The power of Mantra & how it can change you
Let me begin with a story here.
Once, the 19th-century mystic Sri Ramakrishna was giving a talk on the power of God’s name. He was saying, “Do not exhaust yourself in the many fold practices. Just keep repeating God’s name and you will realize Him in a simple and natural manner.”
Among the listeners, was a well-known surgeon who was also a cynic. He stood up and interrupted the master saying, “You have been ranting about the wonders of the divine Name. It doesn’t make any sense to me. What’s the point of saying a word over and over again? Can a man fill his stomach by saying bread, bread, bread?”
Ramakrishna, who had never abused anyone in life, suddenly shouted, “Shut up you bastard and sit down.”
On hearing this, the man completely lost his composure. His face got red with anger and his whole body was trembling. He tried to speak but could not.
Ramakrishna then put his hands together and pleaded, “Oh sir, please calm down. What has happened to you?”
“You are asking me to calm down after you insulted me in front of everyone. How dare you?”
Ramakrishna said, “But what have I done?”
The man said, “Don’t you dare feign ignorance and pretend that you don’t know what just happened! You called me a bastard in front of everyone”
Ramakrishna said in his pleasing voice, “I called you a bastard just once, and look how it has affected you. You lost your composure and your body started shaking violently. I used one word and it has changed you entirely. When an ordinary term of abuse can produce such an effect, what makes you think repeating God’s name will have none?” The man got silenced at once.
What are mantras?
Mantras are energized sounds or words. They may be simple single sounds like OM or God’s name, special phrases, or prayers intoned or sung in various ways. Mantras are repeated in a regular manner to empower them and turn them into tools of psychological transformations.
How Mantra helps in healing
Mantra means “the instrument of the mind” or “what protects the mind”. It is helpful in healing all levels of the mind — inner and outer and is the main method of treating our sub-conscious mind (Chitta).
The mind, like the body, needs the right conditioning. Just as the body requires a proper regimen and schedule of exercise, food, and sleep, similarly the mind requires a regimen of taking in impressions, mental exercise, and rest. If we fail to give the proper conditioning to the mind, we will only get negative conditioning. All our past conditionings are nothing but sound patterns to which we have accustomed our minds. A negatively conditioned mind is never at peace. It is highly vulnerable to outside circumstances and gets agitated, sad, and depressed on the slightest of triggers from external situations. While the goal is to reach an unconditioned cosmic mind, but that exists in the true Self beyond the body-mind complex. To achieve it, the mind first needs to be rightly conditioned.
Any conditioning of mind done through repeated use of words or phrases (affirmations) is a kind of mantra which works on deeper levels of our subconscious. When we repeat a thought of anger or hatred for another person, it is a dark or Tamasic mantra. When we repeat our desires for success and achievement, it is Rajasic or disturbed mantra. Such mantras do not heal the mind but perpetuate its patterns of ignorance and agitation. Now, you may think why repeating a mantra for success may disturb the mind. Isn’t everyone aspiring for success in life? Well, if the goal is material success, one may get that by repeating the desires for success, but that is not really healing the mind. It is like agitating a monkey mind and putting it in a state of continuous churn, moving from one desire to the other. Though it is still better than Tamasic mantra, it will make the person more restless and agitated.
Real mantra is quite different from the repeated use of words to subconsciously influence our behavior. It is not a form of self-hypnosis but a way of deconditioning the mind by breaking up unconscious sound and thought patterns through those that reflect a higher truth and energy. For truly healing and conditioning the mind, sattvic mantras, which aim at dissolving the ego and promoting self-awareness are required.
Mantra allows us to change the vibratory pattern of our subconscious, which consists of deep-seated habits and tendencies. These are the ruts in the mental field created by repeated mental activity of the current as well as past lives (Samskaras). Mantra allows us to iron them out. When we repeat a mantra for long, this creates an energy that can neutralize the scars left from our distracted mental activity and create a more powerful memory to override them. Repeating a mantra is a way of surrendering to the higher power and taking confines in the divine. While constantly thinking about the problem only reinforces it and gives it more power, the mantra projects contrary sound energy that breaks up the thought stagnation and fills the mind with positive power.
How to include mantra in your daily life
1. Combining mantra with breath: Our Prana/ breath is the primordial sound vibration behind the universe which in itself is in un-manifest form. Combining the mantra with the breath is a powerful way of changing the energy of the mind. The method to combining the mantra with the breath is to mentally chant “SO” with each incoming breath and “HUM” with the outgoing breath. This could be done independently for a couple of minutes or as a precursor to meditation practice to quieten the scattered mind.
2. Mantra with Meditation: Like many people I used to believe that meditation means to make the mind empty into the thoughtless state. While that may be the end result and the highest state of meditation, it does not happen on its own. An empty mind is a devil’s workshop, and anything can come in an empty mind. So over a period of time, I have come to realize that meditation is nothing but filling the mind with the thought of God and therefore emptying the mind of all thought other than that of God. And the best way to do that is through Mantra chanting or Japa. If you have not been initiated by a spiritual teacher, you can chose any mantra of a deity you like and associate with or simply chant the word “OM”. Visualize the deity or the symbol in your mind and repeat the mantra mentally. Let your entire being melt and flow in a continuous stream of love and adoration, reverence, worshipfulness, prayerfulness, and faith until your entire being just seems to be a continuous stream of such divine sentiments calmly flowing towards your concept of God. This is the essence of meditation which can be achieved through mantras
Mantras are a powerful mental healing therapy not just limited to treating psychological disorders as suggested by Ayurveda, but to be used as a daily practice to balance our energies and clear the impurities of our minds. It aids in concentration and creative thinking and helps build great mental fortitude to live a happy and peaceful life.
Source: Concepts from the book Ayurveda and the mind — David Frawley
