Geetha, a yoga teacher, who has taken to chanting. “Sometimes, during the course of chanting, I end up in a meditative state without realising it,” says K. But, when you chant with concentration, the mind gets focussed. Meditation requires focus, which is difficult to achieve. But, remember, just like regular medicines, there are specific chants for specific purposes.Ĭhanting eventually makes us meditate. Listening to mantras regulates blood pressure, the heart rate, brain waves and the adrenalin level.

Chandrasekhar, VHF, where chanting is incorporated into yogasana-based healing programmes. “Some patients come in such a disorganised state that they are not able to be part of a healing programme so we ask them to just listen to a particular chant, after which they become composed and do the asanas and say the chanting,” says Dr. Temple Tutler of Cleveland University in the U.S., has revealed that NLE and PLE effects are due to the production and spread of chemicals in the brain, which have a calming and curative effect on the body. Scientists call this the Psycholinguistic effect (PLE). “But knowing the meaning of what you are chanting tunes your mind towards reaching your goal,” says Usha Sundar, director of the Vedic Chanting division, Viniyoga Healing Foundation (VHF). The transformation happens step by step, over a period of time,” says Menaka Desikachar, senior exponent and former director of vedic chanting at KYM. “You just need to have a good ear, stay true to the punctuations, pauses, pronunciation, notation, length and the force of the chant and repeat it over and over again. Such an effect occurs even if the meaning of the mantra is not known. Scientists say that when a mantra is chanted rhythmically, it creates a neuro-linguistic effect. Chants thus create thought-energy waves, and the organism vibrates in tune with the energy and spiritual appeal of a chant. Chants have been analysed to be energy-based sounds and voicing a word or a sound produces a physical vibration. Now, research is being done at places such as the Brahmvarchas Shodh Sansthan, a research centre for integration of science and spirituality in Haridwar on how exactly a chant works. On the physical level, voicing a chant in the prescribed way impacts the abdominal area (from where the chant notes are raised), the lungs, the circulatory system and so on,” explains Radha Sundararajan, director of chanting, Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram. But a chant does not work in mysterious ways. It seems incredible that mere chanting can bring about these tremendous changes. Chanting also improves one's memory and power of concentration, so crucial if one wants to be an achiever.

Vedic chanting is said to help develop one's mental powers and strength, ease stress, and take one to a higher level of consciousness. Regular chanting of mantras is believed to wipe out fear, anger and depression, and help relieve disorders of the respiratory, digestive, reproductive, circulatory, speech, intellectual and cognitive systems. Chanting still remains a sought-after psychosomatic route to physical and intellectual wellness. A ritualistic practice that has lost relevance? Not at all.

Vasikarana manthras pdf