Sound & The Ether Element
There is a special capacity in sound and the sense of listening that surpasses every other sense. Sound and listening are related to the ether element, the fifth element – the quint-essence, which permeates our worldly existence more profoundly than any of the other elements. The ether element is sometimes simply referred to as the space in which the other elements are expanding; it is represented by the vowel “a” for the consonants S, T, N and M within the mantra “Sa Ta Na Ma.” Several teachings (Sikh, Buddhist and Sufi among them) claim that sound is able to guide us through the challenging passage we need to traverse when we die, which will determine our liberation from the attractions between this world and our ego or personality and the further course of our soul.
Shabad Guru & Mantra Meditation
Since sound, more specifically mantra or shabad (word), has this power it is used as a guru (guide or teacher) and called Shabad Guru. This is why we meditate with mantra. Mantra exemplifies the traversing power between matter and spirit in both directions. By repetition, we try to make our essence beyond our conscious mind vibrate and resonate with it so that it serves us in crucial moments. One important aspect is that the mantra must represent the greatest and purest idea of our relation and origin in the universal consciousness, in God or anything that represents God (God as such is thought to be beyond sound), the place we want to go to.
The Sound of Your Voice
Furthermore, there is a mystery and phenomenon of the possibilities of listening to your own voice. The sound of your voice, not unlike your entire physical body and its posture and body language, is a carrier and communicator of your karma, history and essence. In this capacity it tells other people a lot about you (maybe more than you know or would like to publicised), but it can also serve as a resonance of feedback about yourself to yourself. This is why it can be such a powerful and healing object of meditation.
Meditate on the Shabad Guru with me
We apply repetition in rhythm and the sound of our own voice to relax and process the layers of our ego, personality and history, so we can be reached and transformed by the essence of Soul. It is a technology of self-trance and enchantment. The mantra is shaped in primordial syllables of ancient, sacred languages, which carry the essence of Soul itself within: “Ek Ong Kaar Sat Naam Siri Waheguru.” In chanting for meditation we can experience the mysteries and powers hidden within our own voices and offer ourselves to the sacred sound-current to be in communion and union with the One Soul. We are looking for the liberating and healing powers from within.
Try one of these meditation classes on Vimeo which all contain a half-hour meditation singing the mantra “Ek Ong Kaar Sat Naam Siri Waheguru:”
#167 Meditation Class: Shabad Guru – Ek Ong Kaar Sat Naam Siri Waheguru
#169 Meditation Class: Shabad Guru & Balance Mental Energies Pranayama
#171 Meditation Class: Shabad Guru & Rejuvenation Pranayama
#174 Meditation Class: Shabad Guru & Composite Polarity Mudra Pranayama
#176 Meditation Class: Shabad Guru & Disease Prevention Pranayama
or find some classes with shorter meditations. The term Shabad Guru Meditation is not referring to one specific meditation only. Every meditation that is based on continuous concentration on the sound of your own voice chanting a sacred mantra falls under this category.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” – Gospel of John 1.1
“He who knows the secret of sound, knows the mystery of the whole universe.” “Singing raises the Soul of man higher than any form of religion. Music is power and intoxication.” – Hazrat Inayat Khan, Sufi Master (1882 – 1927)
“Vibrate the Cosmos, and the cosmos shall clear the path.” – Aquarian Sutra
“Nomen est Omen” (“Nominative Determinism”)