Mantra
To chant is to vibrate, to stimulate hormonal flow, to connect to the eternal sound current, to meet your soul and to connect to the Divine within.
We all use mantra all the time, it is just that most of us these words are negative: I can’t, I do not, I am not, I do not like….. these are mantras. They become so because we repeat them so often. Aloud or silently, we endlessly play tapes to ourselves that diminish us, that make us less, that keep us stuck. When the mantra becomes positive, as in a prayer or an empowered phrase, and we consciously use it to still the mind, then we are working at the highest level for ourselves and the journey our soul has chosen to make in this life time.
The mind is a dark and tricky place. We should never be left alone with it. Where our mind can take us in a flash is too awful. How we learn to control the mind is by mantra, by stepping sideways into words of power that change the thought patterns and that can ultimately affect our DNA, making such profound changes in our experience of reality that mantra becomes the preferred way of passing time with the mind, thinking becomes a process that serves us rather than dominates our every waking moment.
Kundalini Mantra
Mantras are words of power. Usually a sequence of words that hold energy, transformation and intention. I have an enduring love of mantra and it forms the basis of my personal, spiritual practice. Truthfully I do far more mantra than I do posture. I turn to it all the time: As I do my running, as I swim, when I feel stressed, when I or my children are unwell, when I walk, chop, cook… there is always a mantra turning somewhere. Either through a mala between my fingers, gently and calmly moving through my mind or somewhere close by me, there is a mantra playing.
Mantra is said to be the highest form of Spiritual Practice. To see the mantra written in your mind’s eye is said to be the ultimate goal.
Mantra stills the mind, stops the thoughts, brings peace and can transform your emotions in a moment.
Mantras can be in any language including English, Sanskrit, Gurmukhi, Arabic… and can also include affirmation. I can and I am is an exquisite mantra to empower yourself through difficult times.
When you chant you vibrate, you vibrate the cosmos. You tune into a universal sound current, the Shabad Guru. The world is sound, Nada Brahma, and chanting actives hormonal flow in the body, focuses the mind, brings the thoughts to a zero point and from here there is a sense of peace.
A mantra can be a prayer, a well known version of this could be the Japji or The Lord’s Prayer, The Hail Mary, the Saint Francis Prayer. Repeat any of these over and over, jaap, and elevation is attained. There are also shorter mantras that have specific effects and end goals. Shabads from the Guru Granth Sahiib, lines from the Mahabrata and the Psalms could all be considered for use as mantras, especially if you know their import and ultimate intention.
If you would like to start simply with mantra then any of the above mentioned prayers or Shabads may be familiar to you, but also you could play with the following:
Sat Nam. This means truth is my name. With each footstep, as you walk, use one of the mantra.
Wah Hey Guru. Ecstasy through consciousness. Again great when walking or running, good when chopping vegetables.
Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo. I bow to the Divine within. This is a very lovely mantra and can be used to access the consciousness of the soul.
The Mool Mantra
I run. I also do and teach yoga. The two have melded in an interesting way after a very stressful year and I now have reached a point where my personal practice has become very fulfilling. I have been looking for peace since 1989. A long time. I have tripped and stopped at many paths along the way. Some good, all interesting, some unable to hold me for long and the path of Kundalini yoga taking a major chunk of the experience.
But earlier this year my practice, which had become very intense over the years, was no longer holding me. I lay on the floor one early morning and realised that I had to go further than this. I got up, and ran. I did not run away, I ran forward, shedding history with every step. It was a faltering start. I had not run for 12 years, I had had two kids, my back was bad and I had to work with a chiro all the way through the first few months to get it worked through, but now I can run for an hour. I am impressed with myself.
The one thing that got me through all the torture of learning to street run at 5am was the Mool Mantra. I love mantra. More than the postures, the mantra and chanting has always transfixed me and I have learned to use it as a tool to still my mind and bring peace to ahead that I should never be left alone with. From the very moment I step out of the gate in the morning I start turning the Mool mantra and hold my attention to it until I put the key in the lock to get back into the house. I do not use an MP3 player, I just turn the sound of the words in my head and refuse to think at all.
I had a fascinating lesson the other day. I ran later than usual, at 8am. It was awful. I hated it. I was cold, tired, unenthused and kept thinking of turning back and giving up. It was not until I was two thirds of the way around the park that I realised I had left without the mantra turning. My mind had been let loose and was trashing my time completely. I started to mentally chant and hey presto! I loved my run and returned home at the end of it feeling peaceful and calm.
So I offer the Mool Mantra as a tool for this profoundly challenging time. Write it out and then learn it by heart. There are lots of versions of it around. I sell several. Guru Singh at Gurusing.com does a great one as does Sada Sat kaur. It is said to contain all of creation with in it. Obviously the Gurmukhi version is the one to repeat. The translation of the words is in English, below. Download the Pdf by clicking here. Carolyn regularly teaches Mantra workshops at events like The Mind Body Spirit Show and The Yoga Show and also runs workshops on Mantra and the mind. To view Carolyn’s event schedule click here.
Ek Ong Kar
Sat Nam Kartaa Purk
Nirbahao
Nirvair
Akaal Moorat
Ajoonee
Saibhang
Gur Prasad
Jap!
Aad Sach
Jugaad Sach
Hai Bhee Sach
Naanak Hosee Bhee Sach
There is One Creator
Truth is the Name
Doer of Everything
Fearless
Revengeless
Undying
Unborn
Self-Illumined
Gurus Grace
Repeat
In the beginning: Truth
Throughout the ages: Truth
Even now: Truth
Nanak says Truth shall exist forever.
