{"id":7803,"date":"2009-09-03T21:04:23","date_gmt":"2009-09-03T20:04:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.deinayurveda.net\/wordpress\/?p=7803"},"modified":"2009-09-03T21:08:26","modified_gmt":"2009-09-03T20:08:26","slug":"the-hamsa-gayatri-the-sacred-swan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.deinayurveda.net\/wordpress\/2009\/09\/the-hamsa-gayatri-the-sacred-swan\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hamsa Gayatri (The Sacred Swan)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u00a0www.yogapath.com<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

The Hamsa Gayatri (The Sacred Swan)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

By Yogi Baba Prem Tom Beal Veda Visharada, CYI, C.ay, C.va.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Of the numerous Gayatri mantras that are known, one of my favorites is the Hamsa Gayatri mantra.\u00a0 It is longer than most one or two word mantras for beginners, but short enough for most people to easily learn and chant.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The mantra to the sacred swan<\/em> is a mantra for uplifting consciousness.\u00a0 As hamsa literally means \u2018swan\u2019, it represents purity, but this is also symbolic for the soul.\u00a0 The soul, our true essence, is synonymous with the swan.\u00a0 The swan, or soul, in its highest state requires a different term to more clearly define it–paramahamsa, or the supreme swan is the yogic term commonly used.\u00a0 Parama comes from the root para–meaning higher, elevated or highest.\u00a0 It also means final, last and more than.\u00a0 Parama, itself, means most distant, highest, primary and most prominent.\u00a0 Therefore, paramahamsa literally means supreme swan.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Hamsa in its lower form is the self or ego, and paramahamsa is the higher self or soul.\u00a0 It is interesting to note that most new age <\/em>teachings are in conflict with the ego.\u00a0 Attempting to be in some type of battle with the ego is nothing but an ego game itself.\u00a0 As the ego is a reflection of the soul, the hamsa mantra takes one beyond the ego and emotional mind and uses the buddhi or intellect as its vehicle to super consciousness.\u00a0 As the buddhi is the lower manifestation of super conscious mind, it aids in transcending the blocks of the ego and emotional minds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From a Vedic point of view, the journey of life, karma and experience is for the transformation of the ego, and its realization of its true identity\u2014soul.\u00a0 This is often referred to in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali<\/em> as the seer and the seen.\u00a0 The seen is the ego, and the seer is the soul.\u00a0 The journey of realization is for the seen (ego) to perceive the seer (soul).\u00a0 This simple line sums up the journey of spiritual transformation.\u00a0 Therefore, hamsa can be a reference to the ego and\/or soul, but most importantly it is a reference to realization or the journey towards realization.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hamsa is also closely linked with the breath.\u00a0 Hamsa as a mantra is constantly repeated by the breath, and often referred to as the \u2018Hamsa breath\u2019 or 21,600 breath.\u00a0 This breath is also called the \u201cHong Sauh\u201d breath, or \u201cSo hung\u201d.\u00a0 It is as if each breath is a reminder of our true essence, but only effective if or when we learn to listen.\u00a0 This mantra automatically repeats with each breath we take.\u00a0 But it becomes much more powerful when we consciously repeat the mantra, using the bija mantra form, with each inhalation, inhaling \u2018sa\u2019 and exhaling \u2018ha\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As the last letter of the Sanskrit alphabet, \u2018ha\u2019 represents the final level of matter, whereas \u2018sa\u2019 represents the Shakti or power behind the layer of matter.\u00a0 In some yoga traditions, these sounds are reversed.\u00a0 For the yogi and yogini, the hamsa breath reduces greatly from 21,600 due to increased depth of each breath, retention, and cultivating a slower breath.\u00a0\u00a0 In yogic thought, our normal breath cycle in a day is approximately 21,600 breaths.\u00a0 By using this technique, the yogi or yogini will reduce their breath cycle to a slower rate; moving from 10-16 breaths per minute (bpm) to 4-5 bpm.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hamsa also functions as the movement of energy.\u00a0 The Shakti (power) of Hamsa is also a vehicle for the Ashwins, which are prana and apana in the yogic teachings.\u00a0 The link between Hamsa Shakti prana and breath is a powerful and consistent theme.\u00a0 This draws a strong connection between healing on both a mental, emotional, and physical level using the Hamsa Gayatri.\u00a0 According to the Hamsa Upanishad of the Shukla Yajur Veda, when hamsa is absorbed in nada (sound), the state of consciousness beyond the 4th<\/sup> state is reached.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Does this mean that the \u2018hamsa mantra\u2019 is the most supreme?\u00a0 This is a difficult issue, as the most supreme mantra is relative to the skill, ability and blessings obtained by the practitioner.\u00a0 Having said this, this mantra is a very powerful, yet a gentle mantra for personal transformation and realization. When it comes to the supremeness of the mantra itself, what makes the mantra supreme is the subject of the mantra; the skill of the individual repeating the mantra (Japa), and the depth that one can achieve through repetition of the mantra.\u00a0 But the mantra does focus the mind on our highest nature, our soul, which can have numerous mental and physical benefits.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hamsa Gayatri can be used as a form of Bhakti yoga, with paramahamsa (soul) functioning as deity (Devata).\u00a0 The bija mantra of Hamsa is \u2018Ham\u2019, which can be used as a powerful form of japa (repetition) itself.\u00a0 The hamsa mantra is not exclusively for the use of Bhakti yogi\u2019s, but can be incorporated into many different forms of yoga including Hatha yoga, Raja yoga, Jnana yoga and Kundalini yoga systems.\u00a0 It originates from the oldest form of yoga\u2014mantra yoga, and more specifically Vedic Yoga.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The general meaning of the mantra is \u201cEgo to soul, we will meditate for the soul, we will know the supreme soul. May my soul inspire my thoughts!<\/span><\/p>\n

This mantra should be chanted using the proper tones and should be learned by a Vedic teacher or other qualified teacher.\u00a0 A recording of the mantra is available for those that wish to learn the proper intonations and sounds of the mantra.\u00a0 This is also beneficial for those that do not have easy access to the Vedic teacher.\u00a0 There are special meditations that can be performed by those that have learned the mantra; these are taught to students over the Internet that wishes to learn this higher form of meditation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yogi Baba Prem has recorded a basic CD that has this mantra with the correct pronunciation on it.\u00a0 It teaches two styles of chanting the mantra.\u00a0 It also includes the breath sounds to teach the proper rhythm for the mantra.\u00a0 This allows the student to start at a beginner level with the mantra and move to an intermediate level over time.\u00a0 The CD features 3 tracks and can be set on repeat on your CD for longer chanting.\u00a0 This is not a musical CD, but rather a CD to train on how to properly chant the mantra.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The cost of the CD is only $12.95, Fl residents have a 7% sales tax.\u00a0 Shipping is $4.00 to the United States.\u00a0 Shipping outside of the United States is more and varies from country to country. \u00a0\u00a0You can also download the CD for only $9.95, Fl residents have a 7% sales tax and save $3.00 plus save $4.00 shipping. A total savings of\u00a0 $7.00.<\/strong> We only ask that you not distribute the CD to others as this is a fund-raiser project for Universal Yoga.\u00a0 If you would like to order the CD and learn the Hamsa mantra, merely reply to this email, let us know what state or country you are in and we will send you a paypal invoice.\u00a0 Paypal is FREE and offers a secure way to make online credit card payments.\u00a0 If you do not have a paypal account or do not wish to set one up, you can contact us for other ordering options.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you enjoyed this article.\u00a0 You might enjoy Yogi Baba Prem’s new book, <\/span><\/span>„Yoga Secrets of the Vedas“.<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Sources: Hamsa Upanishad.\u00a0 Shiva Sutras. Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0www.yogapath.com
\nThe Hamsa Gayatri (The Sacred Swan)
\nBy Yogi Baba Prem Tom Beal Veda Visharada, CYI, C.ay, C.va.
\nOf the numerous Gayatri mantras that are known, one of my favorites is the Hamsa Gayatri mantra.\u00a0 It is longer than most one or two word mantras for beginners, but short enough for most people to easily learn and chant.\u00a0
\nThe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15,69],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deinayurveda.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7803"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deinayurveda.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deinayurveda.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deinayurveda.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deinayurveda.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.deinayurveda.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7803\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deinayurveda.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deinayurveda.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deinayurveda.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}