By George A. Boyd ©2002
Each meditation student who takes the Mudrashram®
Master Course in Meditation is introduced to the use of transformational
(bija) mantra. This initial instruction is called diksha.
They are further encouraged in this class to begin the
regular practice of their bija mantra by counting repetitions of the mantra.
This habituation of practice, making it a daily routine, is called sadhana.
For many, getting this habit of meditation is difficult, because of the
many distractions and demands of their busy lives.
For those that persevere, however, bija mantra practice
becomes more and more and more delightful as the meditator progresses
to deeper stages of the practice. These more advanced stages of bija mantra
practice are described below.
Stage
|
Transformational Mantra
|
Use
|
One
|
Diksha
|
Learning to identify intentional activation of mantras, learning
to correctly pronounce your transformational mantra, discerning
the Alayic octave of bija mantras (see Octaves of Mantra Yoga
Practice, below), and activating that mantra intentionally.
|
Two
|
Sadhana
|
Obtaining a mala, rosary or other means to count 108 repetitions
of the mantra. Performing 108 repetitions (one cycle) daily, doing
more than one cycle daily when possible.
|
Three
|
Kirtana
|
With regular practice, you will feel the blissful movement of
energy, with sensations of heat and release of tension and stress.
Kirtana is the blissful inner dance of energy. This is the kinesthetic
experience of spiritual unfoldment.
|
Four
|
Anahad Shabda
|
With continued practice, you will begin to sense deep inner silence
within your vehicles. As your meditation continues, you will hear
the vibrations of your inner vehicles. When spiritual unfoldment
ensues, you will hear this as a new frequency or tone arising
from your ensouling entity and its vehicles. This is the auditory
experience of spiritual unfoldment. At times, you will hear strains
of haunting celestial music that seems to hang in the air. This
is called Anahad Shabda.
|
Five
|
Jyoti
|
When this stage dawns, spiritual unfoldment will bring in its
stead a flood of glorious colored lights, visions of archetypes
and images, and glimpses of inner dimensional realms. Like Kabir,
you will realize "with the downpour of the Holy Name, the Divine
Colors began to rain." You will behold that rain of colors as
your ensouling entity unfolds. This is the beginning of the visual
experience of spiritual unfoldment.
|
Six
|
Marga Tattwam
|
In this stage of transformational mantra use, you will discern
nodal points upon the path. Here you will no longer count repetitions
but you will do your meditations with the intention to unfold
to a discrete nodal point. Sometimes your inner guide will give
you a marker for this nodal point, telling you, for example, to
"continue your bija mantra until you behold the blue flame within
the diamond." At this stage, your bija mantra practice becomes
goal-oriented and purposeful. You clearly behold the unfolding
of the ensouling entity and expansion of consciousness at each
level, as vividly as watching a movie.
|
Seven
|
Alaya Akshar
|
At this stage, you reach a universal nexus on the path, which
bestows great wisdom, compassion and ministerial powers upon you.
From this exalted station you are able to attune with countless
other ensouling entities on the path, to identify their transformational
mantra and to intend this mantra on their behalf. This ability
grants the power to initiate others and to actually unfold their
ensouling entities upon this path.
|
As each of your subtle senses begins to awaken, you
meditation experience will become greatly enhanced. What began with boring
repetition of a "word with no apparent meaning" becomes a compelling,
deeply absorbing, multi-sensory experience in which you can taste, smell,
touch, see and hear the unfolding of your living Soul upon the spiritual
path. When this stage dawns, you will not hope that you are making spiritual
progress, you will not surmise it is happening, you will not merely believe
that it is so, but you will know it for a fact.
We therefore encourage our meditation students to persist
in their bija mantra practice. It truly does get better from here.
Octaves of Mantra Yoga Practice
Aspirants may not be familiar with the different octaves
on which bija mantras operate. We reproduce this chart here to familiarize
the reader with the different types of bija mantra as originally described
by Swami Charan Das. Using a bija mantra that operates on an octave that
is not your spiritual cutting edge can introduce imbalances. We discuss
below the types of imbalances that can be created.
Vehicular Bija
|
This unfolds the seed atom of a single vehicle. This is not recommended
for use as it immediately creates imbalance in your vehicles. This
mantra is used by Initiates to correct imbalances in their disciples
vehicles, which is usually the result of the disciples playing around
with spiritual practices that they dont understand or do wrongly.
|
Planetary Divine Name
|
Unfolds the Soul spark, the Soul and the Monad. Does not affect
higher octaves of spiritual development in the Cosmic, Supracosmic
or Transcendental Spheres. Since this is the cutting edge for many
individuals, it rarely creates significant imbalances. The downside
is that it tends to develop the ensouling entities of the Subtle,
Planetary and Transplanetary Realms out of synchrony with their
counterparts in the Cosmic, Supracosmic and Transcendental octaves
of being. Adept Masters use this.
|
Cosmic Divine Name
|
This unfolds the Astral Soul in the Cosmic Sphere, and corresponding
vehicles in the Planetary Realm. If done before the Astral Soul
is the cutting edge of development; it can create moderate to
severe imbalances marked by dissociation, unbroken trance states
and compromised or periodic inability to function normally. Masters
of the Cosmic Hierarchy use it.
|
Supracosmic Divine Name
|
There are 73 of these, one for each path in the Supracosmic Realm.
These are, unfortunately, given out like candy to all and sundry,
by well-meaning Initiates in the Supracosmic Sphere, without regard
for whether the individuals Supracosmic Soul is even attuned
to their path or not, and with no consideration for the individuals
spiritual cutting edge. This has given rise to widespread imbalances
among millions of people, marked in the worst cases by intense,
irrational devotion, fanaticism, severe dissociation, unbroken trance
states, and compromised or outright inability to function normally.
Many seekers have generated these imbalances [not to mention mental
confusion and conflict] in themselves by getting initiated by the
"Gurus, Rinpoches, Murshids, Avatars, Siddhas," etc., of Supracosmic
traditionssometimes getting initiated into more than one tradition.
Because this mantra is so much more powerful, its effects can be
even more disruptive than the Cosmic Divine Name. However, if their
dance with these teachers is not sustained, typically these imbalances
are not sufficient to turn them into permanent, glassy-eyed zombies.
The sad part of this is that these mantras are very powerful and
very quickly generate subtle sensory phenomena that make meditation
on these paths almost addicting. These mantras may be given out
implicitly or they may be hidden. For example, you may be surprised
to learn that the Muslim prayer, repeated five times daily, secretly
contains their transformational mantra. Gurus [our generic name
for the variegated assortment of Masters in the Supracosmic Sphere]
use this mantra.
|
Transcendental Divine Name
|
Typically, Nadamic practice—the spirit opening the channels
of the Nada—is the key transformational method in the Transcendental
Sphere. However, mantras do exists in these realms that specifically
unfold the ensouling entity on these Transcendental paths, but they
are rarely used. An exception is that teachers of the 5th Transcendental
Path do utilize them. Paradoxically, these mantras tend to be less
disruptive to functioning than those of the Cosmic and Supracosmic
Spheres, perhaps because these mantras do not activate the kundalini
shakti like the Cosmic Divine Name and Supracosmic Divine Name.
The shutting down of personality functioning, sustained trance states,
dissociation from the personality, etc., arise when the kundalini
shakti is activated and does not return to its grounded state. These
mantras are given out by Sat Gurusof the Transcendental Paths. |
Alayic Divine Name
|
The teachers of the Mudrashram® Lineage reveal this. The Alaya
is the living force of ensoulment that animates the ensouling entity.
It identifies your cutting edge of spiritual development. The Alayic
Divine Name is keyed to this cutting edge, so it does not produce
the imbalances associated with other mantras. It is co-resonant,
which means that the use of this mantra will automatically and simultaneously
activate the appropriate mantras of the sphere in which your ensouling
entity dwells. For example, if you are working in the Planetary
Realm, repetition of the Alayic Divine Name will also appropriately
activate the Planetary Divine Name. If you are working in the Cosmic
Sphere, it will activate the Cosmic Divine Name. In the Supracosmic
Sphere, it will activate the correct Supracosmic Divine Name that
is aligned with your Supracosmic Soul. In the Transcendental Sphere,
it will activate the Transcendental Divine Name attuned to your
appropriate Transcendental Path.
|
Eternal Name
|
Called Satchitananda, this highest state of consciousness is the
nucleus around which spiritual development circumambulates. There
is no word in the human language that can possibly express this
name—it is rather a state of consciousness that is remembered.
Satchitananda unfolds solely by Nadamic practice. Both the 6th
and 7th Transcendental Paths exist beyond the range of
the effects of transformational mantra. |
Integral meditation is founded upon the fundamental
principle that spirituality should be developed in a balanced way. Before
revealing the Alayic Divine Name to anyone, teachers of the Mudrashram®
Lineage studied the effects of every type of transformational mantra.
Having made this study, they have concluded that the Alayic Divine Name
is the best means to affect inner transformation in a balanced way, in
that it does not disrupt personality functioning and unfolds the ensouling
entity in harmony with your cutting edge of spirituality.
If you are interested in getting this Master Key, then
you may get it from us in the Mudrashram® Master
Course in Meditation or the Accelerated
Meditation Program. If you have gotten this Master Key by taking this
course, then please appreciate what you have been given. Would you dust
it off and use it?
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