Om Namah Shivaya -- II

All:

Another write up.

Namah Shivaya is the mantra which removes all obstacles and miseries

and bestows eternal bliss and immortality. He who does japa of this

mantra is freed from births and deaths and attains eternal bliss.

This is the emphatic declaration of the Vedas. This mantra is the

body of Lord Nataraja, the Cosmic Dancer, the abode of Lord Shiva.

If you add Om in the beginning, the mantra becomes six-

lettered. `Namah' means Prostration. `Shivaya Namah' means

Prostration unto Lord Shiva. The soul is the servant of Lord

Shiva. `Namah' represents the individual soul. `Shiva' represents

the universal soul. `Aya' denotes the identity between the

individual and the universal soul. Hence `Shivaya Namah' signifies

the identity between the individual and the supreme soul. The five

letters denote the five actions of the Lord: creation, preservation,

destruction, veiling and blessing. They also denote the five

elements and all creations through the combination of them. In the

five-lettered mantra Namah Shivaya, `Na' is the screening power of

the Lord that makes the soul move in the world, `Mah' is the bond

that binds him in the wheel of births and deaths, `Shi' is the

symbol for Lord Shiva, `Va' stands for His grace and `Ya' stands for

the individual soul. If the soul turns towards `Na' and `Mah' he

will be sunk in worldliness. If he associates himself with `Va' he

will move towards Lord Shiva. `Namah Shivaya' forms the body of Lord

Shiva. The hand that wears fire is `Na'. The foot that presses the

demon Muyalaka is `Mah'. The hand that holds `damaru', the drum,

is `Shi'. The right and left hand that move about are `Va'. The hand

that shows protection, is `Ya'.

Take a bath or wash your face, hands and feet. Wear `rudraksha mala'

(rosary of seeds sacred to Shiva). Sit on Padmasana facing North or

East, in a quiet place or room. Repeat silently the mantra and

meditate on the form of Lord Shiva, keeping his image in the heart

or in the space between the eyebrows. You can also meditate on Lord

Shiva in His unmanifested aspect without form, an unlimited Ocean of

Pure Consciousness, identifying yourself with this transcendent

aspect, negating the body-idea. You can also write down in a fine

notebook Om Namah Shivaya for half an hour or more, keeping silence,

repeating it in the mind also and not looking hither and thither.

You will have more concentration. When the mantra notebook is

completed, keep it in a box in your meditation room.