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swordsaint
29 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 08 2015 : 10:54:39 AM
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Dear meditators,
I have a question. If we perform deep meditation and then immediately after proceed to close our eyes and listen to certain Vedic mantras/chants, would there be any benefits to us?
Such as Vishnu Sahasranam or Devi Mahatmya. These chants are supposed to provide one with benefits based on the vibrations they emit. I wanted to know if there was any discussion/material on this in the AYP writings.
Cheers!
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Edited by - AYPforum on Mar 08 2015 10:58:03 AM |
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AYPforum
351 Posts |
Posted - Mar 08 2015 : 10:58:03 AM
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| Moderator note: Topic moved for better placement |
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Charliedog
1625 Posts |
Posted - Mar 08 2015 : 1:28:11 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by swordsaint
Dear meditators,
I have a question. If we perform deep meditation and then immediately after proceed to close our eyes and listen to certain Vedic mantras/chants, would there be any benefits to us?
Hi Swordsaint,
Yes, there are! I am a yogi who has felt lots of benefits of mantra! (not AYP) If you listen or/and chant mantra's, Vedic/chants/kirtan, it can help you open your heart chakra. The mantra's help you with purification and you feel so much more love!
Edit:
You can feel the vibrations in the area they are working on, but I think this also depends if you have strong Bhakti/devotion.
Other mantra's like bija mantra from ancient tantra tradition work therapeutic. Please do this only with an experienced yogateacher, this is important. Because you have to do purification first!
I have done this both and know from own experience that you can have benefits from it!
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Edited by - Charliedog on Mar 08 2015 2:10:59 PM |
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BlueRaincoat
United Kingdom
1734 Posts |
Posted - Mar 08 2015 : 3:21:26 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by swordsaint
I wanted to know if there was any discussion/material on this in the AYP writings.
As far as I know, chanting does not appear in the AYP lessons.
There are lots of practices out there that could be beneficial, but integrating everything that tempts you into your practice could be tricky – you could end up duplicating, or having a long, diluted daily routine and little progress.
If you are a beginner, it is better to stick to one method, whether it is AYP or a different one. |
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riptiz
United Kingdom
741 Posts |
Posted - Mar 08 2015 : 5:48:39 PM
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Hi Swordsaint,
Using Tantric mantras will certainly make a difference but you need ones from one who can pass on the energy from the guru they came from or the guru himself.Without the energy they will not be as effective.
L&L
Dave |
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swordsaint
29 Posts |
Posted - Mar 09 2015 : 04:32:03 AM
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| Thank you all for your response. Must you know the meaning behind the mantra in order to get benefit or can you just listen to them and reap the benefits anyway? |
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BlueRaincoat
United Kingdom
1734 Posts |
Posted - Mar 09 2015 : 05:43:32 AM
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| What matters is the vibration of the sound and not the meaning of the mantra. See Lesson 115 and Lesson 117 |
Edited by - BlueRaincoat on Mar 09 2015 05:54:59 AM |
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Charliedog
1625 Posts |
Posted - Mar 09 2015 : 09:07:01 AM
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There are different kind of mantra's, and many traditions. Some mantra's work also as pranayama and for some is the pronunciation important. There is also a difference between chanting, kirtan and mantra. Vibration, sound, silence, breath, it all counts in my opinion. You do not have to know the meaning, the mantra by itself will bring you to the stillness of deep meditation.
The meaning however is explainable on different layers, like scriptures. The understanding is on the level of your consciousness. There is so much beauty in the words. To understand the words you will have to dive in deeper in Sanskrit, and that is also interesting....but another story.
I agree with Blue Raincoat that,
AYP is a complet method, so it is better to stick to that, or to choose a good teacher to dive deeper in a tradition. That is a very personal choice.
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LittleTurtle
USA
342 Posts |
Posted - Mar 09 2015 : 1:37:16 PM
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| I sometimes listen to vedic chanting as well as doing some myself. I find it quite uplifting for bhakti as well as very mentally and spiritually healing. If I do chanting myself then I do it after asanas and before my meditation. If you are new to AYP then make sure to self pace if you do chanting as well. It's not necessary to understand the meaning but I find it adds to my enjoyment of the chants. |
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sunyata
USA
1513 Posts |
Posted - Mar 09 2015 : 3:35:06 PM
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Wonderful advice from everyone. Yes, please self pace when overloading.
Love chanting. It's been years and I spontaneously chant throughout the day. Different chants just arise in the mind during the day. I have to consciously stop the chanting when overloading. Chanting opens my heart and I'm able to be in the presence of the divine. For me, understanding the meaning helps me merge with the chant.
Sunyata
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SeySorciere
Seychelles
1571 Posts |
Posted - Mar 10 2015 : 06:55:21 AM
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Dear Swordsaint,
It is ok to chant to your heart's content but not immediately after DM. Immediately after DM you rest, then you do some activities. Give it an hour or two then you can start chanting. Also watch how you feel because like Sunyata mentioned it can lead to over-loading.
Sey  |
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jakub108
Czech Republic
2 Posts |
Posted - Oct 26 2024 : 2:12:25 PM
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Hi, I hope it's ok to reopen an old thread with a related question. What is the relationship between AYP deep mantra meditation and Vedic chanting? I've just been to a short local (Czechia) workshop on Vedic chanting and this question confounded us somewhat. It seems to me that the basic AYP mantra AYAM is almost like a bija mantra, but not exactly. In this answer on Quora someone compares bija mantra and gayatri mantra and says: "Chanting of Bija Mantras activates different centers of consciousness. Gayatri Mantra is a complete and integrated Mantra. Bija Mantras are an integral part of the Gayatri Mantra. The chanting of the Gayatri Mantra activates and integrates every center of consciousness." Looking elsewhere, it seems even the long Vedic mantras can be repeated only in the mind, perhaps also focusing on just the sound and not the meaning...? And it seems they might be like different kinds of complex tools to achieve complex effects (quieting the mind, balancing energies, but also going in the direction of siddhis)...?
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Christi
United Kingdom
4514 Posts |
Posted - Oct 26 2024 : 3:04:43 PM
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Hi Jacub,
Essentially there are two different kinds of mantra, saguna mantras and nirguna mantras. Saguna means "with meaning" and nirguna means "without meaning". A saguna mantra carries meaning for the person chanting it, so the meaning will have an effect on the heart and mind, as well as the sound vibration that is carried within the mantra. The Gayatri mantra is one of the most classic, and oldest known saguna mantras, coming from the Rig Veda.
On top of this, mantras can be chanted out loud, or whispered, or simply repeated at the level of thought. Using a mantra at the level of thought is the most powerful, with whispering being the next most powerful. So, two types of mantra, with three ways of reciting them.
Bija (beeja) means "seed", so a bija mantra is a mantra that has within itself, the ability to sprout, or bear fruit. This is used to refer to particular monosyllabic mantras that have strong vibrational qualities. Each chakra, for example, has a bija mantra associated with it.
So, the AYP AYAM mantra is a nirguna bija mantra. It is not used for its meaning and is designed to activate the sushumna nadi. It is used at the level of thought only. Even when using mantras at the level of thought, there are different ways in which this can be done. Some people simply have a mantra repeating in the background of their mind, whilst their attention is with other things. This is sometimes referred to as mantra-japa. Then there is the practice of gently allowing the attention to easily favour the mantra, coming back to the mantra whenever the attention is off it. The latter of these two is the most powerful in terms of cultivating inner silence.
So, the basic AYAM mantra is not designed to activate and integrate every centre of consciousness. That would be far too much for many people, and could result in all sorts of difficulties arising. Instead, it is designed to work by purifying the body from the inside out, taking care of the central channel and the first 6 chakras to begin with, and allowing everything else to purify gradually as a side effect of that, as ecstatic radiance evolves over time. Of course the mantra enhancements speed this process up, but are not actually necessary.
This is not to say that no one should chant the Gayatri mantra. Most people who chant it, do so out loud, which is the least powerful way of using it, and this is perfectly safe. We do this on AYP retreats and training courses quite often. Even amongst people who chant it at the level of thought, most would be using it as mantra japa, rattling on in the background whilst they are putting their attention with other things. If someone wanted to use the Gayatri mantra as an effortless mantra for meditation where they are favouring it with their attention over other things arising in the mind, I would suggest they only do that under guidance from someone who is very familiar with doing that already. Very familiar meaning twenty or thirty years or so. I certainly would not be able to predict the results, despite having been reciting the Gayatri mantra verbally in group settings for over twenty years.
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jakub108
Czech Republic
2 Posts |
Posted - Oct 27 2024 : 10:29:34 AM
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| Thanks, Christi, that helps! The normal progression of practice with the more complex Vedic mantras is to chant out loud, then quietly, and then in the mind only. In AYP, the instruction is to start directly in the mind. Is this because the basic AYP mantra is simple and the pronunciation doesn't need to be learned? The enhancements are also quite simple. In the case of Vedic mantras, they are quite particular about the exact pronunciation, the three tones, duration, etc. I guess that's because one learns to imitate exact vibrations that have a specific effect on consciousness. Is that right? That makes me wonder whether the longer AYP mantra enhancements should also perhaps be practiced in this way initially. |
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Christi
United Kingdom
4514 Posts |
Posted - Oct 27 2024 : 12:57:39 PM
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Hi Jakub and all,
Yes, Vedic mantras are long and have to be learned. Chanting them out loud in groups is the easiest way to learn them, and the traditional method. The Gayatri mantra is actually one of the shorter ones, but even that took me some time to learn. So, starting with external chanting (chanting out loud) makes a lot of sense, before doing anything else with these mantras. Some people only chant them out loud, never using them at the level of thought.
But the AYP mantras are simple, with only one or two syllables each, so they don't need to be chanted out loud to be learned. They can simply be used at the level of thought directly. |
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Meditation & Vedic Chants
