Sunday, September 20, 2009

Om Mani Padme Hum...

All of us have heard of the mantra "Om" which is considered as the universal sound, made of 3 basic sounds A, U, M.... Each sound creates a different vibration; so it is used to cleanse the mind and body and its one of the most powerful sounds to meditate on. I've noticed that just playing the Om chanting in my room it has a very calming and cleansing effect...


That being said, not many of us would have heard of "Om Mani Padme Hum" (Hail the jewel in the lotus). It is derived from Sanskrit and the originations are traced back to Buddhism and associated with Dalai Lama. I read a couple of books by Thich Nhat Hanh a few months back and that's when I had come across these words but never bothered to find out more. Yesterday a friend of mine told me the meaning of this and I immediately read up more about its benefits and also found a link to the chanting in Youtube....


Just listening to it for 10 mins had such an amazing effect! It's incredibly peaceful & calming and the tune used is so soothing that it takes just a few mins to relax your mind and body... It's purpose is to generate positive, peaceful vibrations and mainly vibrations of compassion.

OM (Ohm) - symbolizes the pure noble body, speech and mind
MANI (Ma Nee) - the jewel, symbolizes factors of method, compassion and love, the altruistic intention to become enlightened
PADME (Peh-d-May) - means lotus and symbolizes wisdom. Growing out of mud, but not being stained by mud, lotus indicates the quality of wisdom, which keeps you out of contradiction.
HUM (Hum) - means inseparability; symbolizing purity & can be achieved by the unity of method and wisdom

More details here if you are interested:
Wiki Link

Meaning and Pronunciation


Now I play it in a loop even when I am browsing, reading a book or sometimes just in the background and the whole atmosphere feels rejuvenated and peaceful... Try it, to experience it! You can even meditate on this by just closing your eyes and listening to it and focusing on the words or reciting it yourself....


There are different versions, but I liked this the best...

2 comments:

Unknown said...

absolutely true..
close ur eyes and u r transported to a scenic valley with a freshwater spring nearby.....
probably a place in Palampur where we stayed long back
:)

Unknown said...

You may buy 'Tibetan Incantation' cd which is available at a shop near brigade road. I got it from Katmandu, near the famous buddha stupa.

abhi