The first thing I love about Yoga is that it’s something you can do when everything else out there is falling apart. I know this has brought many people to Yoga. It’s a way to assert your own power and control over your life, even when you seem powerless to change...
The Science of Sound
In any Sanskrit mantra, one of the letters will be a sound that is considered a “seed” sound or a bija. The various bijas each have a different effect on our bodies and minds, and even on plant life. Mantra Shastra, is the science of sound. In Yoga, we have the...
How Mantras Work
In 1976, Swami Satchidananda was giving this talk (below) on Yoga in Denver, Colorado. Yoga was something that wasn't widely practiced, or understood, in its broader and deepest sense at that time—and in large part, still isn't today. And, the use of mantras in...
Patanjali’s Words: OM
Rev. Jaganath, Integral Yoga Minister and Raja Yoga master teacher, has spent a lifetime delving into the deepest layers of meaning in Patanjali’s words within the Yoga Sutras. Our series continues with the 27th and 28th sutras of Chapter 1 in which Patanjali now...
Q & A with Swami Satchidananda: Mantra Japa
Question: What is the secret of mantra japa (mentally repeating a mantra continuously)? I can keep my attention on if for a short time and then I forget all about it! Swami Satchidananda: First, you have to constantly and consciously repeat the mantra. Later, the...
The Mystic OM
In this article, Integral Yoga master teacher Rev. Jaganath Carrera discusses sutras 1.27 through 1.29 of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. In these sutras, Sri Patanjali introduces us to the OM mantra and the practice of mantra japa, which he explains is a most effective...
Japa Yoga Sadhana
INTRODUCTION Sadhana is purifying and steadying the mind and fixing it on the Lord. Without Sadhana you cannot attain the Sadhya or the object of meditation i.e., the Supreme Being, the abode of Immortality and Bliss. Japa is an important Sadhana. Make a resolve "I...
What is Japa Yoga?
WHAT IS JAPA ? Repetition of any Mantra or Name of the Lord is known as Japa. Japa is an important Anga of Yoga. It is a spiritual food for the hungry soul. Japa is the rod in the hand of the blind Sadhakas (aspirants) to plod on the road to Realization. Japa is the...
Questions & Answers on Mantra and Meditation
Question: What is the difference between meditating on something like a mantra and meditating on nothing at all, that is, on no particular mantra, thought or phrase? Will there be different results? Swami Satchidananda: No. But you have to teach me, how to meditate on...
The Name of God
The mystic sound OM is the word expressive of God. It is God’s name. We have to give a name to God, but it is rather difficult to find a suitable name for that nameless, formless, omnipresent and omniscient One. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali say, “Tasya vachaka...
Mantra Meditation
I am often asked, “What should I meditate upon?” The simplest thing is to repeat a mantra (a mystic sound). It is a very sound method. It is really simple, but at the same time, very powerful. It could be OM or AMEN or HARI OM or OM SHANTI—any mantra you like. If you...
Mantra Japa: One Practice Is All You Need
In the Yoga Sutras, Sri Patanjali Maharishi lists nine obstacles, which cover a range of physical, mental, and spiritual problems. They are: disease, dullness, doubt, carelessness, laziness, sensuality, false perception, failure to reach firm ground, and slipping from...