Mantra: Introduction

Six hundred and thirty thousand, seven hundred and twenty!!!

Today, this number marks the number of times that I have chanted the Maha Mantra in the last year!

One year ago, on 1 June 2010, I made a firm commitment to myself, that I would chant 16 rounds of the Maha Mantra, every single day from then on.

I have kept my promise to myself, and come rain or shine, joy or sorrow, work deadlines or days relaxing at home, I have chanted!!

The chanting of a mantra is called Japa. For this practice, we use a Japa Mahler, which is made up of 109 beads. 108 beads are used for counting the number of times the mantra is chanted. And the last, 109th bead, represents the Divine and hold the energy of all the chanting. We do not chant on that bead.

And so, chanting 16 rounds per day, as per my undertaking, translates to the repitition of the mantra 16 x 108 = 1728 times per day which further translates to 630,720 times per year!

This is significant, and even more so in devotees, such as my self who endeavour to gain control over the mind. What better way to transcend our daily lives, than by repeating the name of God.

Of course, this daily practice (sadhana) was inspired by my Guru, Sri Sri Swami Vishwananda. He teaches regularly about the benefit of Mantra, the word itself meaning to merge (with the Divine). He taught us that every time we repeat the mantra, it becomes 1/4 more powerful.

Another significant role model and spiritual companion, has always taught me that when something goes wrong or out of balance, instead of focusing on the negativity of it, “GIVE IT THE OPPOSITE!” I hear her beautiful, calm and reassuring voice in my head at this very moment. This teaching ties in perfectly with Mantra! When the mind is out of control, a beneficial way to transcend any drama, which is often so all consuming, is to chant a mantra:

By taking this approach, we give the situation the opposite, which allows healing to flow automatically! We distract the mind too for a few precious moments, which allows it to calm itself. And we also raise the vibration of the situation and ourselves by calling on and repeating the name of God.

These are a few of the immediate benefits that are my own personal experience. Of course the benefits are incalculable and will vary from person to person.

Doctor Masaru Emoto has recently performed scientific experiments in which he has demonstrated the relationship between our thoughts and water. At night before bedtime, he wrote different messages on separate bottles of water. Those messages affected the structure of the water, which could be viewed under a microscope. (for more information please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masaru_Emoto). Interestingly, the messages of LOVE, yielded healthy, beautifully shaped water.

In the very same way, mantra has a similar effect on our minds and bodies. By calling upon the Divine by chanting, our minds and bodies are transformed and retain healthy and beautiful shape. The mantra is the message and the bottle is our mind and body. The water is that which lies inside and all around! Knowing this, gives us the opportunity to create a beautiful life for ourselves. All it takes is a little effort and commitment!