“Human compassion should never decay or perish…. The spirit of helping others must prevail forever.” ~ Narayanan Krishnan

Narayanan Krishnan, in the kitchen where he cooks for 400 people three times a day, every day

Young Narayanan Krishnan was on his way to landing a dream job working as a restaurant chef in Switzerland. But just a few days before he was to leave the country, he visited his hometown of Madurai one last time. While on his way to a temple, he saw something that shook him to his core. He saw an old homeless man, eating his own waste matter out of desperation.

There are many people who would probably just feel disgust at such a sight, and would hurry to leave the area. But Krishnan’s reaction was different; in addition to feeling stunned and shocked, he felt hurt.  In his own words, “It really hurt me so much. I was literally shocked….”

The earthquake of that chance encounter with a starving homeless man shook Krishnan’s life plans to the ground and completely rearranged his entire concept of himself and his purpose in life. After the last mental aftershocks had subsided, Krishnan began to reorganize his life. Before, he was accustomed to cooking for the fortunate wealthy in a five-star restaurant; now, he began cooking for the homeless and mentally ill people of Madurai. He founded the nonprofit “Akshaya Trust” and poured his entire life’s savings into his efforts to feed upwards of 400 people three times a day.

Working over the last eight years, Krishnan has now cooked over one million meals! Not only does Krishnan cook, deliver and sometimes feed the people himself, he also carries haircutting equipment so that he can give a haircut and shave to anyone who needs it. Through this simple yet touching and intimate service, Krishnan helps the homeless to feel a little more human, a little more dignified. Please take a moment to watch this inspiring video.

As I watched this, there were several things that really struck me, and I feel this inspiring story illustrates some absolutely essential points about Sanatana Dharma – the eternal and true spirituality that informs the various Hindu traditions.

“What is the ultimate purpose of life? It’s to give.” First, when Krishnan saw the old man eating his own waste, his first thought after getting over the shock was “What is the purpose of my life?” In an instant he came to the conclusion that the purpose of his life was to give – to give food, and to give love. This is so beautiful, and this giving really is the core of spirituality, in my opinion. In the Vedas, we are told that “Paropakarartham idam sariram.” This beautiful and succinct teaching tells us that the purpose of our body, the purpose of our very incarnation on Mother Earth, is “paropakara,” or selfless service to living beings.

So right away, Krishnan has hit on the most essential nerve of Sanatana Dharma, or Hindu spirituality. Not everyone needs to give up their life and start cooking for hundreds like Krishnan did, but the Vedas tell us that we all must find some way to serve others, whether through our words, our prayers and meditation, our charity, our cooking, our healing abilities, our volunteer work, or whatever it may be. We all have something to offer, and it is our divine purpose to offer what we can.

Krishnan feeds a homeless man with loving care and affection

Food is physical nourishment, but love and affection are “mental nutrition.” The next thing that struck me was Krishnan’s loving tenderness as he hugged, bathed, and even fed the homeless by hand. He himself mentions how we can give food as physical nourishment and love and affection as mental nourishment. This is really so special. He’s not just serving people because it’s a “duty” or a religious proscription. He’s doing it with such genuine love and respect. His service is the overflowing of the love in his heart, and this is truly how our service should be.

In one other video I saw, Krishnan touched the feet of one of the elderly homeless men and then touched his eyes. In the Hindu tradition, this is a gesture of highest respect, and is generally done to images of God, holy people, teachers, and sometimes to one’s parents or elders. This one image shows Krishnan’s remarkable humility and respect. He is not serving with the attitude that he is great and he is the one giving to the less fortunate or less worthy; he is serving with the highest respect and love for the people he feeds. This is the real ideal of selfless service.

“I am just a human being. For me, everybody is the same.” This may be a touchy subject, but Krishnan himself raises it. In another video he mentions that he is from an orthodox brahmin family, and that there are a “lot of objections,” since according to custom, brahmins are not supposed to touch the kind of people that Krishnan is hugging, feeding, and bathing. But once again, Krishnan’s pure mind has pierced right to the heart of the matter; he says, “I am just a human being. To me, everybody is the same.”

There are many good reasons why orthodox brahmins are supposed to behave in the ways that they do. It has to do with maintaining a kind of energetic purity and keeping the aura free from negativity so that they can perform their religious and spiritual functions in the highest way. So brahmins are supposed to wake early, take a bath every day, wear clean clothes, chant certain mantras and maintain a certain discipline that creates purity and harmony for their entire community. They also must avoid the energy of death, killing, or “impure” forms of matter like feces or trash.

However, my feeling is that these kinds of purity guidelines should never be used as an excuse not to give food or loving service to those who most desperately need it, and Krishnan demonstrates this point so beautifully. Yes, it’s good if brahmins maintain their spiritual traditions, but there must be love animating those traditions, not some  rigid notion of caste purity for purity’s sake alone.

The famous Minakshi Temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu

Krishnan is performing the true worship of God. It’s interesting that Krishnan was on his way to a temple when he saw the fateful old man. It’s not mentioned, but it makes sense that he would have been on his way to the Minakshi Temple, the most famous one in Madurai. So he was on his way to see Divine Mother in the Minakshi Temple, but he saw her instead in form of the old man. Perhaps he would have offered a coconut or fruits in the temple, but instead he began offering food to the homeless, destitute and mentally ill. In most temples, some kind of abhishekam, or ritual bathing, is performed as a very auspicious ceremony that brings great blessings. Perhaps Krishnan would have sponsored the abhishekam to Divine Mother, but instead of bathing the image of Mother, he began bathing the homeless with the same love and care.

In my mind, this is the real Devi abhishekam, the real food offering to Divine Mother, to give such loving service to our fellow human beings, especially when they are truly helpless and without hope. In the Hindu tradition, feeding people or animals is considered one of the best offerings one can make. One reason for this is that food is absolutely necessary to all life forms. We can survive without money, education, or even clothes as long as we have food. Because life depends on food for its very existence, feeding those who are truly hungry means that we are saving a life, and this is a very rare, precious and noble service to offer.

Mother Annapurna is offering food to Lord Siva, who has come begging for his sustenance

We can all help Krishnan in his noble task. Not everyone knows how to cook ven pongal or sambar for 400 people! But even so, we can all join hands together and, together with Narayanan Krishnan, help feed the destitute homeless and mentally ill people of Madurai, Tamil Nadu. Krishnan has sacrificed everything to help the homeless of Madurai. Instead of living in his ancestral home, he rents it out to help support Akshaya Trust’s activities, and he sleeps on the floor of the kitchen where he cooks all the food. If he is making this kind of sacrifice, surely we can sacrifice a Mocha Latte or chocolate bar here and there, so that others may eat proper food each day.

Please visit the Akshaya Trust website if you’d like to learn more or make a donation. There is also a US-based website. It costs so very little to feed the poor in India, and foreign currency goes a very long way to help these people who have no other help. If you are in India, you can make your donation here. If outside of India, you may donate here.

“What is the ultimate purpose of life? It’s to give. Start giving; see the joy of giving!” ~ Narayanan Krishnan, CNN Hero and true devotee of God

This glorious golden Sri Yantra emanates the supreme energy of Lalita Devi

It was Lalita Panchami, the fifth night of Navaratri and a night drenched in the glory of Mother Lalita’s love and bliss. Navaratri, which means “nine nights,” is a sacred festival devoted to spiritual practices and the worship of Divine Mother. Each night is dedicated to a different from of the Goddess, and the fifth night is especially auspicious for Divine Mother Lalitambika. Lalita is usually translated as “She who plays,” but Amma Sri Karunamayi has said that Lalita means “One with a very tender, loving heart,” and I love this translation so much. I was in Bangalore for the Navaratri celebrations at Amma’s Devi Temple, and after the Panchami festivities I had walked back to my hotel. Feeling happy yet tired, I got into bed, eager to get enough sleep before waking up at 4 AM the next day.

The Sri Yantra radiates such glory during the auspicious arati, or light-waving, ceremony

I was still buzzing from the unimaginably radiant and auspicious final arati ceremony I had just witnessed. Hundreds of dancing flames had been waved in front of the blazingly radiant golden Sri Chakra, while devotees sang vibrant and rhythmic Sanskrit songs to Divine Mother in her forms as Durga Devi and Lalitambika. The auspicious images were emblazoned on my inner sight, the mantras were vibrating in my nadis, and my heart was overflowing with spiritual bliss.

As I was relaxing and waiting to drift off into the arms of Nidra Devi, the Goddess of Sleep, I began to feel a little strange. I could still feel the bed underneath me, and the sheet covering me, but my body was starting to tingle and I realized that I couldn’t move. I knew that my eyes were closed, and I couldn’t open them, yet I was somehow able to see the room as if my eyes were open. I had slipped into a state of “sleep paralysis,” which many people say is the precursor to astral travel or an out-of-body experience.

All I knew was that I couldn’t move, and the thought flashed across my mind, “Someone’s coming!” I seemed to hear or sense footsteps coming slowly, steadily and purposefully down the hotel hall, and I felt that my inability to move was somehow connected to this approaching presence. I could feel some kind of energy or power getting stronger and stronger. Being paralyzed, my first reaction was somewhat panicked, and I tried to remember whether I had locked my door, as if that could keep out what was coming!

Before I knew what was happening, someone suddenly appeared inside my room (and no, she didn’t need to open the door). It seemed to be some kind of glowing woman, like a spiritual or divine being, and I was not at all prepared for what I saw in that instant. She was very radiant, very beautiful, and she was smiling a smile I have never witnessed, either before or since. I didn’t get a very good look at her, because of what happened next, but what I could tell was that she was glowing with a very vibrant energy, and I had a sense of golden light around her face. Her eyes were bright and shining, radiating an energy of intense happiness and excited delight.

Lalita Devi is usually shown with a very sweet gentle smile

What really struck me though, was her smile. This wasn’t a gentle, coy or even peaceful smile. She was smiling beautifully with great bliss, and all I can say is that seeing that smile made me feel like I was on top of a sacred Himalayan mountain, with the brilliant sunlight reflecting off of all the immaculately white snow. Her teeth glowed with a whiteness that made me feel like I’d just inhaled the divine fragrance of camphor, or karpuram. It was the fragrance of absolute purity, total exhilaration and blissful exaltation. It’s hard to describe her appearance or energy in words, but I got the feeling of “nava shakti.” Nava can mean the number nine in Sanskrit, but it can also mean new or fresh, and I could feel an energy of eternal freshness emanating from her, like an exhilarating wind that you would feel on a mountain top, that just makes you feel so alive, and truly thrilled and excited to be alive.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to really gaze at her for long. As soon as she appeared, I was immediately hit with the impact of her intense and overwhelming magnetic energy. It was like she was one of those huge MRI magnets, and my soul was just a tiny metal coin, helpless to resist the magnetic force. Before I could form any thought whatsoever, I felt myself fly out of my body and across the room as I literally “leaped” straight into her. It felt like I simply melted into her, as I felt an instantaneous explosion of bliss pass throughout my entire subtle body. Then everything went black, and I don’t remember anything else until I woke up the next morning (at 4 AM).

To this day, I have no idea what actually happened, or who she was, or what she represented. Does she have a name? I don’t know. But when I think of her, I keep remembering a line from one bhajan, “Ranjita Smitamukhi Rajarajeswari.” (Click the icon below to hear the line.)

Ranjita Smita Mukhi Line

Smitamukhi means “One with a smiling face,” and ranjita means delightful or charming. That comes close, but a better word for that smile would be “madya” or “madvan,” meaning gladdening, exhilarating or even intoxicating. All I know is that whenever I think deeply on that experience, it feels like I’m reconnecting with that energy, and before I know it, my heart fills with that new, fresh energy and overflows in tears of bliss and love. Sometimes, life on planet Earth can really wear us down, and it seems as if the true radiance of our souls is not shining through very strongly. So just to connect with that energy of bliss, excitement and enthusiasm for dharma and spirituality is very special to me.

The memory of this experience, which happened 12 years ago, is like a precious little gem that I keep wrapped up in my heart, and every now and then I take it out to look at it and feel inspired once again–inspired by our potential for spiritual radiance and divine bliss. May we all feel divine inspiration and be blessed with fresh new enthusiasm for life, for spiritual practices, and for connecting to the infinite ocean of light and bliss that is our beloved Divine Mother.

Ranjita Smitamukhi Rajarajeswari
Bhagavati Bharati Mama Hrudayeswari

O Rajarajeswari, the radiant smile on your beautiful face captivates my heart and fills me with the light of your bliss. Though you are the glorious queen for the entire universe, you have happily come to sit on the humble throne of my inner heart!

Sri Ganesha is an all-pervasive energy filling the cosmos

Jai Sri Ganesha! Well, I finally used my adorable Snowball microphone and recorded a very simple little baby video to help people learn a short but powerful Ganesha mantra, “Om gam ganapataye namaha.” This mantra attracts the energy of Sri Ganesha, who helps us to develop our discrimination, willpower and intuitive awareness. Sri Ganesha helps us enter onto the path of true spirituality and then guards our well-being as we make each step towards higher and higher states of divine consciousness.

I picked such a simple mantra because I’ve never put a video together before, and I had to work all the kinks out. It was actually really fun to do, and I felt a lot of divine energy in the process…what a blessing! I’d love to do more videos, because I think it’s a great teaching medium, and there are lots of powerful chants that I know people find quite challenging or intimidating, so I would love to help with that. I’ve started a YouTube channel, so feel free to visit my channel and subscribe! Here is the video, and below I provide some little pronunciation tips to supplement the material in the video. (You may need to turn up the volume a tad.) Hope you enjoy it!

Learn a Simple Ganesha Mantra – Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha

Pronunciation Tips

This mantra is written in English transliteration

Warning: The dots and dashes you see in the picture to the left are known as “diacritics” or “diacritical marks.” They are used for rendering foreign sounds in the English script, and they indicate the special pronunciation of sounds that aren’t easily represented in the English language.

However, I haven’t figured out how to use diacritics in the text of blog posts, and have them display reliably on everyone’ s computer. So I will do my best to be clear in the tips below!

Om: This should sound like the om in the English word “home.”

Gam: This should sound like the English word “gum.”

Gana: This should sound somewhat like the garne in the English word “garner.” As you pronounce the n in “garner,” notice how your tongue curls back due to the preceding r. Your tongue should also curl back when you pronounce the special “n” sound in the Sanskrit word “gana.” It is known as  a “retroflex” n sound.

Pataye: The “t” in pataye should sound like thu in the English word “thud.” When pronouncing the “t” in pataye, the tip of the tongue should touch the front upper teeth and even extend slightly beyond, because this is a “dental” t sound.

Namah: When you see an h with the dot underneath, this is known as “visarga” in Sanskrit, and it tells you to gently echo the vowel preceding the visarga. So you pronounce this like “namaha.”

Sanskrit pronunciation is not always easy, and it’s actually like yoga for the tongue! You may need to practice a bit to make it come out right, but the rewards are tremendous. Accurate pronunciation will release a powerful flow of cosmic energy in your subtle body, filling you with positive vibrations.

Om matruka varna rupinyai namaha

I offer my loving reverence to Divine Mother, who has taken the form of all the Sanskrit sounds.

Wouldn't you like to be doing yoga on the beach? Me too!

I have a confession to make. Though I’ve been coming to India for fifteen years, can chant up a storm, and can wrap a sari blindfolded in a minute flat, I don’t “do yoga.” Honestly, I’m so fascinated by all those Westerners who start out doing yoga postures for health or relaxation and then become interested in chanting or yogic spirituality as a result, because I’m pretty much going the opposite direction! I began reading things like the Bhagavad Gita and The Tao of Physics in high school, and then quickly became involved in the devotional path of chanting, mantra japa, and service to a guru.

So my spiritual path started in the head, then moved to the heart and stayed there for quite a while. For some reason, I’ve never been fully comfortable having a physical body or dealing with its needs. It’s almost as if I’d just as soon cast off the body and go back to the discarnate state. It’s only now that I’m starting to realize that I need to move more into my body to take my spiritual path to the next level. It’s almost as if I’m participating in a lifelong grounding process, being poured into myself from the crown chakra and slowly moving down into the root chakra. Maybe that’s why I’ve become so fascinated with Sri Ganesha lately, but more on that later.

There are a number of reasons why I’m feeling this urge to take my physical body more seriously these days. Recently I wrote about the need to balance physical health with inner purification. I’ve always known intellectually that the body is sacred and should be taken care of, but I am by nature inclined more towards sitting still than moving around. Aside from taking care of my diet and avoiding atrociously unhealthy behaviors, I’ve pretty much ignored the physical state of my body. How? By sitting at a computer for hours a day, while breathing shallowly and, to be honest, slouching a fair bit. By getting so caught up in my thoughts and projects that I forget to breathe properly or take stretching breaks. By not moving enough to maintain my muscles or burn off the weight that’s begun to creep onto my stomach. By staying indoors too much and not getting enough sunlight or fresh air.

As Mid-Life Approaches, Good Health Cannot be Taken for Granted

However, there’s nothing like a few health issues to make one sit up and take notice of one’s body! Over the past few years, I’ve developed some minor health issues that I want to take care of before they become deeply rooted: I’ve lost a lot of upper body strength, I’ve gained a little weight, I’ve developed some reactive hypoglycemia, and I seem to have permanent stiffness and pain in my right shoulder. I’m only 36, people! It just doesn’t seem right to be so creaky.

As a practical Virgo, I am very interested in preventing or reversing problems before they become serious. I know very well that it’s easier to maintain muscle than to rebuild it once lost; extra weight can cause hormonal imbalances; reactive hypoglycemia is a precursor to type II diabetes; and stiffness tends to just get worse over the years. So now is the time to take back my health and vitality, before it gets even harder to do so. I’ve written before about the importance of yogic diet, and I’ve worked hard to tweak my diet and develop a supplement regimen, so it’s time to address the activity side of the “diet and exercise” approach to health.

Hence, I am on a mission to find healthy activities that A) won’t bore me to tears, B) will help address said health problems, and C) will help me establish a firm platform of health and vibrant energy, which I know will serve me well in years to come. I’ve never been concerned about longevity—when the time comes, I feel certain I will be quite happy to make the journey to The Other Side. But I want my years on Mother Earth to be very productive. According to the Vedic tradition, human life is a great boon, and must be used for the highest purpose. I want to have the strength and energy to carry out service projects, to contribute something for the betterment of humanity, and to perform my spiritual practices. I want to make my body into the best possible tool, the clearest channel it can possibly be for divine activities and energies to flow into this beloved world.

And That is Where Yoga Asanas Come In

Some people make it look so easy--sheesh!

So what will I be doing to improve my physical health and vitality? Well, for one thing, I will finally start to do yoga asanas, after all these years. I am interested in doing asanas because they enhance flexibility, strength, and overall energy and vitality. Flexibility is important for many reasons. Flexibility reduces the likelihood of injuries, reduces pain associated with stiffness, and enables the proper flow of blood and lymph. Blood is what brings oxygen and nutrients to tissues, and lymph removes cellular wastes, so it’s very important for optimal health that both fluids have access to all parts of the body.

Another important benefit of flexibility is that it enables the free flow of subtle energy into the body. Subtle energy is known as prana in the yogic system, or chi (qi) in the Chinese systems. When joints and connective tissues tighten and becomes stiff, prana is not able to flow freely through that area. As a result, the stage is set for disease, discomfort, and a general lack of vitality.

It may not be apparent, but yoga also increases muscle strength. If you don’t believe me, try holding a pose for more than a minute! Those rishis were pretty smart, if you ask me. There they were, sitting in the forest thousands of years ago, and they figured out a way to tone all kinds of important muscle groups, without the need for barbells, kettlebells, or Nautilus machines! [Of course, I’m not suggesting that the rishis were trying to achieve muscular strength by coming up with the various yoga asanas.] Simply holding the various gravity-defying poses will strengthen a variety of muscles in the legs, ankles, back, arms, shoulders, neck, and stomach. And if you still don’t believe me, try doing a few rounds of Sun Salutations. You’ll definitely feel the burn, and I’m willing to bet you may even break a sweat, showing that you’ve achieved aerobic exercise as well.

Yet another benefit of yoga is that the various poses actually work to “massage” different organs and glands by applying pressure and directing blood flow. When the organs and glands are stimulated in this way, they are able to do their best work so that cellular processes are optimized and hormones become balanced. This internal massage is a great boon for general vitality and well-being.

But these are just the physical benefits of yoga asanas. There are also deeper emotional and spiritual benefits to doing asanas. After all, the ancient rishis didn’t come up with yoga just as a portable, cheap form of exercise! They were using the physical body to activate the subtle body in very specific ways, to dissolve and release energetic blocks, and to encourage their prana to move towards and then up the sushumna, the spiritual channel leading to enlightenment. But that will have to be a topic for future posts.

Yoga ~ A Powerful Divine Gift from the Rishis for Health, Happiness and Spiritual Elevation

My feeling is that truly balanced spirituality involves a partnership of the body, mind and heart. Yoga, with its multifaceted benefits for the body, emotions and subtle energy centers, is the perfect form of exercise to unite one’s entire being and help us achieve all of our goals in life. I’m not certain whether yoga asanas will be enough to accomplish all of my health goals. It’s possible that Sun Salutations will provide enough aerobic benefit, but for the purpose of losing weight and improving insulin sensitivity, I may also need to include running or hiking.

But what about you? Are your joints getting stiff or creaky? Do you hold tension in certain parts of your body? Do you suffer from a lack of vitality, anxiety, or random aches and pains? Why not try a yoga class, or even just a video, and see if this ancient physio-psycho-spiritual system can help you achieve greater wellness. The ancient sages of India have provided us with so many ways to live in harmony with Mother Nature as well as our own inner nature; let us all benefit from their wisdom and love.

This monkey looks ready for some naughty snowball action!

No, not the cold, slushy kind…a Snowball microphone is on its way! Why, you ask? Well, over the years, I’ve found myself involved in teaching seekers how to chant and pronounce mantras and prayers in Sanskrit. I’ve done this through one-on-one tutoring and also through chanting booklets that I created for Amma Sri Karunamayi’s bookstore. I consider it a great honor and blessing to do this, and have felt very gratified by people’s sincere appreciation for my help.

I’m not even sure how I got involved in this, because it was never something I “chose” for myself! I remember taking a Sanskrit course back in college at Yale, as part of my Religious Studies major. I’ve always had a natural facility with languages, and a pretty good ear for pronunciation and music, both very important in chanting. Ten years ago, when I spent the winter in Bangalore with Amma, she decided to teach Purusha Suktam to all the Westerners who were there. I had the golden opportunity to learn Sanskrit pronunciation sitting directly in front of Amma’s lotus feet. When others noticed how naturally the chanting came to me, they began asking me for help. I discovered that I really loved helping others learn sacred knowledge, and that this satisfied a certain yearning of my soul. The whole thing evolved in a very natural and spontaneous way. Then, since I knew devanagari and English transliteration, I ended up being asked to work on a Sri Suktam chanting booklet. And the rest, as they say, is history!

Over the years, many people have asked me to make recordings, which I’ve always avoided. It’s just not my nature to want to record myself. I’ve always been camera-shy, and I have to force myself to speak, chant or sing in front of groups. But people keep asking me to make recordings or help them learn mantras and other chants, so I’ve decided that one of the best ways I can serve others is by creating chanting tutorials (and that’s what I’ll need the special microphone for). Notice I didn’t say Sanskrit tutorials. I am not an expert in Sanskrit grammar or vocabulary. I do have some knowledge of grammar and vocabulary, but my main focus has always been on chanting itself. I’m interested in the divine energy contained within Sanskrit sounds, and the sacred states of consciousness they evoke, rather than grammar.

Sanskrit ~ A Divine Language of Celestial Light

Sanskrit truly is the language of the gods. The Sanskrit word for god is “deva,” which literally means “the shining one” or “divine being.” The written language for Sanskrit is called “devanagari,” which means “city of the gods.” So each written character is metaphorically a city in which a divine being resides. The sounds themselves are considered divine beings who express different celestial vibrations, for the benefit of all. When you read these kinds of things, it may be hard to accept or understand. For me, as soon as I first heard authentic Sanskrit chanting, I was immediately overwhelmed with all kinds of emotions I couldn’t begin to express. Listening to Anandi Ma sing Sanskrit bhajans, I felt overcome with love and devotion. Listening to Amma chant the Vedas, I would glide effortlessly into a blissful state of meditation. During certain pujas, listening to the ancient and exhilarating Sri Rudram, I felt as if I was floating in an infinite ocean of truth and beauty.

Once, on a trip to Tirupati, Amma took a group of Westerners to a Vedic school, in which young boys are taught to chant the Vedas in a very traditional, rigorous way. Even though Amma’s visit was a complete surprise to the schoolmaster, within minutes hundreds of boys started streaming into the auditorium. Then all the students very eagerly demonstrated the various Vedas they were learning. As soon as I heard all those young, pure voices chanting the holy Vedas in unison, I felt transported to another time, or even some heavenly realm. To my great embarrassment, tears began streaming from my eyes, and my body was shaking, as my heart overflowed with joy. Another Westerner there had the same reaction, and was sobbing uncontrollably. We kept passing tissues to each other, as our noses began running! Even now, just thinking about it brings goose bumps, or “God bumps” as my friend Erin calls them.

See? It really does look like a snowball!

Every now and then, I get a little rebellious or my scientific streak comes out, and I think, But how exactly is it possible that just pronouncing a few sounds can create such an amazing energy, or purify my consciousness, or burn my karma? How does it work? And yet, as soon as I start chanting or even listen to a recording of Sri Rudram, or Sri Lalita Sahasranama, my doubts are totally obliterated. I cannot doubt the amazing and sacred vibrations I feel when listening to Sanskrit chanting, whether it’s the Vedas, or a stotram, or even a simple mantra.

Sanskrit mantras are powerful tools for transformation, purification, and overall spiritual elevation, so I’m very excited to start doing tutorials. Of course, I’m not a guru, so I am not providing initiation into these mantras. I will be providing assistance with pronunciation, like a helpful tutor. There are many mantras and chants that don’t require initiation to receive benefits; this has been proclaimed by Amma many times, and it’s one of the reasons I love her so much. She’s done so much to teach sincere seekers all kinds of powerful mantras and hymns from the Divine Mother tradition of Sri Vidya. Most of what I’ve learned about chanting Sanskrit has come from Amma, and she has many mantra and learning CDs available. What I have found is that many Westerners, and sometimes Indians too, need a little more specific guidance to feel comfortable and confident in chanting. So as soon as the Snowball arrives (and I figure out how to use the darn thing), I’ll get to work on a tutorial for chanting Sri Ganesha Ekakshari Mantra, or “Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha.” (Always good to start with our beloved friend Ganapati!) Once I see how it goes, I may move on to longer and more difficult chants, if there is a lot of interest.

I suppose my dream job would be to get paid to teach Sanskrit chanting to sincere seekers, but so far that’s not my karma in this life! However, I feel such an urge to do this as a contribution to the world, that it doesn’t matter whether it’s my “job” or not. It’s my calling, a vocation, and I’m truly honored to be a channel for the universal flow of sacred knowledge into our precious world. Because really, when we chant Sanskrit mantras, we become a channel for very high levels of cosmic energy to flow into the world. Our bodies become energized by the sacred sounds, and then wherever we may go, we radiate blessings to people, animals, and plants. Our very breath purifies the air, and our touch energizes water and gives peace to Mother Earth. What a tremendous blessing! May we all spread peace, light and love, wherever we go.

Om sabda brahmane namaha
“I offer my loving reverence to the infinite Divine, which manifests for our benefit as sacred sound.”

Om annapurnayai namaha; Om sadapurnayai namaha
O Mother, you love to feed your children with the healthy, nourishing food that flows constantly from your abundance

Fruits and Vegetables Form the Basis of Yogic Diet

When I decided to start a blog about spiritual lifestyle, I knew that one of the topics I wanted to focus on was that of diet and nutrition. The truth is, our food choices have a tremendous effect on our physical and mental health, the quality of our subtle energy, our meditation practice, our karmic balance, the economy of the nation and the world, and the ecological health of Mother Earth. By becoming more mindful and aware of our food choices, we can help to address many issues facing humanity today. There’s lots to talk about, and I’m excited to start exploring the many aspects of food, but I want to take a moment to briefly outline my thoughts on what are the essential elements of a yogic diet.

I should start by saying that for me, “yogic diet” refers to a diet that supports one’s spiritual practice. This practice could involve meditation, hatha yoga, mantra japa, various devotional activities, or selfless service. The practice is not important, but the desire to come closer to God and eventually merge in God or achieve some kind of spiritual realization is key. Yoga is a Sanskrit word derived from the root “yuj,” which means to join, to yoke together, or to merge. So yoga involves “yoking” ourselves to some kind of discipline or practice in order to achieve our spiritual goals and merge in divine consciousness.

It’s not possible to specify any one yogic diet that will apply to every seeker in every situation. Instead, I would like to discuss some principles that can inform our food choices. My opinions on diet are guided by my spiritual teacher, Amma, by ayurvedic teachings, by scientific research, and by my own experiences. For me specifically, yogic diet includes fresh, healthy, organic vegetarian food that is close to its natural form, that provides all necessary nutrients, that is “sattwic,” and that is prepared in a spiritually pure atmosphere. I try to buy foods that create a minimum of suffering and that have minimal impact on the Earth’s ecological health.

Try to Eat Fresh, Whole Organic Foods

It’s becoming clearer day by day that humans are meant to eat fresh, whole foods that have not had a chance to go rancid and that haven’t had the life processed out of them. We evolved for millions of years eating foods fresh from the ground, tree, bush or lake. Foods were not stored or processed. When foods are in their fresh, natural state, their subtle energy is intact, and we receive and absorb that energy when we eat whole foods. Once a food is picked or stored, its subtle energy begins to leak away and energetically the food becomes quite dull and lifeless. It has much less vitality to give to us. In addition, foods begin to lose their nutritional value as soon as they’re picked or processed. Turning whole wheat berries into white processed flour robs the wheat of its fiber, bran oils and B vitamins. To receive maximum nutrients and life energy, we need to choose whole foods like fruits, vegetables, brown rice, quinoa, organic dairy products (raw if possible), whole grain breads, and so on. Of course, organic foods are most important for what they leave out–pesticides in fruits and vegetables and hormones and antibiotics in dairy products.

When we meditate or pursue other spiritual practices, we are trying to build up a “bank account” of subtle energy. The more spiritual energy we have, the better the progress we make. We have more energy available to purify negative energy, more energy to climb the ladder of consciousness, and more power in our words, our prayers, and our actions. Every time we consume lifeless, dead food, it’s like spending from our energy account. To preserve and build our energy, food must be full of vitality. This will give us the real energy that we need to achieve our spiritual goals.

Obtain Needed Vitamins and Minerals from Food

As I mentioned, humans evolved eating a variety of foods, and our bodies developed in reliance on the availability of certain nutrients. If we fail to eat an appropriate variety of nutrient-rich foods, our bodies will inevitably suffer from a lack of vital nutrients. We simply can’t survive and thrive on a diet that doesn’t provide adequate nutrition. In some cases, nutritional deficiencies will become obvious very quickly, like when a child develops rickets due to lack of vitamin D or calcium. In other cases, deficiencies may lead to longstanding “minor” issues that sap us of true energy and joyous vitality. For example, we may suffer with a lifelong low level of depression due to a deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids, something that is very common in America.

When it comes to the spiritual path, excellent nutrition becomes very important. In order to make the best use of one’s time in life, it’s necessary to cultivate good health and avoid dietary pitfalls that can lead to diabetes, heart disease, fatigue, high blood pressure, and unnecessary or untimely death. Not only that, many nutrients have profound effects on mental health and day-to-day mood levels. For example, magnesium is very important for maintaining relaxed muscles and nerves and a calm state of mind, yet many Americans are deficient in magnesium, which can be found in leafy greens and certain nuts and seeds. Or as I mentioned earlier, omega-3 fats can actually relieve depression in many cases. By supplying your body and brain with the necessary nutrients, you can help ensure a long life full of physical health and mental peace, two very important factors for a powerful meditation practice.

Sattwic Foods Lead to Spiritual Purity, Peace of Mind, and Physical Well-Being

In yogic philosophy, an important concept is that of the three “gunas,” or qualities. It is held that everything in the universe is a mixture of the three qualities: tamas, rajas, and sattwa. These gunas apply to foods as well, which contain the gunas in varying proportions. Without going into too much detail, tamas has the nature of darkness, heaviness, laziness, negativity; rajas refers to intense activity, agitation, strong excitation; and sattwa refers to peace, lightness, positivity. The sattwic foods are the most desirable for yogis and meditators, as they are easily digested, nourishing, tasty without being too stimulating, spiritually pure, and free from karmic effects.

In general, tamasic foods are things like leftovers, aged foods, foods that are old, stale, or heavily processed, and meat. Rajasic foods would be things like garlic and onions and overly spiced, salty or fried foods. Sattwic foods include fresh fruits and vegetables, soaked or sprouted grains, beans and lentils, nuts and seeds, and certain organic dairy products. The trigunic classification of foods can get complicated, and often depends on circumstances. Some foods may be sattwic in moderation, but tamasic in excess, for example. But the basic idea is that yogis and meditators should seek a diet that is primarily sattwic, with occasional rajasic or even tamasic bits thrown in on occasion, depending on circumstances.

Mix Love in Your Food

I always remember my guru, Sri Karunamayi, talking about her saintly mother and how she used to enjoy cooking food for people. Amma would say that “When Ammamma cooked, she mixed love in the food as she stirred the pot, and this made her food very pure.” According to yogis, the energy of food is heavily influenced by the consciousness of the one who cooks it. If the cook is very kind and loving and maintains a morally pure lifestyle, her food will be pure and sattwic, and will provide spiritual upliftment to those who eat it. On the other hand, if a cook is always angry, hateful, or lives a very negative lifestyle, her food will become tainted with her negative energy, and those who eat it will be dragged down somewhat by that negative energy. For this reason, yogis should take care to eat food that is cooked by positive, loving people in a spiritually pure atmosphere. There are lots of things one can do to maintain a pure atmosphere, from avoiding arguments in the kitchen to chanting mantras over one’s food, and I will discuss these in later posts.

Choose a Diet that Supports the Principle of Ahimsa, or Nonviolence

Out of the eight limbs of Patanjali’s yoga, the first is “yama,” which refers to moral behavior. And the first yama given is “ahimsa,” or nonviolence. So the very first principle of yoga is that we must avoid doing harm to any creature. In my opinion, yogic diet must take into account a consideration of the harm that our diet might cause to humans, animals, plants, and the ecological health of the entire planet. Rather than get into an involved philosophical discussion about nonviolence, I simply want to say that yogis have decided that animal flesh should never be eaten, because the animal must be killed for us to eat meat, and killing for food is simply not congruent with the pursuit of spirituality. It does get more complicated than this, though, because yogis who consume dairy products need to think about the well-being of the cows. Modern dairy farms often cause a great deal of suffering to cows, and so I feel it is important for meditators and yogis to purchase only from organic farms that treat their cows humanely.

When it comes to meat, we have already seen how meat is considered tamasic, and therefore unsuitable energetically for yogis. It is also obtained through killing, which makes it karmically unsuitable. By giving money to people who kill creatures for a living, we are supporting that killing, even if we do not perform the actual killing ourselves. Thus, we create a karma of benefiting from violence, which is not ideal for spiritual seekers.

One further very important issue when it comes to meat concerns how the meat industry affects the environment. It is becoming very clear that modern factory farming practices cause land wastage, consumption of vast quantities of water, grains, and fossil fuels, pollution of natural waterways, and the destruction of countless acres of irreplaceable rainforest. All of these factors taken together produce a terrible toll on the health of the environment. In fact, according to a recent Time article, the UN Food and Agricultural Organization recently estimated that livestock farming worldwide results in 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions. In comparison, all of the world’s cars, planes, trains and boats produce 13% of emissions. Thus, the livestock industry is worse for global warming than all the gas-guzzling SUV’s in America. Rajendra Pachauri, head of the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climage Change, has urged everyone to “Give up meat for one day [per week] at least initially, and decrease it from there.”

Putting It All Together

I’ve noticed that people sometimes get overwhelmed by all the political, social, and health issues involved in choosing a diet, to the point that they may give up caring. I understand this feeling in the face of so much information and so many seemingly conflicting scientific findings. My approach has always been to find the common thread and look for general principles that simplify matters and allow me to fulfill multiple goals at once. There is a way to improve health, heighten spiritual consciousness, reduce karma, reduce water pollution, reduce animal suffering,  reduce rainforest destruction, AND reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. We can accomplish all these things by purchasing mostly vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, grains and beans in their natural, whole, organic forms. If possible, buying locally will certainly help. In this way, I fulfill my goals of eating a healthy diet that is pure and sattwic and that avoids causing suffering to living beings and Mother Earth.

Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu
May all the precious beings in all the beautiful realms be happy

Trees symbolize perfect harmony and balance between heaven and earth

When I decided to start a blog, one of the very first questions I had to ask myself was “So, what do I call it?” I wanted to write about spirituality, so I knew that had to be in there. But for me, it’s not enough to just ask what do I want. As an empath, my guiding questions are more like, “What does the world need?” or “What would bring about the greatest benefit, happiness and harmony for the greatest number of people?” (More on empathy later.) When I thought about the greatest challenges in my life, as well as many of the pressing questions I’d been asked, or the various types of suffering I’d witnessed, I realized that many pressing issues involved the idea of “balance.” I felt that many problems we face as seekers, as citizens, and as a world have to do with a serious lack of balance.

For me, enjoying “worldly life” has never been enough, but neither is “being spiritual.” “Selfless service” is not enough, and neither is absorption in the higher Self. Meditating alone in a cave is not enough, and neither is engaging in activism for global causes. Fifteen years ago, I remember telling a budding Vedic astrologer that all I wanted to do was meditate and worship God, and asking whether this was likely to happen. He replied that my spiritual longing was definitely reflected in my chart, but that there was a reason I was “here in a physical body in America.” He made an interesting comment about how Mars and Saturn would teach me about working in the world and “being useful.” So that was my first hint that I would be forced to confront my opposite tendencies and somehow reconcile them.

Over the past few years, I have felt called to create a life of balance, one that allows me to seek enlightenment while also doing something for the planet. A life in which I seek to serve others without losing my health and my sanity. In which I meditate and purify my subtle body but also take care of my physical body and mental balance. In which I listen to both my heart and my head, and in which I balance faith and tradition with my God-given reason and intelligence.

Two years ago, before I had the idea to start this blog, I came to a point of crisis in which I felt completely drained, like I’d been sucked dry. I felt  no joy, no motivation, no devotion, no desire to do much of anything. Basically, I felt dead inside. It was one of those long, dark nights of the soul that many people will experience on the spiritual path. As I took steps to try to resurrect myself, I began piecing together my new philosophy on how to live this life I’ve chosen to live in twenty-first century America. This philosophy can be summed up as, “In all things, seek balance.” Yes, I know this is not new! Like all little bits of wisdom, this has been around a long time. But sometimes we have to make wisdom our own by coming to it through our own travails. And sometimes we have to rebirth wisdom for the current age. When I talk about balance, I am referring to what the Buddha called “The Middle Way.” So what are some of the key issues that come up in trying to seek balance?

Caring for the body/mind versus cleansing the consciousness

I’ve seen so many people focus on meditation or selfless service while ignoring their physical and mental health. Of course, this is the main trap I fell into, which caused me to sink into my dark night of despair. Folks, we need to bring the body onto the path. The body is a necessary tool for enlightenment, a sacred temple for the divine consciousness that resides within. It should not be glorified, but neither should it be abused or neglected. In the Vedic tradition, it is said that “Deho devalayaha,” which means that “This body is the abode of the gods, or divine energies.” We take care of a temple because of the sacred presence within it. We don’t worship the building itself. In the same way, we can take care of the body, not for the body’s sake, but because we are honoring the Divinity within and acknowledging the great gift of a life on Earth. In many Eastern traditions, it’s believed that true spiritual growth and enlightenment are only possible while in a physical body.

Of course, there are people in the world who focus overly on the body without caring about their behavior or their spiritual issues, but those people are not likely to find my blog and read it! So I’m talking to those of you who know all about the blockages in your chakras, but you haven’t given much thought to what kind of diet you’re eating. Or you haven’t sweated while exercising in years. (I was a member of this club for 15 years!) Or maybe you routinely deprive yourself of a healthy amount of sleep and relaxation. Or…you get the idea.

Seeking personal happiness versus serving the happiness of others

I believe that the spiritual path is just not complete if we don’t consider the needs and wishes of other beings. If we are engaging in spirituality for our own happiness or our own enlightenment alone, that doesn’t seem complete. Maybe there are others out there who feel perfectly content with such a thing, but it just doesn’t sit right with me. On the other hand, some people push themselves to the brink of exhaustion by completely ignoring their own needs. I’m not just talking about spiritual seekers engaging in some service project here. There are millions of exhausted mothers, harried social workers, and burned-out non-profit employees experiencing compassion fatigue. It happens everywhere, not just in ashrams or churches. I strongly believe that we need to take care of ourselves, so that we can be healthy and strong enough to take care of others. As they say on the airplanes, put your own mask on first, then take care of your kid.

And for me, unhappiness is not a spiritual virtue, it’s a sign that something’s very, very wrong. There may be times when suffering is a necessary purification, or it teaches some important lessons. Suffering has its place on the spiritual path. But I also feel some people have a tendency to seek out suffering or glorify it in some way, as if they feel they can only be truly spiritual if they are suffering the life of a martyr in some way. All I can say is, It’s okay to have fun, and it doesn’t make you any less spiritual. Joy is an important energy that feeds your spirit. I feel we are all being called to seek genuine bliss, which comes from within, and embody the vibration of joy on our planet. It’s time to leave the martyr’s path.

Cultivating the inner garden versus tending the outer garden

We are here to cultivate the World Garden of Mother Earth

The subtle centers known as chakras are often compared to lotuses, and my teacher, Amma, often likes to say that the most beautiful garden in the world is inside, in the form of our own fully blossomed lotus chakras. But she also says that our Mother Earth is meant to be like a beautiful garden, filled with beautiful flowers and the divine fragrance of peace, love and truth. In our zest to cleanse the chakras and cultivate our Inner Garden, I don’t think we should forget about the World Garden. As Amma would say, Mother Nature has given us so much, and we need to give something back. We have complete freedom in choosing how we want to give back. We might cook in a soup kitchen, or clean up a park, or do clerical work as a volunteer, or we might simply smile warmly at everyone we see.

It’s never a good idea to seek God as some distant and transcendent reality, while ignoring the divinity manifested in the world around us. When we engage in the world with love and compassion, we inspire and energize our inner search for truth and wisdom. As Amma so beautifully expressed, “Service purifies the mind and prepares it for the descent of divine light.”

When we balance everyone’s needs, we create “win-win” opportunities

For me, true balance is not a “zero-sum game,” in which someone wins and someone else loses. True balance may involve some compromises here and there, but it is really about creating win-win situations. For example, a vegetarian or mostly vegetarian diet allows us to achieve a “win” for our physical and subtle bodies, for animals, for natural habitats, for starving people, and for the climate. So this is a “win-win-win-win-win-win”! Balanced spirituality can serve as a unifying thread for a complete life filled with truth, joy, harmony, abundance and spiritual growth. Balanced spirituality reflects the truth that everything is interconnected. Our own deeply felt peace and joy spirals outward, touching the hearts of all. Our commitment to justice and dharma inspires others to strive for justice. Our meditation purifies not only our inner sky, but the outer atmosphere as well.  Balanced spirituality allows us to participate fully in the sacred dance of oneness that takes place on the stage of duality.

So, as we move forward on the spiritual path, let us balance the search for enlightenment with giving back to Mother Earth, chakra cleansing with healthy diet and exercise, serving others with healthy self-concern, concern for things of the spirit with the state of the environment. Putting into proper balance all of our own needs as well as the needs of other people, animals, plants, and Mother Earth, let us all support each other in seeking peace, harmony, joy and abundance for all beings.

Sarvastaratu durgani sarvo bhadrani pasyatu
Sarvah kamanavapnotu sarvah sarvatra nandatu

May all beings pass over their difficulties, and may they perceive auspiciousness everywhere. May all beings attain their wishes, and may all beings everywhere be joyful!

Yogas chitta vrutti nirodhaha
~ Patanjali Sutras

Yoga is the absolute mastery over all the thought-waves arising in the mind

When I first entered the spiritual path, I was not interested primarily in meditation. Oh, meditation was nice as an idea, a kind of delightful fantasy of yogis and yoginis meditating peacefully in the forest. But my main interest was in things like devotion, chanting, or selfless service — things that involved a healthy dose of mental or physical activity. Because I had read about the importance of meditation, I did try half-heartedly to meditate, but I never was able to achieve any kind of concentration, peace or bliss.

I tried some different styles of meditation, but nothing seemed to stick. I ended up deciding that meditation simply wasn’t for me, and that I would reach the ultimate state in some other way, like devotion or service.

Then I met Amma.

Even the first few times I attended Amma’s programs, I started to glimpse the real possibility of actually meditating. It wasn’t because of any of Amma’s teachings, although the teachings were beautiful, profound, and inspiring. It was rather the state of consciousness I found myself in, and what I experienced from Amma’s process of meditation. I can remember now, how incredibly peaceful and calm I felt, just from listening to Amma’s discourse, even though much of the time she was speaking in Telugu. Instead of feeling bored from not understanding a single word of Telugu, I found myself entering into a state of blissful serenity just from listening to the sound of her voice.

Periodically, Amma would pause in her discourse to lead the audience in a bhajan, usually one she had composed herself that illustrated her topic. Her sweet voice sounded like that of a nightingale; listening to her sing was like being showered with blissful nectar. When Amma asked everyone to meditate for ten minutes for world peace, I settled in for the usual battle of trying to quiet my mind. To my surprise, I found that for once my mind was peaceful and quiet. To help everyone meditate, a meditation CD was being played. The recorded sound of Amma chanting the Saraswati Mantra led me effortlessly into a deeper state of meditation than I was accustomed to.

By the end of the ten minutes, I could feel a powerful concentration of energy in the area of the sacred ajna chakra, a subtle energy center situated between the eyebrows. I had always had trouble meditating, so I was surprised that simply sitting in Amma’s presence had allowed me to glide so easily into a relatively thought-free state. I immediately saw the potential in this type of meditation, which is known as “mantra meditation,” or mantra dhyanam in Sanskrit.

Normally, my mind is actually capable of intense focus and deep concentration. But I only achieve this concentration through focused activity, like reading a book or working on a craft or artistic creation (or writing!). When I was a girl, I used to lose myself in reading for hours a day. Once, I gave my parents a huge scare. They took me to a large department store, and I brought a book with me. Slipping away, I crawled underneath a circular clothing rack and proceeded to read my book in peace. When my parents noticed my absence, they had me paged. Repeatedly. Even though my name was being called loudly over the loudspeaker, I didn’t hear a thing, as I was so absorbed in the book. When I finally emerged 45 minutes later, I had no idea what the “fuss” was all about. In my mind, hardly any time had passed, and I could declare in all innocence that I hadn’t heard a thing!

But when I sit down for meditation, my mind, which is accustomed to lots of intense activity, keeps moving from thought to thought. It turns out that the best way for me to keep my mind focused and relatively thought-free is to practice mantra meditation. This is a very useful compromise between sitting down and hoping my thoughts will eventually peter out, and completely giving up on meditation!

What I Mean by Mantra Meditation

So what exactly IS mantra meditation? Well, let me explain my terms a little first. A mantra is usually a short statement in Sanskrit, like “Om namah sivaya,” or the famous Gayatri Mantra. These mantras have grammatical structure, and can be translated. Of course, the true significance of a mantra is not its literal or grammatical meaning. Rather, the true significance is its profoundly purifying and energizing effect. Amma explains that a true mantra is a collection of sacred sounds that results in universal peace, happiness, and liberation.

There are other mantras that don’t have grammatical meaning, and are rather a collection of divine names or powerful sounds. An example of this would be “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare….” And when I say meditation, I’m referring to a sitting practice that aims to reduce thoughts in order to reveal the divine consciousness that exists within us all.

So in mantra meditation, one sits still with closed eyes, and silently repeats a Sanskrit mantra in order to focus the mind and reduce mental chatter. Keep in mind, one does not repeat the mantra constantly. Some may be familiar with the practice of mantra japa, in which a mantra is repeated out loud or mentally for a set number of times, usually while keeping count with prayer beads.

In mantra meditation, the goal is not to complete a set number of repetitions or recite constantly. The goal is to recite the mantra a few times, and then glide naturally into a relatively thought-free state. If thoughts return, one recites the mantra several more times. If the mind is silent, though, there’s no need to keep reciting the mantra.

Mantra is the Key to Deeper States of Meditation

So that’s the key: the mantra is used in meditation only to help focus and still the mind, resulting in the goal of pure and deep meditation blissfully free from those annoyingly intrusive thoughts. Amma explains that the mantra contains powerful and divine sounds, which have the power to magnetically attract the mind and hold its attention. I can personally vouch that mantras are extremely effective in attracting, soothing, and calming the mind. All of my most powerful meditations have happened either while practicing mantra meditation or while listening to others chanting in Sanskrit.

In future posts, I’ll talk more about how exactly to go through the meditation process in a way that ensures best results, as well as the significance of different mantras used in meditation. For now, I just want to introduce the concept of mantra meditation as a practice and how it helped me in my goal of achieving true meditation. For those who would like to try it out, Amma has recorded some wonderful meditation CDs that really help beginners to enter into this powerful practice. Even though I’m thoroughly familiar with this technique, I still like to listen to the CDs during meditation, simply because the sound of Amma’s voice is just so incredibly soothing. For more information about the CDs, please see below.

I’ve tried to discuss a little of how mantra meditation affects me, and what it means to me, but really, I can’t describe in words how much peace and inner purification I’ve experienced through this practice. I believe that absolute purity and perfection dwells within all of us, but we must do a little cleansing before we can experience it and merge in the supreme divine consciousness of God. Meditation, especially mantra meditation, is an incredibly powerful way of cleansing the mind and subtle energy chakras, such that the inner divinity shines through clearly.

Some Powerful Meditation Tools from Amma Karunamayi

Durjanah sajjano bhuyat sajjanah shantim apnuyat
Shanto muchyeta bandhebhyo muktash chanyan vimochayet
~ Vedic Prayer

May any cruel and vicious beings become gentle and kind. May the kind and good people attain true peace. May the peaceful beings attain the highest liberation, and may the liberated ones lead all others to perfect enlightenment