Mantra Sadhana Rituals Guide

Rituals for Mantra Sadhana and Mantra Siddhi

By Mantra Quest

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Copyright © 2018 By Mantra Quest, All Right Reserved

Reproduction, distribution, republication, and/or retransmission of material contained within this

book are prohibited unless the prior written permission of Mantra Quest has been obtained

The information in this book is solely education purpose. Mantra Quest writes what he learns and
read from scriptural books and Vedas

However, I have to warn you about something. Sometimes, people think or feel that the benefits
from Mantras come easily or instantly. It doesn’t.
Rituals for Mantra Sadhana and Mantra
Siddhi
We will provide you with the details of all the daily rituals that a sadhak has to do before and after
mantra chanting. The book will make you understand the importance of each ritual in the mantra
sadhna. The different rituals that will be discussed are:

a) Rituals Before Mantra Chanting

1) Invoking Lord Ganesh
2) Sankalp (Resolve)
3) Pavitrikaran (Sanctification)
4) Aachman (Sipping Water)
5) Pranayama (Inhaling Energy)
6) Om mantra Meditation

b) Rituals After Mantra Chanting

1) Silence Meditation
2) Mindfulness Meditation
Invoking Lord Ganesha
Obstacles in our lives
We always want a life that is free from obstacles or any hardships. For attaining our goals and
wishes, we contemplate on various possible ways where we get least resistance in our paths. But the
uncertainty of the Universe is such that even after putting our hundred percent in our task, we
encounter failure. And obviously, failures are not pleasurable experiences.

In a similar manner, while doing mantra sidhi sadhana, there are chances that you might encounter
sudden events in your life which can stop your mantra sadhna. There can be an emergency with your
work, with your health or with your family’s health that certainly needs to be addressed at priority.
During these situations, you don’t have any options left but to leave your mantra sadhna.

So, in order to avoid these uncertain events during our sadhna, we usually take help of Lord
Ganesha. Lord Ganesha, the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, holds a special position among
the Gods and Goddesses. He has the power of countering all hindrances in our lives.

Significance of Invoking Lord Ganesha

So, how does Lord Ganesha helps in our mantra sadhna?

According to our Vedic scriptures, Lord Ganesha has been granted special status among the Gods, by
his father Lord Shiva. Due to this boon, Lord Ganesha is primarily worshipped before starting of any
rituals and pooja activities. He is also called the Vighnakarta & Vighnaharta in Hindu culture and has
the ability to create or demolish obstacles at our work.

So, before venturing into mantra sadhna, you should invoke Lord Ganesha and pray for successful
completion of your sadhna. You should also ask for his blessings so that your mantra siddhi yields
fruitful results.

How to Invoke Lord Ganesha?

Now, let us understand the steps involved in calling Lord Ganesh at the place of your meditation.

1) The picture of Lord Ganesha should be placed at the place of your sadhna.
2) Now sprinkle some Ganga Jal on the picture. Light incense sticks and offers some flowers to
Him.
3) Now chant the mantra:
 “Vakratund Mahakay Suryakoti Samaprapha
Nirvighnam Kuru Me Dev Sarv Karyeshu Sarvada”

4) Pray to Lord Ganesha to come to the place of your sadhna and offer you his divine blessings.
You should also pray that your mantra sadhna gets completed successfully without any
obstacles. This completes the ritual.

Remember, just as Lord Ganesha removes obstacles, he also has the power to create obstacles for
your mantra siddhi. So while doing the ritual, you should always have the right intent and reverence
for the mantra and the deities.

Sankalp- Your Commitment To Mantra

Sadhna
Importance of Commitment
We all want to achieve our goals and be successful in our endeavours. But most of us are not
committed to work for it. We often make commitments to ourselves that we would sincerely work
for our goals but at the end things start to faint, leading us to failures.

So, what influences our success?

Our successes in life are mainly due to a firm mind which is dedicated to work even in the dire
situations. Until and unless we are not committed, even a small hurdle can lead us to failure. It is the
commitment to our goals that we constantly keep pushing in challenging situations.

What is Sankalp?
In mantra sadhna, commitment is of utmost importance to get the results. Without a committed
mind, we won’t feel motivated to work for it. It is the commitment to our goal that energises us and
gives strength to our efforts.

Therefore, in order to remain dedicated to our mantra siddhi, a sadhak should take a pledge/vow in
the spiritual presence of the deities. We make commitment before God that we will complete the
ritual at any cost and that too within the specified duration. This process is called “Sankalp” in
mantra meditation. It shows your sincerity and intent towards your sadhna.
Importance of Sankalp
While taking Sankalp, we make a humble respect to our God to help us in overcoming our problems.
Like- we ask for prosperity and happiness, getting out of the financial crunch, finding our soulmate
and etc.

In addition to it, when you take Sankalp, you mention your name, your gotra, your lunar sign, time,
date and country etc. These attribute acts as a GPS system for the deities to track you down even
among the billion populations.

On a spiritual level, it is believed that mantra sadhna without Sankalp bears little to no fruit. Some
scriptures also mention that in absence of Sankalp, the fruit of the mantra sadhna automatically
goes to “Lord Indra”.

This makes the ritual of Sankalp extremely necessary before starting mantra sadhna.

Pavitrikaran- The Purification Process

Internal & External Purification
Vedic Mantras are sacred and are highly revered among the followers of Hindu culture. These
mantras hold a very high position in our daily rituals and hence utmost care should be taken to
maintain its sanctity.

Before starting your mantra sadhan, it is extremely necessary that your body should be purified-
both physically and mentally. In addition to it, the place of sadhan, and the pooja items should be
purified. In short, you should have a feeling of unblemished cleanness around the place of your
mantra sadhna.

Our Vedic scriptures describe many different rituals to purify ourselves before diving into mantra
sadhna. Out of those many rituals, we will understand the first understand the ritual of Pavitrikaran
(the process of sanctification).

Understanding Pavitrikaran
One might ask- What is Pavitrikaran?

Mechanically, it is a process of sprinkling of holy water on yourself and the surroundings by chanting
the Pavitrikaran mantra.

The next question that a sceptical sadhak might ask- “What is the use of it when we have completely
bathed ourselves and have worn clean clothes? Am I still impure?

Let’s understand this.

Even you are completely clean physically; there are chances that you might not have a feeling of
cleanliness in your mind either of your surroundings or yourselves. There shouldn’t be a single
intuition lingering in your mind about you or your surrounding being impure.

During mantra sadhna, you should have the vibes that piousness and positivity is raining from all
directions. So, inspite of being physically clean, you should also have the feeling in your mind. This
makes Pavitrikaran, a very crucial ritual before starting of your everyday mantra sadhna.

Steps for Pavitrikaran

So, how should the process of Pavitrikaran be done? Is it too complex?

The ritual of Pavitrikaran is quite simple. It hardly takes a minute to complete, so don’t panic.

So, let’s check the steps involved.

1) Take holy water (Ganga Jal) in your left hand.

2) Now fold the middle finger and the ring finger of your right hand, bringing them in close
contact to each other.
3) Now dip these two fingers of your right hand into the water of your left hand. Start
sprinkling on yourselves and the surroundings.

While sprinkling, you should keep chanting the “Pavitrikaran Mantra” shown in the video:

“Aum Apavitra Pavitro Va Sarvasthan Gatoapivaa

Ya Somere Pundrikasham Sah Bahyabhyantar Suchi”

4) Do it multiple times. There is no fixed count to it. Just remember to sprinkle in all directions,
besides yourself. This completes the process.

Don’t forget that this is a daily ritual and should be done every time before starting the mantra
sadhna.

Remember, purity of oneself and one’s thought is a respect that you offer to the mantra sadhna.
And the Pavitrikaran ritual helps you in attaining that integral purity.

Aachman- The Process of Spiritual

Cleansing
Spiritual Cleansing of our Mind and Soul
Besides, Pavitrikaran (the ritual of purification of our bodies), there is yet another ritual that is
essentially required for the completion of the purification process. This ritual is done for our spiritual
cleansing and is called as “Aachman” in Hindu scriptures.

In our material world, we often believe that once we have taken a complete bath and wore clean
clothes, we are fully clean. Isn’t it?

But, we fail to understand that without cleaning of our malicious mind and heart which houses
various negative feelings, we cannot call ourselves fully clean. In addition, mantra sidhi sadhana is
actually the spiritual awakening of our bodies that helps us to tap into the positive vibes of the
Universe. So, even with a cleaner body and a cleaner surrounding, we won’t be able to get the
results of sadhana , if we are mentally grimy.

This makes the Aachman ritual quite important.

What is Aachman?
Now let us understand the process of Aachman ritual.

Technically, this ritual involves “sipping up of water” from our hands such that the water reaches our
throat and finally to the heart.

Remember, the quantity of water should be so small that it doesn’t reach your stomach.

This ritual helps us to open the “Heart Chakra” in our bodies. It is believed that opening up of Heart
Chakra increases abundance and prosperity in our lives. Even Hindu scriptures states that the
Aachman ritual multiplies the result of your mantra meditation.

So, what are the steps involved in the “Aachman” ritual.

Steps for Aachman

Aachman is a daily ritual done before mantra sadhna, so the holy water for Aachman should be kept
near the place of your sadhna. You should keep water or Ganga Jal in a copper pot with a copper
spoon (Aachmani) in it. The water in the glass should be sprinkled with Tulsi leaves to make it
sacred.

Now let’s start with the process:

1) Face North, East or North-East while seating on your aasan or mat. Remember, you should
never face South or West direction for this process.
2) Now stretch your fingers of your right hand. Bring the index finger and thumb in contact to
each other. The other three fingers i.e. the middle finger, the ring finger and the small finger
 should be made such that it represents the ears of the cow. This is the mudra for the
Aachman. Don’t freak out, it’s simple. You can follow the mentor to understand it better.
3) Now pour small amounts of water from the Aachman pot with the Aachmani on the middle
of your palm and sip it through your lips. Remember, this should be done 3 times and each
time you should chant a mantra. The mantras are:
“Aum Keshvaya Namah” (take a sip)
“Aum Narayanay Namah” (take a sip)
“AumMadhavaya Namah” (take a sip)
“Aum Govindaye Namah”
4) Now final wash your hands by pouring small amount of water from the same Aachman pot.
This completes the process.

Aachman process purifies you complete mind, body and soul and hence is considered very
important.

Pranayama-The Nadi Cleanser

How to maintain focus?
As a new seeker, you might often come across sermons which preach you to focus while doing
mantra sadhna and to concentrate on the mantras while doing the sadhana. They insist on keeping
your mind clear of emotions, thoughts about the past and future so that you can advance through
the stages of meditation.

But, we understand how difficult it is for new sadhaks to maintain calmness in their mind, when
their life is turning upside down. As a human being, we also understand your regrets about the past
and your dying hopes for the future don’t allow your mind to stay focussed. It’s normal.

So, in order to help you achieve your goals in mantra sadhna, we will guide you through a process
which is commonly known as –“Pranayama”.

Heard of it?

If you haven’t heard of it, then stay connected..

Understanding Pranayama
So, let’s begin with the most important part of it- “What is Pranayama?”

Pranayama is the concatenation of two words namely- “Prana” & “Yama”. In a literal sense, it is the
expansion of Prana (energy) in our bodies through the process of breath control. It is the awareness
of our breath- the inhalation & the exhalation process.
On a micro level, it controls the flow of energies in our bodies and helps in cleansing the “nadis- the
energy channels” in our bodies. As it clears out the blocked nadis, it forms an important ritual before
the mantra chanting process.

How Pranayama helps?

You may ask- “How does doing Pranayama helps us in meditation?”

It is quite common these days that a person suffers from cough, cold, dullness in their lives. Besides,
some of the people suffer from unstable body temperature, improper digestion, raging minds and
mood swings etc.

So, will you be able to meditate with these problems?

Obviously, No!

So, in order to get over these common problems in our bodies, Pranayama is recommended. It helps
by unblocking the energy channels of our bodies, so that there is a streamline flow of these life
energies while doing the mantra chanting.

On a mental level, Pranayama helps to control both the hemispheres of the brain that does bring
about a balance in our thoughts.

Remember, a calm mind resides only in a balanced mind. It improves our mental clarity, thereby
increases our focus and concentration.

Thus, Pranayama is often recommended to the sadhaks as a daily ritual before starting their mantra
sadhna.

Steps for Pranayama

Now let us understand – “How to do Pranayama?”

According to Ashtanga yoga, there are 8 different types of Pranayama given by saint Patanjali. But
out of these, we will be focussing on the “Anulom Vilom Pranayama”. So, let’s check out the steps.

1) Sit in a relaxed position holding your back straight(OR in your Selected Asana). Put the left
hand on your left leg, facing the palm in the upward direction.
2) Now with the right hand, place the index finger and the middle finger between the
eyebrows. And place the ring finger and the little finger on the left nostril. Place the thumb
on your right nostril. Remember; don’t apply too much pressure on the area of contacts.
3) Now press the thumb on your right nostril and exhale through your left nostril.
4) Now inhale through the left nostril. After that close the left nostril by applying pressure with
the ring finger and little finger.
5) Afterwards, slowly exhale through the right nostril by removing pressure of your thumb.
 6) Now, inhale through the right nostril and finally exhale through the right nostril. This
completes one round of Pranayama.

Remember, you should inhale through the same nostril from which you have exhaled.

Some Important Tips

You should do the Pranayama process at least 5 times on an empty stomach. But, on regular
practise, we can extend the duration of this process.

Never try to work more on your breath. Do it naturally.

It is often recommended that you should first learn this process from our mentors. We have created
a separate video for you, where the mentor will guide you through the entire process.

Pranayama can help you with the right mind for your mantra sadhana by channelling the energies of
the mantras through the entire body

The Power of OM Mantra

OM- The Fundamental Sound of the Universe
A curious seeker interested in mantra sadhna may have definitely noticed the use of “OM’/”OM” in
the starting of every mantras. You might have also seen the symbol imbibed on the walls of temples
and scriptures.

Have you ever wondered the reason, why?

“OM” is considered to be the primordial sound of the Universe. It is considered to be the most
spiritual sound among the followers of Hindu religion and carries the entire life force of the
Universe. It is the fundamental frequency of all vibrations and hence it is considered as the Prana
(energy) of our existence.

The sound of the machines, the sound of the flowing river, the thundering, and the rain almost all
have the same frequency as that of the word “OM”. So on chanting “OM”, we are basically syncing
ourselves to the very roots of our existence.

Spiritually, the sound of OM represents the three powerful energies- Brahma (the creator), Vishnu
(the preserver) & Mahesh (the destroyer).Thus, the sound of OM connects us to the Highest Divine.
Benefits of OM Meditation
So, how does “OM” meditation helps in our mantra sadhna?

The chanting of OM before starting of your mantra sadhna brings stability in our mind. The
restlessness of the mind is stopped and it improves concentration. Doing OM mediation can help
lower down the stress levels by controlling the cardiac rhythm of the heart. In addition to this, it
clears the root chakra, crown chakra and third eye chakra in our bodies, thereby making it perfect to
enter into deep meditation.

Still not convinced?

It has been scientifically proved that regular chanting of “OM” mantra induces theta signals to our
brains. These theta waves in our brain are responsible for inducing deep meditation. It totally calms
down the person and makes them feel relaxed.

Steps for “OM Mantra Meditation”

So, how should you do the “OM Mantra” meditation?

Let us understand this mediation in steps.

1) Sit in a comfortable position. Its better, if you take the Padmasana pose. Close your eyes.
2) Now inhale deeply. Now exhale while chanting the word “OM”. The sound produced should
be “AAAA...’ “UUUUUU…” “MMMMMMM”. Take note, that he exhaling process should
constitute 70 percent of the word “A” & “U”. Remaining 30 percent of your breath should be
exhaled with the word “M”.
3) Remember to feel the sound in your navel (while chanting “AAAA”), in the throat
(whilechanting “UUUUUU...”). And the sound of “MMMMMMM” should be felt in between
the eyebrows.
4) Again inhale deeply and repeat the above steps. Remember to pause for a jiffy after each
chant.

“OM Meditation should be done 11 times every day, before starting with your mantra sadhna. While
doing the mantra mediation, try focussing on your third eye. Feel the sound reverberating in your
mind.

“OM Meditation” is a very powerful tool that can help you achieve the state of a balanced mind and
that too within a few minutes. Apart from this, it has both physical and mental benefits and acts as a
great detox.

Connecting to Your Inner Self

Connecting to Your Inner Self
In our daily lives, we are totally influenced by thoughts and actions that are external to us. We may
be thinking about the office, the pending work, relationships problems and other stuffs. This creates
a sense of anxiety, fear, hatred and depression in us. We don’t feel worthy and sometimes lead a life
of guilt. Even achieving success in our daily lives, we internally don’t feel happy inside.

How many times have you looked internally in yourself to find who you really are? What mainly
makes you happy and content?

Never! Isn’t it?

So, without knowing you inner self, you won’t understand what makes you joyous inside. You won’t
feel calmness and peace of mind. So, instead for looking for external happiness, you should find time
for your inner self too.

When we draw our attention inwards, we feel mentally happy, charged up and supported. Also,
being mentally happy and content is essential for focussing on your mantra sadhna. You should
understand that a calm mind rests in a contended soul.

In this video, we will point out two different ways by which you can guide you awareness inwards.

So, let’s check them out.

Ways to Forge the Connection to your Inner-self

Silent Meditation:

Yes, being silent has the power that can connect you to your inner self.

It is our talks and communication that links us to the external world. If we keep quiet, you would no
longer be influenced by the society and its garbage. Your mind won’t wander and it won’t have
feelings of anxiety, hatred, tensions and comparisons. This will make the doer calm inside.

Silence is a type of meditation practise where a sadhak remains completely shut off from the
external world. While doing this a person directs his awareness gradually towards himself.

It is often a slow process and needs practise. You might falter on being silent initially, but slowly you
can remain silent for long hours.

Being silent helps the sadhaks to bring mental peace and clarity in them. It improves mental strength
and focus.

So, how it should be done?

The process is just becoming silent, simple.

You can practise it daily after mantra meditation for 5- 10 minutes.

 1) Sit in relaxed position. Becalm, relaxed and thought-free.
2) Now start moving your awareness from the external noise towards your inner self.
3) Now feel the inner self, your sensations and your body vibrations.

You might find this difficult. But with regular practice, you will attain the calmness of this meditation.

Practice it daily after mantra meditation for 5- 10 minutes.

Mindful Meditation

In “mindful meditation”, a sadhak should relax on his asana and close his eyes. Now simply
concentrate on the breathing process. In this process, a sadhak is aware of the physical presence and
the surroundings, but is concentrating or meditating upon the inhalation and exhalation of breath.

1) Stay calm and relaxed while being seated on your asana.

2) Close your eyes.
3) Now slowly start focusing on the inhalation and exhalation of your breath.
4) Feel that while you inhale, the Prana of the mantras are travelling inside you purifying your
body. While exhaling, feel all the malicious and negative energies are moving out.

Practice this daily after meditation for 5-10 minutes.

You should take time and practise the ways of “mindful meditation”. It brings peace and positivity in
our lives thereby connecting us to our inner-selves. It conditions the mind in a way that you are no
longer affected by the random negative thoughts.