Power of a Sound
Bhakti Vijnana Goswami · London · 2015
Chapters
Prayers and invocation before speaking
Om ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā cakṣun unmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ
vande 'haṁ śrī-guroḥ śrī-yuga-pada-kamalaṁ śrī-gurūn vaiṣṇavāṁś ca śrī-rūpaṁ sāgrajātaṁ sahagaṇa-raghunāthānvitaṁ taṁ sajīvaṁ sādvaitaṁ sāvadhūtaṁ parijana-sahitaṁ kṛṣṇa-caitanya-devaṁ
śrī-rādhā-kṛṣṇa-pādaṁ sahagaṇa-lalitā-śrī-viśākhānvitāṁś ca kṛṣṇa-karuṇā-sindhu-dīna-bandhu-jagat-pate gopeśa-gopikākānta-rādhākānta-namo 'stu te
tapta-kāñcana-gaurāṅgi rādhā-vṛndāvaneśvari vṛṣabhānu-sute devi praṇamāmi hari-priye vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaḥ ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ
śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda
Science behind the process of chanting
Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare by this beautiful kirtan which was taking place. I will say a few words about this chanting, the science behind it.
It sounds very simple. It is a very simple process. But behind it there is a great science. And the better we understand this great science, the greater results will come to us from this process of chanting.
This is a very ancient tradition, tradition which goes deeply into the history of humanity.
In fact, not only in the Vedic tradition but even in Christian tradition it is said that in in the gospel it is said that in the beginning there was a word and the word was God and it was with God.
So this exactly same statement is the foundation of the whole Vedic culture.
Vedic culture is based on sound as much as our Western culture is based on visual images And the most information which we get here is from the vision. The Vedic culture is the sonic culture, the culture of the sound.
And this science of sound was very carefully and very elaborately developed in the ancient Vedic culture. And the initial premise of this science is that everything which is which we see has uh the sound as a basis.
The quantum mechanic, which is the recent invention, confirms this fact. According to quantum mechanics, the wave function is behind everything. Everything ultimately has the nature of the waves.
And that basically means that every thing has the nature of the sound. And according to the Vedic cosmology, the first element which was created was sound. This word, sound.
And of course, we all know this initial primordial sound, om, which is the basis of all creation.
Four stages of sound and subtle energy
But then the sound develops, and according to the development of the sound, whatever we see is more or less different degrees of development of the sound or the sound becomes more and more gross.
According to the Vedic science, there are four stages of the sound, which is very interesting to know. The sound which we hear is the grossest manifestation of sound.
There is a little more subtle manifestation of the sound which is the sound of our thoughts. When we think, it's also waves.
When our brain works, it's nothing but waves, and waves create different thought patterns, and these thought patterns they direct our activities.
So this is more subtle, but there is uh even more subtle level of the sound. The sound on the level of desire.
Even before our desire turns into a particular thought or thought pattern there is a very subtle manifestation of sound in the form of desire.
According to the Vedas, they say that there are three main shaktis or energies which form this world. The grossest shakti is called Kriya Shakti. Kriya Shakti means the energy of action.
And the corresponding level of the sound is this gross sound which we hear. Then there is jñāna Śakti or Śakti of Knowledge.
And corresponding to it is the level of the sound which is called mandhya mavak, the sound in the level of our brain. And even more subtle level of energy is Ichashakti, the energy of desire.
But the subtler it is, the more powerful it is. Ultimately, our actions and our thoughts are dependent on our desires. And it all has the nature of the sound.
But then Vedas also say that there is even higher level of the sound, which is called paravak, which means transcendental.
So the science behind this chanting is very very important and great because ultimately by producing this gross sound which every one of us can hear, we change the sound or purify the sound on the more subtle level, on the level of the thought.
And then when the sound on the level of the thought is changed and purified, then the desires will also be influenced and ultimately purified.
How chanting purifies karma and desires
And when this will take place, the next stage is that we will experience something which is beyond this world which is transcendental to this world or to our material experience, so to speak.
So, this sound of the mantras it's a very pure sattvic sound. And when we produce it, it influences initially our gross body. And we can feel it. We actually feel some purification even on a physical level.
When people start chanting mantras as their regular spiritual practice, their life on a very gross level changes drastically. They develop certain habits which are much more pure and much more sattvik.
But then this is not the main effect. The main effect, the even more important effect is that our thoughts change. Because of the influence of this sattvic sound, our thoughts become more pure, more benevolent, more kind.
And our life very much depends on the purity of our thought. If our thoughts are impure, then our actions are impure and we suffer as a result. So by chanting these mantras we purify then the mind.
And by purifying the mind gradually, very important and most amazing event takes place when our desires are changed. Our desires are very important because this is the manifestation of our karma. What is our karma?
Our karma is nothing but the desires which we bring from the previous life.
And when the astrologer sees our chart, he can determine what kind of desire, what kind of mental tendencies we will have, what kind of energies will push us in a certain direction in our life. And this is called karma, this is called destiny.
But when the desire is changed, it basically means that our karma is changed.
The karma which is actually very strong force in our life, which determines our whole life can be changed drastically just because of the sound.
And the most amazing result of this chanting is that ultimately by changing our desires, we will develop transcendental experience.
According to the Vedas, when we chant these mantras, we tune up our consciousness in a certain way so that the plane of existence which is not available to our perception at this moment because our mind is tuned in a certain way, becomes available.
We will start perceiving something which we have never perceived before.
There is a huge amount of experience of different saints and sages of the past who just by chanting these mantras experience something which would never be available to us in our normal quote unquote state of consciousness.
So basically, and this science of chanting these mantras is it's the science of complete change of our being to the best. We change our gross body and senses. They become much more sensitive, much more subtle.
Sound vibration chakras and rishis
We change gradually our mind, our desires, and ultimately we change the whole consciousness. And when the Vedas describe this, they describe it in a very scientific way.
When the sages, and in Sanskrit, sages is called Rishi. And Rishi, it's very interesting. Rishi literally means one who has seen mantra. Rishi is loosely translated as a sage, as a wise man.
But the real meaning of the word Rishi is that somebody who through his consciousness saw mantra not heard mantra. It's interesting, the third level of the sound which I described is called Pashyanti.
Pashyanti means something which can be seen. So the Srishis, when they brought mantras, manifested mantras, they manifested it from the highest plane of existence, and they saw mantra.
And they saw through the purified consciousness the whole you know constitution of our body. Of course, I'm sure you all know that we have seven chakras.
And all these chakras they are described or they are depicted as lotuses with different petals, four petals, five petals, seven petals, two petals, 1000 petals.
And according to this science of chakras, or subtle energy, each and every chakra has certain sounds.
And when we chant these mantras, uh you know this is the mechanism behind it, uh, our chakras or our energetic uh energetic you know constitution is being purified by the influence of the sounds. This is how it works.
So I already said that the
science behind it is the science of complete purification of our body, of our mind, of our intelligence, of our goals, which are determined by our karma and our desires, and ultimately, elevation of our consciousness to the highest possible state of existence.
Ultimately, because of the sound and, it is uh it is actually described by the sages that the consciousness starts blooming. In this conditioned state, we are now, our consciousness is suppressed.
And this shallow suppressed consciousness brings about a lot of sufferings.
But the development of human consciousness, which is the real goal of our life, is the blooming of our consciousness it becomes expanded more and more and more because of the powerful influence of this sound of the mantra.
And as I said, sages they created this mantras, not created mantras, manifested this mantras from the higher plane. And each mantra has a particular purpose.
According to the sound constitution of the mantra, it influences certain centers in our body. As you know, we have this anahata chakra. Anahata chakra is the heart chakra.
The chakra which is regulating the heart activities or you know which creates love. Or we have we have visuda chakra, the chakra or agya chakra, the chakra which you know regulates our will power.
Maha-mantra and developing pure love
And different mantras, different different mantras are adjusted to different chakras. So therefore so many mantras are there. According to the particular reason or particular purpose which you want to achieve.
If you want to develop your willpower, you will chant certain mantras like
om mantra om is for this. It develops determination, develops concentration because it directly influences your third eye or Agya chakra which is there.
But the mantra which we just chanted according to the Vedic tradition is called Mahā-mantra because it encompasses all the purposes which we can have and ultimately brings us to the highest possible goal and purpose of life, which is called love.
So this highest mantra, which is called Mahā-mantra, Mahā-mantra means the greatest mantra, the great mantra, is most benevolent in the sense that it doesn't require much conditions to be fulfilled.
Anyone in any condition of life can chant this mantra. And by chanting this mantra had a very profound effect on a different level of our existence.
And the highest achievement and the highest perfection of this chanting of this Hare Rāma mantra is that our consciousness becomes fully bloomed.
Our consciousness or our inner being becomes completely developed. And this completely developed consciousness is the consciousness of love.
Is the consciousness of complete, absolute love for all creation and ultimately the source of this creation, which is called Kṛṣṇa, all attractive. So that's just in a few words the great science.
I cannot go into details of this science, but I think this little introductory talk is enough to make you even more enthusiastic about this process.
I've seen you are already enthusiastic, so there is no need for me to do this. But as I said, the better you know the science, the more serious you become.
And if you become serious and absorb your consciousness into this chanting completely, then the results will be beyond your expectations. So thank you very much.
Protection from external noise through chanting
If there is some questions I would be happy to answer. Yes. completely overwhelmed with uh I mean thousands and millions and billions of sounds, how much chanting we should do to contract and is it possible to contract.
See the one of the translations of the word mantra uh means word mantra means several different translranslations. It's a very you know multifaceted word, so to speak.
But one of the translations of this word mantra Means mantra means powerful sound. Yes, we are bombarded by so many sounds from outside. But mantra means something which protects us from inside.
And because the sound of mantra is so powerful, this sound can protect us from a very severe onslaught of the external sounds, no matter how much it is.
And you know if you if you chant it it's actually very blissful uh I started chanting some when was it thirty-four years back and And I was doing my postgraduate uh uh studies at that time.
I was preparing my my dissertation. I'm a scientist by background. I was doing my molecular biology thesis
and somebody told me it was in Soviet Union so everything was very secret and you know was not very you know so somebody told me uh you just chant this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and you just try it.
And for me it was a pure experiment. I just thought let me try. Let me do the experiment with myself. So I'm still doing this experiment, you know it was a long experiment but but but one thing I noticed
that you know when you chant mantra, you become very peaceful inside and very much much more stable. What we need in this very neurotic world we are living in.
A very depressive world which is completely always bombarding us with different things and imposing upon us different desires and stuff like this. We need inner stability.
So the result, the obvious result, which I noticed in the beginning, I became much more calm internally,
not just externally, because very soon after I started chanting I I underwent a severe test of this chanting because KGB became very much interested in my humble self.
I got myself in trouble and I mean I I never could imagine that it would happen with me.
I am from a very know upward movement, you know, I was doing my PhD degree, but you know, KGB at that time in the Soviet Union would mean everything is finished for you.
So when the KGB came I really had to be very calm and the purpose of their coming was to stop me chanting but I started chanting even more intensely because because I had to to to keep my inner uh inner you know peace so to speak.
So that's what happened.
Impact of mantra chanting on brainwaves
So again, coming back to your question, it's definitely possible to be protected from the onslaughts of external energy in the form of sounds and in the form of KGB if you if you chant Hare Krishna mantra. Yes,
I have a quick question. It's not just a mantra, but does it have to do with the brain and how it works, because I've seen some scientific experiments. Absolutely. Absolutely. Is this true? Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely, yes.
See when you take the waves of your brain, you can see that depending on the activities of the brain. You know the wave uh how you say this, the yeah the vibrations uh will be different.
And usually when somebody is in his quote unquote normal state of uh consciousness, uh the wave will be like this, you know.
Uh and this wandering of the mind, or you know, this frantic activities of the brain, which is graphically described as this wave kind of pattern, is not a very pleasant state of mind and in Sanskrit it's called manana.
Manana means basically wandering of mind. And the word mantra according to the Sanskrit definition is mananat trāyate iti mantraḥ, something which protects your brain from this wandering.
So when you chant mantra, it imposes a completely different pattern of the vibration, and it's pattern much more kind of you know yeah so uh w when you have complete samadhi or complete absorption uh or complete transcendental experience basically it's flat, almost flat.
So if you make this experiment and you know take your wave function of your brain regularly, you will see that by chanting it becomes much more calm and much more peaceful and much more even beautiful, balanced. Exactly.
Exactly. It becomes balanced. Where in a normal state, uh it's just, you know, it's just frantic and it basically, you know, brings you nowhere.
Whereas this chanting definitely brings you to a higher state of consciousness. Yes, please. Please, please.
You said that when we when we chant in mantra, the sound become almost flat. And I just had a picture in my head how we have heard beating and when somebody died.
Nature of samadhi and internal awareness
Is there something to do with the Yes, I will explain now. What is Samadhi? Uh Samadhi is a transcendental state of consciousness where you withdraw from the external plane, but you're completely aware inside.
This, this samadhi is a very, you know, it's amazing state of consciousness where you are completely alert, completely aware, and you are totally blissful.
In Bhagavad-gītā, the state of consciousness which is called samadhi is described, you are you develop the transcendental ability to perceive something which is beyond this world,
you're perceiving transcendental sounds, you're perceiving transcendental smells, aromas, transcendental visions you will have. This is there in Bhagavad-gītā.
But it comes through the process of gradual withdrawal from this world. At this moment of time our consciousness is very much externalized. We are slaves of the environment, so to speak.
We are completely bound by these experiences. And we like these experiences, and ultimately it there is nothing wrong with it.
But the the only problem is that our consciousness becomes totally how you say this it's uh it's just it's it's it's externalized so, through the process
of internalization of your consciousness, when you go deeper and deeper deeper and deeper inside, your externally it would mean or it would appear as if all activities
is stopped. The interaction with the external world is stopped, but it doesn't mean that you're dead. It means that you're really alive. But you're alive inside.
Ultimately, when our consciousness, which is the uh which is the inner ability, uh is externalized, we are dead. This is this is a dream. The life which we have, it's it's it's dreamlike existence. It doesn't have so much substance.
But people who experience these deeper states of consciousness, they say it's it's much more, you know, it's much more profound. It gives you total, complete satisfaction. And uh and you know when you experience this then you come back to this world where we live, but you come back as a changed person.
As much as the somebody who has this near death experience and who experienced that he is beyond the body, he's not the body. When he comes back into the body, he behaves in a different way because he knows who he is.
He knows that he is eternal soul which is beyond bodily you know limitations so to speak. So in a sense it's death, but it's a very blissful death. And it's actually actually it's it's it's it's a new life.
Practical mental and vocal chanting methods
It's a total complete renewal of our existence. Do you only get the benefit of the chanting by chanting out loud or can you get benefit by chanting in your head?
Because there's a lot of times during the day where it's not Oh yeah, definitely. You can do it. It's absolutely not very practical to chant uh very loudly during the day.
No, unless you want to be a patient of a mental hospital.
Yeah, you can chant it in within your mind and it definitely has a very profound effect and it will definitely protect your consciousness from the external onslaughts and bring you the same thing.
In fact, it is said when you're alone, when we are coming together, it's much better if we are doing this, kīrtana. Kīrtana is a very blissful event. But when we are on our own, then the sound should be audible only to ourselves.
It's much more powerful. And it brings your consciousness here and now. It brings your consciousness at this moment of time, which is very important for the awareness to grow Okay, thank you very much.