A Practical Guide to Effective Mantra Practice

Pillars of Spiritual Progress:
The Maha Mantra
By James Chagula
Copyright ｩ July 2006


The Maha Mantra


Wondrous is the Sound
Wondrous the Wisdom...

Ever present to our gaze is wonder
At the sight of this Mystery are we wonderstruck

- Guru Nanak



This article follows our introductory overview of the Sukhmani Sahib
CD. For those of you who have not read the Sukhmani Sahib article,
please refer back to post no. 21 on the Faqir Chand Legacy Yahoo!
Groups site:


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Faqir_...acy/message/21


The Maha Mantra CD is yet another powerful aid for building a
strong, spiritual foundation. Our 'success' in meditation practice
largely depends on the strength of our foundation. A 'strong
foundation' essentially means: a balanced, integrated human
personality; healthy body and a pure, ethical life.


On an esoteric level this includes the purification of the mind,
nadis (subtle energy channels) and strengthening the central nervous
system. The purified, free flowing subtle energy within a healthy
human body is the basis for a stable mind; deep concentration and
the attainment of genuine samadhi.

Access to these various samadhi or transcendental states of
consciousness are the typical hallmark of celebrated God-lovers,
mystic adepts, saints, sages and miracle workers; documented in all
spiritual traditions and world religions. However, those who have
transcended consciousness itself, tell us that samadhi is a means
and not an end. These states serve as refined stations in which to
perceive the radiant glory of our Eternal Being, the Satlok.

The Maha Mantra, also known as the Wahe-guru mantra (pronounced Vahe-
guru), was originally manifested by Guru Nanak. This invocation is
said to be an expression of the awe and ecstasy of Guru Nanak's
moment of God-realization. According to yogic tradition, mantras are
not words which are simply 'made up.' They are audible
manifestations of subtle energies, emanating from the Cosmic Over
Lord, known as Malik-e-Kul (the Lord of Totality, Radhasoami or
Anami, the 'Unnamed'). However, in this case 'Wah' if translated
into a contemporary idiom, would look something like "Wow!" and guru
means 'heavy' or 'weighty' and also 'dispeller of darkness.'

Sant Harjit Singh first recorded a version of the Maha Mantra in
2002. He dedicated this production to the great spiritual Mystic,
Baba Waryam Singh. The soundtrack features Harjit's own recitation
of "Vahe-guru" which is followed back-to-back with the vocals of two
young female devotees. In fact, there is specific reason behind this
arrangement. The two contrasting voices consist of 17 seconds of the
female lunar (yin) energy and 18 seconds of male, solar (yang)
energy. As my Teacher has explained:

"The mind follows the male voice, half of the circuit, 180 degrees.
If you think of it like a loop. And the other half of the circle, it
follows the female voice. From one extreme which is a heavy voice,
to the other extreme which is a very light voice on the musical
scale. So this is another thing that catches your mind, like a hook
with a fish. Surat shabad yoga is just like fishing you know. You're
catching the fish. The mind."

In the following dialogue, Sant Harjit Singh clarifies and explains
the practical application of the Maha Mantra, as well as other
closely related topics. The knowledge imparted here is the fruit of
personal experience and practical knowledge. Based on my
observations; I have yet to hear the Guru speak theoretically about
an esoteric topic without explicitly stating something
like, "According to classical yogic theory..." etc. This brings home
the point that spirituality is a living experiment. And practical
life is truly the only book worthy of study. Below is an overview of
the themes covered:


ｷ The energetic effects of mantras on the mind
ｷ Practical guidelines for effective mantra practice
ｷ Pranayama (breathing practices) in relation to
surat shabad yoga
ｷ An explanation of Sunn Samadhi
ｷ Biophysical transformations which occur through deep samadhi
ｷ Why bhava is a key principle for success in surat shabad yoga


To read the full version of this article please visit us here:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Faqir_Chand_Legacy/
http://www.babafaqirchand.com/

Hiya,

That was interesting to read. Is Guru Nanak the founder of the Sikh religion?

I recognised the words 'maha mantra' from the Krishna Das chants that I do. The Krishna site Iskcon.com says: "Maha-mantra means it is the Great Mantra Of Deliverance."

Do the mantras form a part of your meditation, or are they used as an adjunct to meditation?

Take care

e-ma

yes guru nanak is the founder of sikhism.
and many muslims and hindus try to spread false info onto sikhism calling sikhs hindus or muslims which is totally false.
sikhism is a indipendant religion, and is againt many of islam and hindu believes.
this article has proved it with sources from the Guru granth sahib(sikh holly scripture written by the gurus) and guru nanaks own hymns

differnece in islam and sikhism:
http://www.searchsikhism.com/islam2.html

difference in hinduism and sikhism:
http://www.searchsikhism.com/hinduism.html

Thanks for that, and welcome to the forums..

I did learn quite a bit from those links because I always thought that Sikhism came under the umbrella of Hinduism. I thought that this was the case because Hinduism comprised many different sects, and also because Sikhism is relatively new. But I was totally wrong. Thanks for the info.