उद्दामकामपरमार्थसरोजषण्ड-
चण्डद्युतिद्युतिमुपासितषट्प्रकाराम् |
मोहद्विपेन्द्रकदनोद्यतबोधसिंह-
लीलागुहां भगवतीं त्रिपुरां नमामि ||
We receive many queries on the inner workings of Mantras, Ajapā Japa, etc. There are various ways to explain the workings of a Mantra: using Mīmāmsā, using the Sphōṭa theory, the Spanda approach of the āgamas, etc. We shall here rely on Yoga-śāstra, the one we are more aligned with.
A human being is composed of five layers: the sthūla śarīra (the gross physical body), liṅga śarīra (the etheric body), sūkṣma śarīra (the astral body), kāma śarīra (the mental body) and kāraṇa śarīra (the causal body). Parāśakti pervades and illuminates all these bodies through different aspects of prāṇa assimilated through different mechanisms such as breathing for the sthūla śarīra, etc. The energetic link between the lower and higher bodies is the breath or prāṇa and the path to transcendence lies in its neutralization. Every technique of upāsanā is in one way or the other aimed at modifying the breath current or prāṇa so as to refine it and intensify awareness of the subtle and inner breath currents connected with the higher bodies. The simplest way to accomplish the same is through the might of unmoving attention directed towards an external or internal object, breath itself being an important option. The acts of silencing the mind and the breath are interconnected and Mantra is an important way to accomplish both. The generally chaotic mind is regulated through powerful waves of energy generated by the Mantra and the focused attention of the sādhaka on the Mantra or iṣṭa acts as a means to sublimate the breath and the mind.
A quick parallel one would now think of would be the Buddhist practice of śamatā, practiced commonly through techniques such as Zazen, ānāpānasmr̥ti etc. Some Buddhist votaries such as Shinzen Young go on to describe the superiority of Mindfulness methods over Mantras with the assumption that Mantras completely fit the definition of śamatā of the Sūtrayāna, its practice and goal. That, however, is not accurate. Mantra practice accomplishes not only the śamatā aspect (i.e. the cessation of thoughts resulting in trance or absorptive states on account of Mindfulness or attention to breath or another object) but more. While the śamtā-vipaśyana categories of meditation focus on the awareness of the ‘Now’, Mantra has the capability to transform the ‘Now’ and hence everything else. The prevailing conditions before and after the perfecting of a Mantra are not the same and that is the key difference between Mantra-based and simple Mindfulness practices. With śamatā or vipaśyana kind of practices, you observe things as they are, but with an activated Mantra, things are as you want to be or how they should be. The transformative effect of the mantra should not be underestimated.
The generally chaotic mind has its own pattern of radiation and energetic imagery, and that keeps changing infinitely. Similarly, Mantra, which has an energetic mind of its own, also has a specific energetic pattern associated with it. This pattern is generally traceable to a Deity or a Seer associated with the Mantra. As the Mantra is repeated over and over in the mind, more importantly with utmost mindfulness, the ripples of energy produced in the mind by the Mantra slowly begin to transform the energetic make of the subtle bodies, molding them to resemble the energetic make of the Mantra, and eventually of the Deity represented by the Mantra. While the tamō guṇa aspect of Parāśakti acts chiefly on the sthūla śarīra, Rajas or activity characterizes the astral and mental bodies, making them active and restless. By using focused attention and the energy generated by the Mantra together, one is able to effectively neutralize the chaos of these bodies, integrate them and gain access to the causal realms. The state of unmanī is the goal of both Mantra and Prāṇāyāma if one analyzes both carefully.
For those that would like to approach Deities or Dēvatās neutrally, these can be viewed as archetypes of energy existing at the higher causal realm. Mantras, when received through a lineage master or Sadguru via dīkṣā, establish a link to this archetype and recitation further strengthens this link, eventually allowing the sādhaka to use the archetype as a vehicle to ascend to higher realms of formlessness. The same is true w.r.t Nāmasmaraṇa as reciting the names of great Avatāras such as Rāma, Kr̥ṣṇa or Nr̥simha allows access to those archetypes.
The kind of Mantra one picks for recitation is also of significance. For example, the bīja mantras, Mahāvidyā-s, etc. have an embedded energy structure in them that link them to the archetype without the need for a specific intent. Let’s say a person receives the mantra of Jagadambā Kālī from the Sadguru and recites it regularly as taught. Firstly, the act of dīkṣā establishes the link to the archetype (which is Kālī) here and the practice of Mantra intensifies this link. Even if there is no specific intent on the part of the sādhaka to imagine Kālī, meditate on Her specific form and request to connect with Her, all that happens automatically due to the inherent energy field embedded within the potent Mantra. When the intensity of the Mantra is heightened to a suitable level, the archetype or Deity begins to reveal Herself to the sādhaka in all Her glory. Intention or contemplation, if also used, further amplifies the practice. Bīja Mantras are pre-lingual sounds that transcend the boundaries of fixed sound, concept or meaning. On account of this, their nature cannot be completely comprehended and conveyed through words or thoughts that are limited by a fixed scope. Bīja represents the purity of the Divine thought expressed as nāda that pre-dates language as we know today. Paraśurāma hence qualifies the power of bīja mantras as simply achintya or unimaginable.
In the case of Nāmasmaraṇa, the phonetics of the Mantra may not have a direct connection with the associated divine archetype, but the intention and mental association on the part of the sādhaka does the trick. When the name of a certain archetype like an Avatāra or a Siddha is invoked, the essence or energy of the corresponding archetype is awakened in the sādhaka, serving as a catalyst to allow the Deity to come forth in its higher spiritual significance. When both the embedded phonetic of the bīja mantra and the intent to connect to the divine archetype are combined together, the results are phenomenal.
For a śākta, every deity is roughly an energetic pattern within the Universal Mind of Parāśakti and it is that Supreme Source one is trying to connect to through these various archetypes. In the case of impersonal and passive techniques such as ānāpāna or Zazen, this entire piece of the ascension of consciousness through the archetypical energy-vehicle (Dēvatāyāna) is absent. Though the Thēravādins fail to note that, the practitioners of Vajrayāna and Mantrayāna borrow this knowledge from their Brāhmaṇa counterparts and attach great importance to Mantra and deity practices. Those with an appropriate level of clairvoyance can psychically see the effect of a Mantra when recited – the etheric form of the associated archetype, the color, and intensity of the energy radiated, etc. It is also easy to note that though different archetypes or deities are all impressions within the Universal Mind of the Paramātman, they have very specific structures in the domain of names and forms and hence grant different fruits at different speeds. Samskāra and Vāsanā determine the affinity of a upāsaka to a particular archetype and the degree of success in connecting to it. The mind of the sādhaka (through the transformation of the underlying subtle bodies) is replaced by the luminescence of the deity or archetype as a result of dedicated upāsanā and one gradually accesses the Universal Mind through the archetype.
However, for the deity or Dēvatā to manifest within the mind or subtle bodies, relying merely on the phonetics of the Mantra is quite insufficient except when the Mantra embeds in itself a massive energy imprint or is imparted fully energized by the Sadguru through higher forms of śaktipāta. An example would be the Ucchiṣṭa Gaṇēśa mantra which requires no saṅkalpa, dhyāna, nyāsa, etc. for siddhi and can be perfected merely through the power of phonetics when the mantra is received through authentic dīkṣā. In most other cases, however, focused attention on the Mantra and thus on the deity are required without which the phonetics alone do not generate sufficient energy to manifest the archetype within the subtle bodies. Various techniques such as nyāsa, maṇḍala dhyāna, akṣamālā, etc. serve the purpose of attaining focused and sustained attention on the Mantra and hence regulate the breath and energy bodies. The ultimate siddhi of the mantra is when the lower mind of the upāsaka and the higher mind of the archetype of the deity (which serves as a vehicle for ascension or transcendence) are both dissolved into the Universal Mind of the Paramātman like a wave that arose and subsided, realizing the state of Pūrṇāhaṁtā. At the brim of savikalpa samādhi, the state of the lower-causal consciousness is reached and the archetypal deity, which is now identified as one’s own Higher-self, dissolves into the Formless, with the current state of subtle audible-luminosity of the mantra transforming into grand silence and self-luminescence. The self, which moved through a series of identifications starting with the body, thoughts, mind, subconscious mind, higher self/deity, etc. is eventually revealed to itself as The Supreme and the final perfection is attained. Some may choose to describe a further stage where the Supreme or God-Self is also dissolved into Formlessness or its own essence or ground (bhūmi) resulting in no deity, no meditator, no meditation, no mantra, or an awareness of the absence of any of these! This is described as Pūrṇa brahma, Mahāśūnya et
At some level, Mantra does not differ much from the process of tattva-vicāra or self-inquiry. It is frequently pointed out by Vēdāntins and the likes that one would need to indulge in exclusive tattva vicāra after reaching a certain level of perfection through the Mantra. This, however, is neither true nor representative of the original intent of the seers of Mantra yoga. The Mantra begins by acting on the coarse thoughts, regulating them and facilitating the sādhaka to look beyond them. Due to the radiance of the Mantra and the effect of focused attention, the increased vibratory state of the sādhaka enables him to look behind the thoughts, at the screen or canvas of the mind on which the various thoughts appear and disappear. The awareness, riding the energetic vehicle of the radiance of the Mantra, progresses to the subconscious and further towards the mind itself, noting its movements and activities as a witness. Thus, one progresses from being unaware to being aware of the thoughts, followed by a stage of identifying the self with the thoughts and eventually identifying oneself with the mind. The first spark of mantra-siddhi is kindled at this stage and the transformative effects of the mantra on the sūkṣma, liṅga and kāma śarīras become evident. With further kindling of the Mantra chaitanya, limited identification with the lower mind is lost and a sense of identification with the deity’s Higher Mind becomes established, eventually leading to the dissolution of mind-concept. With each progressive step, the activity of the Mantra also begins to sublimate and refine, at some point resulting in a state where nothing but the awareness remains. When all that remains is undifferentiated awareness, one is awakened to the truth that all that is – is the Universal Mind or Parāśakti. This can be described as the highest level of śaktyaṇḍa. There is yet another step to ascend to achieve complete non-differentiation and that involves the Sūtrātman. That being a pathless path and requiring no paraphernalia of the physical, mental or energetic worlds, there is not much one can write about it here. Once you get there, you know what needs to be done. It is this stage that the great Avadhūtas refer to when speaking of no path, no activity, and no doing. Till that point, there is doing, there is a path and there is activity – gross and refined, internal and external.
A few words on dīkṣa are necessary here. The act of planting the seed is what dīkṣā is all about and the birth of the baby or the first sprout from the seed is the initial sign of Mantra siddhi. Without dīkṣā, no amount of tilling, watering, or fertilizers help as the seed capable of germination is missing to start with. As evident, the entire process of Mantrayāna or the vehicle of mantra follows a systematic step-by-step process i.e. is krama-baddha. Based on the needs of the upāsaka, multiple Mantras may be used to facilitate the ascension of the consciousness through the different levels or energy bodies, as in the case of Krama path involving specific mantras at specific stages. For example, when the consciousness enters the ‘Dark Night of the Soul’, the Samayēśvarī named Kālarātrikā is invoked to transform darkness into luminescence by first identifying the self with the darkness and using the deity-archetype to achieve the required transformation. Some Mantras are relevant at certain planes whereas others are multi-dimensional; they reveal a new aspect of reality at every plane and can lead the sādhaka from the beginning to the end. Four popular mantras that can be quoted as belonging to this category are Kālikā, ṣōḍaśī, Praṇava and Prāsāda (specifically parā-prāsāda and prāsāda-parā) or the śāmbhavāmnāya Mantras to be specific. When the sādhaka goes through the difficult stage of Kr̥pāśūnyāvasthā where one’s karma are burnt by a state of complete absence of the iṣṭa’s grace, one is able to surge forward to higher energetic realms propelled by guṇa, śīla and the bala of earlier upāsanā (i.e. virtue and merit of practice).
वन्दे गुरुं शङ्करम् ||