Historical usage of mantric meditation
One of the oldest and still most effective meditation techniques is mantric meditation. This has been widely used in the past with amazing effect, and continues to be an effective tool in meditation. Some meditation techniques use mantram as one or more of the stages in meditation practice, others rely solely on mantras to reach the effects.
Mantric meditation relies on its effect largely through the sound of its chant which imbues it with both rhythm and pitch. The essence here is not so much the precise meaning of the words chanted but the sound that is evoked. See further under ‘Creative Sound in Meditation’, an article that looks at the value of sound and its effect.
Transcendental Meditation (TM)
Among the most well known forms of mantric meditation is that given in TM or Transcendental Meditation, where a mantram is given to the practitioner to use as a means to attain an altered state of consciousness in a very effective way. In this technique the mantra is cental to the meditation. The sound of the mantra produces its effect, and not the meaning.
Meditation in the TM technique has been subjected to scientific evaluation and has been found to produces a measurable effect on the brain wave patterns, both with regard to its rate of vibration (oscillation), i.e. alpha waves, and with coherence of brain waves between the two brain hemispheres.
Advanced TM techniques have also lead to some measurable phenomenal effects that have been recorded as evidence of its effectiveness.
From an occult meditation point of view, the most interesting effect is not only what happens to the practitioner, but also the effect of many people meditating in an area upon the surroundings. (see also under ‘Scientific Research into Meditation’).
Tibetan meditation techniques
The Tibetan meditation regime has been subjected to many and varied scientific research and again amazing measurable and verifiable results have been recorded many times over.
Although there is a very large number of techniques used by the Tibetan Lamas and monks over long periods, many of them use mantra as their main means of achieving an altered state of consciousness, and most of the others use mantra at least as a part of their practices.
Among those that have been made available in a limited way to western students is the Vajrasattva purification.
Vajrasattva purification
The ‘100-Sylable Vajrasattva’ mantra is the basis of this practice, and is chanted over and over again together with clear visualisations. This meditation has been shown to be immensely potent in facilitating an altered state of consciousness, and is effective in purifying the mind.
This mantra is chanted on the InfiniteOM CD and facilitates the use of this potent mantra by those who do not know it. The use of the mantra and the visualisation is further explained under an article named ‘Vajrasattva’.
OM
The use of the Sacred Word, OM in meditation has long been recognised. Its rhythmic chanting and visualisation has a potent effect on the consciousness that affects not only the practitioner, but also those in the surroundings. The practice of chanting the word OM is very widely used, and can effectively be used in combination with the various OM chants on the InfiniteOM CD.
Here again it is the sound of the OM that has its greatest effect, and is sometimes referred to as the ‘creative sound’.
For further use of meditation with the sacred word, refer to the article about the word ‘OM’.