We have a quite complicated subject today but I was requested by several people to speak on this idea and I agreed, so now you have to pay attention.
To help us get in the right mood and to clear our thoughts a little bit we are going to start with a very easy meditation. Many of you probably already know this, as we have taught it many times before but some of you may not. It is a deep breathing meditation called “Gauranga breathing meditation”.
I think everyone has received one of our little mantra cards. If you did not – raise your hand and we will give you a card. The mantra we will be using is on the front of the card… well, what is the front, what is the back (laughing). How about the lotus flower side?
The mantra is GAURANGA NITAI-GAUR.
This type of meditation is mantra meditation. Mantras are transcendental sounds. “Transcendental” means “spiritual”. They are spiritual sound vibrations originating in the spiritual realm and descending into this material realm. Because they come from the spiritual realm they bring with them great spiritual power, so when we contact that sound vibration we automatically receive great spiritual benefit.
Just today but many, many times in the past people have said, “Meditation for me is so difficult, I have tried it and I just can’t do it.” They are thinking of silent meditation…. we have to sit and remove all the thoughts from your mind and all kinds of difficult procedures. No, that is not this and this is not that.
What we are doing is just coming into contact with the transcendental sound. The potency is in the sound; we do not make it work. We don’t need to understand it, we don’t need to have faith in it, and we don’t have to believe in it. You see, it is not about me; it is about the sound vibration, so therefore it becomes very easy. You don’t have to practice for years and years. Right now you are going to become very proficient in meditation and take it home with you.
All right, so the mantra GAURANGA NITAI-GAUR. We will divide GAURANGA into the four syllables: GAU-RA-AN-GA. NITAI – two syllables: NI-TAI and then GAUR. Let’s all repeat that just to make sure we have our pronunciation correct. I will say the mantra and everyone can respond. Ok? Ready?
BKd: GAURANGA
The audience: GAURANGA
BKd: NITAI-GAUR
The audience: NITAI-GAUR
Very good. Our technique is also very simple, it is a deep breathing technique. We will breathe in through our nose very slowly and gently but also very deeply. We want to take the air all the way down to the lower abdomen, no shallow breathing in the chest. You see, there are two ways to breathe: like a little bird or like a frog. (Laughing) This is frog breathing.
As we inhale silently in our mind we will chant GAU-RA-AN-GA. When our body is filled with air we will begin to exhale and on the outgoing breath we will chant out loud GAU-RA-AN-GA (slowly). Then we will inhale again slowly, gently and deeply. This time silently in the mind we will chant NITAI-GAUR. And again the body fills with air, we exhale and out loud and we will chant NITAI-GAUR (slowly). Then we will repeat it several times.
Before we begin we want to relax. To help us relax we will take a big breath in and let it out. With the outgoing breath let your tension, anxiety, and frustration or whatever may be there, go away. While we do the meditation we want to listen very closely to the sound; put your mind on the sound and meditate on the sound. That is the whole thing – meditating on this transcendental sound. Ok? So let’s do it now.
It is good to sit erect as much as possible. I know you are not sitting in seats; you are sitting on the ground but you don’t want to be too slumped over because this constricts everything. You see, everything is so tight and cramped up so try to sit erect keeping the neck straight etc., just for the breathing purposes. Then as we continue, stay relaxed and when we finish just sit quietly for a few moments and feel the effect.
All right, here we go. All you have to do is follow my guidance. I sometimes say, if you want to do this, and this is not necessary, you can put these two fingers together (thumb and second finger) because this triggers a relaxation process in the body. There is a little relaxation response from just doing this.
Here we go, everybody take a big breath, let it out and relax. Now very slowly, gently inhale deeply and chant GAURANGA in the mind.
GAURANGA NITAI-GAUR Meditation…
Haribol. So you can see it is a very easy meditation to do. Maybe you also found it is quite relaxing … an excellent way to begin your day and an excellent way to end your day. When you wake up in the morning you can do the meditation, and just before you go to sleep at night you can do the meditation. Of course you can do it anytime, so keep these cards with you, take them home and you can practice on your own.