Mantra Chanting — Spiritual practice for all
We all have an inner calling to do something more than surviving in this material world. This is nothing but our real self trying to break the limits of body and mind. Unfortunately, we all are busy and this calling is not strong enough yet. Spirituality is all-inclusive and has tools for everyone. Mantra chanting is such one tool for which we cannot give any excuse to not do it.
Mantra is given by a Guru to a spiritual seeker. These are sacred words. In Hinduism, mantras were born in the Sanskrit language. When you chant the mantra, certain vibrations are created that affects your energy body. This cannot be proved scientifically, but try chanting mantras for some time and observe the benefit by yourself. In Spirituality, we accept or reject something based on our own experience and not based on some research.
You can chant the mantra anywhere and anytime. While you are waiting or when you are doing your chores or when you are sitting idle. You can also do mantra chanting while commuting. It does help if you chant them with a focused mind and as a sacred practice but that will come eventually. We can repeat the mantras orally or mentally. Both have their own benefits.
The best way to select a mantra is to get it from a Spiritual Guru. They have mastered the art to identify which mantra will work for whom. Don’t get disappointed if you do not have a Guru. As I mentioned, Spirituality is all-inclusive. You can select the mantras based on your deity that you worship or if you are an atheist then you can chant ‘Aum”. Some of the popular mantras are “Aum Namah Shivay” or “Rama Rama”. You can also chant Hare Krishna Mantra popularized by Iskcon.
Points to keep in mind
Don’t keep on changing the mantras otherwise, the effect will be less.
Don’t modify the ancient mantras based on your intellect or your convenience.
If you are not sure, then you can listen to a few mantras for a week or so and then finalize one.
It is important to consider this as sacred and chant with the utmost respect. A mantra is a form of divine presented to us as a word or sentence.
Benefits of chanting Mantra
Calming the Mind — When you utter a mantra, your mind is focused on it completely. This reduces unnecessary negative thoughts. It ultimately calms the mind and creates an inner sanctuary of peace. Whenever your mind is going against you, just start chanting the mantra.
A Holy company — It is very crucial to always keep a holy company. We have all kinds of mental impression waiting to come up. When you are in a holy company, a positive impression will come on the surface of the mind. Mantra is divine and we can keep its company anytime anywhere. If you are honest to your mantra, then it does not matter in which situation you are. It will only bring positive impressions.
Becoming Meditative — When you chant the mantra with the closed eyes and in a yogic posture, it creates a certain state of meditativeness. This creates a strong base for advance practices of spirituality. You may notice that most of the meditation practices will start with a Mantra.
Creating positive Karma — The end goal is to get rid of any effect of Karma. It is difficult to live without creating Karmas. It is easy to deal with positive ones compared to negative ones. Every time you chant, you create a positive mental impression of that sacred word and it will bring its effect in due time.
Last point to remember. Do not ever think that you are special and you need a special mantra for yourself. You will get into unnecessary search and will not reach anywhere. After some due diligence, start with the practice. Once you are ready, a Guru will appear and so does the mantra.
Originally published at https://vedantian.com on October 30, 2020.
