Mantras

As Amma already told, chants are the voice of the divine. They are the breath of the divine. Where did the human world get these chants? Who wrote all of these chants? Is there any writer? Who created them? Who gave these chants to the world?

It was not created. It was found. Where was it found? The chants, all of the chants that the world is using to bring peace, joy and all such things, all of these chants are from the Vedas. What does ‘Vedas’ mean? Each and every religion has a holy text or guide. For example, Christianity has the Bible, for Islam there is the Koran. For each and every religion, there is a holy text which will help to lead the people on a path of peace and joy and on the path of spirituality. Like this, in Hinduism, the holy text is the Vedas.

If each and every religion has its holy text, does it mean that the Vedas are just for Hindus? No, it is for the Universe. It is for the whole world. It is for each and everyone because the Vedas are from nature. No one can say that nature is for me or nature is for this country. Nature is common. It is for everyone. Everyone owns nature. The Vedas are for each and everyone in the world.

The Bible was given by people who were with Christ. The Koran was given by those who were with the Prophet Muhammad. But the Vedas were found; where were they found? They were found from nature. In the olden days, when the sages were in deep meditation, they could hear the different sounds of nature. For example, as a human, when you are alone in a room, you can hear different sounds other than normal sounds. When you concentrate in the silence you can hear some different sounds. This is the human level.

For sages, their concentration level is much more than a human. When they are in deep meditation they can hear the sound from nature. The sages collected all of the sounds and combined them all together and these are called Chants. Once the sages received the chants they then taught them to their successors and then they taught them to their successors. So far, the Vedas came like that. There are no scriptures for the Vedas. There is one procedure called Carna Caturum. Carna means ear. Caturum means through. So far, the Vedas survived through passing from one pair of ears to the next, from one to one, one to one, one to one.

What are all of the things that are in the Vedas? What are all of the subjects in the Vedas? The Vedas are full of chants. They have formulas for everything. There are chants for peace, chants for happiness, chants to clear the pollution in nature, chants to take out poisons from the physical body if you have snake bites, etc. There is everything. There is nothing left incomplete in the Vedas. There are chants for everything.
From these chants only, we are having many divine forms. For example, many of them you know; Lakshmi, Saraswati and Durga. Did anyone take a picture of Lakshmi and Saraswati? How is it that the world knows that Lakshmi will sit on the lotus, and have a lotus in her hand? How is it that the world knows that Saraswati will have a veena in her hand? How did the world come to know all of these things? Again, it is through the Vedas.

Once the sages received the chants, they started to chant; creating vibrations (each and every sound has vibrations). So when the sages chanted what they received from nature, they created vibrations which already existed in nature. The vibrations from the sages and the vibrations which already existed from nature, when both were combined together, as per the meaning of the chant, the meaning of each and every chant then became clearly manifested.
For example, in the Sri Suktam, one sentence is, “Padhmadhane Padhmabhuru Padhmakshe Padhmasambhave” which means, “Oh Mother, who sits on the lotus, whose eyes are like the lotus, who is the colour of the lotus and who sits in the position of the lotus”. Through the chant itself you can see the form. In the chants, just by hearing the chant, just by understanding the meaning, you can visualize the form of how Goddess Mahalakshmi looks. In this sentence itself, you already know the colour, how she sits, what she’s holding and everything.

Each and every chant has meaning. When the sages did the chants they received from nature, the chants created the same vibrations that already exist in nature and these two sets of vibrations when mixed together, nature itself took the form, as in the meaning. That’s what they call Siddhi which means attained. Siddhi means “I got it.” When you do chants, the vibration of the chants must mingle with the chants of equal vibration which are already in nature. When they both mix, then, as per the meaning, nature itself takes the form of God or Goddess. It depends on the chant then it is blessed.

This is how they saw the form of the divine. They then created the chants on how she looked and everything. Then they taught the world about Goddess Mahalakshmi and how beautiful She is. So, through those vibrations, they created all the pictures in whatever the form the divine is in, it is not the imagination. It is in nature. Each and every form is in nature. It’s not the imagination. This is why we have so many forms of the divine. It is from the Vedas.
The Vedas are for everything. They have the formulas for all illnesses. In traditional medicine we have many things like Homeopathic. In the olden days you would have Allopathic and Siddha. All of these things are from the Vedas. They split the Vedas into several parts. Astrology is from the Vedas. Yoga is from the Vedas. All of the Shastras and all the things that scientists are now discovering, have already been told in the Vedas.

Very recently they have found that the planet Mars is red in colour. For millions and millions of years, there have been statues of the nine planets called Navagrahas. For the Navagrahas and the name of Mars, there is one God called Chavvia. It insists that you need to decorate the God of Mars with a red coloured dress. This is something which was very recently discovered by scientists yet was in practice for millions of years. There are many things like that. Sometimes people think that scientists are not accepting the divine and not accepting spirituality. This is not true. They are providing the proof for spirituality. It helps many people to understand certain things like vibrations.
Before science and technology, it was very hard to explain to people that when you chant it creates good vibrations. People could not understand that. After advances in technology, it is very easy to understand that it is possible. If you hear someone sing a song in one place, at the same moment, the whole country can hear that song through all of these waves; electrical waves, magnetic waves, etc.

At one time it was very hard to explain to the world that there are things in the Vedas called chants and when you do the chants; it creates energy for you and if you think of someone in need and when you do prayers for them, it will reach them. People think that this must be the imagination and that it’s not possible. Technology and science help to prove these things. When you are sitting in one place, you are sending vibrations all over the country and all over the world. All of these things that the world is now discovering are already in the Vedas.

The Vedas are not just one religion. They are not just for Hindus. They are for the whole world. The Vedas are very broad and very wise. They are for all religions. They are for everyone, not just for humans but for all creations and for all universes. From these Vedas alone, you have all of the chants. With all yogas, all the breathing exercises and everything are from the Vedas. The main concept of the Vedas is to lead the human life on a path of peace and joy through a spiritual life. This is the ultimate goal of the Vedas. This is the story of the Vedas and how they started.
When there is doubt or when some people have doubt as to how the sound was received from nature and how it was possible to receive the Vedas from nature; the proof is there through science. How are we receiving sound? What is needed to create sound? To create movement you need some force, then the movement will create vibration and that vibration will bring sound. The Vedas are from the breath of the divine. They are created from the air of the divine. You all must feel very blessed that you hear these chants. There are many people who do not have this chance, these opportunities, but you all are blessed to have this opportunity.

The Vedas are the divine breath, which is air. The sound starts from there with movement. When some object moves, it brings sound. If there is any movement it means that there must be a force, which is air. The Vedas are the breath of the divine. What you are hearing everyday, what you are breathing everyday, it is the breath of the divine. You are becoming one of the divine every day just by hearing, just by breathing. Feel that you are blessed to have this opportunity. Enjoy the moment. Just as Amma said, with chants the meaning is not important but the sound is very important. Just listen to those chants. The chants are for the world, any person in the world, any religion in the world, any community in the world can listen, can hear and can learn them. Only humans are blessed to have these opportunities. Enjoy the day. Amma blesses you all.

Conversations with Amma
Devotee: Amma how long would you have to chant to start to see divine form?
Amma: It depends. When you see Tamil movies, they start by sitting in meditation, then they become very old. It takes a very long time. Suddenly, one day, the divine appears in front of them and says, “I am happy. I am please with your prayers. What do you want?” It’s not like that in terms of time.

Devotee: Amma, there are chants in other religions, and other people do chants. Are they similar to the Vedas? Are they related to the Vedas?
Amma: In some parts of the world, in some religions, it is similar to the Vedas. When you look at all of the Asian countries, there is Buddhism. For all of those religions, the Vedas are the Mother of all those religions. The world itself exists from that sound. When you chant all the chants, they first start with Om. Om is the eternal sound of this universe. It exists everywhere. If you take a cup and you cover your ear and listen, you can hear the sound of OM. Om is the eternal sound of the universe. You are in that energy. You are within that. You are that. It depends upon how you are living whether you are becoming that or something else.

Devotee: Amma what is the significance of 108?
Amma: It is related to these vibrations; just as was asked how much we need to chant to see the divine form. For the human body to receive a certain amount of the vibrations, it needs the minimum energy, which you will receive in the 108.

Devotee: What about the number 9? What does it represent?
Amma: It’s like the negative/positive. It’s balancing. It’s not this; it’s not that. It’s like the world. In the world you have the negative and the positive and it’s balancing from one to one. When you do the chanting 108, 1008… when you add these up it comes to 9. Also, around this human world there are many planets but the nine planets have a very big role in the human world. So this is also one of the reasons why the have the number 9.

Devotee: Does your mind have to be clear to get the benefits of chanting?
Amma: It’s like good, better, best. It’s like that. For example, if you are in the place where you are not aware of any chants, you don’t know the meaning, you are not interested but you are going to the place where the chanting is going on, your physical body will still accept the energy. That is good. Second, which is better; you are interested in it, you don’t know the meaning, but you are interested to hear the chants, this is good. Third is when you listen to the chants and know the meaning. This is best. That energy is always there. Depending upon how much you want, that much you will get. If you are closer, more connected, it will be much closer to you. If you are not interested then it will not be as close.

Devotee: What’s the story in the Vedas, like… in the Bible, Adam and Eve was the first human births, or their kids were the first human births. What’s the real story?
Amma: Your question is a problematic question. What’s the real story? (Laughter) Each and every religion has faith from a starting point. In this way you need not say which is real. Faith is God. If it says this in the Bible, it’s OK. In the Vedas, they really don’t have all of those things. Other Puranas and Shastras will have those things. The Vedas talk about morals and human values, the power of the human, and the strength of the human. It talks only about things like that.
Inside the religion, there is a story in which the first form is the form of the Goddess who is called Adi Parasakthi. From there, She creates three energies for creation; one to generate, one to sustain, and one to destroy, which are Lakshmi, Saraswati and Durga. Then, to balance those three energies, they created another three which are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, and from there it starts. So you are the son of Lakshmi.

Devotee: When you are chanting by yourself does it make a difference if you say it out loud or silent?
Amma: It has a difference. When you do it internally it is far more powerful than externally. There are three types of chanting. One is internally which is considered to be the best and which has the most power. Then chanting just a little louder so that you can hear, and then chanting much louder. The third is also good. Step by step. You can choose any way you want.

Devotee: You said earlier about the power of chanting to heal and detoxify the body from poisons and chemicals. Can you speak about that a bit? Does the person who may have the toxicity have to do the chanting or can someone else do it?
Amma: Someone can do it. It is the vibration. It’s not something like magic. It is the vibrations. When you create the vibrations, and the people breathe those vibrations, it starts to react on the physical body. As per that reaction, it will start to make the poison disappear or it will create good energy into the physical body so in that way, the poison will be minimized.

Devotee: And are there particular Vedic chants to do that?
Amma: Yes, as Amma told, the Vedas are one but have been split into eighteen parts. The Vedas talk about medicines and the formulas. They talk about creating homes and building homes, and engineering. They talk about geography. The Vedas talk about three main things. They talk about the geographical, about all of the planets and all the stars and things, and about the formulas for healers. Other parts mostly talk about human values. They talk about righteousness and justice and they talk about the forms of the divine, and about the chants, and about astrology. They talk about the architecture of building temples, which are called the Shilpa Shastram, Agama Shastram, Artha Shastram, Garuda Purana, Mimamsa, Tharkum, etc.

Devotee: I’m asking about the number 27?
Amma: 27, yes. Even though there are many planets, the nine planets which are very much related to this world, which are around this world, the human world, as per that, there are 27 stars. In astrology, when you want to look at your chart, first they are going to ask, “What’s your star?” These nine planets each have three stars. The nine planets are related to 27 stars. That’s the meaning.

Devotee: Did humans originate from the stars?
Amma: No, no, no. Ultimately each and every soul in the human world is from the divine. No one will have their birth from a star. Everyone will start their birth from nature, from the divine, not particularly from the stars. The timing of when you take birth in the world, may be related or connected to one star, of the 27 stars. Your birth may connect with any one star of the 27. You may have a connection with a star but you’re not created from the star.

Devotee: Amma, the vibration that gets created in the chanting is related to the sound we’re making so how do we, when we’re not with you, make sure that the chanting has the right sounds to the words?
Amma: As Amma told, even though there are lots of chants, the most simple and best is “Om Namo Narayani”.

Devotee: Is that in the Vedas too? “Om Namo Narayani”?
Amma: Yes, yes, yes. Because the first word Om is the eternal sound of the universe.

Devotee: Amma, in the Vedas you refer to the 14 universes. When you said the Vedas were not just for human kind or this universe but all 14 can you just elaborate on the 14 universes and that the Vedas aren’t just for human kind but for other beings?
Amma: Only in this world, in the human world, are there forms with the physical. All the other worlds, there is still form, but they don’t have the physical form. The Vedas talk about Siddha Lokam, which is the world for sages, then there is Deva Lokam which is the world for angels, Badala Lokam which is the underwater world and then there are other worlds like Ashwa Lokam which is for another type of angel. There are 13 other worlds but only in this human world will you have this physical form.

In the rest of the worlds they do not have this physical form. How the Vedas help, how they bring strength and energy to the other worlds is through all of the rituals that you do in this physical world. This human world will help all other 13 worlds this way. For example, one ritual, of the many, is the ‘Havaan’ which is the ritual with fire that you do. You do the havaan with offerings of fruits, flowers, ghee and all of those things. In one way it is creating good for this world and in another way it is providing the food for another world. The other world is benefiting through the Vedas from this world. One of the very simple reasons for the havaan and why we need to do the havaan, which in Sanskrit is Yagam or Yagna meaning ‘offering’; you are offering with love to the divine. With that, certain parts go to the angels in the other world as food so they benefit in this way.

Devotee: Amma, so that means that if people on earth don’t do these yagams then the creation from the other world can’t exist?
Amma: Yes, yes, yes, not that they can’t exist, but they will suffer. They will have pain. For example, in the human world, when you feel hunger, you take physical food which is created by the divine from nature. You have fruits, rice and things. You are in a physical form so you need to have physical food. For the other worlds, they don’t have the physical form but they have the wish and have the feeling of hunger, etc.

The way that nature has been created, whatever you offer in this world, by way of the havaan into the fire, certain parts go to the angels and to the rest of the worlds as food, and if you are not doing this here then they don’t get fed. There is one phrase in the old tradition that says, “Let long live angels, priests, cows, kings, cities.” See the steps. First are angels, then priests and then cows. Why the cow? First are angels. When they feel healthy and happy they will bless this world with natural wealth. The angels are the authority for nature. Each and every angel will have the power to control nature; one part of nature.
When angels are happy then they will give natural wealth to this world and everyone in the world will be happy. So if angels have the need to be happy they should have the food and other things to create their happiness. Who needs to provide this food to the angels? The priests through chants and through the fire offerings into the havaan they provide the food for the angels. Though you will have many things into the havaan like fruits and rice, the main offering is ghee which is from cows. That is why the steps first say long live angels, priests, and cows. After that are kings, cities and other places.

Devotee: So since we are feeding the other thirteen worlds …
Amma: Yes you are blessed, very much blessed. The angels and others are more powerful than humans. They are on another level, but still, humans are blessed to feed them. You are blessed to feed them.

Devotee: These 14 worlds and the experience of the angels are connected to our karmic cycle and the progression of the human soul and our spiritual development. Are there other entire divine experiences that exist once that’s completed… mingling with nature… with Amma… these 14 worlds that were operating within right now?
Amma: Once you attain that which is called salvation that is beyond all of these things. You will be at the top of angels.

Devotee: How long do angels live?
Amma: There is no death or birth for angels. In the Vedas it mentions three hundred and thirty three million angels. They will be there. There is no birth and death for them. They have blessings called Surangi which means they will never die. They do not experience death.

Devotee: Can they attain salvation or not?
Amma: For them, no. Salvation is blessed only for the human. As Amma already told, for salvation, first you need to know what salvation is. To mingle with the divine is salvation. For example, if you want to see a person who is in a very big position, you need to create the qualities which will allow you to see them. If you want to mingle with the divine you need to create the qualities for that. What are the qualities to mingle with the divine? To mingle with the divine, the quality needed is the divine’s form of love. It is unconditional love. You need to create unconditional love through this process.

Then you will have the qualifications to mingle with the divine. When you are in this process, this world is very helpful to you, allowing you to have those experiences. In this world, you have the opportunity to be able to share your happiness. You can find peace and joy. That joy and peace, that unconditional love, is not possible in the world of angels. In their world, everyone is a millionaire or billionaire. No one needs anything from anyone. What they are doing for this world has become their duty, such as giving rain or blessing the people. Whatever it is, it is their duty. They don’t have the opportunity to share.

In their world everyone has everything. There is no need from anyone to anyone. Only in this human world is there the possibility to share. Just by sharing, you can create joy and unconditional love. When you create unconditional love, which is the path of the divine, it is the qualification for you to reach the divine. The angel’s world can’t create unconditional love so they have to remain there. At one stage you will reach beyond them.

Devotee: Amma could you say a bit about the aarti puja. The light, is that also a feeding?
Amma: Yes, light. What is the significance of the puja? The meaning of puja is you are giving your own soul to the divine. Why are they using lamps, light? As Amma told, the divine is in the form of nature. Just by doing that aarti, it’s like your soul. It is not a light or a lamp. You are taking your soul to the divine. To be one of the divine, that is the significance of the aarti.

Devotee: “Sarva mangala mangalye”, you say that chant before you speak to people at full moon puja. That is the chant that you say the most during puja. Why does that chant stand above the rest?
Amma: Normally, in this human life, you need to go through steps. The first step you need to go through is to satisfy the physical wishes. Then you can think about the soul and spirituality because in this world, you need both. You need to have a good life in the present life which is surrounding you, and at the same time you need to create something which is for the next life, which is concerning the soul and things like that. Therefore, there are chants. Some chants can give blessings just for physical things.

There are some chants which will guide just for wisdom. Sarva Mangala Mangalye … it has the blessings for both, in itself. When you chant “Om Sarva Mangala Mangalye Shive Sarvartha Shaadhike Sharanye Triambake Gauri Narayani Namostute”… “Sarva Mangala Mangalye” means “the Mother who gives all things auspicious”; “Shive Sarvartha Shaadhike” means “and who fulfills all of our needs”.

In the first half you are getting all of your physical needs met which you require in this life. It fulfills all of our needs. In the second half; “Sharanye Triambake Gauri Narayani Namostute” ... “I surrender to that Mother”. In the second half you are booking for tomorrow’s flight. “Sharanye Triambake Gauri Narayani Namostute” ... “I surrender to the Mother. Let her accept my respect.” This is its meaning. In the first half you will receive the things that you need for this world and in the second half you are reserving your place for the future life.