Hari Aum.
While devotion when chanting a mantra is extremely important for spiritual progress, correct pronunciation (as far as one is able) is also very useful. God knows when we are calling Him/Her via mantra chanting, and will respond even if the pronunciation is not perfect, if we do it with love and sincerity.
Having said that, a mantra is a special sound energy, it is the body of the deity in sound form. It is said to be the deity Him/Herself. It is a transforming vibration. Correct pronunciation of a sattvic pure mantra elevates and transforms the mind and body, even without any knowledge of its meaning- so say the Gurus/saints.
Therefore I will write a little here about the correct pronunciation of the ashtakshara mantra of Vishnu, namely Om Namo Narayanaya (based on my understanding of this). This mantra is a famous moksha mantra - it can grant everything, both material and spiritual. One can recite it to fulfill any desire, material or spiritual. The Gurus of course say that spiritual goals of everlasting peace, wisdom and bliss are the best.
In Sanskrit, there are long and short vowels. For example the short "a" and the long "aa". The "a" is pronounced as in "around". The "aa" is pronounced as in "far". The duration of pronunciation of a long vowel "aa" is supposed to be roughly twice as long as the short vowel "a" (in practice, we do not measure this precisely of course. But we say it in a way that sounds about right).
The Om Namo Narayanaya mantra contains three short "a"s and three long "aa"s. When written in Sanskrit, it is perfectly clear where the short and long "a" sounds are. It is less obvious in the usual way in which this mantra is written in English, namely Om Namo Narayanaya.
Let me therefore write this mantra in such a way as to reflect the short and long "a" vowels:
Om Namo Naaraayanaaya.
Namo is said with a short "a".
Naaraayanaaya is said with two long "aa"s followed by a short "a", then another long "aa" followed by a final short "a".
Whether chanting the mantra slowly or quickly, whether it is said mentally or vebally, the ratio of the short to long vowels needs to be about 1: 2. i.e. the long "aa" should last about twice as long as the short "a".
Some common errors in chanting the Om Namo Naaraayanaaya mantra:
1. Chanting all the "a"s the same way.
2. Elongating the short "a" at the end of the mantra into a long "aa". i.e. saying Naaraayanaayaa (incorrect) instead of Naaraayanaaya (correct).
2. Deleting the short "a" at the end of the mantra entirely i.e. saying "Naaraayanaay" (incorrect) instead of Naaraayanaaya.
3. Some people even accidentally forget to say the final "ya" sound altogether and say Naaraayana instead of Naaraayanaaya. (This is incorrect- the "ya" at the end of Narayana, means 'to Narayana'. The mantra means salutations/namo to Narayana).
4. Chanting all the "na" sounds the same way. There are two types of "na" in Sanskrit. One is the usual "na" like in English, e.g. when you say "Number". The tongue is placed just behind the teeth when making this sound. Let's call this a 'soft na'.
The second type of Na is pronounced by the tip of the tongue hitting the roof of the mouth (the centre of the hard palate)- the tongue has to curl in the process of making this sound. Let's call this sound the harder "Na".
There are two soft "na"s and one hard "Na" in the mantra.
Let's write it to highlight these:
Om namo narayaNaya.
"namo" is said with a soft "na".
"narayaNaya" is said with a soft "na" followed by a hard "Na".
5. One final point,- the "o" at the end of "namo" is pronounced as a elongated "oo" (like the English "Oh" not as in "moo"). It's like saying "Oh" (h is silent of course) with a little elongation (similar length as the long "aa").
If we write the entire mantra again with the correct "a" and "na" sounds, it looks something like this:
Om namo naaraayaNaaya.
I would not recommend worrying too much about the various sounds in the mantra if one is not familiar with this and this causes stress. As far as possible, one can try and apply the above rules of pronunciation. But if it affects the joy of chanting, then don't worry about it. Narayana knows who you are calling when you chant this mantra, even if the pronunciation is incorrect.
If one can chant as perfectly as possible (completely perfect pronunciation is virtually impossible anyway) though, while keeping the devotional feelings intact, then that would be wonderful and very effective.
Here is a video from YouTube (see link below) of monks and disciples chanting the Om Namo Naaraayanaaya mantra at the Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh (they chant this daily for one hour for world peace and the welfare of all beings). They nicely demonstrate the correct pronunciation of this mantra in accordance with the above rules of chanting. (Don't worry if you can't easily tell apart the two "na" sounds, this is more subtle. The two "a" sounds are of course easy to tell apart though).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igw2ALIiEW4
Om Namo Narayanaya.
Hari Aum Tat Sat.
While devotion when chanting a mantra is extremely important for spiritual progress, correct pronunciation (as far as one is able) is also very useful. God knows when we are calling Him/Her via mantra chanting, and will respond even if the pronunciation is not perfect, if we do it with love and sincerity.
Having said that, a mantra is a special sound energy, it is the body of the deity in sound form. It is said to be the deity Him/Herself. It is a transforming vibration. Correct pronunciation of a sattvic pure mantra elevates and transforms the mind and body, even without any knowledge of its meaning- so say the Gurus/saints.
Therefore I will write a little here about the correct pronunciation of the ashtakshara mantra of Vishnu, namely Om Namo Narayanaya (based on my understanding of this). This mantra is a famous moksha mantra - it can grant everything, both material and spiritual. One can recite it to fulfill any desire, material or spiritual. The Gurus of course say that spiritual goals of everlasting peace, wisdom and bliss are the best.
In Sanskrit, there are long and short vowels. For example the short "a" and the long "aa". The "a" is pronounced as in "around". The "aa" is pronounced as in "far". The duration of pronunciation of a long vowel "aa" is supposed to be roughly twice as long as the short vowel "a" (in practice, we do not measure this precisely of course. But we say it in a way that sounds about right).
The Om Namo Narayanaya mantra contains three short "a"s and three long "aa"s. When written in Sanskrit, it is perfectly clear where the short and long "a" sounds are. It is less obvious in the usual way in which this mantra is written in English, namely Om Namo Narayanaya.
Let me therefore write this mantra in such a way as to reflect the short and long "a" vowels:
Om Namo Naaraayanaaya.
Namo is said with a short "a".
Naaraayanaaya is said with two long "aa"s followed by a short "a", then another long "aa" followed by a final short "a".
Whether chanting the mantra slowly or quickly, whether it is said mentally or vebally, the ratio of the short to long vowels needs to be about 1: 2. i.e. the long "aa" should last about twice as long as the short "a".
Some common errors in chanting the Om Namo Naaraayanaaya mantra:
1. Chanting all the "a"s the same way.
2. Elongating the short "a" at the end of the mantra into a long "aa". i.e. saying Naaraayanaayaa (incorrect) instead of Naaraayanaaya (correct).
2. Deleting the short "a" at the end of the mantra entirely i.e. saying "Naaraayanaay" (incorrect) instead of Naaraayanaaya.
3. Some people even accidentally forget to say the final "ya" sound altogether and say Naaraayana instead of Naaraayanaaya. (This is incorrect- the "ya" at the end of Narayana, means 'to Narayana'. The mantra means salutations/namo to Narayana).
4. Chanting all the "na" sounds the same way. There are two types of "na" in Sanskrit. One is the usual "na" like in English, e.g. when you say "Number". The tongue is placed just behind the teeth when making this sound. Let's call this a 'soft na'.
The second type of Na is pronounced by the tip of the tongue hitting the roof of the mouth (the centre of the hard palate)- the tongue has to curl in the process of making this sound. Let's call this sound the harder "Na".
There are two soft "na"s and one hard "Na" in the mantra.
Let's write it to highlight these:
Om namo narayaNaya.
"namo" is said with a soft "na".
"narayaNaya" is said with a soft "na" followed by a hard "Na".
5. One final point,- the "o" at the end of "namo" is pronounced as a elongated "oo" (like the English "Oh" not as in "moo"). It's like saying "Oh" (h is silent of course) with a little elongation (similar length as the long "aa").
If we write the entire mantra again with the correct "a" and "na" sounds, it looks something like this:
Om namo naaraayaNaaya.
I would not recommend worrying too much about the various sounds in the mantra if one is not familiar with this and this causes stress. As far as possible, one can try and apply the above rules of pronunciation. But if it affects the joy of chanting, then don't worry about it. Narayana knows who you are calling when you chant this mantra, even if the pronunciation is incorrect.
If one can chant as perfectly as possible (completely perfect pronunciation is virtually impossible anyway) though, while keeping the devotional feelings intact, then that would be wonderful and very effective.
Here is a video from YouTube (see link below) of monks and disciples chanting the Om Namo Naaraayanaaya mantra at the Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh (they chant this daily for one hour for world peace and the welfare of all beings). They nicely demonstrate the correct pronunciation of this mantra in accordance with the above rules of chanting. (Don't worry if you can't easily tell apart the two "na" sounds, this is more subtle. The two "a" sounds are of course easy to tell apart though).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igw2ALIiEW4
Om Namo Narayanaya.
Hari Aum Tat Sat.
You are very welcome
ReplyDeleteSo very helpful - thank you.
ReplyDelete