The expression mantra is connected to mann (the mind). Yoga means to connect with our Origin. Mantra Yoga would therefore mean to unite using the tool of mantra. This process is called Concentration and Meditation. A mantra is a sound or word. It is generally used to help focus the mind on a single thought until thoughtless Beingness is established. As a tool to achieve Stillness, the mantra is to be discarded at the moment Stillness is achieved.

Mantras are sometimes also applied to change circumstances, to regain a healthy condition for example. Those mantras are specially formulated to carry a certain vibrational power. For such purposes it is important that the proper pronunciation is also imparted.

OM - AUM - AMIN - AMEN - COSMIC VIBRATION - THE WORD OF GOD

OM

Readers of the Bible are accustomed with Amen and the word of God. They in all probability have heard of OM too. What might be new is that all these words have, in truth, the same meaning and also the same origins. Physicists know that all of substance, our whole Universe, is made of vibrational energy. Atoms are no longer pictured as solid balls orbiting a solid center or proton. Electrons and protons are now explained as energy concentrations with a certain vibrational pattern. This is the vibration which is called by readers of the Bible Amen or the word of God. Hindus call it OM or AUM. Moslems call it 

Amin.

Because OM is the original vibration, all other mantras are used from this one Master Mantra. Usually when we hear OM reproduced on TV or at a spiritual gathering it is pronounced like dome without the 'd'. However, OM can indeed be noticed during meditation but sounds more like the o-sound in ball without the 'b'. It is a deep roaring sound and much closer to the Tibetan mountain trumpets which are used to duplicate the sound and remind people that it might be time to return Home.

Japa

Repetition of a name of God may be used as a mantra and is then called japa. A mala is usually used for mechanical counting but, when used in association with japa, it is more for anchoring the mind and make it more rhythmic. Japa and mala are for a similar purpose as the rod given to an elephant in India when lead through narrow streets where merchants show their goods on tables. Minus carrying the stick in his trunk, the elephant will move its trunk to the left and right knocking off the display, but, when given the stick the elephant will carry the stick direct ahead. In order to keep our trunk - the mind - still, we are practicing reflection, japa, or any other spiritual technique. One conventional name for the practice of japa is Rama. However, Christ or any other name of God is fine as long as the alliance is there. If the association is not there, any other mantra may produce the same result. Japa should be repeated constantly, this technique, more than any other, is the exact equivalent to the first commandment of the Bible: "You shall love God with all your heart, mind and soul." What else would it be if we were to concentrate fully on God - with all our heart, mind and soul?

A thorough definition of Japa and Ajapa may be found in a book by Ma Yoga Shakti called "Techniques of Meditation - To Enhance Mind-Power".

Bija

There are also bija-mantras which may be seen as keys with which one might address a certain chakra (energy center in the spine and brain) for example. The main keys to the seven chakras are Lam, Vam, Ram, Yam, Ham, Ksam, Bam (or OM). Each chakra addressed by one of the major mantras also includes other bijas.

Mantra Yoga finds coalition with God through the suitable use of speech and sound. It is the power of the word to create or destroy that Mantra Yoga emphasizes. It utilizes the focus intent to make every word you speak be in compatibility with God and with your own soul.

Mantra Yoga also uses mantras as an indispensable part of the practice. In the East, the Mantra Yogi usually uses Aum, So Ham, Om Namah Shivaya, or Hram, Hrim as his favorite mantra. The most important mantra is the syllable Aum. It is considered the greatest of all mantras. After that, there is the Gayatri Mantra, which is considered the mantra of the eternal wisdom of the Vedas.

Rhythmic repetition of a mantra called japa, which is why this type of yoga has also been called Japa Yoga. Most spiritual teachers in the East and West integrate some from of Mantra Yoga into their teachings.

The practice of Mantra Yoga requires constant vigilance over each thought you think and every word you speak, for every word you talk in your daily life, in truth, is a mantra and a word of power. There are different kinds of japa:

Daily japa, which is usually done in the morning and evening;

Circumstantial japa, which is usually done on festival days;

Japa that is done for some specific desired goals;

Forbidden japa, which is done without discipline and with wrong pronunciation.

Japa that is done for penance.

Moving japa, which is done through the day and which is what Sai Baba has recommended.

Voice japa, which is done out loud for others to hear, if appropriate;

Whispered japa;

Bee japa, in which the mantra is murmured so it sounds like the hum of a bee - the lips and tongue do not move and the eyes are usually closed;

Mental japa, which is done solely in the mind and is an indispensable method to use in your daily life;

The uninterrupted japa, which is for those who have renounced the world. Japa is done continously; when tired; the yogi meditates, and when tried of meditating, he goes back to japa. When tired of both, he things of the Superior Self;

Japa that is done with beads or a rosary. (Many western religions knows this way very well)

There are sixteen steps in Mantra Yoga:

Devotion;

Purity;

Posture;

Observance of the calendar which is based on the astrological understanding and which defines celebrations, fasts, and so on;

The ways of conduct;

Concentration;

The search for the inner divine countries. These inner countries are considered the abodes of deities, masters, and gurus on the inner plane;

Breath control;

Gesture;

Water offering;

Ritual offering (fruit);

Ritual worship, which usually utilizes scents, flowers, incense, a lamp, and food of some kind;

Repetition of mantras, words of power, and names of God;

Contemplation

Identification (samadhi), which is achieved when the meaning of the mantra has been realized and the mind dissolves into the deity of the mantra. There becomes no separation between the seeker and that which is sought. With identification, the seeker has achieved his goal.

In the process of unification, the use of a mantra is referred to as mantra yoga, whether in meditation, ritual recitation or chanting (bhakti yoga). Mantra yoga is said in Hindu scripture to be particularly suitable to the present al yuga (iron age) as it is a simple means to attain knowledge of God - brahmavidya. Repetition of mantra (in particular a single word or phrase given to an individual by his or her teacher at initiation) is referred to as japa or mantra japa. This repetition will be practiced during meditation, but also throughout waking life, until it and its embodied truth become a permanent source of strength and inspiration. The syllables, words or sentences have a symbolic meaning, the knowledge or consideration of which may or may not be involved in the practice. The mantram may be accompanied by visualization or there may be concentration exclusively on sound. There may also be variation in the degree of repetition and the extent to which mantra are invested with cosmic or magical significance. These all depend on the school or individual to decide.

The mantram is not an end in itself but an aid on the path to meditation. Concentration on the sound replaces the continuous chatter in the mind, concentration on the symbol replaces the endless flicker of images. This brings a state of inner quiet when the mantram can be discarded as true meditation begins.

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