Bija Mantras

A mantra is a sound or a set of sacred words that contains within it a tremendous force of realisation. There are thousands of mantras in the ancient Indian tradition. Jāpa, or the repeated chanting of a mantra, creates a harmonious Resonance with the being, object or phenomenon it corresponds to and hence can be used to tune  in and tap the latent power within the mantra.

A bīja mantra is the seed mantra or the essential sound of an object or phenomenon. It is believed that the seed sound can lead to the complete and absolute spherical knowledge of that object or phenomenon.

In a linguistic sense, bīja mantras have no meaning. But the Shakti, or the potent vibrational force that they contain, can be transmitted to the one who is chanting or listening to the chanting of the bīja mantra.

The three letter bīja mantra of each chakra starts with a consonent that denotes its frequency. For example in Lam, the bīja mantra of the lowest chakra, the ‘L’ sound denotes its frequency of vibration. The central vowel is always ‘A’ – the action of Alpha, the Father principle. The third consonent is always ‘M’ – the Mother or Earth principle. The father creates and the mother manifests the creation. This is also known as the principle of Shiva and Shakti which corresponds to the negative and positive energy channels of the body. Thus the three letters of each bīja mantra form the Trinity. This is why chanting the bīja mantra of each chakra has such a significant effect on various levels of our existence and becomes the prime focus of this meditation. This is also why we call it Resonance. It is the Resonance of the bīja mantra that facilitates harmony. Long after the chanting has been heard, its Resonance continues to work on the chakra and the cells of the body. The bīja mantra has been chanted in a different pitch and style for each chakra ensuring that in every way the meditation is most effective and conducive to that chakra.

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