Mantra Meditation and Sanskrit: let the light shine

Most of the mantras we use in meditation class are in Sanskrit. So why do we keep using Sanskrit and not just translate them into English?

This is a very important question that can be answered briefly but if we really want to honour the subject it is necessary to remember that it is very vast field of study and I can only put down one brushstroke today. Sanskrit is one of the oldest languages on earth and contains the science of sound within its very alphabet. The science that shows that sound creates light via its different frequencies.

"The inelastic collision of molecules, electrons and protons create sound.

This sound can give birth to light.

We know in a process called sonoluminescence that sound can create brief flashes of light.

In ongoing research, scientists are exploring how this affects our biology.

Sound can penetrate deeper into our tissues than light.

We are filled with light-sensitive proteins that capture, store and utilise light energy throughout the body.

From the light of the sun to the light surrounding us, to the light created within us by biophoton emission, we communicate via light.

By using sound waves to trigger light-sensitive opsins within our body, science has opened a whole new avenue that brings us full circle back to what the ancients knew.”

- Dr. Catherine Clinton , Quantum Biologist.

So what is it that the ancients knew, the rishis, saints and sages? That Sanskrit and all its vowel and consonant sounds can produce light. That certain specific combinations of Sanskrit sounds will produce certain effects in the human biology. That this will be an effective way to "infuse light into the darkness". They knew that we can use the science of sound to infuse light into the unnecessary suffering and karma that we carry. All so we can transmute and transform our physical, mental and emotional vehicles to reach a point where we can start to infuse more and more light into ourselves, our community and our environment.

Sanskrit is also known as Devanagiri, which means the abode of the Angels or Devas. This refers to the unique ability of Sanskrit sounds to each activate a very specific energetic quality within the person who utters the sound. This is also why Devanagiri was the language used to write some of the most sacred texts on the planet; the Vedas. This includes works like the Ramayana, the Bhagavad Gita, The Yoga sutras of Patanjali but to mention a few. The sutra structure ( sounds threaded together into short bead like chapters) of these texts makes of each of them a mantra in its own right. Some of the oldest mantra we still use today like the Gayatri and Mahamritunjaye come from the Vedas. `Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu' mantra comes from the Guru Gita and so many more.

Sanskrit is a beautiful experience on the tongue and allows us to taste a different way of using our miraculous capacity for speech. It is worth learning the words and reciting them as and when you can. Using Sanskrit mantras can truly lead us on a path of self discovery as we come to shed light on different dimensions of our very nature, our unnecessary suffering and our karma.

Please see the next blog post on great mantras to get you started with your Mantra Meditation practise. Also some guideline about how you can practise.