Even the Gods want to take birth as humans to experience the nectar of chanting!Such is the importance of chanting, which has been extolled as the Gateway to Heaven. The muladhar charka gets activated by chanting the Lord’s name and the seeker experiences the thrill of going into meditation easily. The mind gets drowned in the nectar of the Lord’s name and the ‘I’ vanishes. The era of Kalyug has been earmarked for this ‘purnamritasvadanam’. That is tasting ‘amrit’, for which the devatas and asuras fought one another. Chanting cleans the heart and helps us to get rid of age-old sanskaras. The seeker moves from body consciousness to soul consciousness. Chanting is a tool for advancing the seeker’s sadhana.

The Pranav meditation of Anandmurti Gurumaa introduces chanting of ‘Om’ which is the primordial sound and is  resounding in the whole universe. With a few simple pranayam techniques (bhramari),  we hum the sound of ‘Om’ taking us inward, and finally come to the grand finale where Gurumaa tells us not to waste the precious moments of our life, but chant Om, since Om is the summary of all happiness, Om is the support of our life breath,  so save your breath by chanting Om!

Shiv Omkar Dhyan and Shiva’s Ecstasy introduce the seeker to the chanting of Lord Shiva’s name through musical medleys.’Shivoham’ tells us that we are not the man(mind), nor the buddhya, chitta or ahankar, but chidanand (ever-present joy and bliss) rupah, Shivoham, Shivoham (I am Shiva, I am Shiva).

Gurumayi Chidvilasananda says of chanting, “At a certain point, ordinary words can no longer take us where we want to go. Through chanting, we use chanting and sacred mantras to enter into a dialogue with the divine.”

There are different mantras which one can chant. Mahamrityunjay Mantra prays for the health and welfare of all ‘pranis’ i.e. living beings to Lord Shiva, ending with an entreaty to liberate us from the world in the same way that a cucumber is cut away from its bindings where it grows.

‘Om Namah Shivayah’ mantra is one of the most powerful mantras available to us. Chanting of this five lettered mantra related to Lord Shiva thrice a day  brings peace of mind. When we chant ‘Om Namah Shivayah’, we are asserting the presence of Almighty God within us and bowing to him. Pujya Anandmurti Gurumaa has given this tool to her disciples for chanting three hours everyday in this Kaliyug which will work wonders in dissipating the unpleasant atmosphere around us with family values crumbling and terrorism snuffing out the lives of young and innocent people.

Swami Ramdev says,”Chanchal man mere Om japa kar, om japa kar Om !” Gurumaa and Sudhanshuji Maharaj sing,”Jeevan ki ghadiyan birtha na kho, Om japo, Hari Om japo!”

So let us not waste time in worldly pursuits and take up chanting as a way of life as suggested by the great masters.

Jai Gurudev!

Seema