In this article of Mine, I am sharing my own experiences with Mantra Meditation. I am a spiritual person but I never thought of meditation till I had to overcome the most difficult phase of my life in May 2017. When my whole life turned topsy-turvy I looked for peace and solace only in God. I Turned inward to find my life answers and read as many as hundreds of articles to get answers to all the questions which were in my mind. I was depressed and my health was deteriorating every day. I went to the doctor. She helped me with the right medicines but I needed peace in my life to regain my lost health. That is the time I would say my God guided me to do Mantra Meditation. They say you need a Guru to choose a Mantra for you and it should be initiated by him so that you get Mantra Siddhi when you do Purascharana of Mantra. In that depressing phase when I could not see light anywhere my God (Narayana) showed me the right path and guided me to chose the right Mantra for me which gave me ultimate peace.
The Mantra which I chose was a Devi Mantra. I had to do 1008 recitations of Mantra per day for 108 days which came to 108864 chantings. Then 10% of mantra repetitions should be performed as homa, 10% of homa should be performed as tarpaṇa, 10% of tarpaṇa should be performed as mārjana and finally, 10% of mārjana as bhojana OR do 40 % more mantra repetitions of the total mantra chanting and then you complete Purascharana of the Mantra. The Mantra which I chose was a Devi Mantra containing 48 Syllables so it took me around 2 hours to 2 and half hours to do Mantra repetitions every day. Previously I found it very difficult just to concentrate on the Mantra and chant clearly but with time my chanting and concentration got better. My mind wandered less and concentrated more. I chanted the mantra verbally so that I could hear the Mantra. Some people do Mantra Meditation Mentally but I preferred verbal chanting so that I could concentrate on my Goddess and Mantra only.
I started Mantra Meditation in June and did my chantings sincerely every day. I did Mantra Meditation either in the morning, Afternoon, evening or night time. Here other people have different opinions like you should fix a time for chanting mantra so that it becomes a schedule. Just after 15 days, I started seeing the effect of Mantra Meditation on my body. I could deal with stress better and even my health had started recovering. As time passed by and I completed full one month of Mantra chanting I could see yellow color on the notebook which I carried for mantra chanting. I kept a record of Mantra chantings I did daily along with date so that I had an idea when I completed 108 days of Mantra Meditation. I felt a very bright light surrounding me sometimes. I was so much engrossed into Mantra Meditation on some days that I got unconscious of my whole surrounding and what was happening around me. When I regained my consciousness the only thing I remembered was the bright light. I had a good feeling and as days progressed my connection with God got better and I felt happy from within. The turmoil which happened in my life was something which brought me to Mantra Meditation. Though the situation around me had not changed much I had got better at dealing with the bad situation.
Time passed by and I completed two months then three months of chanting. Since I am a lady I took a break from Mantra Meditation during my periods. After complete three months of Mantra repetitions, I could feel a life force shining like a hot charcoal in the notebook where I kept a record of Mantra Chanting. I did not know what was happening but there was an inner voice which told me to keep going Rashmi You are progressing. This is the same inner voice which prompted me to choose a Mantra and to start chanting it. I felt it the voice of God. My God guided me what to do and exactly when to do. I could see blue light near me. I had experienced various moments when the white bright light surrounded me but I did not remember what I saw in those unconscious moments. I had a good feeling and I could handle my depression with a better mindset now. A state of bliss entered my life and I could feel happiness from within. I laughed more and complained less about my life.
After complete four months of Mantra Meditation, my state of mind changed and I felt calm from inside. The anger which was within me had died and I became a forgiving person. After completing full 108 days of Mantra Meditation I did 40 % more mantra chanting of the total Devi Mantra so that I could complete the Purascharana of Mantra. I was so much engrossed into chanting on some days that I did chantings for complete 3 hours without break.
I would say when you reach God with a heart full of love God does come to meet you and shows you the right path in life. This is exactly what happened with me. I felt a very bright light near me and I saw an image of God in the notebook where I kept the record of Mantra Chantings. I have felt God I have felt his presence. We can reach God by our devotion, honesty, dedication, and Bhakti. There is no other way to reach God but just by dedicated Bhakti. I used to light a Oil or Ghee lamp in my home temple and started my Mantra meditation. I want to say that in my four months journey it was God who helped me surpass difficulties which arose during Mantra Meditations. God has tested my Bhakti at times but when she saw my devotion towards her she graced me with her love and blessings.
Now today after I have completed Purascharana of Mantra I feel very intuitive. Whenever I get stuck in a situation where I can’t decide what to do it is my God who guides me through the intuition as to what to do next or which way I should go. Sometimes when I am nervous and can’t take a decision God guides me and tells me that I am supported and I will get help when I will need it. It is absolutely a great feeling. I feel i am a new person and not that same girl which i used to be. God has transformed me fully and made me a new being. Though I look the same from outside I feel I am different from inside. I chant the Devi Mantra everyday now and I am thankful to Goddess for blessing me.
In this article of mine, i have shared my experiences with Mantra Meditation. I want to tell my readers that God is reachable and you just need Bhakti to reach your God with a true heart.
