What is a mantra? Can you define it?

A mantra is simply a tool (tra) for the mind (man). And it is also so much more as you’ll soon discover!

The word mantra is bandied about quite a bit these days. People use it all the time. You hear it on TV. For example, when it comes to political parties an announcer might say their new mantra is such and such.

Of course, the word mantra goes back thousands of years to the original yoga and meditation writings of the great sages of India like Pantajali. It seeped into Western consciousness in about 1967 or 68 when The Beatles went to India to study Transcendental Meditation with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

The word mantra became better known to the general public around 1975 when my mentor, the illustrious Dr. Herbert Benson from Harvard Medical School began studying meditation or what he termed "The Relaxation Response." He revealed that it was the opposite of the stress response. But first, Dr. Benson elucidated the four stages of being:

Awake

Asleep

Dream

Fourth state

That fourth state is different than the first three because an action is required to enter it, while the first three states happen spontaneously. Benson called this fourth state The Relaxation Response which involves being in a comfortable position, in a quiet environment, using a mental device, such as a breath, a sound or short prayer, or something to focus on, which is a mantra.

The focus also means that when other thoughts enter your mind you simply go back to focusing on your tool or your mantra. There, many wonderful things happen, including healing of body, mind, and spirit and the development of high levels of psychological and spiritual well-being.

Beyond that, If you go back around 400 years or so, a great master named Guru Arjun also talked about the fourth state, in which he said one develops a certain state of being known as Brahm Giani or divine knowledge or divine well-being or divine wellness. It can also signify an enlightened person who is connected to their best highest self, to the Universe, to the Creator or to what many people call God.

There are many mantras and what we know is a mantra is not simply a word or a sound. It’s not even the meaning of the words that count. A mantra is a permutation and combination of those sounds and the effect they have on the brain, the mind, and the spirit.

How do they do this? The tongue is like a pen and it writes on the upper palate of your mouth. This sends a message to the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus to release certain peptides and chemicals that then go throughout the body to generate a very specific effect.

Moreover, not only is your memory, mood and well-being enhanced, but so is your immunity, genes and general health.

The mantra Sa Ta Na Ma as utilized in Kirtan Kriya works properly when the tongue stimulates the upper palate’s 84 Meridian points and the tongue touches these 84 Meridian points. That’s what sends the message to the higher glands. It also activates certain areas in the brain to boost brain power and activate and improve cognitive function.

Recall that we have studied Kirtan Kriya for over two decades and have had many papers published in very top-notch medical journals, books, and white papers.

When you do it, Sa first touches the posterior part of your upper pallet behind the ridge of the teeth. Then Ta works behind the teeth and the lips. Each one of those has a powerful connection to the homunculus or the brain’s brain and the hypothalamus and the pituitary. Plus, when we do Kirtan Kriya, the fingertips in sequence are also touched: thumb to index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and pinky. This action also prefects the anatomy of the brain and unravels it so that you are connected to your spiritual self.

Kirtan Kriya utilizes a wonderful mantra and has a complete body, mind, and spirit effect with the touching of the fingertips and sequence as you chant the sound for two minutes out loud, two minutes in a whisper, four minutes perfectly silently and then reverse it with two minutes in a whisper, two minutes out loud. Then you inhale deep, hold the breath, and circulate the energy. It is important for us to stay in tune with the proper technique of Kirtan Kriya and not change it at all.

One last thing to share: Kirtan Kriya is the only meditation that uses a chant, a whisper, and silence. The chanting part cleanses the conscious mind, the whisper clears the subconscious mind, and when you go deep within into silence, this releases negativity from the deepest part of the unconscious mind. Kirtan Kriya is the only meditation that does this. Mindfulness doesn’t have this effect and neither does TM or any other meditation. This is one of the main reasons it is so powerful.

We encourage you to develop the routine of practicing Kirtan Kriya first thing in the morning perhaps with some yoga as well. You’ll be so much happier and healthier and, beyond that, you’ll make other people healthier and happier just by being around you. Your presence will make them shine their light.

Yours in Brain Health,

Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D.

President / Medical Director

Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation (ARPF)

www.alzheimersprevention.org

[email protected]

Prevention Editor, Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease 

P.S. Remember our Brain Longevity Therapy Training is an awesome experience to undertake and improves your health, well-being, and brain function. When you become a graduate of BLTT, you’ll have so much more to share with other people to help them become healthier, happier and more complete as a human being. Plus, if you’re a teacher, Kirtan Kriya is a great tool and a unique selling point to share with your clients to help them increase physical health, well-being, and financial well-being as well.

P.P.S. Discover more about BLTT here. Thrive in every way.