This is my 1st post on Yoga and it is about Mantra, which i am actually glad about, since when you say Yoga, it is a synonym for Asana. But there are many finer things beyond Asanas which are meant to bring us further. While i was doing PAWANMUKTASANA today, i got into the Sync - my breath and movements were aligned so that the movements and circling of legs and ankles became controlled by breath. Pawanmuktaasana is actually a series of easy movements of toes, legs, ankles, hands.. The point is that you synchronize the movements with the breathing. You can breathe into the angles, or if you feel tensions in legs, you can make a variations and try to stretch them while exhaling and letting go. My thoughts calmed down and a certain sense of easiness came over me. As Prana moved, a thought appeared to me - Satyananda was actually saying that by doing Pawanmuktasana one can get enlightened. It actually cannot. There are certain dimensions that Pawanmuktasana, even if it means "Prana releasing" does not touch. These dimensions in us hinder us to become enlighten. You can do Pawanmuktasana all day, day by day, and you will not get enlightened. It is will be good for your physical health though. Same is with Mantra. It is said that by repeating Mantra a powerful force arise. That some by chanting Om mantra alone can get enlightened. While the former is true, the latter is rubbish. You cannot. If it were so, Yoga and Tantra and all of its Ten Thousand techniques would not be invited. People would only chant Om all day long and everybody would get enlightened. Dont do it. Actually, you can try. But you can only get mad. It is because every Mantra, no matter how powerful it is, when it works, it moves something in us, something that has to be confronted and dealt with. Mantra, while giving us energy, pushes somethings in us, up on to surface. If you chant Om all day, you will not have time to confront what it moved, to look at it, to deal with it, and it will become a burden. If it works, Mantra gives you energy but also stirs the vrittis in us. Some Mantras can make you more healthy and e.g. relieve headache as they work on finer levels of the body. But chanting Mantra gives you also a hint what can and should be changed. It is like connecting to a higher power, where with more energy also the hidden Vrittis become more energetized.
Enlightenment is a process of going from one state, from not enlightened, to another state - the state of Enlightenment. So Enlightenment implies a change. And it implies a profound change. This is where Mantra comes into play. It will give you energy, but also push some things out of their hidden depths, thoughts, feelings from your depths and you will have to handle them, and make that change happen. If you dont change, you are not any closer to Enlightenment - however idealistic this word may sound. In fact, sometimes you might end up more nervous then before Mantra chanting and you will ask your self why is that.
Releasing of Prana by doing Asanas does not enlighten - our subconscious Vrittis remain intact!
Chanting of Mantra all day does not enlighten - it may increase nervousness and restlessness in the long and mid run. In extreme cases it may lead to psychological disturbances and breakdowns if Vrittis that come to surface are not dealt with and released!
Mantra chanting gives us support form higher realms, often it does soothe us. But it asks us inherently to use the energy for our "wound points" and to deal with them, to "make a transition".
Best way to deal with what Mantra pushes out, is to deal with people. You will project your unconious vrittis (and wound points) on other people - just observe and then correct.
Do Mantra chanting every day, best in accordance with Divine Rhythms. But do also a lot of confronting and changing!
That's it for today! Happy Mantra chanting and dealing with Human while dealing with Divine.
And here is a post on a personal Mantra experience - in Croatian though.
I will add my favorite CDs of Mantra here soon
And it the next post read about which Mantras are useful for what and which Mantras i recommend.
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