What are Mantras?

The Biosound Story

I discovered the power of Mantra Meditation back in 1976.

At the time I was a sixteen year old suffering from the eating disorder Anorexia Nervosa. After about 6 weeks of practicing Transcendental Meditation, as taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, twice daily, morning and evening, for 20 minutes each time, I woke up one morning and my anorexia was gone, that awful mental obsession surrounding food, burning calories by whatever means, and constantly thinking that I looked fat, no longer had it’s grip on me!
I continued practicing meditation twice daily, and my inner contentment grew, I was really happy and alive. My thirst for knowledge grew, and my life got better and better. Transcending became a regular feature of my meditation practice.
Transcending is where the mantra carries your mind beyond your consciousness mind, through your subconscious mind, to the super conscious state - and beyond. It takes you to your source of thought where your mind merges into boundless Cosmic Consciousness soundless and still, the ocean of Bliss, creativity, intelligence, and peace. Undisturbed by any vibration, it flows in an infinite straight line through eternity.

Mantras are sounds or vibrations whose effects are known. Mantras from a Divine source were discovered by yogis and Vedic seers in deep meditations when they had transcended into a higher state of consciousness known in the west as the 4th state, and in India as turiya.

In turiya one experiences pure consciousness or what has become known in the west as the unified field.
Pure consciousness is present in every aspect of creation. There is no place, no object or person where pure consciousness does not exist. Everything we perceive with our senses is an expression of pure consciousness, including ourselves.
When these yogis and Vedic seers returned to the normal waking state of consciousness they remembered these mantras, and discovered that they transport anyone who practises them back to the same divine inner space from which they originated.

These sounds originated from inside their own bodies, and were systematized into the oldest alphabet and language on earth - Sanskrit.
Sanskrit is a Divine language. Other Divine languages include Ancient Hebrew, and Aramaic as spoken by Jesus Christ. Words in a Divine Language, unlike the words of everyday speech, are experiences of energy in their own right. They’re like the smell of a flower or the taste of an apple. Words don’t define those experiences. The experiences define the words.

People have developed relaxation techniques, where one focuses on an ordinary word like ‘One’ or ‘peace’ etc.Whilst these techniques may be relaxing, they don’t facilitate transcending, and without Transcending one misses out in the true great beauty of life!

Thanks to Transcendental Meditation, I had my life back.

Being somewhat of rebel, I never felt comfortable with the Transcendental Meditation Movement, and the direction it had taken, and so I decided to carry out my own detailed investigation of the subject of mantras and meditation procedures!

I became fascinated by the power of mantra, and started to study this subject with pure enthusiasm as a labour of Love.
After lots of research I gained a deep knowledge of the use of these energy sounds, and how mankind can derive huge benefits from them.

My initial interest was in bija mantras, also called root mantras, seed mantras, seed-syllables, or seed sounds. These are very powerful monosyllabic and sometimes polysyllabic words or more correctly sounds that contain pure energy related to different aspects of the absolute. These bija mantras are ideal for silent effortless meditation.

My investigations led me to discover that the Ancient Indian healing system called Ayurveda uses bija mantras in a process called Mantra Therapy where an imbalance of energy is neutralized by employing a mantra of opposite energy.
Everything in the manifest universe is, at its deepest level, sound or vibration. The whole cosmos results from the original Primordial Sound, diversifying and unfolding in an infinite number of sequences to manifest as the symphony of creation we experience around us. Whenever there is a break, disharmony or distortion in any of these sequences, the result is a challenge, disharmony or lack in some area of our life. This can be remedied by reintroducing the correct vibration into that area.

Mantras are sounds or vibrations with known effects. Therefore, by working with a specific mantra we can create a resonance in our physiology to correct some lack or disharmony in our life. Using a mantra associated with a particular energy is therefore a way of enlivening that energy, lying dormant within us, and invoking the particular attributes to create balance and wholeness.

I received tremendous help from several mantra experts, including three former Transcendental Meditation Teachers, on mantra pronunciation, and on the positive life supporting effects each mantra produces.

And so twenty years of experimentation began…………. I chose a Bija mantra for an energy that was missing in my life.

I started effortless Meditation using my chosen bija mantra– I meditated silently and effortlessly with this Mantra twice daily for 20 minutes in the morning and again 20 minutes in the evening.
I also chanted my chosen bija mantra outside periods of meditation whilst focusing on the energy contained in it.

Many very positive things happened for me in my outer life in all kinds of ways, demonstrating a tangible ‘support of nature.’ I continued this process day in and day out, and after a period of four months almost to the day, I experienced transcending a number of times during a session of effortless meditation. That was my cue from the Universe as it were that I had achieved a certain degree of proficiency with my chosen mantra.

It is recommended that the bija Mantra, once chosen, should not be changed. There are many paths up the mountain. Perseverance on one alone will bring the aspirant to the top faster than if he were to spread his energies in exploring all the alternative ones. To this day, I still practice effortless meditation with my chosen mantra, I transcend on a regular basis, and I’m now a much happier and calmer person living in the present moment.

I can hear you say “But didn’t you change your mantra?” and the answer is yes. I changed my mantra from my TM mantra to a mantra carrying the energy that was missing in my life, and this brings about one of the fundamental differences between Transcendental Meditation and The Biosound Method.

In The Biosound Method, you get to choose your own mantra from a mantra pool of over 30 bija mantras. Also you have the option to chant your mantra out loud or silently throughout your day to enliven it.

The Bija Mantras used in the Biosound Method come from the South of India. Although they are easy to remember, and can easily be repeated, they are reflections of a primordial energy that cannot be exhausted!

As a result of my studies of mantras and meditation procedures, I developed the Biosound Method as an easy and effortless meditation technique. I also hold workshops on how to use compound mantras (longer mantras) for chanting to bring about positive changes in one’s life. For details, please visit www.mantraveda.com