A. Use of Root Mantra in Meditation
All types of mystical yogic practices address one of the two Faces of the
NOT (Lo), or both. Vast Face Yoga is impersonal in nature and views
all Name and Form as illusions projected by, and in, Mind. It uses the process
of discrimination between the Real and the Illusory to renounce all experiences
and changes in consciousness through all planes of existence, until individuated
consciousness dissolves and merges in the undifferentiated Ground of Pure
Being i.e. Ayn. Small Face Yoga, the yoga of devotion and selfless
service, is personal in nature and regards the multiplicity of Name and
Form as a Great Unity in Small Face. It is characterized by unconditional
love and surrender to one’s Small Face Chosen Ideal, intimacy, compassion,
sense of beauty, ritual, and mental renunciation. By far the most common
meditative practices in Small Face Yoga in all mystical traditions involve
root mantra, visualizations, and often breathing exercises.
“So remember (dikhr) the Name of Allah and devote thyself
with a complete devotion.” ("The Enshrouded One" Surah)
The great sage of ArunachalaArunachala is a mountain in South India sacred to Lord
Shiva. Sri Ramana Maharshi taught:
“The eternal, unbroken, natural state of abiding in the Self is jnana
[knowledge of the Ayn]. To abide in the Self, you must love the Self.
Since God is verily the Self, love of the Self is love of God and that is
bhakti [devotion to One Small Face]. Jnana and bhakti
are thus ultimately one and the same.”
(The Spiritual Teaching of Ramana Maharshi, Shambhala, 1972)
The Tree of Life and Divine Names are two distinct patterns. A particular
Name will empower a Tree in a particular way. Different Names can be put
on the same Tree, and the Tree will be colored differently in accordance
with each Name’s letter formula. The Sefer HaShmoth (Book
of the Names) designates especially powerful Names that will light the
whole Tree. The most common meditative practice of Small Face devotional
yoga in all mystical traditions is the repetition of a root mantra combined
with an appropriate visualization. In Hebrew, it is called zakhor;
in Arabic, it is called dikhr; and in Sanskrit, it is called japa
and namasmarana.
Root mantra are sacred utterances upon which entire religions are built
and sustained. A good yogic mantra or string of power names gives the individual
consciousness an encoded ladder that will systematically move it through
successive levels of the Tree. A well-structured root mantra usually combines
a principal Name of Small Face with an appropriate name of Vast Face. It
also includes built-in mechanisms to ensure smooth and natural transitions
between the planes of existence and stations of consciousness, and into
the roots of the Tree. In the Mystical Qabalah, most such root mantra involve
the Name YHVH.
“It is very good for a person to depict the letters of the Name YHVH
before the eyes of the mind.”
(Vital, Chayyim Sha'an Ruach HaQodesh)
Repeating a mantra over time creates a sympathetic vibration in the mind.
It purifies desires, intensifies unconditional love and surrender, and naturally
cultivates and enhances discrimination, same-sightedness, renunciation,
and one-pointed concentration. True mantra have an intrinsic power to purify
the shells (qlifoth). The One Name of Small Face that naturally appeals
to each aspirant is called their “Chosen Ideal.” Through years
of practice and divine grace, the mind of the meditator literally becomes
the mantra that is repeated, and everything in the universe is seen as a
form of their Chosen Ideal. The intention of repeating a root mantra that
includes a Small Face Chosen Ideal is to get the consciousness of Small
Face—the male and female active principle of the Ayn. Small
Face is the power of the Ayn to project, preserve, and dissolve a
unified Small Face universe. It is also the immense I-ness of the Divine
Personality endowed with all possible attributes. When this I-ness is “turned
outward” to the Creation, it is stationed in the consciousness that
“I am All.” When we awaken to the consciousness of Small Face,
we realize that we (and all beings) have always been Small Face, not a little
individual plagued with suffering.
Once a meditator unites with the consciousness of Small Face, there are
two options. One is to remain fixed in it for the remainder of this Small
Face universe. The second option is to renounce it—meaning you renounce
the consciousness of creating, sustaining, and dissolving the universe.
In renouncing the consciousness of Small Face, expansion into the undifferentiated
consciousness of Vast Face is automatic. The immense I-ness is now turned
“Face-to-Face” and united with Vast Face in the awareness that
“Nothing alone exists.” Here we learn that Small Face has one
great secret - that there is no creation, no destruction, no one in bondage,
no one seeking liberation, no one liberated. If our mental matrix survives
the experience of the negatively existent roots, we would be able to reemerge
as an individuated being in the Small Face Creation as a Tree of Perfection.
As a Perfect Tree, the Sefirah Kingdom would have returned to its position
as the visible Sefirah Knowledge/First, and the whole universe is perceived
as a Great Unity in Small Face. Actually, the Sefirah Knowledge/First is
always there, but in a fallen state we do not see it, and matter and spirit
are perceived as separate in Sefirah Kingdom.
