Mantra Meditation: A Vedic Approach

Namaste yogis, and welcome back to this very important episode of meditation. Now, different schools of yoga teach meditation a little bit differently. Most of them are guided, like I did for you over the past two episodes, and that is Transcendental Meditation. Today I'm going to take you through a more Vedic style of meditation where we use mantra.

Now the word mantra, the Sanskrit word mantra, means Manaha Triyate Iti Mantra. Manaha refers to the mind, Triyate that which protects the mind — that is what we refer to as a mantra.

Now a mantra can be anything. Ideally, if you want, choose the language of Sanskrit, the ancient language — Om, or Om Namah Shivaya, whoever is your favorite God, you pray to him — or if you don't subscribe to the religion of Hinduism, you can even follow any other mantra from any other religion. Remember, the goal of the mantra is to quieten and calm the mind. So choose a mantra that will automatically help you narrow the focus of your mind. Got it? So once you've chosen your mantra — each person is different — so choose the mantra of your choice.

You must come into a seated position, and the choice of seat is Siddhasana. Siddha refers to the powers that come from meditation, so it is already a very super power-charged seat. So sit like this, with ankle in front of ankle, ideally on a block or a cushion, hands on the knees, spine straight, chin parallel, and bring your eyes to a close.

Just allow yourselves a few moments of silence. Notice your mind. Is it able to sit still? Or is it getting distracted? The nature of the mind is to have many thoughts. All we are going to do today is use our mantra to stop those thoughts.

What that means is that anytime a thought comes up, say the mantra loudly in your head. Any time a thought comes up, say the mantra loudly. If the mind is finding it hard to focus, start to chant the mantra loudly inside. Increase the volume of your chanting so loud that every other thought becomes still. Increase the volume louder, more louder, like you are screaming the mantra. You can feel it in every cell.

And now slowly, start to reduce the volume of the chanting. Reduce the volume a little bit more. Don't let the mind get distracted. Keep chanting the mantra, but softly. Chant or say the mantra so softly that it's almost a whisper in your body.

Now bring that mantra to a halt and sit in silence. Remind yourself, anytime a thought comes up, like a deadweight anchor, put the mantra on top of it and bring the thought down. Whatever your mantra may be, let it help still your mind. Do not get attached to the mantra. Remember, it is a tool for stillness.

If you catch yourself thinking, say the mantra loudly and then find stillness. If the thought gets louder, cut the thought with the mantra. Allow the mind to narrow its focus. Just like if a mosquito will come, you will swat it — swat the thought with the mantra. If you find the mind getting heavy, distracted easily, come back to chanting the mantra loudly, as loudly as you can. Scream it inside your own mind and body, and then bring it to a stop. Remind yourself of the power of the mantra, the stillness it brings.

Taking a few more quiet seconds, slowly, as you are ready, draw your awareness back to your feet, your palms, your body and your spine. Slowly bring your palms together and rub them. Place the palms over the eyes, open the eyes first into darkness, and then gently out into light.

Well done guys, if you stayed strong and finished that meditation with me, you have got a very powerful mind. Mind normally gets distracted, but with persistent practice it will quieten down. It's like an untrained puppy — in the beginning it's always challenging, but all that is required is a little bit of practice. So well done, keep the practice up.

The last episode is the most special one, because I'm going to teach you a very special trick that I have learned to help you get deeper into the meditation.