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Mar 2, 2012

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA


The first sound when creation manifested was Om. The second sound was So Hum. The third sound was Om Namah Shivaya.

By chanting Om Namah Shivaya, it is said that one gets rid of all the sins. Even if one has never chanted the Om Namah Shivaya mantra, it is worth just listening to it and soaking in it. It is called Mantra Snanam (bathing in Mantra). It elevates the consciousness.


OM NAMAH SHIVAYA - PANCHAKSHARA

Panchakshara as popularly known is the holy five syllables (literally holy five letters) that is the supreme mantra of all devotees of Lord shiva. As the name suggests it is made up of five syllables. This great mantra is namah shivaya (namah shivaaya). The five syllables in this mantra are na - mah - shi - vaa - ya

 

The core of the vedas

 

The Holy Five Syllables namah shivaya is the heart of vedas. It is the core of the very famous chapter of vedas that stands in the middle of the vedas - the shata rudriyam or rudra suktam. This great mantra of veda samhita while hailing the God as the Lord of everything of the worlds, salutes the God as namah shivaya cha shivataraya cha

Meaning of the panchakshara mantra

 

The meaning of this matchless mantra is abound. The puranas and the philosophical texts talk in a very detailed and elaborate manner its meaning and significance and hail its ultimateness. Here only a simple meaning is presented to start with. 

The word shiva means auspiciousness and perfection. It refers to the God Who is Perfect without any kind of dependency on anything external to make It complete. Naturally because of this self-perfection, It is completely blissful and ever auspicious. (All other auspicious things are in one way or the other dependent on the external circumstances etc.) 

Ways of chanting the panchakshari

 

While many mantras have restrictions as to when and how it can be chanted etc., there is no such restriction to the panchakshara mantra. 


Whoever you are, whenever be the time, whatever be the situation chant the Holy Five Syllables. There are no restrictions of color, creed, caste, gender or any other restrictions. All it requires is sincerity. 

Benefit of chanting the mantra

 

The thoughts make the person. The one who has the positive thoughts is happier and the one full of worries is the sad one. The thoughts not only have effect at that moment but they definitely make impression on the personality of the individual, which could have a very long lasting impact. In this background while the good thoughts itself would be making things better, what needs to be said about the super-powered mantras that are rich in meaning as well as energy ! 


Given the fact that "we tend to become what we keep thinking about", when one chants the Sacred panchakshara that hails the God as Perfection and Auspicious, it would take one towards that Blissful Perfection. It takes to the union with the Supreme God. What else can be more rewarding ! Even the worst sinner would get corrected and get to the glorious states if chants this mantra piously. 


Esoteric Meaning

Namaḥ Śivaya has such power, the mere intonation of these syllables reaps its own reward in salvaging the soul from bondage of the treacherous instinctive mind and the steel bands of a perfected externalized intellect. Namaḥ Śivāya quells the instinct, cuts through the steel bands and turns this intellect within and on itself, to face itself and see its ignorance. Sages declare that mantra is life, that mantra is action, that mantra is love and that the repetition of mantra, japa, bursts forth wisdom from within.

The book The Ancient Power of Sanskrit Mantra and Ceremony, Volume I defines Om Namah Shivaya as:
"This mantra has no approximate translation. The sounds related directly to the principles which govern each of the first six chakras on the spine...Earth, water, fire, air, earth. Notice that this does not refer to the chakras themselves which have a different set of seed sounds, but rather the principles which govern those chakras in their place.

Beej Aksharas

The five syllables of this Mantra na, ma shi, va, ya are beej aksharas or seed-letters of the five elements of creation; earth, water, fire, air and ether. Flesh represents the earth, blood represents water; the body heat that helps in digesting food represents fire; the prana or life giving force represents air; and the mind represents ether.

Constant repetition of these holy syllables, either verbally or mentally generates powerful spiritual vibrations that render the mind pure and one pointed directing it inwards, heaing ultimately to the awakening of the kundalini, the spiritual energy that lies dormant at the base of the spine, the muladhar, in each individual.



"Na" refers to the Gross Body (annamayakosa), "Ma" refers to the Pranic Body (pranamayakosa), "Shi" or "Chi" refers to the Mental Body (manonmayakosa), "Va" refers to the Intellectual Body (vignanamayakosa) and "Ya" refers to the Blissful Body (anandamayakosa) and "OM" or the "silence" beyond these syllables refers to the Soul or Life within.  


Om Namah Shivaya can be analyzed according to the elements, chakras and colors:
OM arises at the sixth chakra, and is associated with the mind. The mind has no element. It is essentially a formless vortex of light.

NA arises at the root chakra at the base of the spine and is associated with the element of Earth and is yellow in color. 

MA arises at the second chakra and is associated with the element of water and is green in color. 

SHI arises at the third chakra at the navel and is associated with the element of fire and is red in color.

VA arises at the fourth chakra at the heart and is associated with the element of air and is white in color.

YA arises at the fifth chakra at the throat and is associated with the element of ether and is blue in color.

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Lets See what Guruji says about it.....!!!


Q: Guruji, what is the meaning of Om Namah Shivaya?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Om Namah Shivaya is one who lives in all the five elements.


Q: Dear Guruji, I would love to ask you why is the song ‘Om Namah Shivaya’ so special and intense and how does it help in situations like you explained this morning? I remember that last year we had a very rare combination of some bhajans and you advised us to sing this song there also. Thank you so much.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes! ‘Om Namah Shivaya’ is one of the very powerful mantras. Mantras are those energizing sounds which help to uplift the consciousness, which help to uplift the subtle. So ‘Om Namah Shivaya’, these words are very important because ‘Na’, ‘Ma’, ‘Shi’, ‘Va’, ‘Ya’, these five letters represent the five elements Earth, water, fire, air and ether. ‘OM’ is the sound of the universe; ‘OM’ is the symbol of life force. ‘OM’ means peace and love, so when there is peace, love and harmony in all the five elements, there is bliss, there is joy. yeah! So, ‘Om Namah Shivaya’ indicates the transcendental universal one consciousness and energizes that subtle aspect of the universe.

Q: Guruji, singing Shiva and Krishna songs in satsang make many people wonder. Although we imbibe so many good vibrations this still makes some people think that we are singing Hindu songs. Why do we sing songs of so many Gods? People from other religions get confused between the real meaning of satsang and the symbolic meaning behind mantras.

Sri Sri: The sound of ‘Om namah shivaya’ includes all the five elements – Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether. Hinduism is not a religion as such. People have beenchanting this for thousands of years. Mantras are those sounds which you hear from deep within during meditation and the aim is to bring one back to the source. During later days, people started putting faces and drawings to these mantras. Mantras have got certain vibrations/ energy. They are universal.

Even in churches in Latin America ‘Marnah nath’ is used. Its translation in Latin and Sanskrit is so close. For ‘Lord’ the word in Latin is nath and also in Sanskrit the word nath is used to mean ‘Lord’. So the word marnah nath meaning ‘My lord’ which is used in Christianity is actually a Sanskrit word.

Chanting in Sanskrit is beneficial because Sanskrit is the oldest language known to mankind. It has a deep impact on the consciousness. We welcome all songs – Japanese, Korean, Spanish. Any song you want to sing is welcome. We sing a lot of songs inSpanish and Portuguese in satsangs in South America. Of course, in India everybody easily connects with ancient mantras. Take any language you want but along with it take this also. How many of you feel singing and chanting these mantras creates some vibrations? (All raise hands in affirmation) It’s obvious. In Vedic chanting, many times you don’t know even the meaning but it has some effect.

In the morning we did Rudra Abhishek, this has been practiced for over thousands of years. We use crystal, milk, yoghurt and flowers etc. They all create a certain impact and send out positive vibrations.


Q: What to do if someone has Manglik dosh? 

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Manglik dosh -there is always a remedy for that. ‘Om Namah Shivaya’, is a very good chant to get over all the doshas.

Q: Any amount of positivity I try in life, small failure makes me feel low?

Sri Sri: How are you feeling now? Failures come in life – do you do sadhana everyday? Chant Om Namah Shivay for ten minutes everyday. The energy you get from chanting is amazing

In China, there was a popular person who had seven diseases. He started chanting Om everyday for two hours and the diseases got cured. Sage Patanjali said this many years ago: if we chant Om every day, it reduces negative energy at home.


Q: How do protect oneself from the negativity of others?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Om Namah Shivaya chanting! Jai Gurudev will also do.







11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you. This is a wonderful post. I felt at peace after reading this.

Anonymous said...

THANK YOU I WILL START TODAY AND I HAVE FAITH IN THIS.THANK ONCE AGAIN

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Bala said...

Thank you! A very informative post. Being brought up in a family where spirituality is weighed the most important one yet I didn't know this. Shame on me... Now I understand. Thank you... OM NAMAH SHIVAYA...peace

Anonymous said...

I always have trouble sleeping. The night I started chanting om namah shivaya mentally, I had a very good night sleep which I had longed for a long time. Thank you Lord Shiva.

Unknown said...

Feeling good by reading this post and I started chanting today itself.

Unknown said...

Feeling good by reading this post and I started chanting today itself.

Parameshwar Paramatma said...

Really wonderful!

I want to know more about this mantra and find your post.

Amazing and interesting.

Om namah Shivaya is great way to chant.

I also chant this mantra and it help me lot.

Dhrumit said...

Really great!
Om namah Shivay

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing such a wonderful knowledge. Jai Gurudev. Om Namah Shivay

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