MANTRA MEDITATION
The benefits of Mantra Meditation
Relieves stress and anxiety
Promotes inner peace & tranquillity
Fosters good health and well-being
Increases ability to concentrate& improves learning skills
Enhances vitality and increases energy levels
Balances the life airs & opens up the chakras
Awakens our spirituality & connects us with the Divine.
A personal, soft chanting of sacred mantras on meditation beads, employing the ancient yogic tradition of vibrating spiritual sound as an illuminating path to self-discovery.
Mantras are sacred sound vibrations composed of transcendental syllables containing great spiritual power, or shakti.
The proper vibration of these mantras enables us to concentrate and focus this spiritual energy, allowing us to experience the wonderful benefits.
In Sanskrit, the word man indicates the mind, and the word tra indicates that which delivers, or liberates. Thus the effect of chanting a mantra is that one can deliver the mind from contemplation of the mundane in order to reach spiritual satisfaction.
How to meditate?
Meditation can be quite a tricky practice because the mind is like a naughty child. By its very nature, the mind tends to wander off during the meditation practice.
If ones energy is low at the time of meditation, there is every chance of falling asleep. If one's energy is too high, fantasy and distraction become the barriers. At such times, the japa mala provides the much-needed anchor.
A japa mala is a string of 108 beads, with an extra bead called the head bead. It is a tool used to keep your mind on the meditation practice.
The beads of a japa malas are often made from materials such as tulsi (basil) wood, sandal-wood, rudraksh seeds, or crystal. Each type of material has certain properties that subtly affect the subconscious mind of the practitioner.
How to Use a Meditation Mala (Japa beads)
The japa mala is traditionally held in the right hand. The index finger never touches the mala. Beginning with the bead next to the head bead, gently roll the bead between the thumb and middle finger of your right hand while chanting:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Then move to the next bead and repeat the mantra.
In this way continue chanting on each of the 108 beads in the strand. This is known as one round of japa and takes between five and ten minutes for most people.
If you are going to chant more than one round of japa, then without chanting on the head bead - reverse the direction of your chanting to begin the second round.
Hare Krishna chant
The Vedas refer to it as the maha - mantra or "Great Mantra, the Mantra of Liberation". This sixteen-word mantra:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
is especially recommended as the easiest method for self-realization in the present age.
Krishna is a Sanskrit name of God meaning "all attractive", and Rama is another name meaning "reservoir of pleasure". The divine energy of God is addressed as Hare. Vedic knowledge teaches that since we are all constitutionally servants of God, the chanting of His names is not an artificial imposition on the mind but is as natural as a child calling for its mother.
There are two ways to chant the maha mantra: group chanting (kirtan) and softly saying the mantra to oneself (japa). The latter is done by using a string of 108 wooden prayerbeads to enhance concentration. In both methods there are no hard and fast rules, and anyone can chant with good results.
