Sanskrit mantras properly is absolutely necessary for advanced yoga practice. Correct pronunciation requires at least some knowledge of the Sanskrit language, particularly of the fundamental relationship between sound and spirituality that is at its core.
Sanskrit is a mantric language, and it is nothing but the science of sound itself. Mantras are sound forms that contain encoded reality and have the power to alter and produce reality. Sound, according to the Vedas, is not just an audible sensation; it goes much, much deeper. Sound includes all forms of vibratory patterns, such as brain waves, the orbits of electrons around atomic nuclei, the movements of celestial bodies, and the reverberations caused by the Big Bang. It is therefore the essence of reality.
The Four Phases of Sound
According to Vedic science, there are four phases or states of sound: para, pashyanti, madhyama, and vaikhari. I know that’s a lot of strange words in one sentence, but if you can wrap your mind around these four terms you will have understood the basis of much of advanced yoga. Only the last of the four, the vaikhari phase, is audible to the ear, because only vaikhari is a gross, physically manifested sound (included in this category are sounds that can be perceived only by an ear more sensitive than the human ear, such as that of a cat, dog, or bat). In other words, everything that Western science classifies as sound falls into this lowest category.
The unfolding of the four phases of sound is parallel to the unfoldment of the gunas, or qualities of nature, and is most easily understood in that context. So let’s look at the gunas first. To get a quick handle on the gunas, liken them to the three elementary atomic particles of physics. Just as the electron, neutron, and proton form in varying combinations all atoms, elements, and compounds, the three gunas — sattva, rajas, and tamas — make up, in ever-varying combinations, all objects. With this analogy in mind, the late Sanskrit scholar Surendranath Dasgupta (1887–1952) labeled tamas as the mass particle, rajas as the energy particle, and sattva as the intelligence particle. Just as in Western elementary physics, these particles appear sometimes as particles and at other times as waves of energy.
The three gunas have four phases, called unmanifest, manifest, subtle, and gross. You might have guessed already that these phases are related to the four states of sound. These states and their results have been seen by the ancient rishis, and even yogis today can still see and verify them in samadhi.
THE UNMANIFEST STATE AND PARA
The first state is called the unmanifest state; in it rajas, tamas, and sattva are in equilibrium. There is no manifestation — no objects or phenomena — because the gunas cancel each other out. In Western science we call that the state before the Big Bang. Indic thought calls this state prakrti. This beautiful Sanskrit term, which gave rise to such important English words as procreation and practical, can be translated as “procreativity” or simply “nature.”
Yoga sees prakrti as an unconscious (acetanam) matrix.1 The Supreme Being in the form of the Lord Krishna describes the very same prakrti as a machine operated upon by Him,2 and the Agama Shastra describes it as the Great Goddess Uma Parvati herself.3 We need not be disturbed by these differences, as all three views are correct and describe aspects of prakrti. What is important is that during the prakrti state all phenomena are unmanifest. There is no universe, only the infinite eternal consciousness called Brahman.
In the unmanifest state, in the Brahman, there exists already a potential, a divine intention to bring forth the entire creation. This divine intention is called shabda Brahman, or the vibration aspect of infinite consciousness. Thus the unmanifest state has a sound, called para (beyond). Para is a divine sound that has no physical manifestation; only in the most advanced states of samadhi can it be heard. Sound at the para stage can be perceived only from the sahasrara chakra — the crown energy center, which lies not within the body but above the crown of the head — where consciousness is realized. The para sound can be “heard” in the highest state of samadhi, when shakti (life force) ascends all the way to the sahasrara chakra. Through the “hearing” of the para sound, the yogi travels “beyond” relative existence and enters the state of Brahman.
THE MANIFEST STATE AND PASHYANTI
From the unmanifest state, the gunas are stirred into action through the mere presence of consciousness, which functions as a catalyst. Like a chemical catalyst, consciousness is present and necessary for the “reaction” of manifestation to take place, but it is not changed or altered in the process at all. This second gunic state is called the manifest state, and during it the only category of manifestation that the gunas bring forth is cosmic intelligence (called mahat in its universal form and buddhi in its individual form). The sound during this state is called pashyanti and it consists of only one syllable, the sacred syllable Om.
The importance of Om, the primordial sound and mightiest of all mantras, cannot be overestimated. Says the Mandukya Upanishad: “Om is all there is, all that has been, and all that will be. And all that is beyond these three is also Om.”4 This sacred and foremost sound can be heard during samadhi, and focusing on its perception is the principal meditation technique advocated in the Upanishads.
Also coming into existence during the manifest state of the gunas is the karana sharira of the various beings. The karana sharira, which exists within cosmic intelligence, is called the “causal body”; however, it is very different from what we generally understand the term body to mean. The karana sharira consists of eternal or extremely long-lived conditioned patterns (vasanas) and subconscious imprints (samskaras).
During the manifest state of the gunas and the pashyantic state of sound, ego does not yet exist, and as such we cannot really say, “It is I who is reborn” — an expression that the Buddha rightly criticized. Nevertheless, some form of subconsciousness, which at this point is not attached to any egoic notions, does exist. Therefore, as something disappears, something else must reappear. The force and information behind this “something” is the karana sharira, the causal body.
When through yogic effort shakti is made to rise to the ajna chakra (third eye center), the sacred Om is heard, cosmic intelligence is realized, and the causal body is cleansed, which enables the yogi to let go of or disassociate from karma. The shakti can be made to ascend by means of chanting, meditating on, and finally “hearing” the sound Om. Paradoxically, although shakti needs to have reached the ajna chakra for Om to be heard, Om really is heard — or, more accurately, manifests — in the anahata chakra (heart center).
THE SUBTLE STATE AND MADHYAMA
As the process of creation continues, the gunas now swing from the manifest into the subtle state. During the subtle state of the gunas, the sound state of madhyama is produced. The madhyamic state brings forth the fifty letters of the Sanskrit language, which are composed of sixteen vowels and thirty-four consonants. This is significant for the following reason: During the subtle state the gunas bring forth egoity (ahamkara), and only from this moment on can we strictly speak from I-thought, I-awareness, or I-consciousness. Then the gunas produce the subtle elements/essences (tanmatras). Finally, both together — egoity and subtle elements — produce the subtle or energy body (sukshma sharira), which is sometimes also called the yogic body or energy body. The subtle