All World
Gayatri Pariwar

Before going into the details of mantra vijňāna let us 

focus here on the sonic power of some basic vowels used in the Sanskrit and Devanagari Languages. Whatever be the type of our language, we do come across with a large number of such accents (and their phonemes) or various combinations of these in our day-to-day conversations. Because of the special sonic effects, the proper use of the basic vowels and syllables of the ancient Sanskrit language can also be regarded as an elementary exercise in Śabda Yoga.

The properties of some of these basic vowels are as follows:

a:Pronunciation of this vowel has a direct, though subtle, impact on theheart.The pumping action of the heart – especially its operation of exhaling pure blood – is supported by this accent. Repeated loud enunciation of this vowel at constant amplitude helps regulate the supply of pure blood from the heart to various part of the body.In mantra vijňāna this vowel is regarded to possess creative power.

ā:The sound of this vowel affects the chest and the upper parts of the lungs. Its impact strengthens the upper ribs, helps clean the digestive canal and also energizes the mind.Controlled and repeated enunciation of this vowel would be very useful towards the cure of asthma and chronic cough. 

i - ī:Stretched pronunciation of these has a direct positive effect on the throat and its connections with thebrain.This activates upper chamber of the heart. Cleaning of the respiratory tract and the intestines is performed by regular stimulation by the continuous sound of these sharp vowels. People suffering from chronic headaches or cardiac ailments should benefit from consistently exercising the repeated ‘chanting’ of these vowels.Short-tempered or mentally depressed persons are also advised to follow the practice of rhythmic recitation of these accents.

u - ū:Pronunciation of these vowels has direct positive impact on the organs in the middle and the lower part of the body – namely, theliver,stomach and the lower intestine. It reduces the weight of the belly. Constipation can be cured by regular recitation of these vowels over a continuous stretch of time. Women suffering from the diseases of the abdomen would also benefit from such exercises.

e - ai:The sound of these vowels has an impact on thekidney and also on the junction of the throat and the respiratory tract. Repeated pronunciation of these vowels helps cure of renal (urinary) diseases.Rhythmic enunciation of these strengthens the soft membranes inside the vocal cord and hence it is very useful for the singers or teachers who have to sing/speak, at a constant pace, for relatively longer intervals of time.

o - au:The natural functioning ofgenital organs andthe muscles and veins of its peripherals are strengthened by the sound of these vowels. The regular practice of chanting these vowels also stimulates the central part of the chest and is useful in supporting the cure of pneumonia and pleurisy.

aṁ: Inhaling of oxygen with the humming sound of this vowel indeed helps increase one’s vital energy. It also activates healthy increase in the RBCs and purifies the blood. The practice of prāṇāyāma is an integral part of all yoga exercises; prolonged pronunciation of‘aṁ’ is the root of perfection in the former. While pronouncing the ‘a’ part of this vowel our lips and mouth are kept open and the lips are closed at the time of‘ṁ’.... This should be practised with a feeling that – all our evils have gone out in the first phase and we have closed their re-entry in the second phase.Regular practice of this simple exercise is very beneficial for psychological uplifting too.

aḥ:Its pronunciation titillates the tongue and the upper frontal part of the palate and creates usefulconduction effectsin the brain.Recitation of this vowel under deep meditation stimulates the secretion of specific hormones that regulate the harmonious functioning of all components/organs of the body.Open laughter also serves repeated enunciation of this vowel. This is the secret of the “laughing exercise” being so effective a remedy against stress and depression. 

Apart from inducing positive effects on the body and the mind, specific practices of chanting these basic vowels (accents) help spiritual development as well.These aspects are covered in the context of Nāda Yoga and Music.

Relation of Vocal Sound with the Panca Tatvas8 :

Prof. Dobson and some other linguists have hypothesized that the primary speech of human race must have originated in the form of a verse because rhythm and accent of the vocal presentations seem to be universal vis-à-vis their implications in any language. Prof. Dobson had got this idea after observing that – if he would recite a French poesy before his German students and German poesy in front of French-speaking students, both the groups of students were able to get the central idea and feels of the poems. Whereas the prose in the same foreign languages were non-comprehensible to these students.

That phonemes (and sound in general) would have a relation with matter (which belongs to the pṛathvī tatva) is obvious from the fact that when any kind of material form is beaten it produces vibrations.The type of vibrations (and hence the quality of sound generated by them…) produced by the same impact of beating would be different for different types and shapes of matter.For example, the sound produced by a thin wire of sitāra is different from that of the leather- sheet of a dholaka....., etc.

The role of air (which belongs to thevāyu tatvain the group of the five basic elements) as a medium for the realization and propagation of sound is well known.The controlling effect of air in maintaining the quality and type of sound is also obvious – as seen in whistling or in playing of the musical instruments like flute.The use of water as a medium for communication by several marine species and also in some musical instruments (like the jal taranga) similarly explains the relationship of sound with the jal tatva.

The physical relationship of sound with heat and light – constituents of the agni tatva, can be seen/ measured with the help of the scientific instruments like the retrometer, spectrometer and the tonoscope.The implications of their subtle relationship are well experienced by most of us in our day-to-day life; for example, ‘the heated exchange of words in quarreling ...’or, ‘the enlightenment of mind by an inspiring lecture.... ‘, etc.That sound reflected in the form of music affects our sentiments – is an evidence of its relationship with the subtlest, the cosmic element – ākāśa tatva. 

As the universe in general, and the individual being – i.e., the body, mind and the manifestation of consciousness in it, in particular, is constituted by the panca tatvas, its intimate relationship with sound is quite natural. 

In fact, our body as a whole and especially the vocal cord is like a sophisticated musical instrument. Its thin muscles, membranes and other particles get vibrations from the apatatva; when we speak, the currents of apatatva are received from the omnipresent sonic power of Nāda around us.When we think, this sublime element is generated by the Śabda, which is indwelling in the conscious core of our mind. This is the reason why our mind talks to itself while in the thought process....

The infinite dimensionalapatatva is immanent in theākāśa tatva.This is also regarded as the source of the physical existence of sound in our space. However, the presence of other four basic tatvas affects its realization in the eternal form.The human mind has so far experienced/ recognized about forty-nine different kinds of natural phonemes swaras – seven of which are regarded as the basic vowels and the others are komal(soft) and tīvra (high notes) configurations of them. Various combinations of these swaras have been compiled into eight basic rāgas (classical tunes of shastriya music) and so on.....The gamut of phonemes and varieties of sounds (musical or otherwise) have been generated thereby.

The panca tatvas existing in these varieties of sound do affect our body and mind according to their own natural properties.Excessive presence of agni tatva in the sound heard or produced by us enlightens our prāṇa by a subtle red color and gives physical effects like that of the thermal energy and the psychological stimulation.... Similarly, the jal and the vāyu tatva offer blue and white colors of prāṇa,pṛathvī tatvainduces yellow color and theākāś tatva} absolute black…Each generates associated impulses in the physical and emotional environments.

What is important for us to understand from the above descriptions is – the significance of the immense power of Śabda and its intimate eternal relationship with our life.With this, we must begin to make our speech and thoughts as pure and true as possible. This would be our first step towards the realization of the paramount significance of sound as a manifestation of Śabda.