What is Sound Healing and Why You Should Do It?

Meditation known as “sound healing” employs vibrations and sounds to calm the body, mind, and soul. It is a tradition that dates back thousands of years, from the Egyptians who constructed pyramids especially for sound meditation to the Australian aboriginal tribes using didgeridoos for 40,000 years.

In a sound healing session, the practitioner plays various instruments that produce relaxing vibrations and noises while the participant lies down or sits comfortably. These frequencies facilitate emotional release, balance the nervous system, and induce deep relaxation. They also promote the Theta brainwave state, opening a pathway to heightened inner awareness that feels soothing and meditative.

Everything in the universe consists of vibrating particles, as basic science teaches. The body, made up of about 75% water, serves as an ideal medium for these vibrations. The human ear hears frequencies ranging from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, yet the body responds best to lower-frequency sounds—such as those produced by crystal bowls, tuning forks, and singing bowls. These sounds, through the process of sympathetic resonance, can alter brainwave frequencies when heard.

Another important fact to keep in mind is that each person uniquely experiences sound healing. However, many people report feeling deep relaxation and a sense of escapism during sessions, often accompanied by tingling sensations and visualizations. Additionally, as the healing sound resonates with the heart chakra, it releases any negative emotions held within the body.

Why should people do Sound Healing?

Sound healing helps heal physical, emotional, and mental issues, in addition to providing obvious benefits like stress relief, relaxation, and increased energy. The calming sounds’ healing vibrations encourage deep relaxation and restore harmony and coherence to the mind, body, soul, and spirit. Since stress accounts for more than 90% of doctor visits, sound healing plays a key role in restoring balance and alleviating depression and anxiety.

Music influences moods and even improves health, but sound therapy takes that impact to the next level. Vibrations from crystal singing bowls, tuning forks, chimes, and gongs send a resonant signal to the body’s chakras. These vibrations trigger the parasympathetic nervous system to release tension, clear blockages, and ease pain.

This healing method’s hypnotic effects can also help individuals connect with their inner selves and open doors to other dimensions and realms. Many individuals report encountering dreams, creative downloads, or spiritual awakenings during a sound healing session. Each person experiences it uniquely, as with most meditative practices, but common feelings include deep peace and relaxation, a sense that time is moving very quickly or slowly, and gaining fresh perspectives on life.

There is an Ashtanga Vinyasa opening chant and closing chant in Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga practice. According to the ancient origins of yoga, chants, also known as mantras, are provided in Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language. Since Sanskrit is considered the heart language, its meaning is claimed to be universal. A higher vibration is reached by the chanter’s consciousness when they raise their frequency. As a result, the practitioner has a sense of tranquility and becomes more attuned to their innermost self, also known as their Higher Self or Source. Chanting is a fantastic complement to meditation because studies have shown that it helps regulate heart rate, drop blood pressure, increase metabolic processes, and release feel-good endorphins.

The Opening Prayer is a blessing of gratitude offered to the lineage of teachers and their students starting from Patanjali who himself has enabled this ancient practice to survive through thousands of years so that we can experience its benefits today. The recitation of this mantra cleanses the energy of the space we have chosen to practice yoga and prepares the mind, body, and emotions for the forthcoming Ashtanga sequence.

Ashtanga Vinyasa Opening Chant Sanskrit Lyrics

ॐ
वन्दे गुरूणां चरणारविन्दे संदर्शितस्वात्मसुखावबोधे ।
निःश्रेयसे जाङ्गलिकायमाने संसारहालाहलमोहशान्त्यै ॥
आबाहुपुरुषाकारं शङ्खचक्रासिधारिणम् ।
सहस्रशिरसं श्वेतं प्रणमामि पतञ्जलिम् ॥
ॐ

Ashtanga Vinyasa Opening Chant English Lyrics

AUM ( ॐ )

vande gurūṇām caraṇāravinde
sandarśita svātmasukhāvabodhe
niḥśreyase jāṅgalikāyamāne
saṁsāra hālāhala mohaśāntyai
ābāhu puruṣākāraṃ
śaṅkhacakrāsi dhāriṇam
sahasra śirasaṃ śvetaṃ
praṇamāmi patañjalim

AUM ( ॐ )

Ashtanga Vinyasa Opening Chant English Translation

OM

I bow to the lotus feet of the Supreme Guru
which awaken insight into the happiness of pure Being,
which are the refuge, the jungle physician,
which eliminate the delusion caused by the poisonous herb of Samsara (conditioned existence).

I prostrate before the sage Patanjali
who has thousands of radiant, white heads (as the divine serpent, Ananta)
and who has, as far as his arms, assumed the form of a man
holding a conch shell (divine sound), a wheel (discus of light or infinite time), and a sword (discrimination).

Om

Benefits of this Chanting this Mantra :

• Chanting this mantra aids in helping us concentrate and get into a positive mindset for practice
• It’s also claimed that the sound waves purify the area and get the body and mind ready for the exercise that lies ahead.
• Chanting this mantra at the start of practice helps regulate your breathing and establish a steady rhythm.

Three words sum up the aim of yoga for Maharishi Patanjali, the author of the well-known yogic work The Yoga Sutras the cessation (nirodha) of the fluctuations (vrittis) of the mind (chitta). Chitta (mental stuff) is dynamic. It changes all the time. These variations give rise to feelings and ideas that motivate behavior.

Yoga aims to achieve a state of Samadhi when the mind remains peaceful and uncluttered even in the most trying situations. However, The Yoga Sutra teaches that we must first comprehend the various mental states to arrive at this condition of complete peace and harmony.

In the Yoga Bhashya, (the most authoritative commentary on the Yoga Sutras) the great sage Vyasa offered the following classification of the Five States of Mind:

1. Kshipta — the Monkey Mind

A person will be agitated and nervous while they are in this lowest mental state. Kshipta is the incessantly bouncing monkey mind. Extremes of love and hatred, like and dislike, pleasure and agony, and excitement and boredom alternate while one is in this mental state. There is no apparent focus, which makes managing simple tasks difficult. It is the most prevalent mental state while awake, particularly in these hectic, stressful modern times.

Anxiety, restlessness, confusion, trouble making decisions, and lack of clarity are all signs of the kshipta state of mind.

How to Balance Kshipta Mind :

We can learn to accept that thoughts come and go through yoga practice. You can give your mind explicit instructions to stop wandering and concentrate solely on what is necessary at that precise moment by controlling and prioritizing your attention just towards positive, significant, and healthful ideas and letting go of the undesirable ones.

2. Mudha – The Donkey Mind

This is the condition of a dull, lethargic, and sluggish mind. The lack of focus, awareness, and energy required to handle various life events is why it is known as the “donkey state of mind.” This lack of motivation causes a person in this mental state to frequently give up and feel hopeless in difficult situations, which results in failures and unhappiness.

The mudha mental state is characterized by low vitality and energy, difficulty concentrating, melancholy, depression, and a loss of sense of self.

How to Balance Mudha Mind :

The mind must be awakened and given vitality in order to overcome the dull Mudha mind. Using a mudra or mantra in your mindfulness or concentration meditation will help you become more aware and give you the energy you need to move past this stage.

3. Vikshipta – The Butterfly Mind

The mind fluctuates between periods of distraction and clarity when it is in this state. It is not entirely within your ability to regulate your ideas when you are in this frame of mind. While the mind can occasionally feel stable and happy, it can also return to agitated or depressed states during trying circumstances.

The vikshipta mentality is characterized by tranquilly and distraction susceptibility. You can focus more clearly in this mental state than in the mudha or kshipta states, but you still need to practice.

How to Balance Vikshipta Mind :

Frequent yoga and meditation practice might help you become more focused and less distracted while in this state. Additionally, it teaches the mind to unwind, which enables you to extend periods of concentration and find calm during turbulent times.

4. Ekagra — One-Pointed Attention

This is a calm, concentrated state of mind. When one is single-minded, they are not influenced by other forces and are able to concentrate fully.

Better focus, awareness, and clarity are signs of the ekagra condition, which is necessary for meditation, awakening intuition, and experiencing a sense of happiness and wholeness.

How to Maintain of Ekagra Mind :

Yoga is a mental condition that represents oneness with the highest consciousness. When you’re in this position, you’ve discovered a singular life goal that won’t be influenced by outside circumstances. You become acutely aware of extrasensory perception as your intuition is awakened. Maintaining this state can be facilitated by regular yoga practice.

5. Niruddha — Fully Focused Mind

You pass through the Ekagra and arrive at Niruddha, the fifth yoga state of consciousness. This is the mind of a yogi, the trained mind. Your mind is totally calm in this condition and is not being stimulated or disturbed by anything inside or outside of it.

When you are fully immersed in the present moment during meditation, you can achieve a state of pure peace that is symbolized by the tamed Niruddha mind. At this point, all attachments and cravings are released from the mind, and profound serenity and happiness are experienced. Those yogis who can enter and maintain this condition will ultimately achieve samadhi.

Conclusion

The yoga sutras on the five states of consciousness taught by Patanjali are really important for anyone on a path of self-learning and spiritual development. The way to quiet and self-awareness is illuminated by the Chitta bhumis, who acts as a beacon of light. We can rise above the limitations of the human mind and ultimately discover our true selves by mastering these yogic states of consciousness: Kshipta (distracted), Mudha (dull), Vikshipta (partially focused), Ekagra (one-pointed), and Niruddha (completely controlled).

Common questions arise within us, Who AM I ?, What AM I? What is Real Me ?…… These questions surely do come into our minds, questioning our existence. So Am I this Body? Am I This Mind? Or Am I this Breath/Energy? …..These questions are clearly explained here…What is Body, Energy, & Mind? Here we explain What is your body, What is your mind, and What is Energy.

To realize oneself, one should really understand their body, energy, and mind, then one can go into the deeper abyss of self, where self is formed, where I, Me, my (ahamkara) arises. Self is the illusionary vision of the true self (consciousness). So-called life is not real, real / truth is silence which is inside of us…So let’s dive into the understanding of self…

BODY

The body is a proper and perfect system. There are two types of body Visible and Invisible.

A. Visible Body

1. Physical Body- The Structure, Anatomy, and Material.
   1. Bioplasmic Body- That defines the visibility. Aliveness. like the happy face, sad face, movements, etc.

B. Invisible body

1. Energy Body- Power and strength, that supports Body movement, vital- force.
2. Mind Body- The thoughts, desires, awareness, command, realization, mental- force, etc.
3. Psychic Body– The emotions, and feelings (energy body plus mind body). It is related to chakras.
4. Astral Body- The spirit Body (Jeevaatma). It includes all energy, mind, and psychic body and has all psychic centers. Rebirth happens from here after death. (Limited)
5. Soul Body- The consciousness, Self, Truth, Self-realized state. Aliveness. (Jeevanta Aatma). (Limitless)
6. Cosmic Body- Body connected to cosmos. blissful state. Causal body (Cause of Seed) realization. (Param Anand Brahma Bodh). Reincarnation happens from here.
7. Nirvana Body- Liberation; beyond birth and death.

ENERGY

Everything that exists in the world is energy. It is based on matters. In mythology Shakti is bhairavi and Shiva complements it to manifest. Trishakti refers to Bhav(Feelings, Emotion), Bal(Power and strength)and Chetana (Consciousness).

There are two types of energy.

1. Anitya: External, Kinetic (creates a magnetic field and affects others to related eternal energy)
2. Nitya: Eternal, Potential (silence, recognition, awaken, activated and self-identified)

Kinetic is active energy and is external whereas Potential is passive and eternal. The quality of energy remains in the chakras. The individual kinetic and potential energy of all 7 chakras merge to make a circuit in the body. The merging of these chakras opens the door of nothingness above the crown chakra. It is a place of nothingness, wholeness, and liberation. (Mukta, prashanta, purna shanta)

MIND

Mind is a state. There are two types of mind. Outer mind and inner mind.

A. Outer Mind (Bahir Man) :

The outer mind is a working mind and is active.

1. Conscious Mind-(Chetan Man): The alert part where cerebral cortex vibration level is 8 Hz to 14 Hz Alpha Level. The body does activities by this mind (Note: State of Mental problem: Neurosis and Psychosis are 12 Hz to 40 Hz and 40 Hz to 100 Hz)
2. Sub-conscious mind-(Avachetan Man): Frequency range: 4 Hz to 8 Hz. Semi-active
3. Unconscious mind-(Achetan Man):. Frequency range: 0 Hz to 4 Hz and fully passive.

After the unconscious mind is realized the inner mind opens up. Awaken from the state of sleep (un-consciousness).

B, Inner Mind (Antar Man): Turiya (Realizing Mind)

• Superconscious Mind – aware and awakening of senses, emptiness (impermanent realization)
• Supra conscious Mind—Nothingness, self-realization (permanent realization)
• Supreme Conscious Mind—Total-Nothingness, cosmic realization (permanent realization)
• Cosmic Conscious Mind–Complete-Nothingness, Wholeness, surrender, Nirvana, (permanent realization)

During sound healing training or singing bowl training in Nepal with Himalayan Yoga Academy, We will explore how different therapies impact your body, energy, and mind. We will completely teach you methods of purifying these layers of life. We will also guide you through different therapies for different purpose related to the Body, Energy, and Mind.

What is Gong Bath Therapy? Gong sound healing has been practiced for thousands of years, with its history dating back to ancient cultures. The gong is an instrument made from brass or bronze, producing a wide range of frequencies, tones, and harmonies.

What people often don’t know: As far as different sounds are concerned; they are distinct and different. But gong is generally underestimated. When people think of the sound of a gong, they usually only think of a small sound. But the sound and frequency of a gong depends largely on where you place the hammer and which gong hammer you use. The shape, form, and type of gong also play a role in its sound. We want to show you what gong sounds and gong sounds are available, what is possible, and how gong music can improve your daily life.

What is Gongs?

The gong is a round disc made of copper and tin, and when struck with a hammer it produces a loud sound, which sounds very pleasing to the ear in this world. Gongs have been used throughout history for a variety of purposes, including meditation, rituals, spiritual development, and even funeral ceremonies. Different gongs come in different sizes and shapes, and each has its unique sound.

The History of Gongs

Gongs have originated in Tibet since the 6th century AD and have spread to countries such as China, Vietnam, Burma, and Indonesia. These regions were known to produce some of the finest gongs of the ancient world. Making gongs was not easy as it required extraordinary skill and craftsmanship. In ancient China, only certain clans could make gongs, and the best ones were made of copper. The process is very unique and consists of five stages: casting, hammering, softening, refining, and grinding. All these steps were very important for this to produce a good and clear sound.

What is a Gong Bath?

Gong Bath is a form of meditative healing practice in which participants lie or sit comfortably while surrounded by the vibrations of gongs, singing bowls, bells, cymbals, and many other musical instruments. The goal is to promote relaxation, stress reduction, and healing through the power of sound. Gong bathing began as a spiritual and religious ritual but has now become a popular form of group therapy and one-on-one sound healing. These sessions often take place at yoga studios or state retreats and can be experienced in person, online, or by listening to a pre-recorded gong float on YouTube. Gong Bath Therapy offers the opportunity to escape the distractions of daily life and connect with the inner world through the power of sound.

How Does Gong Healing Work?

During this sound bath, participants sit or recline close to the gong and other sound-healing instruments played by the therapist. The sound waves generated by the gongs and other instruments interact with the body, causing physical and mental relaxation and helping to restore balance and harmony in the mind, body, and spirit. Studies have shown that the frequencies produced by the gong can slow down the mind and bring it into a deeper, slower state of vibration. This can help reduce stress, improve sleep quality, and promote overall well-being.

Benefits of Gong Healing Therapy

1) REJUVENATES THE BODY ENERGY & MIND

Gong bath deeply stimulates the body and creates a feeling of deep relaxation. When we are free and the chatter in our minds is quieted, we can sleep peacefully and undisturbed.

2) THEY BRING DOWN LEVEL OF STRESS 

Stress is not good for us, it’s that simple. Although it is not possible to eliminate stress, we can take steps to reduce it. The deep sense of relaxation that a sound bath can create makes our body and mind feel less stressed. Stress is linked to many diseases, including high blood pressure, dementia, headaches, and heart disease. The more we can do to reduce stress in our lives, the healthier we will be.

3) TACKLES OBESITY

Stress causes the release of more cortisol hormones in our bodies. These specific hormones increase fat stored in the abdominal area. Excess belly fat appears to be more damaging to our health than fat stored in the thighs and legs. Therefore, stress can be associated with obesity, a condition that causes excessive stress on the body. Obesity can also lead to life-threatening diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.

4) REDUCES ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION

Such baths can reduce stress and anxiety and increase blood pressure. This helps lower blood pressure and improve our overall mood. When we feel calm and happy, our mood improves, stress decreases, and we can sleep better. Poor sleep is a major cause of feelings of anxiety and depression.

5) BALANCES THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

The soothing sounds and vibrations provided by the gong bath and the relaxing state it puts us in help activate the parasympathetic system. This also makes the system more sensitive to the back seat. Simply put, the parasympathetic system dominates the calm ‘rest and digest’ zone, while the sympathetic system initiates ‘fight or flight’ in stressful situations.

More Benefits of Gong Bath

• Relax and reduce stress 
• Eliminate energy blockages
• Reduce pain caused by inflammation
• Improve sleep quality, mental health, emotional health, and spiritual well-being.

Preparing For A Gong Sound Healing Session

When preparing for a healing gong sound session, it is important to consider the following factors to ensure the best experience:

• Choose a song that resonates with you and produces a rich, resonant sound.
• Choose an environment that is comfortable, quiet, and free of distractions.
• Maintain an even and unobstructed distance.

Tips for creating a comfortable and relaxing ambiance:

• Wear comfortable clothing, such as loose-fitting clothes or yoga clothes.
• Eat well and avoid large meals before the session.
• Set a schedule for your daily activities so you can rest in between.
• Set a learning goal, focus on your personal goals and aid recovery.
• Bring warm layers, socks, and towels to keep you comfortable during class.

Guidance on Appropriate Setup and Attire:

• Lie down on a comfortable surface such as a yoga mat or towel.
• Use a pillow or extra pillow under your knees and a pillow or blanket under your head for support.
• Consider using an eye pillow or towel to protect and rest your eyes.
• If you have difficulty lying down, inform the practitioner, bring an extra pillow, or ask for a chair.

References :

1. https://www.thesoundartist.com/blog/impact-of-gong-sounds-in-healing-practices
2. https://www.ollihess.de/en/blogs/blog/gongs-everything-about-sound-frequencies-and-sounds
3. Himalayan Yoga Team
   
   

Samadhi is a state of consciousness where no doership of performance ever arises.

Swami Padmasattva

The purpose of meditation is to achieve samadhi or absolute bliss. This is pure contemplation, super consciousness, in which you and the universe are one. Those who have achieved samadhi are enlightened. In other words, samadhi means freeing yourself from the cycle of birth and death and merging yourself (your soul) with the almighty.

When it is like that it is samadhi, the highest stage of yoga. In that state, there is a complete departure from the memory and so its power of reminding the self of its contents is nullified completely. The self then becomes freed.

What bothers this state of consciousness?

It is hankering, craving, desiring that obscures the shine of understanding and the darkness of doership becomes rock-like. As much this right of lust for objects is reduced so much the daylight of waking into Atmic reality shines out and night is gone.

Samadhi in Vedanta (school of philosophy)

Samādhi is of two kinds: meditation on Nirguṇa-Brahman results in nirvikalpaka samādhi, while meditation on Saguṇa-Brahman leads to savikalpaka samādhi.

Samadhi in Yoga (school of philosophy)

Samādhi (समाधि, “completion”) is a Sanskrit word referring to “intense self-absorption”. It is one of the eight brances of yoga, also known as the eightfold path (aṣṭānga). Also, see the fifth section of the Varāha-upaniṣad.In yoga philosophy, Samadhi represents the stage where the mediator merges with its object of focus and transcends the self altogether to a higher understanding.

The Gheraṇḍasaṃhitā 7.3-6 teaches that rājayoga encompasses six types of Samādhi:

1. dhyāna (prduced by śāmbhavīmudrā),
2. nāda (prduced by khecarīmudrā),
3. rasānanda (prduced by bhrāmarīmudrā),
4. laya (produced by yonimudrā),
5. bhakti
6. manomūrcchā (‘trance’).

Samadhi in Vaishnavism (Vaishnava dharma)

Samādhi (समाधि).—Total absorption and trance of the mind and senses in the consciousness of the Supreme Godhead and service to Him. The word samādhi also refers to the tomb where a great soul’s body is laid after his departure from this world.

Samadhi in Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

Samādhi (समाधि).—The state when the soul (ātmā) and the mind become one. When the soul and the mind mingle with each other as salt and water, it is Samādhi (contemplation). (For more details see under Yoga.

Samādhi (समाधि) refers to “ecstatic contemplation”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.3.5.—Accordingly, as the Goddess (i.e., Durgā) said to Menā:—“O beloved of the mountain, I am delighted by your penance. O chaste lady, tell me what you desire in your mind. O Menā, whatever is desired by you by penance, sacred rites, and ecstatic contemplation [i.e., tapovrata-samādhi] I shall grant you and that too whenever you wish for it. […]”.

Svādhāya, Saṃtoṣa, Śauca, Prāṇāyāma, and Samādhi are described while various kinds of impediments to the practice of Yoga and the means of overcoming them are explained in the thirteenth chapter.

Samadhi in Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy)

Samādhi (समाधि, “absorption”) refers to one of the six members (aṅga) of the Ṣaḍaṅgayoga, as taught in the early Śaiva Siddhānta.—Ṣaḍaṅgayoga is taught as the standard yoga of the Śaivasiddhānta (Siddhānta) a mainstream, Veda congruent dualist tradition. See, for example, the 6th-century texts of Raurava-āgama, Kiraṇa-āgma, Sarvajñānottara-āgama, Svāyambhuvasūtrasaṃgraha, the 7th-century Mālinīvijayottara and the 9th-century Tantrasadbhāva.

Types/Levels of Samadhi

Level 1 : Sabija Samadhi

Stage 1. Sarvitarka Samadhi:

Here the mind totally focuses on the gross aspect of a physical object. This is described as “examination” or learning the “inner secrets” of the object. In this stage, every aspect of the object is understood and you gain full knowledge of the physical object.

Stage 2. Savichara Samadhi:

Now the mind moves beyond the outer layers of the object and the subtle aspects of objects (tanmatras) are contemplated or “discerned.” The abstract qualities such as rednesses, beauty, love or the sound, texture, form, flavor, etc. of the object begin to be understood.

Stage 3. Sa-ananda Samadhi:

Here the mind is devoid of the objective world, you move beyond the intellect. There is no reasoning or reflection, just the tranquility of the settled mind. The sattvic (pure) mind is only aware of its joy. The focus is on the inner powers of perception and within the mind itself. It’s known as a “blissful” Samadhi filled with joyful peace.

Stage 4. Sa-Asmita Samadhi:

Now even the bliss has gone and you are just here. Only the satvic (pure) ego, the I-ness remains, the I AM. Simple awareness of individuality—you are here and aware of nothing else. This is the ego-sense in its elemental form. No fear, no desire. This Samadhi can be likened to what is known in the Shankara Tradition as Cosmic Consciousness. The mind becomes fully Awake, it is a state of witnessing the material world and you become aware of the Divinity (Bliss) within yourself.

In Savikalpa Samadhi, the samskaras (latent tendencies or past impressions that condition your life and desires) have not been dissolved. They remain in seed form. The Great Indian Saint, Ramana Maharshi, described Savikalpa Samadhi as “holding on to reality with effort.” In this Samadhi, the concentrated mind can begin to access some of the “lesser” yogic powers (Siddhis).

However, because the ego is still present, you must be careful how you choose to use these powers. If you use them with a pure motive, you can greatly serve humanity and will progress on your spiritual journey with humility. If you choose to use them for personal greed and ambition, you may cause harm and stall your spiritual progress.

Level 2: Nirvikalpa Samadhi

Nirvikalpa Samadhi is a higher state of awareness where the ego and samskaras have been dissolved and only Consciousness remains.

Patanjali says the material world has become like a shadow from which you are completely free. In Nirvikalpa Samadhi there is no mind as you know it—there is only infinite peace and bliss. Here nature’s dance stops, and the knower and the known become one. Here you enjoy a supremely divine, all-pervading, self-amorous ecstasy. You become the object of enjoyment, the enjoyer, and the enjoyment itself.Now the heart is fully awake. In Nirvikalpa Samadhi, the first thing you feel is that your heart is larger than the universe itself. The universe appears as a tiny dot inside your vast heart. Here, there is infinite bliss and infinite power. You not only feel bliss but become bliss.

This Samadhi is similar to the Divine Consciousness described in the Shankara Tradition, a state of deep love for the world and everything in it, recognizing the Divinity in everything. It is entering a celestial realm. You experience Ritambhara Pragya, where your thoughts spontaneously manifest into reality. The past and future are blended into the eternal present. Everything is now. Everything is here. Time and space have been transcended. The exult blissful state may last for a few hours or a few days. Initially, there is no wish to return from this state and it is said that if one stays at this level for 21 days, there is every possibility that the soul will leave the body for good. However, through continued practice, you can come down from Nirvikalpa Samadhi and immediately function normally in the world.

Both Savikalpa and Nirvikalpa Samadhis are considered temporary states in that you can only fully experience them by withdrawing from normal life. Even the Great Enlightened Yogis closed their eyes to meditate. However, the Yogi’s “normal” life is not as most people experience it. A Yogi is living a life fully supported by the Unbounded Field of Infinite Possibilities. Imagine the whole of manifest creation is touching the front of your body and the unmanifest, Pure Awareness is touching your back. You lean forward and you are in the localized world but the non-local is fully there, supporting your every breath. To quote Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, “It’s living 200 percent of life.”

Level 3: Dharmamegha Samadhi

An even higher level of Samadhi is Dharmamegha or the “Cloud of Virtue” Samadhi.

Patanjali says that this level arises when you have lost even the desire to know God or to be Enlightened. This Samadhi cannot be gained by effort, it reveals itself when all effort has dissolved. It is a Divine Gift, beyond notions of Absolute and relative.

When even the temptations of the Yogic Powers cause no distraction, it is said that Pure Knowledge showers down like a Cloud of Virtue, bringing liberation and the Bliss of the Divine. This is Jivanmukta—liberation while still in a physical body. The afflictions of all karmas have been removed, and the Yogi becomes ever-free and shines in his or her glory. It is said that in this state, the Yogi sees without eyes, tastes without tongue, hears without ears, smells without nose, and touches without skin. His/her mere intention can work miracles. The Yogi simply wills and everything comes into being. After this, the yogi reaches the level of ultimate bliss ( kaivalyam ).

References :
1.https://dondeg.wordpress.com/2014/05/28/patanjalis-ten-types-of-samadhi/
2. https://chopra.com/blogs/meditation/the-3-levels-of-samadhi

By Swami Padmasattva

What is the meaning of Meditation in Life? We make it difficult by struggling against something which we think is preventing us from being free, or, by searching for something which we presume will give us Freedom. It is found to imply relaxing into who we are, living life from moment to moment.

All over the world people are struggling to be free from something. This struggle does not make us free; it is simply a reaction against something that we were thinking. The freedom of meditation is not a search to find freedom for something, either. Meditation is not something new; you have come with it into the world. Mind is something new, meditation is your nature. It is your nature; it is your very being.

How can it be difficult?

How many of us have dreams of being in some situation or utopia that would allow us just to relax and be ourselves, free from the competition and tension of everyday life? The freedom we are searching for does not depend upon something outside ourselves. So what is the freedom we are longing for? “Just freedom”: living in the here and now, moment to moment, living neither in the memory and oppression of the past nor the dreams of the future.

Eating- simply eat, be with it. Walking- simply walk, be there. Don’t go ahead, don’t jump here and there. The mind always goes ahead or lags. Remain with the moment.

Witnessing simply means a detached observation, unprejudiced; that’s the whole secret of meditation. Nothing needs to be done; just be a witness, an observer a watcher, looking at the traffic of the mind – thoughts passing by, desires, memories, dreams, fantasies. Simply stand aloof, cool, watching it, seeing it, with no judgment” with no condemnation, neither saying ‘This is good,’ nor saying’ This is bad’.

All we learned is the preparation of meditation. Meditation (Dhyana) means actual uninterrupted meditation. The goal of meditation is to achieve heightened awareness and realize oneness with the universe.

What is Spirituality? Start dying each moment to the past. Clean yourself of the past each moment. Due to the known, you become available to the unknown. With dying and being reborn each moment you will be able to live life and you will be able to live death also. And that’s what spirituality is really all about: to live death intensely, live life intensely; to live both so passionately that nothing is left behind unlived, not even death.

If you live life and death totally, you transcend. In that tremendous passion and intensity of life and death, you transcend duality, you transcend the dichotomy and you come to the One. That One is the truth. You can call it God, you can call it life, truth, samadhi, ecstasy, or whatever you choose.

Spirituality is not a question of morality; it is a question of vision. Spirituality is not the practicing of virtues — because if you practice a virtue it is no longer a virtue. A practiced virtue is a dead thing, a dead weight. Virtue is a virtue only when it is spontaneous; only when it is natural, and unpracticed.

And then, what is spiritual?”

To be in a relationship with truth or God is to be spiritual. Remember, to be in a relationship — not to talk about spirituality, not to follow a certain creed, dogma, church, or temple, but to be in a direct immediate relationship with existence is spirituality. To be in tune with the whole, to feel the harmony and the joy and the absolute celebration of being here, that is spirituality.

It has nothing to do with going to the church or the temple, it has nothing to do with reciting the Koran or The Bible or the Gita. It has nothing to do with any kind of worship ritual, it has something to do with communion — communion with the trees, the stars, the rivers, communion with all that is. It is communion with this multidimensional expression of God, it is having a dialogue with the whole. The quality of mad love is needed, and then you are spiritual. Spirituality is not a head trip; it is a heart-to-heart dialogue, and ultimately a being-to-being dialogue.

They escape into loneliness. Their loneliness never becomes aloneness, it remains loneliness. Loneliness is a negative state; it is utterly empty, it is sad. One can be solitary, but that does not bring solitude. Solitariness is just physical aloneness, solitude is spiritual aloneness.

Written By Swami Padmasattva

From Mukundamala, We have this beautiful verse of Kayena Vaca Shlokam.

Sanskrit Lyrics

कायेन वाचा मनसेन्द्रियैर्वा ।
बुद्ध्यात्मना वा प्रकृतिस्वभावात् ।
करोमि यद्यत्सकलं परस्मै ।
नारायणयेति समर्पयामि ॥

English Lyrics

Kaayena Vaacaa Manase[a-I]ndriyair-Vaa
Buddhy[i]-Aatmanaa Vaa Prakrteh Svabhaavaat |
Karomi Yad-Yat-Sakalam Parasmai
Naaraayannayeti Samarpayaami ||

Meaning of each verse of Kayena Vaca Shlokam :

1: (Whatever I do) with my Body, Speech, Mind or Sense Organs,
2: (Whatever I do) using my Intellect, Feelings of Heart, or (unconsciously) through the natural tendencies of my Mind,
3: Whatever I do, I do all for others (i.e. without the sense of attachment to the results),
4: (And) I Surrender them all at the Lotus Feet of Sri Narayana.

Summary of Kayena Vaca Shlokam

This shloka prays and builds the attitude of complete devotion to the Lord as we move forward each day of our lives. Most of us go through the various activities of life. In our ignorance, we take responsibility for activities, and when the results do not meet our expectations, we become sad and depressed. One of the most powerful ways to achieve spirituality is to perform every action as a doer. If the mindset is that I have to do an activity because it is my duty, I don’t worry about the results.

Just as a soldier, as an agent of the country, kills on the battlefield and is not punished for any action, there are no consequences when we act as a supreme agent. By the way, any action performed with a sense of wonder has a karmic effect with a strong potential for rebirth due to that action. However, any action undertaken with a true feeling that I must serve humanity or that this activity serves a greater purpose beyond my selfishness will have no karmic effects.

Final Conclusion: This shlokam is a great way to reduce our karmic footprint while surrendering to the Lord.

Introduction to Nirvana Shatkam

Nirvana Shatkam also known as Atma Shatkam is prakarana granthi consisting of six verses. Prakarana has been defined in the Vishnu Dharmottara Purana thus: Prakarana is a text that explains some particular aspects of the sastra and deals with certain secondary questions arising out of the explanations given.

The instruction empathically conveyed by the six verses of Nirvana Shatkam is that identification with the body, mind, and senses is the root cause of all sorrow and that it should be given up and one should realize one real nature as none other than the supreme Brahman. This realization is what is known as Liberation.“Nirvana” means formless and “Shatkam” refers to the 6 verses of the composition, expressing how the true Self is beyond all definitions; it is “neither this nor that”.

History of the mantra

In these stotras, written in his supreme state of realization, Adi Shankara explains the state of wisdom and truth.

When Adi Shankara was in Kashi, he used to have his daily bath in the Ganga. One day, on his way to the Ganga, his way was blocked by a Chandala (belonging to the untouchable caste) whose job was to burn the dead bodies. Adi Shankara immediately asked him to go away. The man, instead of moving away, asked Adi Shankara  `who are you?’

Adi Shankara knew that no ordinary man would ask him this question and he realized that the man in front of him was the Lord Kasinath Shiva himself. Searching for an answer to the question `Who are you?’ Adi Shankara went into a deep state of meditation.  And being in the state of highest consciousness, he identified himself with the ultimate truth of life — Shivoham.

Shivoham means `I am Shiva’. 

He wrote down his answers then and there and read them out. Adi Shankara mostly answered the question “Who are you” by saying what/who is not he, instead of just saying who is he! . Adi Shankara was no ordinary soul to have attained the state of `Shivoham’ at a very young age. What lies between realities and false identification is the truth.  The truth, the ultimate truth is

Nirvana Shatkam in Sanskrit

मनोबुद्ध्यहङ्कार चित्तानि नाहं
न च श्रोत्रजिह्वे न च घ्राणनेत्रे ।
न च व्योम भूमिर्न तेजो न वायुः
चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहम् शिवोऽहम् ॥१॥

न च प्राणसंज्ञो न वै पञ्चवायुः
न वा सप्तधातुः न वा पञ्चकोशः ।
न वाक्पाणिपादं न चोपस्थपायु
चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहम् शिवोऽहम् ॥२॥

न मे द्वेषरागौ न मे लोभमोहौ
मदो नैव मे नैव मात्सर्यभावः ।
न धर्मो न चार्थो न कामो न मोक्षः
चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहम् शिवोऽहम् ॥३॥

न पुण्यं न पापं न सौख्यं न दुःखं
न मन्त्रो न तीर्थं न वेदा न यज्ञाः ।
अहं भोजनं नैव भोज्यं न भोक्ता
चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहम् शिवोऽहम् ॥४॥

न मृत्युर्न शङ्का न मे जातिभेदः
पिता नैव मे नैव माता न जन्मः ।
न बन्धुर्न मित्रं गुरुर्नैव शिष्यं
चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहम् शिवोऽहम् ॥५॥

अहं निर्विकल्पो निराकाररूपो
विभुत्वाच्च सर्वत्र सर्वेन्द्रियाणाम् ।
न चासङ्गतं नैव मुक्तिर्न मेयः
चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहम् शिवोऽहम् ॥६॥

Nirvana Shatkam in English Lyrics

mano buddhi ahankara chittani naaham
na cha shrotravjihve na cha ghraana netre
na cha vyoma bhumir na tejo na vaayuhu
chidananda rupah shivo’ham shivo’ham

na cha prana sangyo na vai pancha vayuhu
na va sapta dhatur na va pancha koshah
na vak pani-padam na chopastha payu
chidananda rupah shivo’ham shivo’ham

na me dvesha ragau na me lobha mohau
na me vai mado naiva matsarya bhavaha
na dharmo na chartho na kamo na mokshaha
chidananda rupah shivo’ham shivo’ham

na punyam na papam na saukhyam na duhkham
na mantro na tirtham na veda na yajnah
aham bhojanam naiva bhojyam na bhokta
chidananda rupah shivo’ham shivo’ham

na me mrtyu shanka na mejati bhedaha
pita naiva me naiva mataa na janmaha
na bandhur na mitram gurur naiva shishyaha
chidananda rupah shivo’ham shivo’ham

aham nirvikalpo nirakara rupo
vibhut vatcha sarvatra sarvendriyanam
na cha sangatham naiva muktir na meyaha
chidananda rupah shivo’ham shivo’ham

Meaning of Each Verse of Nirvana Shatkam

I am not the mind, the intellect, the ego, or the memory. I am not the ears, the skin, the nose, or the eyes. I am neither space, earth, fire, water, nor wind. I am the form of consciousness and bliss. I am the eternal Shiva.

I am not the breath, nor the five elements. I do not matter, nor the five sheaths of consciousness, nor am I the speech, the hands, or the feet. I am the form of consciousness and bliss. I am the eternal Shiva.

There is no like or dislike in me, no greed or delusion. I know not pride or jealousy. I have no duty, no desire for wealth, lust, or liberation. I am the form of consciousness and bliss. I am the eternal Shiva.

No virtue or vice, no pleasure or pain. I need no mantras, no pilgrimage, no scriptures or rituals. I am not the experienced, nor the experience itself. I am the form of consciousness and bliss. I am the eternal Shiva

I have no fear of death, no caste or creed. I have no father, no mother, for I was never born.I am not a relative, a friend, a teacher, or a student. I am the form of consciousness and bliss.I am the eternal Shiva.

I am devoid of duality, my form is formlessness. I exist everywhere, pervading all senses. I am neither attached, neither free nor captive. I am the form of consciousness and bliss. I am the eternal Shiva.

Do Listen to this Beautiful Mantra Nirvana Shatkam

Benefits of Nirvana Shatkam Mantra

• Benefit 1 – Positive vibes

Chanting and listening to Nirvana Shatkam once a day can produce extremely positive vibes around you

• Benefit 2 – Negate anxiety and depression

Recite it to deal with anxiety and depression. It serves as the best medicine to get rid of these negative emotions

• Benefit 3 – Emotional stability

You can achieve an eternal state of calmness even in stressful situations of life

• Benefit 4 – Let go of jealousy and greed

You start getting rid of unwanted attachments