Home > Mantra Yoga
Mantras - Essential for everyone
By Rishi Dharmachandra (Gandhar Mandlik ) - Rishi Dharmachandra
is a course coordinator at Yoga Vidya Gurukul, he is teaching and practicing yoga
for the last 12 years. He was initiated in to Rishi Sannayasa by his Guru Swami
Niranjanananda Saraswati.
Mantra
Mantras have been used for thousands of years. The universe came in to existence
through the divine sound of Om. Vedas are mantras or divine sound vibrations which
are known to be the oldest scriptures available on earth. Science supports the Big
Bang theory, which says that sound was at the beginning of the universe. The Bible
also supports the idea of sound as the root of creation.
What is a mantra? A mantra is a positive sound vibration which is capable of affecting
all levels of consciousness. It affects the conscious, subconscious and unconscious
mind. The mind and body are receptive to energies such as sound. Good soothing music
can make your body relaxed and your mind peaceful. A loud sound disturbs our state
of mind. Mantras also affect the state of body and mind. Our actions, thoughts and
emotions effect our mind and body. Many times these effects are negative which disturbs
the harmony. Mantras are designed to reset these negative effects and reprogram
the body and mind in a positive and creative way.
Mantras are repeated many times. When a positive sound is being chanted over and
over again in the field of consciousness this bubble of energy acquires lot of kinetic
energy and becomes so powerful that it can penetrate the deeper layers of the mind
and change the old, negative energy patterns. Generally a mantra, depending on its
nature and deity, has a specific number of rounds recommended. But 108 is a very
common number, sometimes 21 times or 11 times chanting is also preferred. Some aspirants
do Japa Anusthan, which can be for millions of rounds of mantras. For example Gayatri
Anusthan is done by repeating the mantra for 2.4 million times. Mantras are also
known to change the destiny. There are mantras used for healing, acquiring wisdom,
getting out of a particular problem, achievements or self realization.
Swami Niranjanananda recommends 3 mantras immediately upon getting up in the morning.
First is 11 times Mahamrityunjay mantra for increasing the immunity on the physical,
mental, emotional and intellectual levels. Then 11 times Gayatri mantra to increase
the creative energy, acquire wisdom and inspire the higher intelligence. Finally
3 times Durga names to remove the distress from life.
Rishi Dharmachandra (Gandhar Mandlik)
