Is it an exaggeration to say that the mind has the power to torture us? In a moment of stress, take 1 minute to sit and watch the content of your thoughts as they race through the mind. How much kindness and support are you seeing? Even the casual observation of everyday thinking reveals recurring patterns of self-judgment and doubts, of negative self-talk and the constant chatter of an insatiable inner critic. Becoming aware of the weighty messages we receive from our mind is a potent first step to diminish their influence. However, if we want to be free from the mind, a more powerful shift is necessary.
Some schools of thought believe that we should suppress or control our thinking patterns in order to free ourselves from their tyranny. If you have ever tried to not think a thought that comes or to prevent it from arising, I am sure you noticed that it doesn’t work. It is truly impossible to control the mind in that way, and it makes sense that we can’t use the instrument that creates the problem to solve the problem...
This doesn’t mean that we are powerless. It just means we need to reach for a different perspective to be free from the torture of the mind! That is where the blessing of Mantra comes in. By shifting our attention away from the mind and onto the repetition of Mantra, our focus changes its orientation. It is no longer involved with the story or thinking pattern of the mind but it’s attention is on something of an entirely different nature.
Mantra is a Sanskrit word composed of two elements: Man or Manas, which means mind and tra, which means release. The very word explains what Mantra does: It releases the mind from its entanglement with thoughts and their stories. Now the mind is free to open up and orient itself in a different direction. This is where the real power of Mantra resides. Its subtle sound vibration combined with the power of its meaning leads the attention back to the space of the Source of Mantra. Thus we enter the dimension of the unchanging and infinite space at the back of all manifestation - our True Nature, which is entirely free from thoughts, stories and their meaning.
Since time immemorial human beings have used Mantras as a way to reorient their focus. There are thousands of Mantras with as many meanings. Some are used like prayers to invoke the favour of the Divine, others to chant the glory of God. All are powerful ways to connect to the higher dimensions within.
One Mantra - I call it the Mantra of Mantras - stands out among them. It is the Shyam Mantra: Amaram Hum Madhuram Hum. Its sound has an immediate and immensely calming effect on the nervous system of the practitioner. More importantly, its vibration and meaning invokes the True Nature of our existence and leads us to experience it here and now. By repeating the words Amaram Hum Madhuram Hum, we affirm our nature to be more than the content of a tortured mind. We step into the fullness of our Being by daring to call ourselves by our True Name - Amaram Hum Madhuram Hum, I am immortal, I am blissful - I am the Pure Free Forever Being of unchanging and everlasting Oneness.
If you would like to hear the correct way of pronouncing the Mantra Amaram Hum Madhuram hum, you can listen to Sampriya chanting it by clicking here. Contact her for a free 20 min. consult of Online Meditation Mentoring if you would like to learn more about Mantra and Meditation.
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