OVERCOMING ANGER

Since I work till 2:00 a.m. during the week and have to go to bed early on weekends for a part-time graveyard job, I find it very difficult to get to sleep on the weekend. Therefore, it’s not surprising that I would lash out in anger at anyone who would wake me up early. One Friday night late last summmer, I was on the verge of falling asleep when the phone rang. It was my wife. She had locked herself out of her car at WalMart and wanted me to come to the rescue. I am ashamed to say that I swore, yelled, and criticized my wife. I drove like a maniac to and from WalMart and went back to bed, but I was unable to sleep the rest of that night. The next day, I came down with a cold (read about the effects of anger on the immune system in Keys to Survival.) I came to the realization that I was emotionally ill and couldn’t control my anger. I prayed to God to help me find a way to overcome it. That night, I listened to a radio interview of Thomas Ashley-Farrand, author of "Healing Mantras: Using Sound Affirmations for Personal Power, Creativity and Healing." He said that mantras can be used to heal a variety of emotional weaknesses. I sent away for the book. When it came, I looked in the table of contents and found a chapter entitled "Mantras for Anger and Other Undesirable Inner Conditions.

About a month later, after I had been saying the anger mantra for only three days, my wife woke me out of a peaceful sleep on a Friday night. She had accidentally broken the lock on our upstairs door and couldn’t get the door open. She cringed in anticipation of my explosion, but it never came. I got out of bed and began working on the problem. I didn’t swear, yell or criticize. I even joked about the situation. After about 15 minutes I managed to open the door and went back to sleep. The stark contrast between my reactions to the two similar incidents amazed me and my wife.

The mantra for anger is:

Shante Prashante Sarva Krodha Upasha Mani Swaha

(SHAN-TEH PRA-SHAN-TEH SAHR-VAH KROH-DHA OO-PASH-AH MAH-NEE SWAH-HA)

I noticed two side effects of saying the anger mantra. I became absent-minded and forgetful. I forgot to take the garbage out, give my daughters their pink eye medication, and bring my lunch to work. I even forgot to take my carpool rider home from work one night. I attribute this effect to the mantra reprogramming my mind. Somehow the old behavior patterns are tied up with memory and unraveling the old patterns unravels the memory.

Another effect is that I began craving violent movies, such as "Terminator 2" and "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." Since I was no longer being violent, I wanted to experience violence vicariously to satisfy my addiction. Anger, fear and other negative emotions and habits are like drugs. The body becomes habituated to the stimulation they provide. I know someone who is always late because she craves the stimulation that racing through traffic and the fear of being late gives her.

After saying the first anger mantra for 40 days, I began reciting a second one which, according to Ashley-Farrand, "acts as a salve... to sooth the newly disrupted energy pattern, which, although now transformed, has left a raw place in the personality... This mantra will aid greatly in the peaceful and harmonious transition to new and positive energy states."(102)

Om Sri Maha Lakshmiyei Swaha

(OM SHREE MAH-HA LAKSH-MEE-YEI SWAH-HA)

After reciting the salve mantra for 40 days you can then apply the bandage mantra for the final 40 days. This mantra is short and sweet:

Om Shant Om

(OM SHAHN-TEE OM)

According to Lesley-Farrand, "this mantra gives the personality an entirely new energy to work with, in tandem with the Lakshmi energy. At the energy level, the combination of these two mantras completely replaces the crystallized anger center with a new and positive vibration. Transformation of the previous condition is now complete."(103)

The mantra discipline to transform the energy of fear is like the one for anger. The only difference is that in place of "krodha" in the first mantra you would say "bhaya" (bhah-yah). The second and third mantras remain the same.

Other negative emotions and habits include: anger between two people (mah-na); pride (mada); envy (matsarya); ignorance or delusion (moha); covetousness (lobha); consuming lust (kama); mistrust or suspiciousness (avish-vasa); shame (laja); fickleness (pishu-nata); jealousy (irsha); aversion or disgust (ghrina); arrogance (dambha); conceit (ahankara); grief (shoka); dejection (kheda); agitation (sam-bhrama); laziness (shu-shupti); sadness (vishada); duplicity (kapata-ta).

These mantras should never be forced on anyone. They should be used only when there is a desire to overcome the negative emotion. Otherwise they will not work.

I highly recommend Ashley-Farrand’s book to anyone interested in exploring the power of mantra. Other chapters include: Sound, Music and Healing; Mantras and Attracting Love; Mantras for Mastering Fear; Mantras for Abundance and Prosperity; Mantras for Self-empowerment; and Chanting for the Planet. He also has a web site at Sanskrit Mantra where you can order books and tapes.

THE CROWS OF SATURN

Thomas Ashley-Farrand in "Healing Mantras" relates a story of his encounters with crows around the time of his Saturn return. He describes how he saw or heard a crow right before a misfortune occurred. On his first day of work, a crow greeted him with an ominous "caw!" The day was a complete disaster. This happened so often that he began dreading the sight and sound of crows. When he told his guru about his crow problem he learned that a crow is a manifestation of the energies of Saturn which were strong at the time due to his Saturn return. His guru then gave him the Saturn mantra to counteract the energies of Saturn.

Om Sri Shanaishwarayan Swaha

(OM SHREE SHAHN-EHSH-WAHR-EYE-YAH SWAH-HA)

"(104)

After reciting this mantra several thousand times, he was no longer affected by Saturn and learned that the crows were warning him of potential difficulties ahead. For example, if he was speeding and a crow flew in front of him, he would slow down and invariably there would be a police car or speed trap up ahead.

On the morning I and my family drove to the Harvest class, I opened my front door and was greeted by two crows. I went back in to check my ephemeris to see where Saturn was. It was at 15 Taurus 51’. My natal Saturn is at 15 Leo 51’. In other words, transiting Saturn was exactly square my natal Saturn. I told my wife that we were going to do the Saturn mantra after our Divine Mother is worshipped in many cultures in various forms, Mother Mary, Durga, Kuan Yin, etc. Some cultures do not worhip the Divine Mother and for the most part are regimented and warlike patriarchal societies.

As a Catholic I was taught devotion to Mother Mary. In college I explored Eastern religions and wrote a paper on "The Divine Mother East and West" in which I compared the worship of Mother Mary with that of the Hindu goddesses.

In 1973 I was initiated into Transcendental Meditation. Although my instructor told me that my mantra had no meaning, I knew better. Afterwards I went to the library to look up its meaning in a Sanskrit dictionary. I was happy to find that it meant "Hail Mother!" Later on, I became a teacher of TM and studied the Vedas. I read in the Srimad Bhagavatam that the devotee of the Divine Mother who faithfully recited her bija mantra every day for nine years could ask anything of her and she would grant it. So, on my ninth anniversary, I knelt before a statue of Mother Mary, since I didn’t know of any Hindu temples in the area, and asked for a job that paid well and that would help me fulfill my dharma as a writer. I had just moved to Washington, D.C., didn’t know anyone and was down to my last $150. The next day, I answered an ad for a technical writer for a beltway contractor and three days later got the job, much to my surprise.

I quit TM two years later when I found the teachings, but I still meditate occasionally and also recite bija mantras to the Divine Mother out loud. I have recently completed a mantra discipline that entailed repeating the bija mantras for Saraswati, Lakshmi and Durga over 800 times a day for 30 days.

One of the most dramatic effects I experienced was that I was able to sleep better, especially on weekends. The first weekend after beginning the mantra discipline, I slept like a baby and woke up refreshed. When my wife asked me why, I pointed to my heart and said, "Mother is at home." She was puzzled at first, but then I explained that when she leaves for work in the morning, our youngest daughter and to a lesser extent her big sister, cry and require a lot of rocking and soothing music to get them to go back to sleep. On her days off when she is at home, our children have no trouble sleeping in because they feel secure and comforted by her presence. In the same way, my inner child feels the presence of the Divine Mother in my heart, and I can easily fall asleep and stay asleep. Also, I am more confident and positive during the day.

My wife also began the mantra discipline and we put pictures of the three goddesses on our altar. Now the Divine Mother has taken up residence in our home as well as in our hearts. And our daughters no longer wake up crying.

THE CUCUMBER MANTRA

After completing the Divine Mother and Saturn mantra disciplines, I had a lot of time to devote to other mantras. I decided to do the cucumber mantra:

(OM TRY-UM-BAH-KUM YA-JAHM-MAH-HAY SOO-GAHN-DIM POOSH-TEE VAHR-DAH-NAHM OOR-VAHR-OO-KUMEE-VAH BAHN-DAHN-AHN MRIT-YOUR MOOK-SHEE-YAH MAHM-REE-TAHT)

".Shelter me, O three-eyed Lord Shiva. Bless me with health and immortality and sever me from the clutches of death, even as a cucumber is cut from its creeper."(105)

I chose this mantra, because very powerful ones such as this which have the ability to heal and enlighten should be passed down by word of mouth from guru to chela. I first heard this mantra in a taped lecture by Mark Prophet. Thus, I consider myself having received it from my guru, Lanello. In the lecture, he said, "This mantra takes you completely away from confusion and divisive forces within and without the self. Shiva separates us from all illusions about ourselves and our world. He also kills death."(106) Thomas Ashley-Farrand writes that "this mantra is efficacious for relief of a wide variety of chronic illnesses, including immune system problems."(107) Although you can say it for as long as you want, the traditional discipline for this mantra is 125,000 repetitions which can take from several months to several years to complete. I am doing it for three hours a day, which means I will complete the discipline around my birthday on April 27. I also received in Mark’s lecture the "Om Namo Narayanaya" mantra which gave me an incredible mind-expanding experience (read "An Experience of Creation" at the end of the article The Word. So I was looking forward to more of the same with the cucumber mantra.

I have been giving the cucumber mantra 3 hours a day for six weeks. I feel more energetic and healthy, even though my wife and daughters have come down with colds and I haven't refrained from kissing them. The three hours go by fast. I listened to the tape of Mark giving the mantra which is on side II of the Sermons for a Sabbath Evening tape entitled "The Ladder of Life." (108) His pronounciation of a couple of words was off, but it was the fire of the heart with which he gave the mantra that I was interested in. If anyone wants to give this mantra discipline, I would advise they first listen to Mark and try to emulate him. I think the reason why mantra disciplines require thousands of repetitions before results are obtained is because most people give the mantra mechanically most of the time and seldom give it from the heart. If a person could recite a mantra with total concentration of mind and heart, with both his left and right brain, with a balanced three-fold flame, then all it would take would be one repetition. I experienced this when I was having an out-of-body experience and recited the mantra for revelation of truths, "OM NAMO NARAYANAYA," once with the thought and desire to know the mystery of creation.

Thomas Ashley-Farrell instructs his readers and listeners to dedicate 10 percent of their cucumber mantra discipline to their ancestors in order to "help mitigate any karma we have between us and also help them on their spiritual path."(109) This may seem strange to Westerners, but in the East it is a common practice to honor or acknowledge one's ancestors in some way whether it be setting aside of a portion of food for them at every meal, maintaining a shrine for them, or performing rituals for their souls. Westerners label this "ancestor worship" or idolatry, but it is really just the giving of homage to those who gave you your genes and with whom you have karma with. Your ancestors could be members of your present family or someone you knew in a past life. Your deceased grandmother may have reembodied as your daughter. Or you yourself may be one of your own ancestors. I never knew my mother's father; he died when she was nine. She was his favorite daughter. My mother and I have always been very close. When I first saw a picture of my grandfather, I understood why. He looked exactly like me. Some would say that it's just genetics, but when I looked into his eyes, it was like looking into a mirror. Chills went up and down my spine.

I am just completed reciting 10 percent of my cucumber mantras, or about 50 hours, to my ancestors. I said the following call before I began: "In the name of my Mighty I AM Presence and Holy Christ Self, I dedicate the energies of this mantra repetition for the cutting loose and setting free from the cycle of birth and death the souls of all my ancestors, including my family, friends, neighbors, clients, coworkers, teachers, and all whom I have karmic ties with from all past lives whether embodied or disembodied."

BACK TO HOME