Morning Mantra Sadhana

This is a complete introduction into the morning mantra sadhana devised by the Bihar School of Yoga as an integral part of yoga lifestyle. When these three mantras - Mahamrityunjaya Mantra, Gayatri Mantra, and the Thirty-Two Names of Durga - are chanted right upon waking, with commitment and regularity, our experience of the entire day gets transformed completely.

These mantras, when chanted regularly, with an emphasis on correct pronunciation, and combined with strong, positive resolves, help ward off negativity, disease and accidents, mental dissipation, emotional imbalances, and difficulties of all kinds.

The recordings in this album will help you do just that: along with the actual mantras, you will also get a brief introduction to each of them, a detailed pronunciation guide for every sound of the Sanskrit alphabet, and several ways in which the words of the mantras can be practised.

The final recording can be played as short guided meditation in the morning, to be used until you know the mantras by heart. The mantras are also included in a PDF file in large print.

———

When you wake up in the morning, the mind is relaxed, the senses are at peace and there are no mental, emotional or intellectual distractions. Therefore, the first impression the mind should receive in the morning is the positive input of mantra.

Immediately upon waking up, before you climb out of bed, sit on your bed. At that moment when you are neither fully awake nor fully asleep, when you are drowsy, when you are in between sleep and wakefulness, the subconscious mind is at its most active.

As soon as you wake up in the morning, the first thing you should do is practise the three mantras: Mahamrityunjaya mantra, eleven times; Gayatri mantra, eleven times; and Durga mantra, three times.

At that moment make three resolves, three sankalpas. These sankalpas are like seeds that you plant in the ground, then you forget about them and allow the seeds to germinate naturally and spontaneously.

Those who have tried this method of mantra early in the morning find that they are able to remain optimistic, positive, creative and clear for the rest of the day. The mantras provide strength to the mind and act as a shield that protects you from all the negative influences of the outer world. They keep the mind undisturbed when faced by the worries, stresses and the troubles of daily life.

- Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati, in “Bhakti Yoga for Everyone”, Yoga Publications Trust 2018