Mantra Sāstra - Science of Sacred Sounds Hari July 08, 2020

மந்திரமாவதும் மாமருந் தாவதுந்
தந்திர மாவதுந் தானங்க ளாவதுஞ்
சுந்தர மாவதுந் தூய்நெறி யாவதும்
எந்தை பிரான்தன் இணையடி தானே
- திருமூலர்

Nature listens, resonates, transcribes and responds in waves, vibrations and frequencies. English, Sanskrit, Tamil, Arabic, Lhasa or Mandarin are human languages that is meaningless beyond human mind.

Waves vibrations and frequencies - is the language universe understands. Easiest way for us to generate such vibrations is to use the built-in mechanism of emotion. Love, Fear, Joy, Anger, Devotion, Compassion are some of the pure emotions that unanimously generate similar vibrations amongst all the beings. The catch is; only pure emotions, unadulterated vibrations, gets the response back from universe. Emotion can easily be contaminated by the stream of thoughts.  If there is any thought that accompanies the emotion, the frequencies are distorted. So it takes an absolute innocent being to express that pure emotion.

There is also another way of generating waves of specific frequency; through explicit action. Sound and light are well known waves that humans can perceive and generate explicitly. Light in the form of colors and patterns. Sound in the form of tunes and words. Audible range of sound is identified as seven swaras, Sa-Ri-Ga-Ma-Pa-Da-Ni; just like the seven distinct colors of the visible spectrum V-I-B-G-Y-O-R. It takes deeper understanding to handle such abundantly accessible energies expertly.

The purpose of chanting or reciting a mantra is to generate a specific resonance in vibration, attempting to communicate with universe. If we decide to keep the emotion aside and plan to technically communicate with the universe, there are three things essential to establish such a channel.

Tantra: The tact. Basic knowledge of space and time along with the ability to sense the vibrations in a place or an object is necessary to even attempt tapping on the sound energies. A certain level of competence in their own mind control is also necessary. Devotee or a meditator are the only kind of people who can attain the necessary adeptness.

Yantra: The light. Geometric patterns and a ploy of colors that resonate with nature are called Yantras. A yantra is a visual perception of the same sound waves. The most famous yantra is unanimously the sri yantra. It is considered extremely powerful and capable of channeling infinite energies. Every single feminine deity in India is instilled upon a sri yantra. May it be Durga Ma in Calcutta, Chamundeshwari in Mysore or Kamakshi Amman in Kanchipuram - all these deities are placed on a sri yantra carved on a copper plate and consecrated by an attained master. A deeper study of such patterns in archeological artifacts and a natural curiosity in semiotics go a long way in mastering these yantras.

Mantra: The sound. Apparently, these yantras work on sound activation. For a sri yantra, the activation sound is clued as: Ka Ye Ee La Hreem Ha Sa Ka Ha La Hreem Sa Ka La Hreem. Just reciting it as-is is absolutely unwise. It is a riddle. The qualified gets to decipher and apply it, which can potentially activate a sri yantra.

When the Tantra, Yantra and Mantra are well understood and the qualified practitioner employs them to invoke and handle a specific energy; the result is instantaneous.

There are eight and only eight reasons these yantras and mantras (மாந்திரிகம்) are created and they operate on a deity, elements, situation, beings, property, mind, energies, earthly objects, celestial matter, et al.

• to attract (வசியம்)
• to impress (மோகனம்)
• to halt (தம்பனம்)
• to vacate (உச்சாடனம்)
• to separate (வித்வேதனம்)
• to disperse (பேதனம்)
• to possess (ஆகர்ஷணம்)
• to destroy (மாரணம்)

Any mantra, composition of such sacred sounds is created to accomplish one or a combination of these eight wants. Attained Sages, Lamas, Yogis, Zen Masters and any real sacred person knows the working of it. Without a mastery of this science, a person is not qualified to consecrate any stone,  metal statues or any such element with incantations.

Knowing this, any wise person would either go all the way to learn the peaks and valleys of Mantra Sāstra or drop all this quest and use the natural built-in mechanism of emotion to communicate with universe. The key is; to think less and feel more.

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Identity Management - அஹங்காரம் Hari June 13, 2020

"Tell me about yourself" is a most famous behavioral interview ice-breaker. Two-third of our life is spent consciously and every moment of this awake state, a dedicated background process is doing just identity management.

தன்னை அறியத் தனக்கொரு கேடில்லை
தன்னை அறியாமல் தானே கெடுகின்றான்
தன்னை அறியும் அறிவை அறிந்தபின்
தன்னையே அற்சிக்கத் தானிருந் தானே.
- திருமூலர்

the clutches of the illusions are strong until one realizes their true self. Once realized, they'll exactly know everything they ever needed - Thirumoolar

I, self, ego are some of the nouns used to reference our identity. What is this identity? It is how we are identified, recognized and perceived by self and others. It is the role we play in a society. It is something that dissolves everyday at sleep and recrystallizes when awake. Identity only exists in the conscious memory and it is very fragile. Any form of disruption to our consciousness like sleep, intoxication, hypnosis, pain, art and even an emotion ruptures and remolds this identity. There is self-identity, how we perceive ourselves and there is personality, how others identify us.

personality is how we project ourselves and how we are perceived by others and hence it is something of a joint-custody. They have an image about us carved out of the judgement, memory, stereotype or hearsay and hence some expectations. We strive to align with such expectations that are consistent to our past behavior. When we meet an old friend after few decades, we immediately adapt to our then manners, language and even the state of mind. When the current colleague joins, we immediately shuffle back to a much neutral stance. All this happens autonomously.

How much of managing our personality is our responsibility? This personality management is both empowering and at the same time imprisoning. Nobody wants to befriend, support, employ or work for someone who is not consistent in their behavior. Hence establishing a personality and keeping it up, is essential to warrant a sense of security, comfort and support of our patronage. It is all roses and lilies as long as managing specific personality is fueled by corresponding ambition and needs. The imprisonment part kicks in when the fuel runs out and the person is tired of maintaining the persona and seeking out.

The past baggage and the uncertainty it might bring, makes it harder for someone to drop the personalities that they've nurtured for years. This eventually is the biggest hurdle in unearthing and embracing their core nature. Instead they end up spending the rest of the life in keeping up the personality and also take efforts to ensure their identity is untainted even after their demise.

self-identity, ego (அஹங்காரம்) is what we perceive as ourself. Most of us believe that it is our core-nature, but it is not even close. When one thinks about themself, it either fills them with a sense of pride or pity. Eitherways, it is just a projection of our past and comparison to others. True-nature is hidden deep inside the pile of such projections. It takes a very keen mind to analyze it separating itself from the identity. It is an arduous process of continuous dis-identification (vairāgya) with everything that mind can slice and dice and separate it as mere conditioning. When someone embarks on such pursuit and reaches the destination where no more conditioning exists, also know as no-mind and no-self, they are self-realized beings. This beautiful state is very similar to a new born child; with a key difference that the child is bound to lose the paradise soon; while the realized masters consciously wear an identity needed for that hour and drop it at will. Hence, they are bound to be unpredictable and not consistent.

There is abundant energy expelled in managing several such identities that we carry and mutate in the space-time-people continuum. As long are there is ambition and desires lurking in the corner, there is no way and no reason to even think about retracting. After all establishing an identity and managing it is essential in relating with other identities in the society. But, when the desire turns towards knowing our core nature, purpose of life, "who am I?" There are only two ways to get there;

1.) Divine intervention: the divine is always ready and yearning to intervene. But the clouds of identities that we expertly manage are preventing such a blatant trespass. Blessed are those with no strong ties to their identities, personalities and reputation. They are easily absorbed into the path of devotion and attain their liberation.

2.) Self-realization: For others with stronger ties to their established identities, in other words, thicker ego; self-realization is the only way. Enlightenment, wisdom, liberation and answers to all the relevant questions like the purpose of life, "who am I?", "why?", "how?" are all the fruits of self-realization.

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