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When I first heard the mantra Om Namah Shivaya in the Darbari Kanada raga, I fell in love with it because of the tenderness, the devotion, the longing that the melody expresses.
Then one day at the Siddha Yoga meditation center in my city, we watched a video during which we chanted the mantra in this raga. In the introduction to the chant, we could see Gurumayi walking through the Ashram gardens to reach the hall where the chanting and meditation satsang was taking place.
Ever since, singing the mantra Om Namah Shivaya in the Darbari Kanada raga immediately makes me think of Gurumayi’s devotion and consequently of my own.
San Giorgio a Cremano, Italy
I often repeat the mantra throughout the day, as an undercurrent during my daily activities. Today I resolved to remain fully conscious of the mantra for five minutes as I tidied the house. As I stayed present with the mantra while I made the bed, the thought arose: this bed is where Shiva sleeps; I am Shiva. As I cleaned the bathroom, I recognized that cleaning is a way of honoring my home as a manifestation of Shiva.
Washington, United States
Whenever I hear this beautiful chant, every cell of my body becomes calm. The voice of our Guru in the chant soothes my mind and my whole being. As I listen to this chant, my love pours forth to my beloved Guru.
Virar, India
Chanting
Om Namah Shivaya in the
Darbari Kanada raga is so sweet, so powerful. It gives me such a simple and natural connection with the inner Self. I experience that, inside and outside, all are one.
Uzes, France
I have been chanting
Om Namah Shivaya in the
Darbari Kanada raga every day. As I chant, I try to hold in my awareness the meaning of the mantra.
From the very first day of doing this, it has felt as if the mantra has pulled me into my center, that space within me that is absolutely still and serene. I have experienced that although this space is serene, there is also a subtle vibration, which feels like the source of energy within me. Everything seems to begin from and dissolve into this space.
Paying attention to the simultaneous stillness and vibration is so enchanting that, every afternoon, I’m drawn once again to sit and chant
Om Namah Shivaya. These are the most
rasa-filled five minutes ever!
Bangalore, India
I chant this version of
Om Namah Shivaya almost every day. It has helped me through some difficult times. It seems to me a very intimate version, and often I have the impression that Gurumayi and I are alone, just the two of us, chanting together.
I remember Baba’s teaching that we should make the Guru our own, and this is exactly what I do in this chant.
Ajijic, Mexico
Yesterday, as I chanted the mantra in the
Darbari Kanada raga with Gurumayi, it seemed to take hold of my breath. My inhalations became very deep, and then each word of the mantra seemed to form and repeat itself. When the words left my mouth, they did not go outward but inward, into my body. I felt the mantra flow from my throat downward to my sacrum, like a river. Then my inhalation, broad and deep, drew a large semicircle from my sacrum to my mouth, and the mantra slid upward again inside me.
For some time, I was lulled by this great, uninterrupted, circular movement of infinite gentleness between the mantra and my inhalation. Then my breath stopped. My entire being was bathed in pure love. My head slowly fell back, my mouth opened, and I felt a sweet ball of energy enter it and then slide into my throat before spreading throughout my being and immersing me in deep peace.
For me, chanting the mantra with Gurumayi is always the most precious and mysterious journey deep within my heart.
Quebec, Canada
I prepared myself to listen attentively to the mantra and lay down in the
shavasana pose. I did not listen just with my ears; my whole being listened. My heart chanted the mantra without my lips moving.
Each time the mantra faded out and the sound of the tamboura began, I felt myself sinking deeper into myself again and at the same time becoming more and more grounded. Round after round, I sank deeper and deeper into myself until I had the feeling of being bodiless and floating in the infinite universe. A gigantic feeling of freedom filled my consciousness.
Unterlangenegg, Switzerland