Mantras are specialized sounds that an individual gives voice to in order to attain certain states of consciousness. There are many hundreds of mantras, most of which originate from the ancient Sanskrit texts of India and are supposed to invoke the aid of Indian deities.
Ultimately, all mantras are said to be invocations of the Supreme Being or God. Whatever your beliefs, the important thing is to be sincere and focused when using a mantra.
In my own personal experience, I have discovered that it is far better to use just one mantra that is simple, uncomplicated, and has a regular rhythm that can be focused upon exclusively. There is no other mantra that fulfils all of these requirements quite as well as the OM, or AUM, mantra.
AUM is said to be the highest mantra of all, and I believe rightly so. No other mantra affects the psyche, or indeed, the entire being like the AUM does. AUM has purificatory effects upon the physical body, the emotions, and the mind. Sounding this powerful mantra leads you into the realms of the inner Self, the soul, where meditation should ultimately lead us all. When repeated as part of your meditation technique, AUM will gradually eradicate lower, selfish desires and wants, cleansing and purifying the thoughts, thus improving the actual quality of your thoughts, as well as helping to eliminate negative emotional traits.
AUM is able to destroy unwanted thoughts by breaking down the thought patterns that produced them in the first place, whether those negative thought patterns arose from the emotions or from the mind itself. In this way, AUM acts like ultrasound, in that it has the capacity, via its resonance, to break down the basic components of thoughts and emotions that are not conducive to wholeness.
Weighty claims
I realize that these are weighty claims, but AUM must be experienced to be understood. I am not saying that on your first few attempts at sounding the AUM mantra all your troubles and cares will be broken down and eliminated and that you will find yourself projected into a higher state of consciousness! Yet with time, patience, determination and practice, you will see a gradual change in many aspects of your persona (physical, emotional, and mental) and will over time recognize positive developments in all or most areas of your being.
AUM is the very note of God, and whether you believe in a Supreme Being or not, or don't know either way, it hardly matters, for AUM contains its own inherent wisdom and truth, regardless of what the finite mind believes or does not believe. AUM is universal, and like the sun, sheds its light upon all without judgment. But that is the spiritual side of things. Let's now consider the mechanics of producing this mystical and practical sound.
The AUM technique
On first attempting the AUM technique, you may struggle. Ignore any difficulties, and press on regardless. Keep practising and before long you will be producing a wonderfully resonant sound.
Seat yourself comfortably. Close your eyes and breathe regularly through the nose until you feel relaxed and at ease. Start by just humming with a fairly strong, clearly audible sound. Let the hum be tuneless and feel it vibrating into the top of your head. Don't worry if you don't feel any vibration at this stage. Take a breath and hum again until the breath is exhausted (without straining of course) and begin again, making a regular, steady hum that feels as if it is rising into the skull itself. Continue in this steady way. Remember that the hum has no tune. It is a steady hum, like that of an electrical appliance such as a refrigerator, tuneless and repetitive.
After a few minutes, and only if you feel ready, see if you can extend this sound by drawing it up from the navel under the diaphragm at the base of the lower ribs, in a deeper, more resonant tone. Take an in-breath first, and use the air intake to produce the sound. After the in-breath, begin to sound the AUM with an open mouth, beginning right down from the very pit of the navel, trying to feel the sound. Draw the sound upward, directing it into the throat and over the larynx and upward to the upper palate. From here the AUM vibrates from the roof of the mouth into the head. Finally, the sound ends with the lips closing in a soft hum. Try it again: breathe in deeply through the nose, open the mouth, and begin the sound with the ‘AU’ of AUM. Let the ‘AU’ (sounds like the ‘au’ of audition) be prolonged so that the sound carries right up from the navel and through the chest area into the throat and upward to resonate upon the sounding board of the upper palate.
As the lips begin to close, sound the hum of the ‘M' and allow this sound to extend in an elongated hum until the breath has been expended. Then try again. Try about ten AUMs at first, or fewer if that is too much, and then notice how you feel.
At first you may not notice much of an effect, which could perhaps be the result of incorrect practice. Pronounced correctly, AUM has noticeable effects. But don't be discouraged if you don't experience much initially. Just practise and stay with it. Remember that discipline is essential in all meditation techniques, and staying with the practice is what brings the benefit. Most people enjoy the AUM, and if you don't when you begin to practise, you probably will as your proficiency increases.
AUM is one of the best tonics for strengthening the nervous system, and even when pronounced mentally without making any sound, it has power. Sounding the AUM will sharpen your concentration and improve the quality and content of your meditation.
Having been given all this information about the AUM, you may be thinking to yourself, ‘Yes. But how exactly can a sound like AUM have such profound effects upon me? After all, it is only a sound, isn't it?' AUM is much more than just a sound. It is an energy, and it affects a very special gland nestled in the brain, called the pituitary.
The pituitary gland and the AUM
The pituitary gland sits at the base of the brain in a position that is aligned with the space between the eyes. According to some, the pituitary is the physical seat of the soul, which is an interesting symbolism since the eyes are said to be the mirror of the soul. In a sense then, the eyes reflect the pituitary gland and reveal its level of development. It is a curious thing that spiritually inclined people often have remarkable eyes that are large, open, clear, and beautiful. This is a direct result of their high level of spiritual evolution; when the pituitary gland is finely balanced and functioning effectively (particularly at levels beyond the purely physical), its healthy state shines through the eyes.
This special gland is found in a bony cavity of the skull known as the sella Turcica, which is Latin for ‘Turk's saddle,’ because the cavity literally resembles a Turkish riding saddle. This is another curious symbolism, because stimulation of the pituitary by sounding the AUM and other meditational techniques causes the inner Self or soul to ‘ride’ into higher consciousness. The sella turcica is part of a larger bony portion of the floor of the skull called the sphenoid bone. The sphenoid bone is shaped like two wings and the sella turcica sits between these two wings with the pituitary resting within. So, the pituitary not only ‘rides’ upon the sphenoid. In higher states of consciousness induced by the techniques of meditation, the soul takes flight. The natural structures of the body seem to reflect these inherent truths about the nature of our spiritual reality. Deep secrets are hidden or disguised within the natural world, waiting for us to discover them. It's as if the Supreme Being is playing a game of hide and seek with us. The truth we seek so desperately is there, but it is cleverly hidden from view, like those trick illustrations that contain hidden pictures of animals camouflaged within the scenery. The game is to find these truths. The location of the pituitary is a prime example of such a discovery.
The pituitary and its bony socket are found immediately beneath the hypothalamus of the brain. The hypothalamus controls hunger and thirst and regulates body temperature. The pituitary gland itself is composed of two parts: the anterior pituitary and the posterior pituitary. Because the pituitary is an endocrine gland, that is, a gland that secretes hormones into the bloodstream, it plays a vital part in how the body functions and how the individual relates to his or her body.
The pituitary is the master over all the other endocrine glands and releases hormones that govern the rate of growth of all cells in the body; it regulates the thyroid gland found at the base of the throat, the rate of secretions of the adrenal glands, and controls the level of sex hormones. The physiological functions of the pituitary gland are immense and far-reaching, so I will try to keep my descriptions brief. If you wish to discover more about how our glands affect the body and the emotions, I suggest you refer to a good anatomy and physiology book.
The pituitary gland is connected to the brain itself, unlike the other endocrine glands that it governs. It is really an extension of the hypothalamus and is attached to the former by the hypophyseal stalk. It is perhaps worth noting with reference to our observations of the connection between the eyes and the pituitary gland that the optic chiasma is found in the hypothalamus and has close links with the pituitary via blood supply and nerve plexuses. This is another factor that seems to support my belief that the state of the pituitary gland is reflected through the eyes.
So, how does all this anatomical information relate to our practice of meditation? Well, it's like this: when one is utilizing the AUM in meditational practice, the intoned AUM reverberating in the skull causes the sphenoid bone to vibrate, which in turn sets up a vibration in the sella turcica; this in turn gently vibrates the pituitary gland. This gentle stimulus assists greatly in regulating the functioning of this special gland. When you consider the far-reaching consequences of the healthy stimulus of the pituitary, it makes practical sense to use the AUM mantra regularly as a part of a natural health regime.
From Meditation for Everyday Living, text copyright 2002 by Stephen Austen, published in the UK in 2002 by Godsfield Press Ltd.
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