Articles in the Meditation and Mantra Category

It was Lalita Panchami, the fifth night of Navaratri and a night drenched in the glory of Mother Lalita’s love and bliss. I had walked back to my hotel after the Panchami festivities at Amma’s Devi temple. As I was lying in bed waiting to drift off into the arms of Nidra Devi, the Goddess of Sleep, I began to feel a little strange, and I was totally unprepared for what happened next…

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

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.

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. 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 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.

The sacred element of fire has probably always fascinated people, and lightning has certainly always been a source of terror and awe. I’ll never forget one of my earliest experiences with Amma, when a sacred fire ceremony seemed to call forth an incredible response from Mother Nature. My inner and outer worlds seemed to merge as lightning flashed without and subtle energy flashed within.

Last Sunday was Maha Sivaratri, or the Great Night of Lord Siva. This is the most auspicious night of the entire year for worshipping Lord Siva, and for performing austerities. These practices are not for the purpose of glorifying some deity; they are designed for our own spiritual benefit, as they purify us and prepare the way for more and more divine energy to shine through our very being. By doing practices on Sivaratri, we are given a great opportunity to purify any negativity or darkness that is holding us back from embracing our true goals in life.

Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha! As this is my very first post, I thought it fitting to make a prayer to Sri Ganesha in the very beginning. Most people have seen images of Sri Ganesha, the elephant-headed god of Hinduism. Many people find him cute, adorable, and even a little humorous. After all, he’s holding a plate of delicious sweets, his round belly betrays his obvious liking of said sweets, and yet his vehicle is a tiny little mouse. All in all, he seems like a groovy guy to hang out with!