![]() All other practices are supplementary, because mantra japa is a direct way to tune yourself to that cosmic vibration. It is an important practice that spiritual seekers should do.Įven if you don’t have time for anything else, don’t miss your mantra japa. OM Mane Padme Hum.” All religions have this practice. In Tibet, I heard all the Tibetan Buddhist monks repeating, “ OM Mane Padme Hum. Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy.” Yes, like “Hail Mary.” People ask, “How many ‘Hail Marys’ did you say?” What does that mean? Mantra japa. What is that mantra? “Lord have mercy on me. ![]() Athos in Greece, I was surprised to see the Greek Orthodox monks holding the rosary and repeating a mantra. Almost every spiritual tradition practices mantra japa. The easiest, simplest and best practice is mantra japa (repetition). So, to make the mind steady, use the mantra. When you worship the yantra with a mantra, that is called tantra. So the mantra takes the form of a yantra, which is also known as a mandala. You cannot see that or hug it you cannot do anything with that. But sometimes even the mantra body is not perceivable. Your form is not a human form or anything with flesh and bone Your form is of the sound.” So God is mantra swaroopa, which means to have a mantra body. The saintly poet, Arunagiri Nath sang, “ Nada bindu kaladi namo namah. What the Bible calls “the Word” is the sound- Nada Brahman or Shabdha Brahman. Why do you do that? Unconsciously, you are connecting yourself to your source through the sound. When you are in agony you will often moan and make a humming sound. Don’t we hear the hum in the ocean? When the wind blows you hear a hum. If you go to the very source of the creation and if you can hear that sound within, you will find out that everything and everyone is functioning with the same hum. Then, the sound gives rise to many forms and names. God, the Unmanifest, Essential Power, Source or Consciousness-whatever you want to call it-begins to express itself first as sound. Nada (sound) and Brahman (God) are one and the same. They are one and the same- Nada Brahman we call it. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.” So God and the Word are not different. “In the beginning there was the Word,” the Bible says. If you don’t hear a hum, know that you are gone! Everyone has that sound within. If you want to make sure that you are alive, just close your eyes and ears and try to listen within. After practicing for a long time, you will be able to hear the anahata, or the inner sound. Through repeating the mantra, you gradually develop that sound vibration within. Mantra repetition itself is a Nada Yoga practice. When Sanskrit shlokas or lyrics are rendered in a popular medium like music ( and not in the original chandas) such deviations happen.Nada Yoga is the Yoga of sound and it includes practices using sound formulas and mantras. That is why we distinguish between Samskrit and Prakrit languages. Nor do the different castes speak any language in the same manner! Such differences are a part of life. Even Kannada is not spoken in the same way in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Tumakuru. Ultimately, it is the way a language undergoes changes in expression from region to region. ![]() Of course, MSS was known to take great pains to master the lyrics correctly. In the classical compositions, where Sanskrit words are used, Tamilians tend to pronounce them in a Tamilised form or idiom- which could annoy others. Among male singers, Balamuralikrishna alone could render the lyrics in any language without mutilating the words and without deviating from the Raga. As far as I have been listening to Carnatic music, it was only Mani Krishnaswami who could do justice to Sanskrit lyrics. Listen to the way she renders Bhaja Govindam, perhaps the easiest of Shankara's devotional compositions Notice how the change of Ragas mars the spirit of the Shlokas. ![]() It is also because the Sanskrit lyrics do not lend or bend easily to the musical notation, except in the original chandas in which they are composed. MSS was a great artiste, but her Samskrit pronunciation was not great, though correct. Listen to her rendering of Hanuuman Chalisa it is grammatically correct, as taught by Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha but listen to the rendering by Rajan Sajan Mishra or Pandit Jasraj you will notice the immense difference. It would be correct according to the book, but not according to the usage or idiom of native speakers of those languages. R Nanjappa 3y gautham MSS sang songs in many languages, but in languages other than Tamil, her pronunciation was not great. ![]()
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