process of achieving a state of choiceless awareness- without thinking about the language of the mantra that you will be repeating.

Also Sanskrit is not the sole language of mantra. In almost every religion there are some specific words related to Sound. The word ‘Amen’ in Christianity, ‘Allah Hoo’ in Islam and ‘Om mani Padme Hum’ in Buddhist traditions are some examples. Please keep in  mind that of  whichever language’s mantra you repeat, you must repeat it with full awareness of its meaning.


QUESTION : If Mantra can create a powerful sound vibration then what is the need to repeat it. We can record a mantra on tape and can listen to it as and when we want for achieving a meditative state ?

Answer : It seems logical but actually is not that logical.
It appears logical that If mantra can produce powerful sound vibration then why not use a tape recorder and listen to it repeatedly.


However, in reality it is not that easy as it appears. If you record a mantra and listen to it passively, you will fall asleep as the mantra will act as a lullaby.

All those- who are really interested in mantra meditation- should keep in mind that there are two basic requirement for getting any benefit from  mantra meditation.


(A) the sound of the mantra; and
(B) the repetition of mantra with  faith and full awareness of its  meaning



When you play a mantra on tape, you are just a passive listener. The requirement of sound is there , but the awareness part is absent.

Even if the recorded sound is of someone who has recorded the mantra with faith and full awareness of its meaning, the fact remains that you, who is just a passive listener, will not be able to draw any benefits form this sound as it is not your faith but that of someone else which is included in the recorded mantra.

So unless you yourself chant the mantra with faith and full awareness of this meaning, the only thing you will get is a sound sleep.


Please keep in mind that In order to obtain full fruit of mantra, we have to repeat it with full awareness of its meaning.

Most of the time, we repeat the mantra with the wrong understanding, thinking that the syllables of the mantra and the object of the mantra are different.

That is why the mantra does not bear immediate fruit for us. If you think about this you will understand that the same thing is true on a mundane level.

Suppose that someone calls you an idiot. If you do not accept the word “idiot” as referring to you, you will not react to it. But if you identify with it, you may become so angry that your blood heat up.

If you were to identify yourself with the name of God as easily as you identify yourself with an abusive term, you would experience its effects at once.

QUESTION: Is there a difference between repeating a mantra silently and repeating it loudly ?

Answer: There is a little difference but not much.
As I have already explained, the main thing is that you should repeat a mantra with faith, respect and with full awareness of its meaning.


This can be done in both way i.e. by silently repeating the mantra or by pronouncing it loudly.

The basic difference in repeating a mantra silently and repeating it loudly lies in the intensity of sound that comes out in both the method.

But these vibrations may differ in their quantity  but not  in their quality  and both have the same effect on our inner consciousness.

QUESTION: But no sound is produced when we repeat a mantra silently?


Answer: If you can’t listen a sound, don’t think it does not exist.
Well it appears to us that no sound is produced, the reality is that every action and  every thought  produces a sound.


That’s a different thing that our senses can not detect it. Human being are capable of detecting only sound between 20 to 20,000 decibel.

We can’t listen sound below or above that level. However, this does not mean that such sounds do not exist.

They do exists and leave their effect on us. When you chant a mantra silently, it produces a sound. Though we can’t hear the sound, , it does exist  and produces the vibrations which affects our inner consciousness.


QUESTION :What is a chakra?

Answer:In Sanskrit, chakra translates into “wheel”. These “wheels” can be thought of as vortexes that both receive & radiate energy. There are 7 major energy centers (aka chakras) in the human body.

They run from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. Emotions, physical health, & mental clarity affect how well each chakra can filter energy.

This in turn dictates how pure the energy is that’s emitted from different regions of the body.

The Chakras energy centers of our bodies record our life’s journey. As we grow and live our lives, our Chakras accumulate the energy that we put forth and receive. Essentially, these invisible recording devices are storing all the physical, emotional and spiritual expressions we all experience as human beings.






SEVEN CHAKRA AND THEIR BIJA MANTRA
“LAM”- chakra 1 (root)
  “VAM”- chakra 2 (sacral/navel)
“RAM”- chakra 3 (solar plexus)
“YAM”- chakra 4 (heart)
“HAM”- chakra 5 (throat)
“OM”- chakra 6 (third eye/brow)
“OM”- chakra 7 (crown)


REFERENCE BOOKS
Mantra Yoga and Primal Sound: Secrets of Seed (Bija) Mantras

Healing Mantras: Using Sound Affirmations for Personal Power, Creativity, and Healing

Shakti Mantras: Tapping into the Great Goddess Energy Within Mantras Made Easy: Mantras for Happiness, Peace, Prosperity, and More

Meditation and Mantras




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