The Science Behind Mantra Chanting
Excerpt of an Interview with Jonathan Goldman
by Vandana Mohata
1) What’s the science behind Mantra chanting?
There are a variety of various “sciences” behind mantric chanting. A few of these are the “onerous” science—physics, psycho-acoustics, and many others. A few of these are religious sciences such because the completely different yogic practices that work with sound. I write about a lot of them in HEALING SOUNDS and my different books.
On one degree, as noticed years in the past by Dr. Herbert Benson, mantric chanting helps induce the “rest” response, inflicting discount of coronary heart beat, mind waves and respiration. On one other degree, as Dr. David Shananoff-Khalsa believes, mantric recitation permits the tongue to stimulate the acupuncture meridians contained in the mouth (notably on the roof), thus enhancing the impact. Dr. Ranjie Singe discovered that the chanting of particular mantras induced the discharge of the hormone melatonin and is investigating the significance of this within the therapeutic course of. He additionally discovered many advantages together with shrinkage of tumors and enhanced sleep. He writes about these leads to his e-book POWERFUL SELF HEALING TECHNIQUES.
It’s additionally been discovered that self created sounds reminiscent of chanting will trigger the left and proper hemispheres of the mind to synchronize. Such chanting may even assist oxygenate the mind, scale back our coronary heart price, blood stress and help in creating calm brainwave exercise. As well as, listening to sure chants has nice useful results.
Dr. Alfred Tomatis utilized the sounds of Gregorian Monks to stimulate the ears, mind and nervous techniques of purchasers. His work is essential with regard to the scientific and medical makes use of of sound and chant. He discovered that sure sounds which might be notably excessive in vocal harmonics will stimulate and cost the cortex of the mind and the nervous system. There have been quite a few extremely popular recordings of Gregorian chanting that been launched since this analysis was made public. I do know that many different sorts of chanting from completely different traditions have very comparable results. These are only a few of the onerous bodily phenomenon of mantric chanting which have been noticed. There actually are others, as effectively.
Some consider that the recitation of sacred mantras really causes the bodily and etheric our bodies to vary their vibrational frequency degree—changing into extra attuned, when you like, with divine power. Thus, when one chants a mantra for an prolonged time frame to invoke, for instance some deity, the upper energies of that deity will encode upon the chanter. That is one objective for a lot mantric chanting—to grow to be one and unite with the power of the deity that one is chanting for. If the particular person has some illness or imbalance, this imbalance can incessantly be launched by having the power of the deity encode itself upon the particular person. This really comes from the idea of vibrational (versus allopathic) drugs, which is the idea of many therapeutic modalities, together with homeopathy and acupuncture—that every one the universe together with our our bodies, is just product of vibration—an idea, by the way, that the brand new Superstring concept of physics helps. All the pieces is in a state of vibration and after we are in a pure, resonant vibration, we’re in a state of well being. But when some a part of the physique begins to vibrate at a counter frequency, the power turns into caught and illness units in. Due to this fact, by mantric chanting, one may cause caught power to grow to be launched, and we will return to our pure state of resonance, effecting a treatment.
I’ve, by the way, noticed this phenomenon many instances throughout workshops. We shall be reciting a mantra to invoke a selected entity—maybe Tara, Tibetan Goddess of Compassion for instance, with a purpose to higher embody the power of compassion. Nevertheless, throughout and after the method, I’ve seen folks with power well being issues emerge from the chanting fairly wholesome. It’s superb.
There are after all, precise therapeutic mantras in addition to particular mantras to steadiness and align the chakras. Chakras are the energetic wheels of sunshine that transduce refined power into the physique. They arrive from the Hindu custom, however as famous in my e-book HEALING SOUNDS, comparable power facilities are present in nearly the entire esoteric traditions on the planet. I’ve studied the usage of sound to impact the chakras for over 40 years. Mantras are notably efficient for this objective. The standard Bija Mantras are one instance of a system for utilizing sound to activate and steadiness the energies related to the 7 most important chakras. We work with these tones in workshops and healings have been recognized to happen as a result of balancing and alignment of the chakras. Psychic and mystics from all completely different religious paths can sense, see, really feel or hear these power facilities. We could not but have scientific gear that may adequately detect the chakras, however that doesn’t imply they don’t exist. Nevertheless, intriguing work is being accomplished to develop gear to measure chakras, so maybe it’s only a matter of time earlier than the scientific and medical communities will acknowledge them, as they’re starting to acknowledge acupuncture meridians.
2) Are you able to inform us something concerning the historical past and origin of chanting and hint it to the current stage-what is the extent of consciousness of chanting & sound therapeutic in current day & age?
This is a superb query, however one which actually requires a e-book size reply to cowl all of the elements inherent on this query. I’ll do my greatest to try to a brief reply. Merely put, I’ll let you know that there’s nearly no custom, no tradition, which doesn’t embody chanting of some type as a religious and well being observe. The recitation of prayers is discovered worldwide and has been with us for the reason that daybreak of humankind. Within the Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Islamic and Hebrew traditions, you’ve got some type of chanting of prayer or recitation of a Divine title. Whether or not it’s a shamanic or pagan custom, you should have some facet of chanting that may very well be thought-about mantric chanting of their rituals and prayers. Typically these chants are used to invoke Divine entities. Different instances they’re used for therapeutic or to ask for some benevolent course of like bringing rain. With regard to current day and age, we’re seeing extra curiosity, consciousness and use of chanting for well being and wellness. A few of it’s primarily based upon the conclusion by 2lst century folks that there really is one thing greater than pure “superstition” happening throughout chanting—that there are precise physiological adjustments occurring. Our nervous system, for instance, is being affected by our personal self created sounds. And thru this many extraordinary shifts and adjustments within the physique and thoughts can occur. Additionally, many individuals understand that utilizing chanting creates a way to straight entry greater states of consciousness. The flexibility of sound to create altered consciousness is extraordinarily highly effective and essential to people who find themselves on the lookout for extra that means out of their lives.
3) Can the facility of sound alter mobile construction and molecular structure- the DNA encoding and many others? Any documented proof? Any current scientific analysis on the above?
There isn’t any query that sound can alter molecular construction. Within the 1960’s, a medical physician named Hans Jenny performed experiments that confirmed that sound was in a position to really create type in varied substances reminiscent of plastics, plastes, liquids and water. He would place these substances—powders, and many others. on a metal plate after which utilizing a crystal oscillator, vibrate these plates with sound. The assorted substances took on essentially the most natural wanting shapes—they appear to be microscopic organisms or underwater life. Fairly astounding. He referred to as this work Cymatics.
Masuru Emoto of Japan demonstrated that water molecules are literally affected by sound and our intention. Intention, by the way, is our ideas, our emotions—it’s the power behind the sounds that we create. I’ll speak about this later. Emoto discovered that clear water regarded like a snowflake—very geometric. Polluted water appears like mud. Emoto has pictures of polluted water, which at first appear to be mud. After a priest has chanted over this water, it’s photographed once more. This time, the water appears like a snowflake—the sound and intentionality has restored it to its pure pristine harmonious form.
Emoto pictures of water earlier than and after chanting
On a associated be aware, the French acupuncturist and sound healer Fabian Maman has accomplished work involving Kirlian images of hemoglobin blood cells that had been uncovered to completely different sounds. Particularly, he took pictures of blood cells uncovered to an ascending chromatic scale—C, C#, D, and many others created on a xylophone. Every be aware effected the cell in a different way, creating a special form and completely different Kirlian coloration. Fabian’s experiments show clearly that mobile construction and power are affected by sound. His pictures are fairly extraordinary!
4) Whereas chanting, what’s the position of intention on the human physique? I did see the impact of intention within the works of Japanese researcher Mr. Masaru Emoto on have an effect on the molecular construction of water, however we want to know the know the impact on human physique?
A few years in the past, after I was accumulating info for a grasp’s thesis on the therapeutic and therapeutic properties of sound, along with specializing in the usage of sound to have an effect on the chakras, I additionally checked out the usage of sound to have an effect on completely different organs, in addition to completely different situations. What I discovered was that there have been many alternative colleges of sound therapeutic primarily based upon completely different academics and completely different traditions. These completely different colleges would possibly use the identical mantra to resonate completely different chakras—with nice success. Or they may use completely different mantras to resonate the identical chakra. Om, for instance, might resonate the center chakra, or it might resonate the throat chakra, or the third eye or crown or no matter. It depended upon the trail and the instructor.
I bear in mind sitting at my desk being fairly confused. How might this all work? I distinctly heard a voice saying “It isn’t solely the sound that creates the impact of the sound, but in addition the intention of the particular person making the sound.” All of a sudden, all the things made sense and was clear. I understood. Sure, the intention—the power behind the sound was an equal a part of the impact of the sound. This power of intent was carried upon the sound wave and was really was equally accountable for the impact of the sound. It was a significant “aha” second, and I instantly wrote down the components “Frequency + Intent = Therapeutic.” For many individuals, this has been a type of unified concept of sound therapeutic as a result of it is ready to deliver collectively the variations in many alternative colleges and many alternative beliefs.
I additionally created the components, “Vocalization + Visualization = Manifestation”, which could be very comparable and is especially related with regard to chanting and mantras. Which means that the visualization of the chanter coupled with or mantra the sound being chanted creates the impact. For instance, In case you are chanting for a selected deity, it helps to have the ability to visualize that deity so as the invoke and embody the impact. Really, some persons are not nice a visualizing, so if they’ll merely “really feel” the power of the mantra, it really works simply as effectively. When you have hassle visualizing Tara, however you’ll be able to really feel the power of compassion when you are chanting the Tara mantra, it’ll actually assist and help the manifestation of compassion. The identical factor is true when you find yourself making sounds to resonate the chakras. It’s good to have the ability to direct your consideration and intention when you find yourself making an attempt to resonate a selected chakra with sound. It is a main key to working with sound—to make use of the facility of consciousness to focus our consideration and intention on what the sound is doing.
5) Is mantra chanting and sound therapeutic the subsequent frontier in science, taking part in a big position in therapeutic, eradicating the necessity for allopathic therapy?
I’d prefer to counsel that till all of us transfer into one other dimension of consciousness the place ideas immediately create actuality, there’ll all the time be some want for allopathic therapy. And coming from a household of allopathic physicians, I actually need to honor allopathic drugs. I believe that we should always understand of all vibrational medical therapies, whether or not it’s sound or no matter, as being complementary with allopathic drugs. I believe that is actually essential as a result of then the completely different modalities can work collectively, versus being adversarial—an “us and them” mentality. Somewhat than “different” drugs , let’s use the phrase “complementary” and resonate with one another. Cooperation, not competitors—I believe that’s an actual key to our continuation and evolution as a species within the upcoming years.
6) There appear to be many alternative faculty of ideas on chanting? Which is the best for well being and therapeutic?
I consider that whichever system or faculty of chanting works for you is the most effective. . Keep in mind, “Frequency plus Intent equals Therapeutic,” so if one thing resonates strongly with you, it in all probability shall be best for you. If it doesn’t really feel good or correct for you, it in all probability received’t be that efficient. Some folks can work with a mantra containing hundred syllable —others can work solely with a mantra with one or two syllables. Maybe they merely can’t bear in mind extra syllables. No matter—but, extra is just not essentially higher. And fewer is just not essentially higher. It relies upon upon the particular person. And the time and place and want of the person. And in addition keep in mind that we’re all distinctive vibratory beings, in order that what works for one particular person could not work for one more particular person. And we’re all in a relentless state of frequency shifting, in order that one thing that won’t work someday (or week, month or yr), could abruptly resonate very in a different way with you at one other time. Belief your interior knowledge and steerage. And consider and perceive that sound has the flexibility to create profound and fantastic adjustments.
I’m going to depart you with a narrative that I first heard from Dr. Randall McClellan, writer of HEALING FORCES OF MUSIC. I consider it’s very outdated, however I prefer to credit score Dr. McClellan, who was an excellent affect on me a few years in the past. I believe this story illustrates one thing essential about sound, and notably about mantras.
In an unique nation, there was a person who had a musical instrument that he would play all day lengthy. The instrument had many alternative strings, however all he would do was pluck one string—the identical string and identical be aware over and over and once more. At some point his spouse mentioned to him “Expensive—you’ve got this excellent instrument and also you sit and play all of it day lengthy, however all you do is hit this one string over and over and once more. The instrument has many alternative strings. All your mates have this identical instrument they usually play all of the completely different strings, making many alternative notes and creating fantastic melodies and songs. All you do, hour after hour, day after day, is play that very same string and that very same be aware over and over and once more. Why is that?” His spouse was clearly very exasperated and confused. The person checked out his spouse and gently smiled. “My pricey spouse who I like past all measure,” he mentioned, “thanks for bringing that to my consideration. And now right here is the reply. That’s as a result of they’re all nonetheless trying to find their be aware, whereas I’ve discovered mine.”
Could all of us discover our personal sound. And will we use this sound to help private and planetary therapeutic.
I ship Blessings of Gentle & Love via Sound to all!