Mantra: Om Namah Shivaya

Haryong friends, this journey into the world of sounds in your company has been a fascinating one. Today we are going to explore another mantra which I am sure some of you have heard earlier on and it is a mantra which has a great transformational effect. This mantra is dedicated to Shiva who is part of the trinity of the Indian pantheon of gods. The trinity comprises of Brahma who is the creator, Vishnu who is the sustainer and Shiva who is the destroyer but for new creation to emerge. So Shiva is actually the transformer and while these godheads have their own position in the Indian mythology, they actually represent certain universal forces.

In creation we see that there are some forces that are constantly engaged in new creations. That is represented by the force of Brahma. There are other forces within creation that are responsible for the maintenance of things. That force is assigned to Lord Vishnu and then we have other forces that are responsible for things to be destroyed so that new things can emerge and that is dedicated to Shiva. So when we invoke Shiva here, it really is an invocation to this principle, this energy that is constantly engaged in a kind of a clearing up so that there can be fresh air, fresh energy that emerges and allows things to continue and grow.

So this particular mantra is Om Namah Shivaya Om. Om we are all familiar with by now, Namah salutations you said it, Shivaya. So Shiva is the name of this force, Shivaya to Shiva and then Om. I would also like to share with you that the word Shiva in Sanskrit means auspicious. So if we can bear in mind that this force that is destroying is only doing that activity or has that particular force in order to create something more.

So there is a lot of goodwill and auspiciousness in the whole process of destruction. So I invite you to repeat after me Om Namah Shivaya Om, lovely, Om Namah Shivaya Om, lovely and you can also do Om Namah Shivaya. So Namah Shivaya can become Namah Shivaya Om. Want to do that once, Om Namah Shivaya Om, fantastic. So I normally like to do this with a particular melody and I invite you to sing after me, Om Namah Shivaya Om, Om Namah Shivaya Om Namah Shivaya, Om Namah Shivaya.

Om Namah Shivaya Om Om Namah Shivaya Om Om Namah Shivaya So I also like you to try out the tune a little bit so we normally play with it in this particular manner Lalalalala Lalalalala Lalalalala I think you've got a hang of it now. Can we try doing it once together? Let's try. Om Namah Shivaya Om Om Namah Shivaya Om Beautiful. I wanted to share with you another aspect of Shiva. The figurehead of Shiva in the Indian mythology again has a portfolio of immortality and I think that's a very interesting relationship or a very interesting attribution. What tends to happen in life is that when one has a certain experience, that experience leaves behind a certain imprint in oneself and at a very subtle level that imprint is almost like it creates a thin wall. It's like a filter because the next time we either encounter that person or that situation, we don't do it with the freshness of the first time.

We are already perceiving that person or situation through that first thin wall and we collect all these little walls in the course of our lifetime. But what happens energetically or in terms of vibrations is that every time we set in place a certain wall, we are in very, again, subtle manners blocking the flow of our breath in all those areas. We had earlier also spoken about this aspect of the different vibrations within us. So when the vibrations get more and more entangled, there is less space for the breath to flow into those spaces. If there is less space for the breath to flow, there is less oxygen that is reaching out to the extremities of our being.

The more clustered or the more entangled we become as a result of experiences that leave their residue, the residual impressions within our being, the more we create these thick walls. It's interesting because while I say thick, there are actually many layers of these subtle walls. But because they become so entrenched within our system, we prevent the air from touching and nourishing our body physically as well. And the problem as a result is that in a sense there is more aging that happens. So shiver being the energy of destruction for new experiences to emerge is that principle of the universe which teaches us how to let go, not hold on to and carry on with past baggages.

So the more we can learn to let go, the more we allow these subtle walls to dissolve. The more these walls are continuously dissolved, the more the breath and the prana can flow freely in our bodies, can flow freely into the mind. And the free flow of this prana, which is full of oxygen and vitality and new energy, is what can serve to keep us young and why not immortal. So this invocation to shiver is actually a practice to sort of identify these different walls and to just say, let go, let go. Because my friends, the simple fact is that if we are indeed vibrational beings, with every vibration that enters our system, we have changed in some way or the other.

We are never, ever the same person in a certain way. And so to allow ourselves the flexibility to flow, to be in the present and not bog down in non-existent past realities. So invoke shiver and experience or visualize that you are just letting go these barriers in yourself. So chant after me one time and then we'll do it together. Om Nama Shivaya Om Om Nama Shivaya Om Nama Shivaya Om Om Nama Shivaya Om Nama Shivaya Umm Namah Shivaya, Umm Namah Shivaya Umm, Umm Namah Shivaya, Umm Namah Shivaya.

Can we do it together? Umm Namah Shivaya Umm, Umm Namah Shivaya, Umm Namah Shivaya, Umm Namah Shivaya. Umm Namah Shivaya. This particular mantra is chanted by thousands of people in India and in many parts of the world. So what these mantras also do is that they reinforce existing vibrations in the universe.

The more we add our sound to it, the more we add our intention behind these words. The more we also reinforce these possibilities from creating greater transformations, from freeing this earth of the burden of unnecessary past heavy baggages. So practice these sounds as often as you can, be as present with them as possible, experience the power of its purification, experience the power of its liberation and be happy. Umm Namah Shivaya Umm.