· The Mala should not be visible to you or others. Cover it with a towel or Cloth, which must be pure and washed daily OR AT LEAST WEEKLY.

· Do not cross the head of the Mala while rolling the beads of the Mala. 1. Turn when you finish one Mala.

2. Hold the Mala in your right hand, hanging it over the three fingers, the middle finger, ring finger and the little finger.

3. Count the beads by pushing them one by one by the Thumb and the middle finger, but as a rule, the index finger is avoided in chant.

4. The reason is that index finger represents the individual ego which differentiates.

5. Take bath before commencement of chant. If due to climatically conditions or other reasons, one cannot have a bath, one can simply wash hand and feet. Wear white clothes if possible.

6. Sit in a posture and lit incenses; close the eyes and meditate in between eyebrows (Bhru Madhya), or the hearts lotus (Hrt Padma) or the thousand-petal lotus (Sahasrara Chakra).

¨ Exact number of times of chanting a particular Mantra has already been indicated against each Mantra.

· Generally any one particular Mantra can be repeated for 11 times or 108 times or multiple of 108 or 1008 times or 10008 times or 100008 times. Once you start chanting a Mantra for any of the times mentioned above, you couldn’t decrease the number in the subsequent times/days, but you can always increase the number as per your convenience.

· Initially you can have a session of 15 minutes and slowly increase the intervals as also from one time to two or three times a day, if you wish.

¨ The sadhaka or the chanter should sit facing either the East or the North, if chanting is during day sit facing East and facing North if chanting is at nights.

GENERAL RULES FOR THE RITUALS AND ESSENTIAL FORMALITIES FOR RECITING MANTRAS.

1. IT IS ESSENTIAL BEFORE BEGINNING ANY MANTRAS - ONE SHOULD START THE TASK OF WORSHIP AFTER TAKING BATH. IF ONE IS UNCLEAN ALL EFFORTS WILL GO IN VAIN.

2. THE PLACE OF WORSHIP SHOULD BE QUITE AND CLEAN AND INCENSE ( DHOOP OR AGARBATTI ) BURNING IN ROOM AND IT SHOULD BE FULL OF ITS FRAGRANCE.

3. IT IS ALSO VERY NECESSARY THAT AN IDOL OR PHOTO OF THE DEITY SHOULD BE BEFORE THE PERSON IN ORDERS TO OFFER THE PRAYERS.

· THE RECITATION OF MANTRAS SHOULD NEITHER BE IN LOUD VOICE OR IN A WHISPER. THE MANTRAS SHOULD BE PRONOUNCED CORRECTLY. FOR THIS A LITTLE PRACTICE WILL BE NECESSARY.

· IT IS ALSO ESSENTIAL THAT THE NUMBER OF RECITATIONS OF A MANTRA SHOULD BE THE SAME EVERY DAY UNTIL THE PRESCRIBED NUMBER IS COMPLETED. IF ONE HAS TIME, ONE CAN INCREASE THE NUMBER OF RECITATIONS BUT THEN THE SAME INCREASED NUMBER WILL HAVE TO BE ADHERED TO ON FOLLOWING DAYS.

· ONCE A MANTRA IS STARTED, THE RECITATIONS HAVE TO BE DONE EVERY DAY WITHOUT FAIL UNTIL THE PRESCRIBED NUMBER IS COMPLETED.

· WHEN FOR ANY REASON, THERE IS A BREAK IN THIS ROUTINE; THE WHOLE ROUTINE HAS TO BE STARTED AFRESH.

· ANOTHER VERY IMPORTANT REQUIREMENT IS THAT THE PERSON WHO HAS TAKEN UP A PRESCRIBED COURSE OF MANTRAS SHOULD.

· DURING THE WHOLE PERIOD OBSERVE CELIBACY ( BRAHMACHARYA ) AND SHOULD NOT TAKE NON-VEGETARIAN FOOD.

Getting Started

· Start by picking some aspect of your life you wish to improve or problems you would like to solve.

· If possible, obtain a rosary of special kind and do your mantras in some multiple of 108.

· It can be five minutes, ten minutes, twenty minutes or even an hour. For your first experience, any time up to twenty minutes is advice able. The reason for taking things easy for the first 40-day commitment is due to the cumulative action of the mantra.

· For the first few days, all will probably go smoothly. Then as you progress, you may find that things start to get in the way of your doing the discipline:

· You oversleep; there is some minor emergency; you get a cold, white. This means that you are beginning to effect the inner 'something' for which you undertook the mantra. You are beginning to encounter inner resistance. That inner resistance manifests as outer obstacles to your discipline

Mantra AUM NAMA SIVAAYA

¨
What Is the Holy AUM Nama Sivaaya Mantra?

¨ AUM Nama Sivaaya is among the foremost Vedic mantras. It means "adoration to Shiva," and is called the Panchakshara, or "five-letters.

¨ Within its celestial tones and hues resides all of the intuitive knowledge of Saivism.

¨ Na is the Lord's concealing grace, Ma is the world, and Shi stands for Shiva, VA is His revealing grace, and Ya are the soul.

¨ The five elements, too, are embodied in this ancient formula for invocation. ¨ Na is earth, Ma is water, Shi is fire, Va is air, and Ya are ether, or akasha.

¨ Many are its meanings. AUM Nama Sivaaya has such power; the mere intonation of these syllables reaps its own reward in salvaging the soul from bondage.

¨ AUM Nama Shivaaya quells the instinct, cuts through the steel bands and turns this intellect within and on itself, to face itself and see its ignorance.

¨ Sages declare that this mantra is life, that this mantra is action, this mantra is love and that the repetition of mantra, japa, bursts forth wisdom from within.

¨ AUM Nama Sivaaya is our souls, our bodies and possessions. ¨ AUM Namah Shivaaya can be performed on Rudraksha beads over and over when the Sun is setting, when the Sun is rising or high noon day.

¨ The duly initiated audibly repeats "AUM Nama Sivaaya," and when japa is performed silently, mentally chants "AUM Nama Sivaaya"

¨ "His feet are the letter Na. ¨ His navel is the letter Ma.

¨ His shoulders are the letters Shi. His mouth, the letter Va.

¨ His radiant cranial centre aloft is Ya. ¨ Thus is the five-lettered form of Siva. AUM Nama Sivaaya.

¨ The Panchakshara Mantra is the word of God, the name and total essence of Shiva.

¨ But to chant AUM Nama Shivaaya and to be empowered to chant AUM Nama Shivaaya is likened to the difference between writing a cheque without money in the bank.

God Shiva is Immanent Love and Transcendent Reality

· We strengthen our mind with positive affirmations that record the impressions of the distilled and ultimate truths of our religion so that these memories fortify us in times of distress, worldliness or anxiety.

¨ These sacred words we say as we bathe to prepare to face the day, His immanent love protects us, guides us, lifting our mind into the arena of useful thoughts and keeping us from harm's way.

¨ From all knowledge, yoga practice and meditation, all that relates to the AUM sound is to be meditated on as the only blissful (Shiva).

¨ With the syllable AUM as his sole support, the wise man attains that which is peaceful, ongoing, deathless, fearless--the Supreme

Note: the exact pronunciation and intonation of the mantra requires personal instruction.

GENERAL RULES FOR THE RITUALS AND ESSENTIAL FORMALITIES FOR RECITING MANTRAS.

Getting Started

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