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Mantras - where to start
I promised on another thread to start a discussion about Mantras. I am a keen student of Mantras and I hope this thread will provide some encouragement to others.
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that are capable of creating spiritual and physical transformation. Mantras originated in the Vedic tradition of India, later becoming an essential part of the Hindu tradition and a customary practice within Buddhism and Jainism. It is my belief that Mantras allow us to connect with the fundamental energies of the Universe. Payer (to God, Angels or Ascended Masters) and spells also provide conduits for these energies; hence a Mantra is a form of prayer or spell.
The basic tenet of Mantras is that speech has power. The Bible acknowledges this with "In the beginning was The Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God...".
Saying any word produces an actual physical vibration. Over time, if we know what the effect of that vibration is, then the word may come to have meaning associated with the effect of saying that vibration or word. However, a Mantra is also a type of affirmation in as much as it signals an intention to change something and therefore a Mantra contains an additional mental component which influences the result of saying it. It could be said, therefore, that Mantras relate back to the law of attraction, and that they set up the proper sound vibration that attracts what you want into your life (see Laws of Attraction thread).
There is a good article on what a mantra is here: http://www.sanskritmantra.com/what.htm
Mantras should be chanted at least 108 times a day. 108 mantra chants takes about 10 minutes to complete. I like to start with a quick meditation asking the light of the Divine to enter my life and bring me peace and harmony, followed by imaging myself wrapped in white light. I have purchased a Mala, which is like a Rosary but with 108 beads, to help keep count of my chants. As Rosaries contain 54 beads, if you have one of there you could go round twice. I put on some music to aid meditation and burn some incense to create the right atmosphere, but both are optional. I chant a set of mantras for 40 days, then I move to another set.
Whilst saying you Mantras your mind will wander. This is natural; it takes spiritual masters tens of years to be able to keep their mind focused, and I believe the Universe is quite forgiving. Just bring back you mind to the focus once you recognise it has wandered. The important bit is to keep to a schedule; roughly the same time and place each day.
Which Mantra to start with?
There is a body of thought that suggests you start with Thiru neela kantam (pronounced theeru nayla kan tam). Keep vowel sounds elongated, e.g. theeeeeeeeru. This Mantra removes current karmic conditions; bad karma could be why your life isn’t where you want it to be just now, so it isn’t a bad idea to start here.
After this, or instead of if you choose not to start with the above mantra, there are loads to choose from! I have been chanting these three:
Om Gum Ganapatayei Namaha (ohm goom gana-pa-tie-ay na-ma-ha) To remove obstacles that are standing in the way of your progress. This is my current mantra.
Om Shreem Kleem Lakshmi yea Namaha (ohm shream cleam lak-shh-me yay na-ma-ha) This is a mantra to attract abundance. Shreem is the operative phrase for "attraction." Using this mantra will send out your intention for attraction -if you don't verbally add something afterwards likely whatever is held in your mind, what your attention is focussed on, is what will manifest in your life so envision your goals whilst saying this Mantra. Abundance isn't always about money; it can be health, spiritual well being, peace, and you may see these things coming to you easier. Kleem is a powerful word for spiritual advancement.
Om Kreem Kalikaye Namah (ohm cream kali-kye-yay na-ma-ha) This is a very powerful Mantra to remove negativity in your life. You may find it too strong to begin with so just focus on the kreem power word. Like clearing out muck from a pond, when you first start some of the muck at the bottom of the pool gets mixed in with the pond water making the pond seem dirtier than when you started, but, eventually the muck is cleared away leaving a cleaner brighter pool. So with this Mantra, be prepared for initial muddying of the waters of your life, but perseverance will bring the desired result. Like I say, just use kreem if things get too bad, but keep going.
I am not due to move on to a new Mantra for some 3 weeks. I will probably focus on a health brining mantra or some Chakra enhancing Mantra. I will let you know.
Peace and Love to all
Art.
Hi Art, what an interesting post. I work in a primary school as a Learning Mentor, and deal with the children whose behavious is not the best. Are there any suitable mantras for young children that may help with calming down after an anger outburst? I'm going to start some simple easy breathing techniques with one child but would be interested in any other suggestions.
Blessings, Lee :)
Hi there i came across a website called www.soundintentions.com it has a mantra section it might not be what your looking for but its worth having a look love Sarah x
Thanks Sarah, I'll certainly check it out.
Blessings, Lee :)
Hi Lee,
I think to begin with just the breathing exercises to help calm anyone, children or adult, is the best place to start.
SHRIM (pronounced Shreem) is a mantra of love, devotion and beauty, relating to Lakshmi, the Goddess of Beauty and divine grace. Yet SHRIM works at a deeper level than merely to give us the good things of life, including health. It takes us to the heart and gives faith and steadiness to our emotional nature. SHRIM allows us to surrender to, take refuge in, or be immersed in whatever we offer the mantra to. It is the mantra of beauty and delight and has a pleasing lunar quality. It also relates to the head and can be used to flood the senses with divine beauty and delight. It promotes health and aids in fertility and rejuvenation.
In Vedic terms SHRIM is a Soma mantra. It gives love, joy, bliss, beauty and delight. It has the light of the Moon and governs the mind and the realm between the atmosphere and heaven. It purifies and integrates the various aspects of our nature and renders them into ambrosia.
Depends on the child, but I wouldn't aim for 108 repitions! You will know way more about this than I!
I have found the following tips which may help:
# Do not force your children to say these prayers. Remember, prayer time should be a period of joy, devotion, and piety.
# Lead by example. If you do not chant these mantras yourself, it is likely that they will not.
# If your children are old enough, explain the meaning of these prayers. Be prepared for all the questions they will ask you—there will be plenty!
I am not sure whether this will work though. Mantras are about intention, so the child will need to want to change, and there could be the biggest hurdle.
Peace and Love
Arthur
Thanks Art, your reply was really informative. You are so right about the child wanting to change before that can take place, I've always said this at work. ~I'm definitley going to intorduce them to breathing as a way of self-calming adn see how that goes before moving onto anything else. I'll make a note of SHRIM for the future of that's OK.
Blessings, Lee :)
bumping this up so i can find it tomorrow ;-)
woodland fae - have you considered asking the child to come up with their own mantra? if s/he has a specific behaviour s/he could have a positive repetitive phrase - in english - that htey could say when they are feeling 'troubled' ((e.g. i am calm and relaxed. or, i enjoy being at peace with myself.)
the deep breathing thing is great, by the way.
also -- don't know if you are familiar with relax-kids -- they are meditations for chldren in book or CD form - i've used both in my classes, and the children love them (the kids with issues tend to fall asleep during them :-) but always wake up relaxed - highly recommended!!!
Lynn
Hi Lynn, thanks for the reply. I have lots of CDs that I use at work, usualy sea sounds as I find them really relaxing and they don't take a lot of concentration. I also picked one up at a fair which is linked to the SEAL curiculum and I'll definitely be using that.
I like the idea of getting the child to make up their own mantra- I'll let you know how that progresses.
Blessings, Lee :)
Just found this post again as I found myself feeling drawn to having a go at chanting a mantra , to see if it helps me with where I am at at the moment. (I unfortuately did not get round to doing this when I first replied to this post). I just wondered, having read your meditation mp3 post, whether you would be able to put one (or more) of your mantras onto mp3 format, as I also find it extremely relaxing and calming to listen to chanting at times of stress and upset. Just a thought ?
Have you gone on to any other mantras as you suggested you might - health?chakra? Let us know x
Love and blessings to you
Star x x x
No Star, I haven't moved on to other mantras. I have suddenly got very busy and am hard pushed to get any meditation at the moment.
Love
Art xxx
Hi Art thank you for all this information very interesting and useful for those of us still learning. Will definately be using them. I think maybe to help my love life I'll try Shirm first. Thanks again. Love Ang x
. .for such a brilliant post. I have been interested in mantras for a while but not known where to start or much about them. I have made a promise to myself to delve further into various areas of spiritual things that I am interested in, in the new year. This will be a perfect place to start as I need to get into some kind of routine and ritual and also start doing rather than just reading !!! Thank you SO much and keep posting as you do/discover more :-)
Love and Light
Star x x