Working with Sound
The Power of Sounds
People in the West have little or no idea of the forces that lie latent in sound, the vibrations that may be set up by those who understand how to pronounce certain words. The wisdom teachings tell that the entire activity in the cosmos takes place because of sound and that the study of the effect of sound will give an enormous instrument into the hands of humanity. Sound can be constructive, but also cause destructions. It is said that during the time of Atlantis some ascended to higher planes with the help of the science of sound, but others destroyed themselves through an irresponsible use and that it resulted in the submerging of humanity.
Through the influence of time and the increasing materialism man lost the key to sound, colour and form and the related divine powers. It was only in some parts of India and Tibet that the knowledge was preserved, but kept back in order to protect it from misuse. A little bit more than 100 years ago the Spiritual Hierarchy decided to give out once again the principles of use. Thus the knowledge is now given to people who are willing to work with it for the good of humanity. Mantras help purifying the emotions and the mental body. They can be sounded in hospitals and healing centres proposing relief and even cure to the sick. They can be used in conferences and seminars to provide clarity at the mental plane to the participants. When important global events of significance are about to take place, when for example peace talks are held between warring nations, the groups are recommended to work with mantrams to bestow Love and Light on the concerned men. During natural calamities too mantrams can be utilized to mitigate the damage to life and property. They help in works of good will to rebuild the society in tune with the Law. They produce and spread a field of Light around the practising groups and insulate against the impact of negative forces.
The Soundless Sound
In this age sound is the central key for transformation and for inner work. Sound is more subtle than light or forms. When we are speaking, we are diverging from the one sound to many. When we start listening, from divergence we are getting back into convergence towards the one sound. When we listen to the silence, we will hear a humming sound. This is the undertone, the basis of all speech, all inhalation and exhalation. We don’t utter it, it is only a continuous happening within ourselves. When we listen to the subjective sound, we listen to the OM. The OM which we utter is only to tune us up to the OM that is in us, it is a duplicate of the OM that is eternally happening inside. If OM concludes, we are concluded, if OM terminates, the worlds terminate. Many people sing OM, but don’t really listen to it. We only can listen to the intonated OM when we have developed the faculty to listen in the day to day life.
The source from where the sound emerges is the heart centre. This centre is called Anahata in Sanskrit, meaning the sound without the contact of two objects (an – ahata). There we can hear the soundless sound and listen to the voice of the silence. This manifests electric energy of the spirit and magnetic fluid of the soul and prana. The daily invocation of the Sacred Word repudiates thoughts of a lower vibration and attracts thoughts of a finer nature. Thus good bodies for high souls can be built up. When we use the OM it is important that we utter it with determination, think constructively and cause only thoughts of good will translated into good actions. We will destroy other thoughts with OM, otherwise OM will destroy us. All our intentions to work with OM will be destroyed, when the throat and the tongue are critical, judgemental and negative and we thus hurt and discourage others. Through thoughtless speech we also waste accumulated energy.
Seed Thoughts, Mantrams and Rhythmical Arrangement
The heart centre is the door to the inner chambers which leads us into the system of the spinal column. There you find seven energy centres with seven seed sound, and each seed sound has groups of sounds as its companion. In all, there are 35 seed sounds, which are very powerful and essentially fiery. Mantrams have their roots in the seed sounds and are diluted versions; further diluted are hymns, bhajans and songs. The mantric sounds are universal and should not be understood as Eastern, Indian or Sanskrit versions. The Gayatri mantram for example relates to the entire universe and invokes the solar energy into us, it is a contemplation on THAT which exists on all three planes as consciousness, force and matter, so that THAT permeates and fulfils us. Therefore the Spiritual Hierarchy has decided to spread the Gayatri mantram globally and to see to it that it is sung by as many groups as possible.
The sound may be regarded as the spirit, while the seed sound, the mantrams and the language relating thereto represent the soul and the language the personality of a race or community. Attachment to one’s own language can be seen as love of one’s own personality. With a mantram the sound vibrations are essential, but not the language and the meaning. Therefore the approach to a mantram is towards the vibration set forth, but not to the meaning. There the concrete mind, trying to systematize, would find it difficult and crystallize.
“Mantric forms are collections of phrases, words, and sounds which by virtue of rhythmic effect achieve results that would not be possible apart from them.” (Letters on Occult Meditation, p. 163) The specific intonation brings in rhythm to the person practicing, in order to reach the vibration he should carefully listen to the sound of the letters. He is recommended not to utter unless he has listened well and gained the related confidence with the utterance. When we utter a mantram regularly and with an attitude of veneration, the sound vibration creates a funnel of Light, a protective etheric shield, which allows us to proceed in the right direction and prevents us from wrong directions. But casual utterance would not give such results.
By rhythmic arrangement of sound vibrations a mantram can be given by an initiate in any language. It was prophesied by a Master of Wisdom that in the years to come English will be the language of spiritualists (Yogis), and therefore the seers and the Devas of Sound are now working out the patterns and modalities in English, as they did in Sanskrit in the past. Thus the syllables of the English language are now selected as the meditation symbols of the spiritualists of all the regions of the earth globe.
Some names of masters have become mantrams. We can utter the sound and visualize or just propose the presence without any further mental contemplation on it. In his presence we can do our meditative exercises and try to put his teachings into day to day practice. No genuine master has ever asked to meditate on his form; he remains only a channel for THAT which is beyond.
It is the work of Uranus to introduce anew working with sounds. In the present cycle Master CVV was the first who invoked the rays of Uranus and made them available. He proposed the syllables C V V (English pronunciation) as sound potency in order to stimulate the uranian energy in us and to transform the matter. It is his promise to correct us from within and to take us to a faster development through dynamic changes. It is in this way that within twelve years the energies of synthesis lying latent in us will become dynamic and our consciousness will get integrated into the universal consciousness or into synthesis.
Sources used: K. P. Kumar: Mantrams. Their Significance & Practice / On Healing / seminar notes. The World Teacher Trust - Dhanishta, Visakhapatnam, India. Alice A. Bailey: Letters on Occult Meditation. Lucis-Trust, London ( www.lucistrust.org )