7

PranaandMantra
Anintrinsicrelationshipbetweensoundandpranaunderliesall
creation.Atthebeginningofcreation,whenthe
firstmovementarosewithinthefieldofdormantconsciousnessand
mahapranamanifested,soundalsocameintobeing.Withthefirst
movementofcosmicenergythefirstsoundmanifested,whichwasOm.
Thistranscendentalsoundisalsocallednada,thehighestlevelof
soundvibration.Fromnadaemergedkalaa,themanifestuniverseof
time,spaceandobject.Inscientificterms,thismayberelatedtothe
eventoftheBigBang.
InTantroktamDeviSuktam(v.6)oneoftheaspectsofShaktiis
describedas'Vishnumayetishabdita',whichreferstothemanifestation
ofprimordialenergyintheformofshabda,word.IntheBiblealsoit
hasbeensaid,"InthebeginningwastheWord,andtheWordwaswith
God."Inordertobecomemanifest,theunmanifestandindivisiblehas
totakeonform.Thefirstformwassound,anditcameintoexistence
throughthemediumofenergyorprana.Duetothecloserelationship
betweenpranaandnadaintheprocessofcreation,soundisoneofthe
bestvehiclesforthetransmissionofpranashaktiatthemicrocosmic
levelalso.Thereforemantras,soundscontainingpsychicforce,are
oftenusedinthescienceofprana.
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Whataremantras?
Mantrasarecosmicsounds,whichwerediscoveredinhigherstatesof
meditationwhenyogisexploredthedifferentlayersofthemindto
discoverthesourceofexistence.Normally,itisdifficulttogobeyond
thephysicallevelinmeditation.Withsomeeffortonecancontainthe

agitationofthevrittis,wavesofthemind,andgouptothementaland
intellectuallevels.However,veryfewareabletoaccessthedimension
ofspirit.Yogishavegonetothatlevelandexperiencedluminosity,the
eternalqualityofthespirit.Inthatstate,vibrationsareheardwhichthe
physicalsensesareincapableofhearing.
Normally,onehearssoundsonlywithinacertainrangeofdecibels;
beyondorbelowthatrangethefrequencieschangeandcannotbe
heard.However,inthecausalstateofconsciousnessonebecomes
sensitizedandbeginstohearandseemanythings.Whatonehearsare
mantrasandwhatoneseesareyantras.Ifonesimplymakesupsome
syllablesandrepeatsthemthatisnotmantra.Themantrasthatthe
yogisdiscoveredweresoundsvibratingatparticularfrequenciesin
eachdimensionofthepersonality.Theyalsoidentifiedeachsoundwith
aparticularpsychiccentre.ThemantraOm,forexample,wasidentified
astheseedsoundofajnachakra,Hamofvishuddhichakra,Yamof
anahatachakra,Ramofmanipurachakra,Vamofswadhisthanachakra
andLamofmooladharachakra.
Intheiralteredstateofobservation,theyogisperceivedthatthechakras
arestimulatedbychantingaparticularsound.Thisisakintotheeffect
createdwhenalongropeistiedtoatreetrunkandshaken:thewave
travelsfromoneendoftheropetotheother.Similarly,theripplesof
vibrationreachandactivatethepsychiccentrewhenthesoundofa
frequencyisrepeatedaudiblyormentally.Therefore,theyogis
combinedcertainsoundsinordertocreateaparticularstateof
consciousness.InthiswaymantrassuchasOmNamahShivaya,Om
NamahBhagavateVasudevayaandothersemerged.Mantrasbecame
partofspiritualsadhanatoawakendifferent
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areasofconsciousnessanddevelopknowledgeandcreativityina
particularareaofconsciousness.
Eachmantrahastwoimportantqualities,knowninSanskritasvarna
andakshara.Varnameans'colour'andaksharameans'letter'or'form'.

ThelettersoftheSanskritalphabetareakshara,whichalsomeans
'imperishable'.Foronceamantraisuttered,itbecomesapartofthe
eternalakashicrecord.Everymantrahassixparts.First,ithasarishi,
whohadselfrealizationthroughthemantraandgavethemantrato
others.SageVishwamitra,forexample,istherishifortheGayatri
mantra.Second,everymantrahasametre.Third,ithasanishtadevata
(presidingdeity).Fourth,ithasabija(seed),whichisitsessence.Fifth,
ithasitsownshakti,energy.Sixth,ithasakilaka(pin)whichunplugs
thechaitanya(consciousness)hiddeninthemantra.Whentheplugis
removedbyconstantandprolongedrepetition,thechaitanyais
revealed.
Mostpeopledonotunderstandthepowerofmantrasandthinktheycan
usetheminanypreferredway.Someuseanywordornamefortheir
mantra.Forexample,onemayadmireagreatpersonandwanttomake
amantraoutofhisorhername.Onemaythinkofthatpersonasone's
gumorGodandbefilledwithgreatemotionalfeelingsandlovefor
him.Onemayliketorepeathisname;however,thatnameismerelya
soundwithanemotionalcharge,notamantrachargedwithprana
shakti.
Initiationfromamantraguruisessentialtorealizethepowerofa
mantra.Recitationofawordorsyllablethathasbeenheardorfoundin
abookisnotenough.Amantrarequirescorrectphonetic
pronunciation,intonation,concentrationandcreationoftheassociated
mentalimageorform.Itsishta,bija,shaktiandkilakaareamatterof
realization,andonlyonewhohasrealizedtheseaspectscaneffectively
impartitspower.Thereforeemphasisisplacedoninitiation.However,
therearealsouniversalmantrassuchasOmorGayatri,whichcanbe
usedifonehasnotreceivedamantrathroughinitiation.