Using Mantra to Awaken Awareness

 by Swami Nishchalananda Saraswati

Inner Space is a fact of our existence; to deny it would be to deny our thoughts and feelings. However, most of us are so extroverted that we have no contact with what goes on within us. So, in Yoga, we try to bring our attention to this Inner Space.

In practising Mantra Yoga, or any form of Yoga, the aim is to establish contact with a deeper level or dimension of what we ‘ARE.’ Mantra helps us to do this by ‘dampening out’ all the distractions of the mind – the anxieties, obsessive thoughts and emotions. The vibrations of the Mantra create space in the constant chatter of the mind and bring clarity. In this space, we are more able to ‘relax into’ a deeper level of our being. In this space we can realise Awareness and, in time, re-identify our selves with IT. It becomes a constant reminder of our Deeper Nature.

Begin chanting the Mantra OM (or any other Mantra), whether aloud, whispering or mentally. Your attention is on the sound. You are absorbed in the vibration, perhaps feeling relaxed or even quite blissful. So far, all is fine.

Then imagine or feel that there is Space within. This is known as the Chittakasha (Sanskrit, ‘chitta’, mind or mental; ‘akasha’, space), the Mind (or Mental) Space where thoughts, feelings and dreams arise.

Allow the OM to resonate in the Inner Space. Besides the vibration of OM, all kinds of thoughts, feelings and emotions may be arising in this Inner Space. Allow everything to happen, to arise, without any suppression or denial.

On a deeper level, however, a part of you – Awareness – is watching the whole ‘show’ go on.

The Mantra is not you; we are creating the sound pattern known as OM. Fundamentally, even the thoughts, feelings and visions are not you. They are expressions of something deeper. And there is ‘something’ that is able to observe all these things. This ‘something’ is Awareness.