Yogi Bhajan told us that: “Every element of the universe is a constant state of vibration manifested to us as light, sound and energy.” And that: “There is a vibratory frequency that correspond to everything in the universe. The vibratory frequency of the mantra draws to you whatever you are vibrating”

Chanting mantras either silently or out loud, is a conscious method of controlling and directing the mind by altering its patterns and the chemistry of the brain.  You might be asking yourself how this can be possible; I certainly did when I first came across this notion. As a trained psychologist I have learned how fluid is the relationship between what we think as strictly physical and that which we consider “mental.” We have now widely accepted that stress can turns into illness, that trauma can becomes imbedded in the physical body and even carried in our DNA, and how various forms of therapies are effective in restoring the balance when this has been broken. However I had not understood the mechanism that can allow us to heal by just uttering a sound.

I was brought up as a catholic and always been familiar with the bible’s quote: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Well that never made much sense to me until I started to go deeper in the teachings of Yogi Bhajan and technology behind Kundalini Yoga.

The physical manifestation of all we know as creation is no other than the vibration of the primal sound. Everything we know, and that we cannot see with the limitation of our senses vibrates at different frequencies.  The higher the frequency, the less dense, and more etheric the quality of the vibration. When the One uttered the first sound (aum) it started to experience its own creation. Raising our own vibration brings us closer to experiencing and merging with the highest vibration of all – God – the original creativity of the universe. By vibrating a particular combination of sound, we can tune into various levels of intelligence or consciousness*

How is this translated in practical terms? Well this is how the magic of Naad Yoga happens, explained in very simplistic term:

• there are 84 meridian points located on the hard palate of the roof of the mouth,
• the movement of each part of the tongue stimulates these meridian points,
• the hypothalamus (a portion of the brain that links the nervous system with the endocrine system) receives the impulses from the repetition of the patterns of sound and translate them into instruction the regulate the chemical messengers that  go to all vital areas of the brain and body.

Depending on the special pattern of sound that we choose to utter we are therefore able to adjusts the functions of the endocrine system and the metabolism to create a neutral balanced mind, and to strengthen the immune functions.*  We can tune into various levels of intelligence, intuition, consciousness. The vibratory frequency of the mantra draws to you whatever you are vibrating. Hence the reason we often hear “words are powerful” or “words are things” (Maya Angelou). Once the sound is vibrated it becomes a reality with its own set of consequences, and we can determine the kind of reality we want to create.

The mantras we chant as part of our Kundalini Yoga practice have been selected because their sound pattern is correct and through them we are choosing to invoke the positive power contained in those particular syllables.*

How to heal with the Word? Whatever you say, it is the application of your mind, body and spirit. The most powerful thing of all is the prana. Word becomes the pavan guru (that which carries the prana), and word cannot be erased. It becomes the akashic record (of cause and effect). The universe is balanced by the Word. If for one moment, the whole world shall have no sound, this entire galaxy and galaxies of galaxies and universe will disintegrate. To keep it going in balance there has to be sound. This is called shabd (sounds current). I always believe the power of mantra is the power of man over God. Yogi Bhajan

*KRI international teacher training manual level 1