Pran and Pranayam

SR No.: 009371
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Niranjananand Saraswati Swami
Publisher: Yoga Publication Trust
Publication Year: 2009
Total Pages: 369
Language: Hindi
Classification: Book_Devnagari
File Size: 11 MB

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manner. Bija mantras are also used in pranayama, but for specific sadhanas and always under the instruction of a master. When ajapa japa is practised with ujjayi pranayama, the natural sound of the breath, Soham is used as the mantra.
When mantras are used with pranayama, the practice is no longer directed at pranamaya kosha, but achieves a deeper concentration leading to dhyana and samadhi of raja yoga.
Gayatri mantra The twenty-four syllable basic form of Gayatri mantra as it appears in the Rig Veda (3:62:11) is:
ॐ तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं। भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥ Om tatsaviturvarenyam Bhargo devasya dheemahi dhiyo yo nah prachodayaat.
This can be translated as: "Om. We meditate on the divine light of that adorable Sun of spiritual consciousness. May it stimulate our power of spiritual perception."
In the beginning, one should use the basic form of Gayatri. The inhalation, retention and exhalation must be adjusted according to the mental repetition of the Gayatri. For elementary pranayama, the repetition of one Gayatri mantra represents the duration of one inhalation. During breath retention, the mantra should be repeated twice. While exhaling also the mantra should be repeated twice. For higher pranayama the ratio is gradually increased.
Gayatri is not just a formula or a combination of words. Throughout the Vedas and Upanishads it is said time and again, "Om is nada; Gayatri is prana." Gayatri is created from Om. Om represents the nada of the sound principle. In the order of creation, this sound is further developed, and the developed state of the mantra Om is known as Gayatri. The spiritual teachers say that the original mantra is Om, for it is the universal bija mantra. However, it is a very powerful invocation and sometimes the aspirant is not qualified or prepared
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