Mantras
On this page I have collected together Mantras used for chanting and meditation, from many traditions. Even the Christian religion has mantras. I am not making any recommendations; you should do some research and find something you are comfortable with if you wish to pursue mantra meditation or chanting.
Japa Yoga
The following techniques are types of Japa Yoga, or repetition. A string of beads (or Mala, typically numbering 108 beads), is often used to assist counting repetitions.
Vaikhari - loud repetition, eg Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare. Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
Upamshu - repetition, hummed or whispered.
Manasika - repetition, repeated mentally.
Likhita - written in large letters, and repeated mentally (eg Om Nama Shivaya).
Ajapa - circulation of pranic energy (as in Kriya Yoga).
Mantra meditation
Focusing the mind on external or internal sound, chanting externally in internally. May be a single sound (such as Om), word, or phrase (Om mane padme hum, Om Siva Namaya). Gregorian chant is a form of Mantra meditation. CW Leadbeater "The Master and The Path" describes 5 main types of Mantras:
- Those that work simply by faith (analagous to applying a Dock leaf to a nettle sting)
- Those that work by association (eg the National Anthem)
- Those that work by agreement or covenant (eg the Christian "This Is My Body", which evokes Angelic assistance)
- Those that work by their meaning - repetition gives power to the words impressing upon the mind and mental body. Blessings given by a Priest fall into this category.
- Those that work by their sound (without meaning, eg Om, the powerful seed mantras)
These mantras were sourced from Joshua David Stone "The Complete Ascension Manual" chapter 24.
Jewish Tradition
Elohim (All that God Is - God in the aspect of the Divine Mother)
Yod Hay Vod Hay = YHWH (God in the aspect of the Divine Father)
Adonai (Earth aspect of God)
Eh Hay Eh, or Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh (I Am that I Am)
El Shaddai (God Almighty)
Ha Sham (the name)
Shekinah (Holy Spirit)
El Eliyon (The Most High God)
Sh'Mah Yisrael Adonai Elohainu Adonai Chad (Hear, oh Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is One!)
Barukh Ata Adonai (Blessed is the Lord)
Qadosh, Qadosh, Qadosh, Adonai Tzeba'oth (Holy, Holy, Holy is the lord God of Hosts)
Eli Eli (My God, My God)
Ruach Elohim (Spirit of the Godhead)
Ribono Shel Olam (Lord of the Universe)
Shekinah Ruach Ha Quodesh (Divine Presence of the Holdy Spirit)
Ain Sof ur (Limitless Light of the Absolute)
Layoo-esh Shekinah (Pillar of Light of the Holy Spirit)
Ehyeh Metatron (I Am Metatron)
Yahweh Elohim (Divine Lords of Light and Learning)
Yeshua Michael (Jesus and Archangel Michael)
Shaddai El Chai (the Almighty Living God)
Adonai H'artez (Lord of the Earth)
Moshe Yeshua Eliahu (Moses, Jesus and Elijah)
Shalom (Peace)
Hyos Ha Koidesh (Highest Servants of hte Ancient of Days)
Hindu Mantras
Aum or Om
Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva
So Ham or Ham Sa or Haung Sau (I Am He)
The Gayatri Mantra - Bhur bhuvah svah, Tat-savitur varenyam, Bhargo devasya dhimahi, Dhiyo yo na pracodayat (Om Earth, atmosphere, heavens, We meditate on the sacred light of that effulgent source which should direct our thoughts).
Sai Baba or Sai Ram or Om Sri Sai Ram
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Hare, Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama, Rama, Hare, Hare (Hare Krishna chant).
Om Siva Namaya (I bow to Siva)
Om Sri Dattatreya Namaha
Om Shanti (Peace)
Om Tat Sat (Thou art the Inexpressible Absolute Reality)
Hari Om Tat Sat (Om, the Divine Absolute Reality)
Hari Om (Healing mantra)
Om Sri Rama Jaya Rama Jaya Jaya Rama (Victory for the Spiritual Self)
Yesu Christu (Jesus Christ in Hindi)
Rama
Krishna
Tat Twam Asi (that and This of One)
Lam, Vam, Ram, Yam, Ham, Om/Aum (1st through 6th chakra)
Sat Nam (mantra of Sikhs and Guru Nanak)
Eck Ong Kar Sat Nam Siri Wha Guru (The Supreme is One, His Names are Many)
Sivo Ham (I Am Shiva)
Aham Brahmasmi (I Am Brahman or I Am God)
Om Ram Ramaya Namaha (O Lord Ram, I Bow Down To You)
Islamic Mantras
Allahu Akbar (God is Great)
Bismillah Al-Rahman, Al-Rahim (In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful)
Ya-Rahman (God, the Beneficent)
Ya-Salaam (The Source of Peace)
Ya-Mutakabir (God, the Majestic)
Y-Ghaffar (God, the Forgiver)
Ya-Fattah (God, the Opener)
Ya-Hafiz (God, the Preserver)
Ya-Sabur (God, the Patient)
Western Mantras
I Am that I Am
I Am God
I Am
I Will
I Love
Be Still and Know I Am God
Areeeooommm (Edgar Cayce's Mantra of Universal Mind)
Egyptian Mantras
Nuk-Pu-Nuk (I Am He I Am)
Au-U Ur-Se-Ur Au-U (I Am the Great One, Son of the Great One, I Am)
Ra (Egyptian Sun God)
Ra-Neter-Atef-Nefer (The Divine God, Ra is Gracious)
Nefer-Neter-Wed-Neh (The Perfect God Grants Life)
Osiris
Isis
Erta-Na-Hekau-Apen-Ast (May I be given the words of power of Isis)
Heru-Udjat (Eye of Horus)
Christian Mantras
Jesus Christ
God, Christ, Holy Spirit
The Lord's prayer - Our Father, Who art in heaven, Hallowed by Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the Power and the Glory, for ever. Amen.
Ave Maria (Hail Mary)
Hail Mary, Full of Grace! The Lord is with Thee. Blessed are Thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
Jesus prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, Have Mercy on me.
Om Namah Christaya
Om Namah Christave
Yesu Yesu Jai Jai Namo.
Yesu Christaya
Word Mantras
Peace, Joy, Love, Equilibrium, Personal Power, Forgiveness, Humility, Humbleness, Even-Mindedness, Balance, Centredness, Bliss, Compassion, Service, Good Will, Altruism, Loving Kindness, Oneness
Tibetan Foundation Chakra Mantras
O
Shu (shuck)
Ya
Wa (yawn)
He
Hu (hue)
I
Kriya Mantra
Om namo bhagavate Vasudevaya. Refer to my Kriya Yoga page for more on Kriya practices.
Buddhist Mantras
Om Mane Padme Hung Om - salutations to The Jewel of Consciousness (the mind) which has reached the heart's lotus
Om Ah Hum Soha - basis of many tantric mantras. OM, AH, HUM represents the three bodies of Buddha. Where OM, is the universe, the universal, the all-encompassing, the uncreated, the unchanging. The "mind" of the Universe. The original nature of Buddha. Where is AH, is the Truth embodied, the Word and "speech" of the Universe or Dharma. HUM is the fruition, and refers to physical manifestations i.e. the "body" of the Universe or Sangha. Soha - amen, so let it be.
Padme Siddhi Hum (Come to me, O Lotus Power)
Buddha, or Bud-ho (used in same way as So Ham, Haung Sau breath mantras)
Quan Yin, Avalokitesvara, Chenrazee
Sanskrit seed sounds are also used commonly. Here is where they come from. Om (or Aum) is made up of the sounds "ah", "oh" and "mh" (I am avoiding sanskrit alphabet here as most web browsers don't have the necessary font to display it!). It is said that that the wavelength (or maybe half-wavelength) of Om is 7.23 cm, the average length across the palm - this would put the frequency at about 4.2 GHz. Microwave ovens work at around 2.45 GHz, as this is an ideal frequency for heating water (which is how microwave ovens work), water comprising 80% of the human body. Some frequencies in the lower GigaHertz region are absorbed by atmospheric precipitation (causes communication difficulties).
The first spoken word is Aham. From Om and Aham arise the basic sanskrit vowels:
The 5 basic vowels of the 9 vowel sounds have ah breathed through them which gives rise to 5 glide sounds - the purpose of highlighting this here is to relate it to the first 5 chakras.
Body |
Soul |
Spirit |
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Karma |
Bhakti |
Jnana |
Raja |
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| vam mantra | lam | ram | yam | ham | Om | Om | |||||
| buzzing sound | flute | harp | bell | rushing water | roar | roar | |||||
| earth element | water | fire | air | ether | |||||||
| sentient | emotional | will | thinking | equipoise | |||||||
| waking state | dreaming | sleeping | associations | subconscious | conscious | superconscious | |||||
| Base Chakra | Pelvic | Navel | Heart | Throat | Brow | Crown | |||||
The mantra sounds are shown near the top: vam, lam, ram, yam, ham, and Om. Hence a yoga student, depending on their affinity to earth, fire, air, water, etc., would be given a seed mantra accordingly.
There are three realms: Body, Soul and Spirit (physical, astral and causal)
There are four states: Thinking, Sleeping, Dreaming and Sensing.
These 3 x 4 combine to form the 12 signs of the zodiac (the frame of the Universe).
The four states are sometimes described in terms of personality types (cf with Myers-Briggs covered elsewhere):
Analytical Associating Thinking |
Driver Sleeping Will |
Amiable Dreaming Feeling |
Leader Waking Sensing |
The four basic yoga paths of Karma, Bhakti, Jnana and Raja yoga are associated with the 4 lower chakras. Also shown are the corresponding sanskrit sounds, and the mantras given to assist with meditation at these centres. The astral sounds can sometimes be heard in deep meditation as buzzing, flute, etc., and the chakras may also be seen as wheels of fire.
Internal sounds (see also the table above):
1st chakra Buzzing, like a bumble-bee
2nd chakra Flute
3rd chakra Harp
4th chakra Bell (or gong)
5th chakra Rushing waters
6th chakra Roar, all sounds together (Om)
Kriya Yoga, by Paramahansa Hariharananda, shows the layout of the 50 seed sounds in the human body, and their relationship to the chakras.
© In the Light, 1 June, 2010 , Disclaimer, Son of Suckerfish drop-downs from HTML dog