Om Namasivaya

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Om Namasivaya

Mantra is the sound-body of a god; Yantra depicts the sound-body in a diagram.

Ajapa (A + Japa = No + Chant) is the primal mantra. This chantless mantra

pervades the breath going in and out, the subtle sound ‘sah’ going

in and the subtle sound ‘ham’ going out. As one chants this

subtle-sound mantra ‘soham’, a derivative of ‘sah-ham,’

‘Hamsa’ comes into being by inversion. Soham, Hamsa and AUM

(Pranava) are equipotent. Tirumular says that AUM, though a three-letter word,

is a one-letter mantra. Soham is the unintonated sound of normal breathing,

meaning ‘I am He.’ Hamsa, meaning ‘Swan’ as in

RamaKrishna Parma-Hamsa, stands for an ascetic --Hamsan. All of us including

all air-breathing living beings recite this Mantra ‘Soham’

unknowingly for a lifetime. This chantless mantra (Ajapa Japa) is called Ajapa

Gayatri. As you are breathing this chantless Soham in and out, you are

identifying your individual self with the Great Self of the Supreme Being.

Every breath (and the mantra) that you take pervades the whole universe of your

body. This life giving force or mantra has the Great Self as the basis. Every

time you chant a mantra, it leads the individual soul to the Great Soul-- the

Source, the Essence. Each mantra is packed with salubrious vibrations, the

release of which spreads through the universe of human body and spirit like the

ripples generated by a rock dropped in the pond. It is also compared to a seed,

which packs a tree inside, the growth of which depends upon the fertile soil.

Such is the power of mantra. Mere chanting helps, but sincerity and surrender

augment its power. Coming back to Soham, conscious recital (mantra japa) of a

mantra and increasing the cycles of respiration with accompanying mantra are

performed by yogis. Increasing the respirations without professional guidance

is not recommended for beginners for it alters the pH of the blood with some

ill effects. The purpose of mantra in kundalini yoga is to take you from a mere

existence at Muladhara plane of four petals to superconsious Sahasrara plane of

a thousand petals, where the unwound Kundalini power finds her union with Siva.

 

AUM: Tirumular says that the one letter, A, represents the universe. The two

letters A and U are Siva and Sakti, the latter being the all-powerful manifest

energy of Siva. The three letters, A, U, and M are Siva, Sakti and Light, the

last being Jnana or knowledge. The letter M is also Maya. Tirumular calls AUM

as one-letter mantra, representing Tandava, the Divine Dance of Siva. Tandava

is derived from Tandu, a dancer and servant of Siva. Any act performed by Siva

is a dance. The dances are named according to his acts (creation, maintenance,

destruction, veiling and Grace), places (Chidambaram, etc.), and competition

(Urdhva), 25 Lilas (acts of play). The most celebrated dance is the

‘Tandava’ in Chidambaram.

In the plane of Muladhara (Kundalini, fist plane), he stands as

Na-Ma-Si-Va-Ya--Na for earth and Brahma, Ma for water and Vishnu, Si for fire

and Rudra, Va for Vayu and Rudra, Ya for Akasa and Sadasiva. NaMaSiVaYa has

contextual meanings:

 

Entity

Na

Ma

Si

Va

Ya

The soul’s journey to Grace

Veiling or Tirodhana

Mala or impurity

Lord Siva

Arul or Grace

The Jiva or individual soul

Panchakshara (Five Syllables)

Tirodhana

The Universe

Lord Siva

Revealing Grace

The Jiva

Body Parts

the lower limbs

the abdomen

the shoulders

The mouth

The eyes

Siva’s five functions in Nataraja stance

Destruction (left posterior hand with flame).

Concealing Grace, planted right foot.

Creation, right posterior hand with the drum.

Revealing Grace, left anterior hand pointing down to left foot--Jiva's refuge

Maintenance (Sthiti), right anterior hand with supinated upright palm. (A-bhaya

mudra—fear-not symbol)

[high-five position of palm]

Five Elements

Earth

Water

Fire

Air

Akasa or ether

Muladhara triangle-Kundalini

Earth and Brahma

Water and Vishnu

Fire and Rudra

Vayu and Rudra

Akasa and Sadasiva

AUM

 

 

A (Siva)

U (Sakti)

 

Perpetual Bliss

 

 

Bliss

Bliss

Bliss

Jnana (knowledge)

 

 

Knowledge

 

Knowledge

Pure Joy

 

 

Pure Joy

Pure Joy

Pure Joy

Tandava dance of dissolution merges in

 

 

Si

Va

 

Agamic mantra

 

 

A (Sadasiva)

U (Sadasiva)

 

Pati-Pasu-Pasa Triangle

 

Pasa

Pati

 

Pasu

Siva and Sakti

 

 

A (Srim)

U (Krim)

 

A and U

 

 

Body of Siva

Body of Siva

 

The dance letters of Siva’s rhythmic dance steps.

O

I

U

A

E

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tirumular says that anagram mantra, Na-Ma-Va-Si-Ya stands in the sphere of Fire;

Va-Si-Ya stands in the Sun; and Va-Si stands in the Moon. Chanting Namasivaya

drives away the fiery snake of Pasa--bondage. Sivaya Nama is the Sukshma

(subtle) mantra, chanting which eight thousand times reveals the subtle path of

Sushumna, destroys karma, and gives the bliss of Siva.