The Best Mantras: Five excellent mantras to implement in your meditation practice
- 2019
“Master your words, master your thoughts, don't hurt anyone. Follow these instructions faithfully and you will advance on the path of the wise. ”
- Buddha
Whether you are a newbie in meditation and taking your first steps as if you are already an experienced subject, the use of mantras can have a great impact on your practices. In this article we are going to take a look at the best mantras, why they are used in practice and which ones you can start using today in your home or your favorite meditation place.
What are mantras?
In meditation, a mantra (मन्त्र in the Devanagari alphabet, a word composed of the root man- ' think ' and the suffix -tra, designated to the tools or instruments) is a syllable, phoneme, word or phrase luminous in the ancient Sanskrit language that has the power to help us reach a certain psychological and spiritual state. That is, it induces us to an altered state of consciousness.
Interestingly, many times the best mantras have no syntactic structure or literal meaning .
The first mantras date back three thousand years, and today you can find various schools of Hinduism and Buddhism that use them. Its implementation also expands to the Japanese tradition (under the name of Shingon ), Taoism, Zoroastrianism, and even Christianity.
The best mantras to implement in your meditation
Pronouncing mantras in the ancient language of India can be somewhat intimidating. Fortunately, it is not necessary to have a doctorate in ancient languages in order to achieve the results we are looking for. Even mantras that involve a single sound - like Om - can be extremely powerful.
Each chakra of our body has a particular vibration, and some resonate and harmonize with certain sounds. But preferably, it is recommended to learn your correct pronunciation through a teacher or guide.
- Read also What is your purpose? Meditation and search for the truth, by Harinam -
Shanti Mantra, an invocation to peace
If we are going to talk about the best mantras, we are obliged to mention Shanti Mantra . This prayer to peace can be found in the ancient scriptures known as Upanishads .
Usually, a Shanti Mantra is pronounced before and after Hindu religious rituals. In Yoga, a simple ' om shanti ' or ' om shanti shanti shanti ' is usually recited as a greeting and to eliminate distractions from the mind.
Sarvesham svastir bhavatu,
May there be well-being for all,
Sarvesham Shantir Bhavatu,
May there be peace for all,
sarvesham purnam bhavatu,
That there is integrity for all,
sarvesham mangalam bhavatu
May there be happiness for everyone
Gayatri Mantra, an invocation to the sun
Gayatri Mantra is not only one of the best mantras, but also one of the oldest. According to Douglas Brooks, professor of religion at the University of Rochester, the Gayatri is one of the most sacred phrases, which predisposes a poetic aesthetic moment. And it constitutes a hymn to Savitur, the god So l.
Savitur represents both the physical presence of the sun, and the divine in all beings and things.
Thus, within the best mantras this is an offering to the Sun that constantly gives us, but rarely receives from us.
Om bhur bhuvah svah
Earth, Heaven and Everything in the Middle
tat savitur varenyam
The excellent divine power of the Sun
bhargo devasya dhimahi
Let us contemplate the god radiate
dhiyo yo nah prachodayat
To inspire our understanding
Mangala Mantra, an invocation of good fortune
To continue with our count on the best mantras, let's now mention Mangala Mantra . On this occasion, the Mangala Mantra is a prayer for peace and good fortune found in the ancient writings of the Rig Veda, in addition to being the mantra that is invoked at the end of the practice of Ashtanga Yoga . Mangala is the Sanskrit word for ' auspicious ', and this is the precise mantra if you are one of those who dedicates his meditation practice to someone else.
Svasti prajabhyah paripalayantam nyayenamargena mahim mahishah gobrahmanebhyah shubham astu nityam lohak samastah sukhino bhavantu
May those who reign the earth protect the well-being of the people, with justice, oriented in the path of Truth, may all living beings always enjoy good fortune, may all the inhabitants of the world be filled with happiness.
Sat Nam Mantra, I am the Truth
Sat Nam is one of the best mantras and widely used in the practice of Kundalini Yoga, although many times its deep meaning and its transforming power are overlooked. In the ancient Gurmukhi language, Sat means ' Truth ', and Nam means ' name '. In conjunction, we could say that we find the phrase ' I am the Truth ' ('truth is my name') or ' Truth is my Essence '.
Sat Nam Mantra is one of the best seed mantras, that is, the sound of a syllable that activates the chakras. Yogi Bhajan, in charge of spreading the practice of Kundalini Yoga in the world, says: “It is small but powerful. From him, great things can develop. If in your way the encounter with God and your higher consciousness is not destined, this mantra seals it in your destiny ”. In that way, the seed of Sat Nam germinates within you, and the vibration of the mantra moves us and transforms us at an atomic level.
To invoke this, which really is one of the best and most powerful mantras, imagine the vibration of the ' Saaah ' sound from the base of your spine, and visualize how it rises up your spine activating the frequency of each chakra as it rises. When you reach the top of your head - the thousand petals lotus - close the first syllable with the sound of the " t ", as if kissing your palate with the tip of your tongue. In the second syllable, ' Naam ', feel the sound extending to the energy field that surrounds your body.
- Read also Meditation, the sacred silence -
Adi Mantra, invoking the connection
At the beginning of the practice of Kundalini Yoga, Adi Mantra is invoked to connect us with the Higher Force . This is why we find Adi Mantra in our list of the best mantras . Adi Mantra calls us to open ourselves to receive our own subtle inner wisdom, and to achieve a deep state of connection with the soul in order to listen to our inner guidance.
It is said that Adi Mantra is a meditative link between the student as a human being, finite and physical, and the student who is infinite consciousness. In invoking this mantra, we are inclined to dissolve our ego to allow us to flow in the universal consciousness that comes to us through practice.
Ong namo
I link with the energy
creative infinity
Guru dev namo
I link with the Divine channel
of wisdom
The next time you sit for meditation, remember this resource to deepen your states of consciousness. These five of the best mantras you have known today can intensify your results and take you to places you have not experienced before. And in that way, get to expand your knowledge about yourself and the universe around you, about your Higher Consciousness and the Source from which everything has been created.
And may meditation be the door that opens to our inner power, to our contact with reality, and to a better future.
AUTHOR: Lucas, editor and translator of the great family of hermandadblanca.org
SOURCES:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantra
- https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/13-major-mantras-memorize#gid=ci020756a3b0142620&pid=majormantra2
- https://www.yogapedia.com/definition/10529/shanti-mantra
- https://www.yogajournal.com/meditation/chant-to-the-sun
- https://www.yogapedia.com/definition/10599/mangala-mantra
- https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/kundalini-yoga-sat-nam-meaning
- https://ayogavillage.com/speaking-of-kundalini-the-adi-mantra/
- https://www.yogapedia.com/definition/10603/ong-namo-guru-dev-namo
