“Want to pull in all the loose ends, focus, and concentrate? Here’s a mantra to help you consolidate and change your habits. This mantra is a catalyst for change. So don’t be surprised if your spiritual cleansing process is vastly accelerated!”
-Shakti Parwha Kaur
The Practice
This meditation brings mental balance. Through this practice, the mind awakens to the infinite capacity of the soul for sacrifice, service, and creation. It is said that a person who meditates on this sound current for 2.5 hours a day for a year, will know the unknowable and see the unseeable.
Research has shown that 12 minutes of Kirtan Kriya a day can improve cognition and memory function, and helps to prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
Click here to learn more about clinical research into the effects of Kirtan Kriya.
Posture: Sit in Easy Pose with a straight spine, and a light Neck Lock. Wrists are on the knees, arms and elbows straight, start with the hands in Gyan Mudra.
Eyes: Meditate at the brow point.
Mantra & Mudra: Chant Saa, Taa, Naa, Maa. With each sound, alternate through four mudras:
- On Saa, touch the first (Jupiter) finger; Gyan Mudra (knowledge)
- On Taa, touch the second (Saturn) finger; Shuni Mudra (wisdom, intelligence, patience)
- On Naa, touch the third (Sun) finger; Surya Mudra (vitality, energy of life)
- On Maa, touch the fourth (Mercury) finger; Buddhi Mudra (ability to communicate)
Each repetition of the mantra takes 3 to 4 seconds.
Kirtan kriya is practiced in a cycle, in which the mantra is first chanted aloud, then whispered, and finally repeated silently, before the whole sequence is reversed.
To practice for 12 minutes, begin by chanting aloud for 2 minutes. Then chant in a strong whisper for 2 minutes. Then, continuing to cycle through the mudras, mentally vibrate the mantra for 4 minutes. Then whisper the mantra for 2 minutes, and finally chant aloud for 2 minutes.
The time can be extended up to 30 minutes, keeping the proportional sequence of loud, whisper, silent, silent, whisper, loud. To practice for 30 minutes, each part will be 5 minutes in length (with 10 total minutes of silence in the middle).
Continue for 12-30 minutes. End with 1 minute of stillness or silent prayer. Then inhale, then exhale. Stretch the spine, with the hands reaching up as far as possible. Spread the fingers wide, taking several deep breaths. Relax.
Comments:
These five primal sounds (panj shabd) are derived from the bij mantra, Sat Nam: S, T, N, M, and A. Each time the mudra is closed by joining the thumb with a finger, the ego “seals” the effect of that mudra in the consciousness.
Vibrating on each fingertip alternates the electrical polarities. The index and ring fingers are electrically negative, relative to the other fingers. This causes a balance in the electromagnetic projection of the aura.
Chanting out loud, whispering, and silence are considered the three languages of consciousness.
If during the silent part of the meditation, the mind wanders uncontrollably, you can go back to a whisper, to a loud voice, to a whisper, and back into silence. Do this as often as you need to.
Some people may experience headaches from practicing Kirtan Kriya. The most common reason for this is improper circulation of prana in the solar centers. To avoid or correct this problem, it can help to meditate in the “L” form. Imagine the energy of each sound moving down through the Crown Chakra, and out through the Third Eye Point as it is projected to Infinity. This energy flow follows the energy pathway called the Golden Cord, the connection between the pineal and pituitary glands.
You may also want to try covering the head with a natural fiber cloth.
“Although you do not have to know the meaning of the syllables, you may want to think about the concepts as you chant them. For those of you who would enjoy visualizing:
- Each time you chant Saa, picture all the galaxies, planets, suns, moons, and stars.
- Taa: visualize tremendous radiance, the brilliant, dazzling light of a trillion suns.
- Naa: see a winter landscape, the branches of the barren trees standing silent in the snow, all of nature dormant.
- Maa: picture thousands of spring flowers in a burst of glorious technicolor, brilliant blooms joyfully blanketing the hillside as far as the eye can see.”
-Shakti Parwha Kaur