GAURANGA. And of course, four syllables GAU-RA-AN-GA. Let’s practice saying it because some of you were not here last night. First, I will say the mantra then everyone can repeat. Alright, everybody ready? GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. Very good.
A technique is a deep breathing technique. Just breathing correctly is very, very beneficial. We should breath all the time very slowly, gently and deeply. It calms the body, it calms the mind; many, many benefit. So, by practicing our meditation we can also develop the correct breathing technique. So, as we inhale slowly, gently and deeply we will chant silently in our mind GAU-RA-AN-GA. This will be our sub-version of silent meditation, but it includes the mantra. Very purifying even sounding silently in the mind. When our body is filled with air we will begin to exhale. As we exhale out loud we will chant GAU-RA-AN-GA. And we will repeat it several times.
Before we begin our meditation we want to relax. Relaxation is very important, but unfortunately, we almost never do it. You might hear someone say, “Oh, I do not have time to relax” or “I do not know how to relax”. And if we do decide to relax often we use alcohol, drugs, something like this. Not good. There was a guy on the train. He was so relaxed from vodka that he fell down on the floor. They had to take him out. Very relaxed, but it did not help him. It destroys his body and closes the door to spiritual life. Complete waste of the human form.
This age we live in, which is called Kali-yuga, is filled with tension and stress. It accumulates in our bodies, especially in the upper part. One key area is our face. We keep so much tension in the face. That’s why we get wrinkles very early in life and we spend the rest of our life trying to get rid of them. So, relax the face.
One time I was at an alternative show in Norway. Across from our meditation booth there was a man, that was from Russia by the way, he was giving everybody the chance to lose the wrinkles. He would take away their wrinkles. He had a line all day long, usually women. I did not see too many guys. Guys do not care. So many women.. and they paid big money. One lady came over to me and said, “Oh, I was just over there and he took away all my wrinkles.” I looked at her, “I do not think you looked in a mirror yet.” I did not want to break her bubble, “Yes, very good.”
Anyway, so much tension in the face. So, we want to relax it, especially the forehead. Really, consciously, just really relax the face. Let everything sink down, all tension go away. Another area is the neck. We get tension headaches from the neck. So, again, try to relax the neck. The same is to the shoulders, chest. There is even a saying: do not be so uptight. We say, “I am not uptight” and walk around like this…
To help us to relax we are going to take a big breath and let it out. With the outgoing breath the tension, anxiety, frustration go away. When you take the big breath, take it in the stomach, not in the chest. In yoga breathing you make that little sound in your throat. This is warming the air, this is relaxing the muscles, relaxing the joints. Another little yoga trick.
So, when we relax we will begin our meditation and listen very closely to the sound. Think of a friend telling you a secret. You pay attention, you listen, you do not want to miss anything.
And next, put the mind on the sound. The mind will drift away to another subject, bring it back to the sound. It goes away again, bring it back to the sound. Like a mother with a two-year-old kid. She puts the kid down, immediately he goes away. She brings him back. He does it again. Our minds are like that kid. Remember, we are not the mind, we are spirit soul. We bring the mind back to the sound.
Ok, I will give you a demonstration again if you were not here last night. So that you can see how it works. Then we all will do it together. Alright? I am going to begin by taking a big breath and relaxing. Now very slowly, gently and deeply I inhale and chant GAURANGA in the mind. GAU-RA-AN-GA, GAU-RA-AN-GA. Alright, it is just that easy.
So, let’s all do that now. It is good to sit erect in your seat, sit erect but also relaxed. You can do this: gently erect. It helps us to breath, keeps our spine aligned. Again, many benefits. So, all you have to do is follow my guidance. Remember to stay relaxed. If you feel tension comes back in, relax again.
Meditate on the sound. When we finish we will sit quietly for a couple of moments and feel the effect.
Everybody take a big breath, let it out and relax. GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. Two more times. GAU-RA-AN-GA. GAU-RA-AN-GA. HARIBOL.
So, you can see this is a very easy meditation to do. You learnt it in a couple of minutes. It is also very relaxing. Excellent way to start the day. When you wake up in the morning the first 5,10,15 minutes or more you can do the meditation. It is the excellent way to end the day. We are busy all day. We come home. We are tired, frustrated and may be a little angry. Forget all that, sit down, relax, do your meditation and go to sleep. Of course you can do it any time. Take a walk in nature, sit down, do the GAURANGA meditation. So many ways you can beneficially apply it.
When you do this meditation, actually, you surround yourself with a little bubble of transcendental sound. And at that time you really are not in the material world. You are in the spiritual atmosphere. And you can create it whenever you like.
Also if there is some disturbance: traffic, noise, kids playing, dogs barking, people talking, common things. If you are trying to silently meditate this is a big problem. But when you start chanting these mantras all that disturbance disappears. So, it is perfectly suited for this chaotic Kali-yuga, prescribed specifically for this age.