When you stop all the other noise, you will be able to hear the sound within. You don’t hear that inner sound, the anahata or the antar atma sound, because you are making a lot of other noises. And you-as part of Brahman, or the image of Brahman-are also humming. Then you are concentrating on the sound within. When you get used to that, even without closing the ears, you will be able to hear the humming sound. Simply by closing your ears and listening within, you can hear that hum. You can use shanmukhi mudra to close the eyes and ears completely. That’s the easiest way to meditate because the sound is always in you, with you. If you quiet your mind and do not hear any other sounds, then you will be able to hear the sound within you. It’s the unspecified, unlettered, unpronounced sound that is always in us. By that time you will be able to hear that humming sound. And when that becomes possible, then even without the lip movement, just repeat mentally. Then, after practicing for some time, you can stop the out loud repetition and continue with just lip movement, trying to hear the sound within. When you are by yourself you can even repeat it aloud so that you can hear your own repetition. To develop that vibration, you should repeat the mantra constantly. You’re simply using the mantra to rouse up the same sound vibration that is already within you. It kindles up the sound vibration within you and ultimately brings out your own vibration. A mantra is mainly repeated for the vibration. But kirtan cannot take the place of mantra. In the absence of mantra, kirtan is good, or if you are tired of repeating the mantra, kirtan is good. It is musical and the names you chant have various meanings. Kirtan (chanting the names of God) is also a Nada Yoga practice. You don’t have to think of the meaning of the mantra, just focus on the vibration and think that the same vibration is being created in you. All other practices are supplementary, because mantra japa is a direct way to tune yourself to that cosmic vibration. It is an important practice that spiritual seekers should do.Įven if you don’t have time for anything else, don’t miss your mantra japa. OM Mane Padme Hum.” All religions have this practice. In Tibet, I heard all the Tibetan Buddhist monks repeating, “ OM Mane Padme Hum. Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy.” Yes, like “Hail Mary.” People ask, “How many ‘Hail Marys’ did you say?” What does that mean? Mantra japa. What is that mantra? “Lord have mercy on me. Athos in Greece, I was surprised to see the Greek Orthodox monks holding the rosary and repeating a mantra. Almost every spiritual tradition practices mantra japa. The easiest, simplest and best practice is mantra japa (repetition). So, to make the mind steady, use the mantra. When you worship the yantra with a mantra, that is called tantra. So the mantra takes the form of a yantra, which is also known as a mandala. You cannot see that or hug it you cannot do anything with that. But sometimes even the mantra body is not perceivable. Your form is not a human form or anything with flesh and bone Your form is of the sound.” So God is mantra swaroopa, which means to have a mantra body. The saintly poet, Arunagiri Nath sang, “ Nada bindu kaladi namo namah. What the Bible calls “the Word” is the sound- Nada Brahman or Shabdha Brahman. Why do you do that? Unconsciously, you are connecting yourself to your source through the sound. When you are in agony you will often moan and make a humming sound. Don’t we hear the hum in the ocean? When the wind blows you hear a hum. If you go to the very source of the creation and if you can hear that sound within, you will find out that everything and everyone is functioning with the same hum. Then, the sound gives rise to many forms and names. God, the Unmanifest, Essential Power, Source or Consciousness-whatever you want to call it-begins to express itself first as sound. Nada (sound) and Brahman (God) are one and the same. They are one and the same- Nada Brahman we call it. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.” So God and the Word are not different. “In the beginning there was the Word,” the Bible says. If you don’t hear a hum, know that you are gone! Everyone has that sound within. If you want to make sure that you are alive, just close your eyes and ears and try to listen within. After practicing for a long time, you will be able to hear the anahata, or the inner sound. Through repeating the mantra, you gradually develop that sound vibration within. Mantra repetition itself is a Nada Yoga practice. Nada Yoga is the Yoga of sound and it includes practices using sound formulas and mantras.
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