The Power of Sound

[Guest guest]

Allaudin Mathieu, master musician and Sufi

teacher tell this story .. when he and 30 others who were

attending a summer Sufi camp in the French Alps took to the

mountains one bright morning, singing mantras as they

hiked. Wearing spiritual white clothes the group climbed

with voices ringing "Allah, Allah" and "O life! O

Truth!" in Arabic. The trail led to a cirque - a huge

bowl shaped space scooped out of the rock by ancient

glaciers. Allaudin's idea was to sing a breaths worth of

"Allah" at top volume and listen for the echo. "The sound

was orgasmic" he said, "but the echo was even

better"- like a wake of a boat the sound came hurling

back, richocheting from the granite galleries.

<br><br>As the echos got better the Sufis were ecstatic.

Suddenly they heard a echo.. but it was in French. Staring

across the gorge they saw six black dots against the

white snow almost a mile away. Mountain climbers. They

sang "Allah" even louder and this time they heard the

returning words. "Arretez! Pour l'amour de Dieu! Arretez!"

( Stop! For the love of God! Stop!) Unbeknown to

the Sufis the frenchmen were begging for their lives.

Unlike the Sufis, the frenchmen knew that these loud

sound of devotion could start an avalanche. It was then

that Allaudin became aware power of sound, that one

mans cosmic call could be anothers white death.

<br>-----------------------<br>An interesting phenomenon of sound waves is that

they are theoritically eternal. The decay rate of

sound waves is supposed to be one of those paradoxical

equations that approaches zero but never arrives.

<br><br>Adapted from book by Robert

Gass<br>-----------------<br>Interesting isn't it? Perhaps we should remind

ourselves agan

and again the power of the sounds that come out of

our mouths. And what an 'avalanche' it is capable of

in our own lives. <br><br>Tat Twam Asi<br><br>UMA

[Guest guest]

Dear vinodchopra (& sriabhinandanam). Aum is

Mahamantra and it is a Saguna Mantra, Nirguna Mantra and

Beej Mantra altogather. <br>As per Kathopanishada

shloka 1/16 Aitadveyaaksharam.....tata - God who is both

Para and Aprara ( Nirguna and Saguna) is represented

by word AUM.<br><br>as per Mandukyo-Upanashida

Chapter one "The three Matras of Aum are the three padas

(foot) of the Soul. This constitutes the Saguna Brahman.

The Aum without Matra is the soul without the

aspects. This constitutes the Nirguna Brahman.<br><br>The

Sound has four aspects Vaikhari, Madhyama, Pashyanti,

and Para. On the same spectrum of sound on one side

is Shabda Brahman and on the lowest side is the

spoken word (Vaikhari). So Four Matraas of Aum will be

the way we speak it. <br>As per Vedantic philosophy

AUM has four Matraa or pada viz. Jagrut(or physical

world), dream (or astral world),sushupti(or causal world)

& Turiya but as per Tantrik tradition AUM has five

Matraas viz.Jagrut(or physical world), dream (or astral

world),sushupti(or causal world), Nada & Bindu( Turiya is divided

into two stages - but it is more practical and

revealing)<br><br>If vinodji needs more inf.pls send me your E-mail

address as more than this can not be shared on a public

board.<br><br>All Mantras need certain Shuddhis (purifications)

before being taken for Japa. Kara Nyasa, shiranyasa,

asan shuddhi, chitta shuddhi, mantra shudhhi,

Kullukaa, etc. are various purification steps. For

theoretical discussion this much is sufficient. A guru will

be able to tell you exactly how to go about

them.<br><br>However those Mantras which :-<br><br>1 - Have been

received by the student in his dream<br><br>2- Have more

than 20 or less than 3 words<br><br>3- have been

initiated by a woman guru ( see uma how much power of a

woman in Hinduism!)<br><br>4- AUM Mantra<br><br>the

above 4 types of mantras do not need any shuddhi and

can be used for Japa straightaway.<br><br>Aum is the

only Mantra, which can be used for Saguna Brahamna,

Nirguna Brahmna or Viraat. This Mantra need not be

initiated by any rituals...no guru is needed for this

Mantra...no special rituals are required for this

Mantra...and no Yajna is required. Hence Aum is the simplest

and the most powerful Mantra.<br><br>Even if a great

sinner does Japa of Aum with proper Matraa, his sins/bad

karmas are purified and he attains Moksha.<br><br>the

Only problem (?) with aum Japa is that it brings

Vairagya immediately and takes the subject away from

wordly desires....hence it is not fit for those who are

still entangled in the family affairs. But my

personal experience is that Grahistha (those with family)

can do japa of First Matraa of Aum, it brings peace

and happiness in the family...and slowly takes one to

the path of Moksha.<br><br>Hari Aum

[Guest guest]

Thank you, tatwamasi. This is an interesting story. It makes me think a lot.

[Guest guest]

Hi Morgitta ..<br><br>It does .. doesn't it? We

don't stop to think of the power of resonance in our

lives. I feel the entire value of satsangh is based on

this quality of resonance. <br><br>Would you share

some of your thoughts? Perhaps there are many others

who are thinking on similar lines. <br><br>Thanks

<br><br>Tat Twam Asi<br>UMA

[Guest guest]

Thanks silentsoul for your elaboration on matras

and padas. <br><br>I, too, like Omprem used matra to

mean rhythm and measure as the word is typically used.

But, as we know in sanskrit there are often several

meanings to one word; this meaning of pada, or levels

(kinda) is certainly used as you talk about.<br><br>Can

you elaborate on the sound aspects Vaikhari,

Madhyama, pashyanti and para? And what is the difference in

its manisfestation? <br><br>As far as the Om mantra

goes, I have always (from most of the teachers I have

had) been asked to stay away from OM chanting because

of total cessation of desires and detachment towards

family, which may not be the most desirable being a

householder. What you're saying then is that chanted at the

physical level is 'safe', as I know you have worked with

it very very successfuly for many years.<br><br>How

does one differentiate the levels in one chanting? Is

it the mental intent that one holds that defines the

levels? <br><br>Thanks all, for discussing these various

aspects of mantras. Do keep going. I feel the more people

understand what they are doing the more effective their

sadhna will be. Perhaps I am wrong, but this has been my

approach anyway.<br><br>Dear members .. where is everyone?

come on! jump in .. participate, debate and share!!!

Make your club one of the most vibrant and stimulating

'homes' on the net! <br><br>Peace and love<br><br>Tat

Twam Asi<br>UMA

[Guest guest]

Your guess is right Uma ! the way of chanting

signifies the matra or pada of AUM (or any mantra that

way). Jyotishiji also mentioned this aspect but he used

more known words like Upansu, Mansik Vachik sort of

Japa.<br><br>To elaborate the sound aspects in short , as per

Nada-Anusandhana Pure consciousness, Thought, Form and Sound are

manfestation of One supreme consciousness. Like Ice, Snow,

Clouds, steam are all different aspects of water. Pure

consciousness is changed into pure vibrational energy, which is

changed into Thought Form and then to Form and finally to

the most gross aspect Sound. To explain

further:-<br><br>Vaikhari : Is the spoken word which comes out of mouth. It

is at the lowest level of the sound spectrum of the

consciousness. This is very confusing stage and is different for

all animals and in humans it is based on culture. A

chinese will not understand what Indian is speaking. Even

a Punjabi will not understand whether a Tamil is

abusing him or praising him. At Vaikhari stage our sound

is not subtle and has very poor effect on the

psychic system. As Mohanan asked about the power of words

of some people, it is basically the power behind the

Vaikhari which affects. Words themselves have not greater

effect but they are the beginning stage and one has to

start from Vaikhari stage, for any Mantra. When we

speak of First Matra of a Mantra, it implies that the

Mantra is spoken by the tongue in audible sound. AUM

when spoken aloud, it is thus spoken in First Matra

(A) and it is beneficial for the physical plane. Any

Gristha if chants AUM with Vaikhari, it will bring him

peace and happiness and harmony in domestic life. BUT

continuous chanting of AUM in Vaikhari (normally 300,000

chants) automatically takes one to the next stage(pada)

i.e. Madhyama.. Chanting of Aum in first Matra fixes

one into Dhyana. Vaikhari has two states loud japa

and whispering japa.<br><br>Madhyama : Second

Pada/Matra/state denotes the Astral world. Before we speak a word,

our thought is translated into the language known to

us by the mind. If we notice carefully, each time we

speak something, we first pronounce that word in our

mind. Try speaking a language a little known to you,

and you will notice clearly, how we first make a

sentence slowly in mind and then we speak it out. The

stage where Mind transforms the Thought energy into a

form and into a language is called Madhyama. Madhyama

is subtler than Vaikhari and is more powerful

obviously. If we chant Aum by mental repetition, it will be

japa of second Matra/pada (U) and will lead to

realisation of God (Here God means the consciousness that is

egoist about his presence as the Master of the Universe,

its creator operator and destructor). A Japa of

minimum 150,000 of any Mantra in Madhyama or second matra

will automatically take one to Pashyanti stage.

chanting of Aum in second Matra fixes one into Dharnaa.

Madhyama has two states….chanting Mantra mentally and then

thinking of Mantra without chanting it

mentally.<br><br>(to continue...)

[Guest guest]

.....But my personal experience is that Grahistha

(those with family) can do japa of First Matraa of Aum,

it brings peace and happiness in the family...and

slowly takes one to the path of Moksha....<br><br>I am

sorry, I just joined the thread and found your post. I

would really appreciate if you could tell me in detail

about "First Mantraa of Aum".<br><br>Thanks.

[Guest guest]

My Dear Satputp,<br><br><br> In post 1974/75

chanting of Aum has been elaborated in different Matraas.

If you have read it then we may discuss it

further.<br><br>______________\

___________<br><br>Dear Jainchavan, Your question was not very clear to

me, but whatever was understood gets the following

answer:-<br><br> If we just forget about religions, and talk of

spirituality, there is no difference in sadhna. The only

difference in various sadhnas are of planes of

consciousness.<br><br> Certainly, chanting gods name (in any form/name)

will have a different effect, and chanting a Beeja

Mantra wil have more powerful effect...Though I am

myself a hindu and ought to think my religion is right,

but going by a comparative study of Hinduism with

other religions, it can be said that Hinduism has many

types of sadhnas befitting a beginner as well as for an

advanced soul. Hinduism is not a religion but a culture

with different Pooja Padhatis. <br><br> whereas other

religions stress upon Bhakti and surrender to god, Hinduism

(& budhism which is nothing but a part of Sankhya

Philosophy of Hinduism), go many steps further to find what

exactly is God, Universe its cause effects and finally

how to transcend the physical plane and merge with

the supreme consciousness (not remain its

slave).<br><br> And there are many ways in Hindusim right from a

scratch to the highest philosophies. Japa, Bhakti,

surrender, Karma yoga, Nada-yoga, Raja Yoga, Hathha yoga

Tantra, Dwait sadhna and advait are various steps of

sadhnas in our religion, which can be chosen by a person

according to his mental calibre. In Hinduism rules & dogmas

are not forced upon the person, but a person is free

to choose, what ever he likes according to his

mental status and understanding.<br><br> Japa of course

is the simplest, surest and safest path for a

beginner, and this is what we have been discussing

here.<br><br>Hari Aum