 |
Contents
- 1. Methods of chanting – According to the organ
- 2. Methods of chanting – According to the mode of speech (vani)
- 3. Methods of chanting – According to the types
1. How to chant – According to the organ
A. The body: Writing down The Lord’s Name. The advantage of this is that chanting occurs through all the three media – the hands, eyes, and the mind. When the notebooks on which The Lord’s Name is written are kept in the house, it helps both to purify the house and to maintain its purity.
B. The speech (Vaikhari)
C. The mind
2. How to chant – According to the mode of speech (vani)
2.1 Vaikhari
Chanting done aloud, with effort
A. The benefits to oneself.
1. In the primary stage chanting aloud facilitates concentration on chanting.
2. One also derives benefits of pranayam.
B. The benefits to others
1. A sattvik (sattva predominant) spiritual emotion (bhav) can be generated in the minds of those who hear the chanting.
2. The sound waves help to make the atmosphere sattvik.
C. The possible distress to others: It can pose as an obstacle to others’ thinking and spiritual practice.
D. The limitations: Since the chanting is aloud, the mind cannot attain the thoughtless state.
2.2 Madhyama
The Madhyama mode refers to chanting which occurs automatically. It is so named as it is the intermediate stage between the Vaikhari and Pashyanti modes.
2.3 Pashyanti
 |
Pashyanti is derived from the root word ‘pashya’ from Sanskrut which means ‘to see’. The chanting akin to that of the seers who have the knowledge of the past, present and future is called Pashyanti.
2.4 Para
This itself is referred to as Omkar or adibija (the primal seed). In the Para mode of speech chanting ceases as non-duality (advait) is achieved with chanting.
2.5 Comparison of chanting in the four modes of speech
| Vaikhari | Madhyama | Pashyanti | Para | |
| 1. The stage of the seeker practising chanting |
Preliminary | Intermediate | Advanced | Ultimate |
| 2. Chanting | Chanting is done only in the spare time after doing all the daily chores |
The awareness that chanting is as important as all other tasks is present |
Doing other chores only if time permits after doing chanting |
Absent since the one chanting and the Name chanted blend into one. |
| 3. When does chanting occur? |
When there is no thought, action or speech |
Initially: when performing physical activities like bathing, cooking, walking, travelling in a bus or train, etc Advanced: When doing mental tasks like reading newspaper, watching TV programmes. |
Initially: when reading or doing official work, that is when doing important mental tasks. Advanced: During conversation. Once this is possible, chanting occurs even in sleep. |
Absent since the one chanting and the Name chanted blend into one. |
| 4. Efforts |
Tremendous |
Not required [ chanting occurs automatically at its own pace. This itself is spontaneous chanting (ajapajapa).] |
Absent. Spontaneous chanting (ajapajapa) continues. |
(Blending of the Name and the one chanting it). |
| 5. Duration for which it occurs during the day. |
Few minutes | Few hours | Continuous | (Blending of the Name and the one chanting it). |
| 6. Speech | As usual | As much as required |
Only related to Spirituality |
— |
| 7. The bodies concerned |
The physical body and the conscious mind |
The subtle and causal bodies |
The supra- causal body |
(Blending of the Name and the one chanting it). |
| 8. The site in the body |
Tongue | Throat | Muladhar to Manipur chakra |
Navel (The seat of the embodied soul |
| 9. The spiritual level (%) at which chanting occurs |
35-50 | 50-70 | 70-99 | (Blending of the Name and the one chanting it). |
| 10. The actions | Average | There is a desire to do only good deeds |
Good deeds occur automa- tically. There is detachment inspite of living in society |
Beyond action (karma) and non-action (akarma) |
| 11. Who does the chanting? Who blends with the Name? |
The conscious mind [contemplation (manan)] |
The subconsc- |
Initially: The intellect Later: The embodied soul (jiva) |
The ego (Blending of the Name and the one chanting it). |
| 12. Nature of the Name |
Word consisting of letters along with the meaning (manifest form of the word) |
Initially: Word devoid of meaning. Advanced: Sound (unma- nifest form of words) Present at the creation of the universe |
In the form of |
In the form of fundamental meaning, that is serenity (shanti) |
| 13. The super- conscious state |
Initially: Absent Advanced: Savitarka |
Savichar | Sanand and Sasmit |
Nirbij |
| 14. In which state does chanting occur? |
Waking | Waking and dream |
Waking, dream and deep sleep [ this is also called the sup- erconscious state of the Name (Nam– samadhi)] |
(Blending of the Name and the one chanting it). |
| 15. The centre for chanting in the subconscious mind |
Absent | Begins to get established |
Is established | (Blending of the Name and the one chanting it). |
|
16. The influence |
— | Less | More | The other centres are either insigni- ficant or totally destroyed. |
| 17. Other impres- sions on the subconscious mind |
Many | Less | Few | Very few or absent |
| 18. Other thoughts in the mind during chanting (the number of thoughts reduce in proportion to the development of the centre for chanting) |
Many | Less | Absent | (Blending of the Name and the one chanting it). |
| 19. The component |
Tama | Raja | Sattva | Beyond the three compon- ents (trigunatit) |
* A tool means a particualar place, time, mala, seat, bath, insense, Sadguru’s photo, chanting loudly, company of seekers, silence, good health, no problems in worldly life, etc.
The four modes of speech and time: The Vaikhari mode of speech has the restrictions of the three dimensions of time (past, present and future). Later, this gradually reduces and recitations of the Pashyanti become unidimensional. Some evolved seekers in their usual state say that they performed the Mahagayatri purashcharan, (that is chanting 24 lakhs of the Gayatri mantra) in the morning. The listener may find this odd and label them as eccentric. The reason for this feeling, is that performing a purashcharan which normally takes 6 months at the rate of ten hours per day, in just six hours, is next to impossible. It is only natural that a seeker claiming to have performed a mahapurashcharan in 6 hours or in 6 minutes should be considered eccentric by an average person. However the very concept that these seekers could perform such a purashcharan in the Pashyanti or Para modes [there is non-duality (advait) in the Para mode of speech] is far beyond the imagination of the average individual. Of late, the concept of dimensions such as three dimensional, two dimensional, unidimensional and dimensionlessness are gradually unfolding before modern science. One routinely experiences the miracle when the mind in the three dimensional waking state enters the unidimensional dream state. For instance when one dozes even for half a minute during a spiritual discourse (kirtan) one has a reverie that one is being felicitated in a ceremony, by a crowd. These are common phenomena experienced in hardly thirty seconds. Had these events occurred in the waking state it would have taken a minimum of twelve hours or so. Such is the achievement of Pashyanti.
The more progressed the state the less is the proportion of dimensions. The proportion of dimensions of Lord Brahma, Vishnu and Mahadev is so infinitesimally reduced that thousands of our yugs (eras) elapse in a time which is equivalent to the blinking of Their eyelids.’
3. How to chant and Methods of chanting – According to the types
| The method of chanting |
Verbal | Upanshu | Mental |
| 1. Pronouncing | Loud enough for others to hear |
Uttered with slight movement of the tongue and lips so that one is able to hear it oneself |
Absent. Chanting occurs in the mind. The inner vision and subtle sense organs of hearing are aware of the words. |
| 2. Relation to external air |
Pronounciation is made with the help of external air |
Minimal | Absent |
| 3. Contribution of the mind |
Present. There is a difference between the word and its meaning. |
The mind concen- trates on the deity of the mantra. There is also an attempt to understand the meaning. |
There is concen- |
| 4. The predominant mode of speech in operation |
Vaikhari | Madhyama | Pashyanti |
| 5. Use | To the primary seeker* |
For rituals of Shanti, Pushti, spiritual practice done with expect- ation (Sakam) etc. |
For spiritual practice without expectation (nishkam) |
* This mode (vani) is also used for a majority of negative acts such as abhichar (jaran, maran, etc.)
According to the quote, ‘उपांशु स्यात् शतगुण: ।’ (from Manusmruti 2:86) with upanshu chanting one acquires results a hundred times more than those obtained with chanting in the verbal mode.The benefits from mental chanting are significantly more than those obtained with upanshu, as the more subtle the Name, the more is its effectiveness. The difference in the energy generated from audible chanting (Vaikhari or verbal) and that of inaudible sound will be understood from the following example. The radiance generated from chanting in the audible mode for thirty years will suffice to heat one glass of water upto its boiling point. As against this, a mere thirty seconds of inaudible chanting gives the same results.
Reference:
‘Path of Chanting The Lord’s Name (Namasankirtanyoga) and Path of Mantra (Mantrayoga)’, published by Sanatan Sanstha.
