Mantra

Mantra- The Sound of Liberation: 

One very important aspect of tantra should now be borne in mind, that is mantra. Tantra is mantra and mantra is tantra. Without mantra there could be no tantra. Tantra means a process of expansion and liberation. Mantra means a process of contemplation and liberation.

Mantras are not the names of gods and goddesses, they are the sounds, the words, the vibrations put into a particular pattern, and they are more subtle than the actual physical waves. They are more subtle than any kind of wave that we know in science today. Mantra has no limitations; mind is the basis of mantra and the mantra can be launched through the mind. The main mantra, that of the supreme, is aum. It is the primal mantra, the first seed of creation.

Please remember, I am not talking about Hinduism here, I am only talking about tantra, but while I am talking about tantra I am also talking about the basis of Hinduism. In fact, all religions, the entire range of philosophies throughout the passage of history and every side of metaphysics have come out of tantra. Therefore, when I tell you about aum, I am telling you about the first vibration responsible for all creation.

We do not know exactly what the sound aum is, but from our teachers and gurus we have come to know a particular way of vibrating. When this aum is produced by us it resounds through and through our physical, astral and spiritual existence. It not only influences the alpha patterns in the brain, it not only purifies the nadis, it not only influences the microcosmic structure of the body, but it charges the whole atmosphere around us. And we are in an age where we have much good scientific evidence for this.

Concentrate on aum, convert your consciousness into aum and then transmit the vibration and currents of aum. Your son, wife or husband in the next room will receive it directly if they are ready for it. The power of mantra is greater than the power of a nuclear weapon. There is no comparison, because mantra power is a constructive power and by practicing mantra we awaken unseen forces within us. These forces are infinite.

Aum is one mantra, but there are ranges and ranges of mantras. Most important of these are the bija mantras, seed mantras. When the yogi reaches very high consciousness, when he has transcended the physical consciousness, the astral being, and when he has broken through the barriers of unconsciousness, then he begins to hear those sounds known as bija mantras.

Whether a man believes in a personal god or does not, whether one is a theist or an atheist, if he is a man of common sense and if he is scientific in his outlook, he should pick up the correct mantra for himself. The science of tantra revolves around the mantra.

Then there is yantra and mandala, which are other aspects of this science, and we will deal with these another time. Remember, mantra, yantra, mandala. These are the three pillars of tantra, and yoga is the practical application of tantra in life. Tantra is the science which our wise ancestors used to teach and by which they became aware of the greater reality and eternal existence. It is an eternal science, it is the most powerful science and is all-comprehensive. Tantra is certainly the science for the new age.

Mantra in Tantra:

In order to utilise the positive and negative forces inherent within us to explode the deeper regions of consciousness, the practices of tantra were evolved. In the esoteric sense, the tantric ritual involved the partaking of five tattwas or elements, which were commonly used in daily life. However, these were not interpreted in the same way by everyone, because the sadhakas belonged to different categories: (i) pashu or instinctive, (ii) vira or hero, (iii) deva or divine. Therefore, some performed the tantric ritual exactly as it was written. For them wine was wine and flesh was flesh. However, those sadhakas who were more evolved, experienced wine as the nectar which emanates from bindu. By the practice of khechari mudra they were able to extract this nectar and circulate it through the physical body. Then unmani, the threshold state in between extroversion and introversion was attained. So, for them wine became the blissful nectar experienced through khechari.

Similarly, maithuna is understood only in relation to sexual interaction by the tamasic or rajasic aspirant. But for a sattvic aspirant, maithuna means the union of ida and pingala in ajna chakra. When these two connect, the union of Shiva and Shakti occurs on the subtle plane.

In the same way, we can talk about flesh also. For a person who is of tamasic or rajasic temperament, flesh means meat eating. But for the person of sattvic tendency, flesh refers to body consciousness and when you transcend the body, you transcend the flesh.

Therefore, it is said in the path of tantra, that those people who want to practise the tantric ritual in its gross form must prepare themselves first. What is the use of taking wine if you lose your senses, or in having sexual interaction if you lose your semen? What is the use of eating flesh if you take it only for the taste? It is necessary that the sadhaka who is practising tantra should do a lot of preparation in order to utilise the practices for obtaining the highest experience.

This is why the path of tantra does not begin with the tantric ritual. It begins with mantra, yantra and hatha yoga. If the sadhaka who is practising tantra does not know what he is doing and is not an adept in vajroli mudra, he can kill himself. One can practise tantra with a number of people, but he must be an adept in vajroli mudra and the female must also be an adept in sahajoli mudra. Besides this, one should be able to localise his consciousness in bhrumadhya or ajna chakra and see the bindu or focal point of light there. Unless this is perfected, the sadhaka must continue to prepare himself. In every science preparation is necessary. In tantra there is also preparation. If anyone who wants to practise tantra takes a bottle and a woman, and goes off somewhere, that is not enough. That is just an excuse to gratify the senses, no more.

The practice of tantra should not be confined only to the ritual of the five tattvas. Tantra is a system whereby you expand the mind and liberate the energy. When you practise tantra, life is experienced within you, not apart from you. Tantra is all inclusive, not exclusive. All the religions of the world have been excluding things, but tantra does not exclude anything. Tantra is therefore the dharma of our times.

Yantra in Mantra:

Every mantra has a yantra and a related divinity. Knowledge of Indian astrology (Jyotish), along with the planetary forces which exercise a negative karmic influence upon us, is necessary in order to find the correct mantra and yantra for us at a particular moment in time. A guru sees with the blink of an eye the 'now' of the student. He or she knows immediately which mantra is needed in order to process and transform past karma in the best way possible. Upon request, the student will receive an initiation into mantra.

A mantra is a word, its effect is minimal, but when mantra initiation takes place, the guru places a holy blessing on the mantra. This makes all the difference. During mantra initiation, the guru brings the mantra to life and the psychological transformation of the student commences. Afterwards it is up to the student what he or she does with this grace.

Working with yantras is a way to unfold deeper and higher levels of consciousness. Let us begin at the beginning: the drawing and colouring in of a basic yantra. This is a square, possibly with portals, on which trataka can be done. It is practical to have a sheet of white, square paper on which you can attach a coloured folder. Make a small, black dot in the middle of the coloured folder, on which you can direct your attention during the meditation exercise.

The square symbolizes earth and embodies all our instinctive motives and emotions, our problems, our karma. It is our earthly arena. The problem with a square is that it is difficult to stir into action. An earthquake must take place in order to get it turning.

When we practise yoga we enter a process which changes our consciousness, from being directed towards the outside world, intellect, materialism (the western world), and this allows the square to turn on its axle. As a result our attention becomes directed towards the inner world, wisdom and the everlasting (the eastern world).

For example, in the Bagala-mukhi yantra the two squares go through a process of unfolding the chakras and come to rest inside the circle of the godly lotus. A great deal needs to happen before one gets to this stage. When someone has succeeded in realizing this yantra within themselves, their life changes one hundred percent.

From this basic square, the earthly arena, the forces begin to turn like the sails of a windmill and tranquillity can be found in the heart of the lotus. The earthly square is still present, nobody can see from the outside that the person has changed: the same name, the same face, the same pair of glasses etc., yet the person's life has experienced a radical revolution.

Yantras are in vogue at the moment. They are symbols of godly, cosmic forces. They can affect us like thunder and lightning. In the western world, we have the tendency to overindulge ourselves, jumping into things at the deep end and, as a result, we see that yantras are sometimes misused. If I see a yantra hanging on a toilet wall, I ask myself if this is misplaced. If somebody hangs a series of yantras in their bedroom, I ask myself if this is wise.

Yantras belong in the place where pooja is practised – the temple in the house, the place where yoga and meditation are practised. There is always a curtain hanging in front of the Buddhist tangkas, which is opened during meditation then drawn again afterwards.

My personal choice of yantra for this period in time is the Shiva Yantra, along with its mantra Om Nama Shivaya. I consider Shiva to be the patron saint of yoga practitioners. Shiva represents the highest godly consciousness that we are able to attain. Also dedicated to Shiva are the Maha Mrityunjaya Yantra, and its mantra, used for healing in the broadest sense of the word.

Sri Yantra is the highest yantra, accompanied by its mantra for Tripura Sundari, the holy trinity, Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati, also known as kundalini, Shakti, the creative aspect of Shiva. In Sri Yantra, the symbol of sahasrara chakra – also known as Sri Chakra – is unity created between Shiva and Shakti, connected with each other in eternal yoga. The mantra that accompanies Sri Yantra is Saundarya Lahari, the beautiful, poetic mantra of Adi Shankaracharya.

I would like to end this collection of thoughts about yantra by quoting the twenty-fifth verse of Saundarya Lahari:

Trayanam devanam triguna janitanamapi shive

bhavet puja puja tava charanayorya virachita 

Tatha hi tvatpadodvahanamanipithasya nikate

sthita hyete shashvanmukulitakarottamsamukutah

O exalted one, the praise that rises to your feet

becomes like the reverence for the three gods

which are born from the three qualities,

because they will remain infinitely close to your foot-stool,

with bowed heads and folded hands.