questions/japa/inner sounds

[Guest guest]

> 1. Does Amma ever discuss listening to "inner

> sounds" during meditation? I hear some and I don't

> know if it is wise to concentrate on them or ignore

> them and get back to my mantra (or ma om)?

 

I don't remember Her mentioning about concentrating

on inner sounds, but concentrating on inner sounds

is mostly part of Laya Yoga, or merging, mostly

for those practicing Raaja Yoga, the yoga of

meditation and also Kundalini yoga.

Sometimes prolonged mental japa will

create an inner hum or a mix of high notes. If

you know anything about Sound Therapy (check New

Age stuff), one method of healing is to listen to

the inner sounds, and then either sing/hum or

otherwise listen to that particular pitch until you

can't hear it in your head anymore. The most

effective artificial means is to listen to the pitch

at it's lowest octave, and should be produced by

analog, not digital means. But humming or singing

the pitch at the lowest your voice can handle is

the simplest and quickest. Or pick a song that's

in the same key as the note, and listen to that.

Many times you'll feel some sort of actual physical

response. Maybe this is why music can be so healing

at certain times.

 

> 2. I've read repeatedly the suggestion to repeat my

> mantra incessantly, however after practicing the "ma

> om" technique during meditation, I'm more inclined to

> repeat ma om mentally with my breath during my daily

> activities.Is this acceptable or should I just use

> that during meditation

 

Amma has said that you can sync your own mantra to

the timing of the breath, so that the japa will

continue even in sleep. That's not always possible,

considering the length of some mantras when you include

all the seed mantras. My experience is that through

constant japa, your "active" mind becomes more sattvic,

and makes it difficult to do the entire mantra, or you

may be mentally fatigued from constant japa. At those

times, I'll shorten my mantra (removing the

bijas/seeds), eventually down to just the name of the deity.

Other times, I'll just use a breath correlated mantra,

such as Ma/Om, or So Ham, with great results. It all

depends on your mental state at the time. I find it

difficult to do a breath-synced mantra while doing

active things, because it brings me too much inside,

and relaxes me too much to do physical work.