Our four-week Mantra Yoga study drew to a close this past Thursday night. I think you will find that by incorporating the Om Namah Shiva mantra into your daily sadhana, you will reap very powerful and immediate effects as it unravels karmic content and balances the elemental components of your being. Our weekly sessions have included both teaching and practice. As Mark Griffin’s teachings on the science and art of Mantra Yoga have necessarily been quite detailed, another look back at some of the key terms and concepts from our study might be in order!
The Matrika Shakti – the hidden Mother — is the creative source residing in each vibration of sound from which our letters, words, and language are shaped. Thus, the hidden Mother is seen as the creator of the world and our sense of self in it. Mark has explained:
“Each of these 50 syllables together produces a dynamic spirit called Matrika. They are the essence of vibration, and their vibration is the essence of formation. They have their roots in spanda, which is the primal throb of creation. Spanda emerges from the Ocean of Consciousness, Atman. It is this sequence of inner connected unfolding that is the secret of the path of mantra“.
This “sequence of inner connected unfolding” brings us to another important set of terms and concepts to consider:
Mudra – Formation
Mantra – Vibration
Spanda – Throb of Creation
Atman – the Supreme Source of all Consciousness
Through the repetition of mantra, we become more consciously attuned to this increasingly subtle inter-connected unfolding which begins at the Source of consciousness itself.
Mark goes on to point out that with this progression of consciousness comes a “layered effect” called the Five Sheaths. Related to the three bodies of matter, energy, and mind, the Five Sheaths are body, subtle body, mental body, intellect, and bliss. These go on to give rise to the Three States, the waking, dreaming, and deep sleep states, as well as all the complex interworkings of the I-making reflex–ahamkara. Mark reminds us, “All of these dedicated forms of consciousness flow from one place, the Fourth Body, the Supra-Causal Body, Atman.” But, all of this highly dedicated consciousness, organized around the insular principal of the ego, also produces a necessary “aura of forgetfulness.”
The mantra, then, is the agent that wipes away this forgetfulness by returning us back to our Source. It is Chaitanya, consciously active, and as such, it is the vehicle of Bhairava consciousness. These are essential concepts to understanding the potent science behind mantra practice. Because mantra is imbued with its source in Atman, it transmits Bhairava, or pure “I” Consciousness, in its three aspects of Projection, Maintenance, and Withdrawal. At all points along this creative chain, it remains intimately connected to Atman, and thus it is our source for reconnecting.
Of course, the science of Mantra Yoga is meaningless without the art of the practice, and over these last four weeks, Mark has led us on an amazing journey of mantra diksha, or mantra initiation. This initiatory process is Shaktipat itself, that spark of Illumination passed from the Master to the aspirant. Om Namah Shivaya was the initiation mantra given to Mark by his Guru, Swami Muktananda. Passed on to the Hard Light Center of Awakening by Mark, this mantra’s practice powerfully connects us to the Siddha Lineage and Absolute Reality itself.
For more about the science and art of Mantra Yoga, don’t miss these items in the Hard Light Bookstore:
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