om spirit
later when I visited Nepal for the first time. On this initial trip I got
to spend a month up in the Solukhumbu region of the Himalayas,
trekking to Everest Base Camp and living with a Tibetan Buddhist
family lower down the mountains. In this Tibetan Buddhist region
of Nepal, they chant ‘Om Mani Padme Hum’ as part of their daily
meditation, as they too move their prayer beads between their
thumbs and index fingers.
This mantra translates as ‘Om, jewel in the lotus, hum’ and is
the oldest and most well known mantra of Tibetan Buddhism.
The Tibetan Buddhists believe that it invokes the powerful
benevolent attention and blessings of Chenrezig, the embodiment
of compassion, and it is said that all the teachings of Buddha are
contained in this mantra.
Up in the mountains the energy is incredible. Tibetan prayer
flags inscribed with the ‘Om Mani Padme Hum’ mantra colour the
landscape, blowing the energy of the mantra out into the universe,
so too the Tibetan prayer wheels that you find along the path.
Coupled with all the Tibetan Buddhists chanting their daily mantra
meditation, it creates a tremendous energy, concentrated high up in
the Himalayas.
I have returned to Nepal many times since that first trip and
never tire of visiting Boudhanath Stupa in Kathmandu, which is the
largest Stupa in Nepal and the holiest of Tibetan Buddhist temples
outside of Tibet. Here, Tibetan Buddhists walk clockwise around
the Stupa, turning prayer wheels and reciting the ‘Om Mani Padme
Hum’ mantra. There is just this incredible humming energy and you
cannot help but feel your heart open and experience this sense of
spirituality connecting you to something greater than yourself –
it is a shiver up the spine moment.
Kundalini mantra
I have been fortunate since then to have many opportunities to
embrace chanting mantra in my practice. I spent a month practicing
Kundalini Yoga in Australia, where we were given the mantra ‘Sa Ta
Na Ma’ to repeat for 11 minutes each day for 40 days to initiate
change in our lives. This was a powerful experience for indeed my
life did change, falling apart briefly so that it could be reconstructed
with a higher resonance again.
Since then I have dipped back into Kundalini Yoga during times
of illness as there are many mantras you can use, on their own or
together with physical movement, to strengthen the immune system
and help with healing. For example, when I was suffering with adrenal
exhaustion, I turned to Kundalini and have no doubt that using its
mantras helped me to heal and experience the light again.
I spent some time practicing Ishta Yoga in Australia too, with
its focus on the chakras and the repetition of the corresponding
mantra, ‘Bija mantra’, to bring that chakra to balance, with positive
effect. Last year I spent a month practicing Anusara Yoga in
Vancouver where each class begins by chanting the beautiful ‘O m
Namah Shivaya Gurave’ invocation. This mantra is believed to help
you align with the essence of life and your intent and it certainly
helped to realign something within me.The power of Om
However, the most powerful mantra for me, and my favourite, is
‘Om’. It is said to be the original primordial creative sound from
which the entire universe was manifested. Indeed, it is considered
to be the humming sound of all cosmic energy emanating all on its
own. By chanting the mantra all aspects of our being vibrate in the
same wavelength as this mantra so that we resonate peace and love
and universal harmony. It is said that he who knows ‘Om’ knows God.
To some it still sounds like new age mumbo jumbo – that is until
you have experienced it, and then you will know. For me, chanting
has been life changing. Everyone knows that a happy life requires
good health, a proper diet, adequate exercise, and sufficient rest.
But our inner self also needs spiritual nourishment and attention
otherwise we are more likely to become overwhelmed by negative
mental tendencies.
While the potential for spiritual fulfilment is within everybody,
it must, however be uncovered by a genuine spiritual process.
Chanting can help this process enormously. We just have to get out
of our own way: let go of resistance and the fear that comes with
being perceived as one of those ‘chanting people’ (whatever that
means), and just let ourselves experiment and feel the effects for
ourselves, without judgement.
Life has changed considerably for me since those earlier yoga
days where my brother would mock me for my chanting. He is
actually now a qualified yoga instructor too these days and I have
chanted with him on a few occasions. So too my mum, who has now
been practicing yoga for six years, and even my boyfriend will join
in with a chant of ‘Om’ at the end of a class. My dad still thinks we
are all mad, but he realises there must be some benefit to all this
madness!.Emma Després is a yoga teacher and holistic therapist
(beinspiredby.co.uk)