Aum Namaḥ Śivāya (IAST transliteration, refer to Sanskrit for pronunciation, Devanagari: ॐ नमः शिवाय, Kannada: ಓಂ ನಮಃ ಶಿವಾಯ, Malayalam: ഓം നമഃ ശിവായ, Tamil: ஓம் நம சிவாய, Telugu: ఓం నమః శివాయ, Bengali: ওঁ নমঃ শিবায়, Gujarati: ૐ નમઃ શિવાય, Punjabi: ਓਮ ਨਮ ਸ਼ਿਵਾਯ ) is among the foremost mantras. Its general translation is 'adoration (namas) to Śiva', preceded by the mystical syllable Aum. It is called Panchakshara, or 'having five syllables'. Śaivite mystics hold that within its celestial tones and hues resides all of the intuitive knowledge of Śaivism. The Aum namah Śivāya mantra appears for the first time, still without the Aum, in a traditional Vedic prayer to Rudra called Śri Rudram (Rudra is considered an earlier aspect and name of Lord Śiva). In this context, śiva retains its original meaning as an adjective meaning 'auspicious, benign, friendly', a euphemistic epithet of Rudra.
Panchakshari is the greatest of all Mantras. One wonders what this has to do with Omkar. There suspicion is valid when you spell the word 'Om Nam-ah Shiva-ya ' you agree with the positive and auspicious aspect of SadaShiv at the same time when you add the word
'Om' along Nam-ah-Shiva-ya' you are quite convinced Shiv is the father of this universe without any second thought.
More information from Wikipedia
The Aum namah Śivāya mantra written in Devanagari
![]() A Hindu Śaivite viewThe meaning of the Namaḥ Śivāya mantra was explained by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami: Namaḥ Śivāya is the most holy name of God Śiva, recorded at the very center of the Vedas and elaborated in the Śaiva Agamas.Na is the Lord's concealing grace, Ma is the world, Śi stands for Śiva, Va is His revealing grace, Ya is the soul. The five elements, too, are embodied in this ancient formula for invocation. Na is earth, Ma is water, Śi is fire, Vā is air, and Ya is ether, or Ākāśa. Many are its meanings. Namaḥ Śivaya has such power, the mere intonation of these syllables reaps its own reward in salvaging the soul from bondage of the treacherous instinctive mind and the steel bands of a perfected externalized intellect. Namaḥ Śivāya 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 mantra is life, that mantra is action, that mantra is love and that the repetition of mantra, japa, bursts forth wisdom from within. The holy Natchintanai proclaims, 'Namaḥ Śivāya is in truth both Āgama and Veda. Namah Śivāya represents all mantras and tantras. Namaḥ Śivaya is our souls, our bodies and possessions. Namaḥ Śivāya has become our sure protection.' The book The Ancient Power of Sanskrit Mantra and Ceremony, Volume I defines Om Namah Shivaya as:
'This mantra has no approximate translation. The sounds related directly to the principles which govern each of the first six chakras on the spine..Earth, water, fire, air, ether. Notice that this does not refer to the chakras themselves which have a different set of seed sounds, but rather the principles which govern those chakras in their place. A very rough, non-literal translation could be something like, 'Om and salutations to that which I am capable of becoming.' This mantra will start one out on the path of subtle development of spiritual attainments. It is the beginning on the path of Siddha Yoga, or the Yoga of Perfection of the Divine Vehicle.'
'Na' refers to the Gross Body (annamayakosa), 'Ma' refers to Pranic Body (pranamayakosa), 'Shi' or 'Chi' refers to Mental Body (manonmayakosa), 'Va' refers to Intellectual Body (vignanamayakosa) and 'Ya' refers to Blissful Body (anandamayakosa) and 'M' or the 'silence' beyond these syllables refers to the Soul or Life within. Further Information:
![]() The Power of MantrasFor Day 7’s meditation, I used a mantra. I am excited to tell you about the mantra, since it is one of my favorites: “Om Namah Shivaya,” (Pronounced: Aum Namaḥ Śivāya). Om Namah Shivaya is made up of five syllables. Each of the five syllables relate to the five elements; earth, air, water, fire and ether (the shape-shifting element or the element of Spirit). It is said that everything is made up of these elements, so that when put together, the person reciting the mantra is connecting with all that there is. (Purposefully, Tuesday’s meditation was about these elements.) OmFirst let’s hear about “Om,” since I am often asked what this means. This is an excerpt taken from organicsoul.com. The familiar “Om” chant at the opening and closing of many yoga classes may just seem like a formality of the ancient practice. But the sound can manifest more than just a chanted mantra that resonates between studio walls—it actually is meant to connect you to the world around you through its vibrational currents which penetrate the air. In dharmic spiritual philosophies, the meaning of the word Om (aum) is described as “the primordial seed from which all other sound arises and therefore of all creation,” according to YogaLifeJourney.com. “It is the reverberation, the resonance of the vibrational sound of the universe.” Om represents you and everything around you—in past, present and future. The word Om is made of three sounds: A-U-M. When the three individual sounds are chanted separately (AH – OO – MM) it is meant to provide a connection to your head, throat and heart spaces. The final part of the word is the silence that follows the first three sounds—a silence that is the representation of pure consciousness. Read more by Kim Fuller Om Namah ShivayaOm Namah Shivaya is ancient Sanskrit. It is translated literally, “I bow to Shiva.” or “Adoration to Shiva.” Namah means “I bow to.” However a yoga teacher once translated it as, “I am.” In a sense, “I believe in Shiva so much I become Shiva” or “I am one with Shiva.” Shivaya or Shiva is the Supreme Reality, a combination of masculine and feminine energy. Chrome extension downloader. Shiva is everything, the Universe, or the Inner Self. So it is “I bow to my Self.” Or “I am one with my Self.” Or “I honor my Oneness with all there is.” The possible translations and meanings can fill a page. I love this mantra so much because of a personal experience I had with it. One time whilst in meditation, this mantra came to mind. It came in contrast to some dark thoughts that were filtering through during the meditation. In fact, these severely negative and self depreciating thoughts had been rotating around my mind during that period in my life. The mantra came to combat these thoughts. It was like this in my head. “You are awful” (I tone this down), “No, You are Shiva”, “You are awful.” “Shiva.” “Awful” “Shiva”…on and on like two sibling arguing. Using the mantraI knew that this meditation was pivotal to my preferred sense of my Self. I needed this mantra to heal myself of this horrible identity. Instead of fighting myself, I began to say it as a mantra. Repeating it and counting to 108 on my fingers. The repetition helps re-circuit our brain. Aum Namah Shivaya Mantra LyricsSo often, a negative thought comes through and that releases peptides in the brain and hormones that make us feel a certain way (i.e., sad, angry, worried). When these come often our brain gets used to these peptides and our cells conform to their shape so that they can carry them easier. It is like they plug in. When we want another belief to take over, a new or uncommon peptides form, but these are at first less recognizable. Their plug shape is different. The cells try to carry them and but it is awkward at first. It may feel fake or contrived. RepetitionDon’t despair! You are on your way. This is part of the process. With repetition, we change our cells ability to receive these new plug shapes. Soon, our cell begin to have the new preferred peptides shape in them. This is how mantras and affirmations work on a physiological level. I continued this mantra daily for a month. And those particular negative thoughts have not returned. Years ago, I did a mantra of Green Tara. (oṃ tāre tuttāre ture svāhā – translation) Day 20’s Meditation features this mantra. And this also made an immeasurable difference in my life. ![]() I mentioned that I did the mantra 108 times. Read about this sacred number in this blog post by Rachel Wallmuller, RYT on http://ihanuman.com Why 108 times? One last suggestion is to listen to this mantra in one of the most moving songs by Deva Premal. Hear it on YouTube. Did you ever use a mantra meditation? Comments are closed.
|