Mantra means liberation from the thought processes of the mind (manyate trayate). When the thought processes are controlled by the mantras, the consciousness presents itself in its purest, truest nature. Mantras hold the pranic power of speech. The Vedas say that prana is hidden speech, while speech is manifest prana. We speak throughout the outgoing breath and can inhale only when we are not speaking.

All mantras and sounds of the Sanskrit alphabet arise through Shiva’s drum. They are forms of Shiva beginning with Om which is his power of expression. More specifically there are certain “pranic” sounds in the alphabet which serve to connect speech and breath. S sounds and H sounds, or what are sibilants and in linguistic terms relate to prana and its fire. They are called ushmas in Sanskrit, or what produces heat. They reflect the natural sounds of the breath and intensify it further, adding the power of the mind to it. We find these pranic sounds in mantra like Aum, So Ham or Ham So, the sounds of the breath through inhalation and exhalation.

Chant your mantra daily with a mala.

Aim Hrim Klim