Vedic or Mantra Meditation 101

Meditation benefits every aspect of our being: Body, mind and soul. We spend most of our lives looking for happiness, peace and fulfilment outside ourselves. During meditation we begin to explore and expand our awareness to discover the essence of who we really are, thus restoring the memory of wholeness in our lives.

Meditation is not about forcing your mind to be still or to silence the incessant chatter of our minds; it is however, a process to rediscover the quietness that is already there, that has always been there – this silence is the thought between thoughts, behind the ‘crazy monkey of the mind’ is the silence of pure awareness. This silence is in the now; it is not concerned thoughts of the past nor of the future. Mantra meditation or Vedic meditation is derived from the Yoga tradition in India – Yoga means ‘union’ – the union of the senses, the body, the mind and the soul. The ancient texts ‘The Yoga Sutras’ were written by the sage Patanjali. He describes it as the settling of the mind – which is usually overwhelmed by our mental chatter – into pure silence and accessing the space between thoughts as we enter a field of unbounded awareness.

Once we get our first momentary experience of the ‘gap’ or this ‘silence’, we realise that our essence is not in the chatter of our thoughts, it is in our ability to witness our thoughts, our words and our actions silently. Being able to access this inner silence through meditation enables you access your creativity and to make choices that will transform your life. The memory of our perfection is never lost.

Past actions (karmas) create memories (sankaras), which generate desires (vasanas) which in turn lead to new actions – these memory seeds are present in our souls and are really our soul seeds. It is this ‘soul software’ that guides us to the choices that define our lives. Meditation brings into our realisation that we are able to make choices that bring us more peace, more love, more abundance and more fulfilment.

Mantras have been used for meditation because of the benefits they give. Mantras are sounds (spoken words or phrases) that are used as objects of concentration while meditating. A mantra aids your mind from wandering from place to place, enabling you to slip into the ‘gap’ or the silence. Mantras can either be chanted out loud or chanted internally during meditation. Unlike sentences where you can interpret their meaning, most mantras do not have a sensible meaning when translated. However, some do have a meaning.

You may wonder why we should use Sanskrit for our mantras, why not other languages, or why not English, especially since we can understand it so well? Ultimately all languages are mantric, that is, they are rooted in the truth of energy at its most fundamental level. What we are trying to do through mantras is access levels of consciousness and healing that are submerged in the depths of our awareness in the essence of who we are.

Meditating with a mantra
Your mantra is used for its sound or vibrational quality; analysing your mantra in meditation practice and attaching importance or necessary meaning to it will hold you at the level of your mind – in the subtle body and will slow your entry into the silence.

Meditate sitting up, lying down only if you are unable to sit. Lying down is associated with sleeping. You do not need any poses or mudras, simply keep your palms facing up and make sure you are comfortable so that you are not drawn to sensations in the body caused by discomfort. Do not meditate while driving or during activity. If your mantra should come to you, acknowledge it and gently go back to what you were doing.

Always close your eyes, meditation is an inward process; when our eyes are open we are drawn outward.

Where possible try to be free of disturbances: Dogs, telephones children etc. You can meditate anywhere, however. If there are any disruptions you simply deal with the interruption, come back and continue.

Meditation twice per day is recommended for 20-30 minutes, if you do not have 20 -30 minutes, use wherever time you do have. The best times to meditate are in the morning before breakfast and early in the evening before dinner. Meditation makes the mind alert and it is not recommended before bedtime. The regularity or the ‘habit’ of meditation is very important.

Repetition of the mantra does not have to be clear or in perfect pronunciation, just repeat the mantra silently in a relaxed and gentle manner – if you drift away from the mantra, gently come back to it, release any anticipation or resistance during the meditation. Your mantra may change speed, tone, volume or rhythm; it may even become distorted – just continue thinking it gently and effortlessly and don’t resist the changes – all is as it should be.

Vedic meditation guideline: Sitting comfortably with eyes closed,,become aware of your breath. Inhale deeply, bringing in the life force energy; then exhale and release that which no longer serves you. Stay with the breath… Ask yourself “Who Am I? What do I want, what do I really, really want? How may I serve?” Do not wait for an answer. It will come to you in the right time.

Begin to think and repeat your mantra, gently, effortlessly: It may change tone, speed or rhythm; continue to think it without resisting the changes. When you become distracted by other thoughts or noise, do not struggle against this, it is normal. As you become aware that you are no longer thinking your mantra, gently come back to it. Surrender and allow yourself to slip into the silence… No mantra, no thoughts… stepping out of time and space into pure awareness.

Pure awareness or Spirit is the deepest domain, the place of our interconnectedness with the infinite mind of the universe. It is the field of pure potential. By changing your thoughts, beliefs, expectations and intentions and connecting with silence, you will allow the unbounded, unlimited abundance of the universe to flow easily and effortlessly into your life.

Mantra: So Hum – ‘I am’
As you inhale, the sound of that vibration is ‘so’. And as you exhale, the sound becomes ‘hum’.  With your eyes closed, inhale and think the word ‘so’; on the exhale, think the word ‘hum’.  Gradually both the breath and the sound will become quieter and quieter and quieter and the breath becomes so quiet that it almost seems to stop. By quieting your breath, you quiet your mind. When you transcend, the mantra ‘so-hum’ entirely disappears and your breath pauses momentarily. Time itself comes to a stop and you’re in the field of pure consciousness.