Mantra: Sat Nam & Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo -

Mantra: SAT NAM and ONG NAMO GURU DEV NAMO.

Since you desire to begin meditation in earnest, I should like to give you a couple tools to help you get more from the experience. I should like to give you two mantras, which are fairly easy to do, and are powerful enough to energize your body-mind mechanism with the intention of the meditation. I've been reviewing a number of mantras for this purpose for some time, and I think these two are the best for you at this time.

Mantra comes from two syllables. MAN means mind. TRA means to tune the vibration. Mantra is a sound current which tunes and controls mental vibration. It is the "directive psyche," a word or words, combination of syllables, which help focus the mind. Such words have enormous power.

There are a few effective ways to use mantra. One is to not vocalize them at all, but rather repeat the syllables in the mind in a way that evokes the feeling of the syllables. For this form of mantra, you need not be in a particular place where it is "safe" to chant them aloud. You can do them at the supermarket, or while you're mind is occupied with other tasks. The mantra in time becomes part of your habitual breathing, itself. You begin to repeat it in the mind-heart silently as you move about your days.

Another way to effectively use mantra is to intone the syllables in a soft tone of voice that emanates from the diaphragm and vibrates through the tongue. This way you don't need to chant them loud, which isn't really the point, but you can energize them in your body.

And if you are in a place where it is okay to chant them with the full force of your being, such as in the wilderness, or in a yoga studio, then this is also very good.

But ultimately it isn't which of these ways of using them that gives the mantra its power. Ultimately, it is the power of your intention itself that makes the mantra effective. The mantra is a vehicle used to energize your being with the power of your intention. It is most important to focus your attention on the intention of the mantra, not only on doing them properly.

This is illustrated in the following parable:

An old story speaks about a similar problem. A devoted meditator, after years concentrating on a particular mantra, had attained enough insight to begin teaching. The student's humility was far from perfect, but the teachers at the monastery were not worried.

A few years of successful teaching left the meditator with no thoughts about learning from anyone; but upon hearing about a famous hermit living nearby, the opportunity was too exciting to be passed up.

The hermit lived alone on an island at the middle of a lake, so the meditator hired a man with a boat to row across to the island. The meditator was very respectful of the old hermit. As they shared some tea made with herbs the meditator asked him about his spiritual practice. The old man said he had no spiritual practice, except for a mantra which he repeated all the time to himself. The meditator was pleased: the hermit was using the same mantra he used himself -- but when the hermit spoke the mantra aloud, the meditator was horrified!

"What's wrong?" asked the hermit.

"I don't know what to say. I'm afraid you've wasted your whole life! You are pronouncing the mantra incorrectly!"

"Oh, Dear! That is terrible. How should I say it?"

The meditator gave the correct pronunciation, and the old hermit was very grateful, asking to be left alone so he could get started right away. On the way back across the lake the meditator, now confirmed as an accomplished teacher, was pondering the sad fate of the hermit.

"It's so fortunate that I came along. At least he will have a little time to practice correctly before he dies." Just then, the meditator noticed that the boatman was looking quite shocked, and turned to see the hermit standing respectfully on the water, next to the boat.

"Excuse me, please. I hate to bother you, but I've forgotten the correct pronunciation again. Would you please repeat it for me?"

"You obviously don't need it," stammered the meditator; but the old man persisted in his polite request until the meditator relented and told him again the way he thought the mantra should be pronounced.

The old hermit was saying the mantra very carefully, slowly, over and over, as he walked across the surface of the water back to the island.

Focus on the intention, and use the words as a vehicle to energize that intention and attune your body-mind mechanism with that intention.


Mantra #1: SAT NAM

SAT NAM is translated like this:

SAT = Truth/Absolute Awareness (this is part of your name)
NAM = Name/Identity.

The proper pronunciation of this mantra would rhyme with "but mom." Or, "sut nahm."

Here's some words on how to use SAT NAM:

Linking The Breath With Mantra

One of the simplest but nevertheless most powerful ways to meditate on the breath is to think the sound 'SAT' with every inhalation and think the sound 'NAM' with every exhalation. Hear the syllables in your mind. (Suuuuuuuuut... rhymes with 'but,' Naaaaaaaaaaam, rhymes with 'calm.' Mentally create these sounds. Take your time. Take ten long deep breaths, meditating on each breath with the infinite sound of SAT NAM.

Why do we use those particular syllables? SAT NAM instnatly attunes us to our highest Self. SAT NAM affirms that "Truth is our Identity." It translates as: "Truth is God's Name."... A little explanation about a big concept:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the word was God."
SAT NAM

SAT NAM is a Bij Mantra, or "seed sound." SAT means Truth, the ultimate unchanging, Universal Truth. NAM means name, or identity. When we say "SAT NAM" to each other, we are acknowledging our mutual divine identity. And, at least for that brief moment, we are united, "one in spirit." There are no barriers, no walls of fear or separation between us. By using SAT NAM as a greeting (I even have it on my voicemail) we have attuned ourselves to our highest consciousness, at least for a moment. After that we can decide to disagree about anything we want! But at least we have established a basis of communication that is in total harmony and acceptance. I think it's called love. (Kundalini Yoga: The Flow of Eternal Power, by Shakti Parwha Kaur Khalsa.)

Mantra #2: ONG NAMO GURU DEV NAMO

ONG NAMO GURU DEV NAMO means:

ONG = The Creator
NAMO = Reverent Greetings, salutations
GURU = The Giver/Source of Truth; GU is darkness, RU is light, or that which dispels darkness.
DEV = Transparent/Non-physical

Loosely translated, the mantra means, "I bow to the Creator, to the Divine Teacher Within."

The way this mantra is pronounced isn't obvious. The vowels are key.

A = like the 'a' in 'about'
O = like the 'o' in 'go'
U = like the 'u' in 'put'
E = like the 'ay' in 'say'

We hold some words longer than the others, and GURU has a specific pronounciation. If you wish to think of it as musical notes, then I will write out the vowel sounds, where each letter represents a quarter note, which should be pronounced as cited above. So to transliterate this mantra, it goes like this:

OOOOOOOONG NAA MOOOO [inhale for two beats] G'ROO DAAAAAAAAY NA MOOOOOOOOO

The GURU part is often confused. The first 'U' of GURU is not really pronounced at all. More or less a 'GUH' where the 'u' is hardly pronounced at all. All the focus is on the 'RU' which is 'light.' The 'GU' is empty; the 'RU' is intoned.

I hope you find these things useful.

Namaste.