When you meditate, one of the most powerful and useful techniques that you can use – is to recite a mantra. Meditating while using mantra is very common in a number of spiritual traditions worldwide and is recommended for anyone who are practicing meditation.
Most mantras have a specific, mathematically calculated sound quality, as well as a literal meaning. Some are longer, composed of several words and some are one-syllable, short mantras.
How to choose the ideal mantra for your meditation
You are probably wondering what could possibly be so special about reciting a mantra and in what way is repeating some words good for meditation.
As you probably know – sound is a vibration. Also, everything in the universe is vibrating, including the cells in our bodies, our feelings, thoughts and our consciousness.
Vibrating patterns of mantras are mathematically calculated to correspond to vibration patterns of your body, influencing your cognition, behavior, hormones and psychological balance.
The appropriate mantra that you repeat as you meditate, can help you create specific changes that you desire in your psyche and your body and even alter states of your consciousness.
When you repeat a mantra as you meditate, each word contains energy and vibration on its own. Different combinations of these words (usually in Sanskrit language) have been mathematically calculated to help achieve different beneficial results. Depending on the goal you wish to achieve, you will choose your meditation mantra accordingly. It is recommended that you choose a traditional mantra and pronounce it in its original form and not the translated versions. The correct intonation and pronunciation of mantras are very important as you want to reproduce original sound vibration. Luckily, for most popular mantras, you can easily find the correct pronunciations and recitations on YouTube.
Most Popular Mantras and Their Meaning
Without further ado, here you can find some of the most popular and powerful mantras that are available to meditation practitioners.
- “Om” – This sacred word is the invocation of universal consciousness. It is one of the most sacred and most well-known mantras in Buddhist and Hindu traditions.
While it doesn’t bear any specific meaning, by repeating this mantra as you meditate, you invoke within yourself the infinite spirit and the original, primeval sound of the universe. - “Om Namah Shivaya” – has a simple meaning – “Adoration to Lord Shiva”. By repeating this mantra as you meditate you will bring joy and peace to both your heart and soul.
- “Om Shanti Shanti Shanti” – this mantra originates from Buddhist and Hindu tradition. By reciting this mantra as you meditate, you are invoking peace to your body mind and speech. Shanti means ‘peace’ in Pali (one of several Indian languages) and this mantra brings peace to your entire constitution.
- “Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare” - this mantra is of Hindu origin and is also known as Maha-Mantra. As you recite this mantra, you are basically invoking the blissful, divine energy of a God.
- “Om Mani Padme Hum” – this mantra means ‘The jewel is in the lotus’. By reciting this Buddhist mantra, you are basically transforming your speech, body and mind into exalted ones of a Buddha. Lotus in the mantra refers to your spiritual heart.
- “Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha” – is a very old manta originating from Tibetan Buddhism. Reciting this mantra as you meditate will not only help you deal with inner problems, but also with those from the world around you. It aims to liberate you from all emotional and mental delusions and help you achieve enlightenment.
- “Guru Guru Wahe Guru, Guru Ram Das Guru” – is a mantra that originates from the Sikh tradition. Guru literally means wisdom (Gu – darkness, Ru – light). By reciting this mantra you are transforming any kind of block or ignorance into light.
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