Mantra Purusha: The Marriage of mantra and marma therapy

by Mary Bruck

Mantra Purusha marries the healing sciences of mantra and marma therapy. The mantra and marma connection is very important for healing purposes. The combination of mantra and marma heals the physical body, changes the frequency of the subtle body, and removes negative patterns from the mind. It reduces the karmic code or matrix which resides in the psyche. This paper will describe the meaning, purposes, and origination of mantra and marma. It will also describe why the Mantra Purusha is the best tool in Ayurvedic medicine.

Marmas are special, sensitive points on the body; they are junction points where 2 or more tissues meet. They are located at the intersection of blood vessels, bones, and ligaments; they are most commonly found at the joints. The wrist joint is an example of a marma. These locations are places where prana can enter or leave the body. The ancient healing practice of marma is used to shape prana in the subtle body.

These special points carry energy information between the mind and the organs and tissues of the body; they are access points to body, mind, consciousness. Marmas are the intersection between: matter and energy, the physical and subtle planes, matter and consciousness, Purusha and Prakriti, ojas and prana. Each marma point contains the energies of Vata, Pitta and Kapha. 

Another meaning of marma is “secret”. This alternative meaning of marma is used in several contexts. One context is that the marma points exist below the surface of the skin. Another context is in connection with keeping the teachings of marma secret until the person is ready for the information. A third context is that this valuable knowledge was known only by kings and warriors to be used judiciously in battle. Sushrut promulgated the science of marma, and he used it in surgery and healing wounds in warrior battles.

There are 108 marmas; 37 on the head and neck, 22 on the arms, 22 on the lower extremities, 14 on the back, 12 on the chest and stomach. The mind is the 108th marma point.

Mantra finds its origin in the Vedas and is derived from the word “man” which means mind, and “tra” which means tool. Therefore, mantra is a mind tool. Mantra is asana for the mind. “Mantra puts the mind into a certain pose in which it can become a conduit for higher flow of energy and grace.” [1]. It provides focus, strength, adaptability, and plasticity for the mind by forming new synaptic connections in the brain. Mantra works on many levels and has many purposes. 
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Mantra:

• Helps one to achieve health and well-being in the pursuit of life’s 4 goals: dharma, artha, kama, and moksha,
• Helps one to overcome obstacles, 
• Awakens the higher potential in the brain and changes the flow of energy or current in the nervous system, 
• Induces higher states of consciousness, 
• Helps one to become less vulnerable to external conditioning, external influences, reactive patterns, and samskaras.,
• Breaks up deep seated mental and emotional patterns, and trauma. In other words, it breaks up ama.
• Helps one to remove lower karmas, and bring in higher karmas,
• Creates a protective shield around the body,
• Attunes our bodies and minds to proper resonance coming from our deepest self, 
• Has a unique energetic signature and works on a subtle plane by bringing about a specific effect on the mind, 
• Lifts one above their personal limitations, and opens one up to their deeper potential. This makes mantra one of the best tools for psychological well-being and for shaping the nervous system.

Mantras are like herbs, they have gunas or particular energetic effects. The energetics of mantra can be deciphered from several factors: the sound factor, pranic factor, and mental factor. The sound factor acts upon the body, the pranic factor acts upon the prana vayus, and the mental factor acts upon the mind and heart. 

Painful memories are stored as frequencies or sound patterns in our psyche. The liver stores unresolved anger, the gall bladder stores hatred, the kidneys store fear, the stomach and colon store nervousness, the lungs store grief and sadness, and the spleen stores attachments. 

Mantras can be used in Ayurvedic preparations; they empower the herbs, foods, and therapies. Since water is a vehicle for prana and emotions, one could energize the water with mantra and then use the water to release and heal the negative experiences and painful memories, and uplift our inner rasa. 

The Sanskrit language is the language of the angels. It is the only language that transmits meaning through sound. It is a vibrational language and therefore it can awaken Kundalini and transform us. The Sanskrit alphabet reflects prime powers of creation. The Sanskrit syllables are “Matrikas” or spiritual mothers of our being. They are the root forms of Shakti. 

There are 50 sounds and each sound relates to a place on the body or a marma. The 16 vowels relate to the head and senses, the first 20 consonants relate to the main joints on arms and legs, the last 5 consonants relate to the abdominal region, the 9 semi-vowels and sibilants relate to the tissues, mind, and soul. 

There are also mappings of the language constituents to other facets of the universe. The vowels correspond to consciousness, spirit, Shiva or Purusha. Consonants relate to matter or nature or Shakti, or Prakriti. The sibilants and semi-vowels stand between vowels and consonants, between consciousness and matter. 

There is even further mapping of the sounds. Gutturals symbolize pranic urges or impulses in life. Palatals connote emotional energy, and generative power. Cerebrals give stability and form to life. Dentals project force from our being. And labials express our energies to the outside world. 

In order to turn the alphabet letters into mantras, an anusvara, or final “m” is added to each of the letters. For example, the letter “ai” becomes the mantra “aim”. This way the recitation of the alphabet becomes a mantra.

The Purusha mantra links marma and mantra; this mantra directs healing energy and higher prana to different places within us that need healing. Each of the 50 letters corresponds to a marma or body location. To awaken the Shakti in each Sanskrit alphabet mantra, one must recite it with deep feeling, awareness of a larger power, and with concentration of the mind and heart. The attached file contains the mantras and body parts chart. There is also a jpeg file associated with this paper that contains a more advanced version of the mantra. You can touch each area with your hands or with your mind, and recite the associated mantra. As you deepen the practice, the mantra begins to speak to you and teach you. You move from speaking the mantra to listening. Grace flows from the mantra when we are in the listening state and receptive to its Shakti. Sanskrit is the language of the angels. Practicing mantra in this way moves us to a state of listening to the angels.

As a final foot note there was an article in the NY Times about Einstein’s theory. It explains how there were 2 black holes circling each other (Purusha and Prakriti) and then they finally merged and produced a sound or frequency that was recently measured by the LIGO apparatus in Louisiana. One could surmise that the 2 black holes were Purusha and Prakriti, and the sound produced was OM. OM is the prime mantra of the Atman, or Purusha. It is the seed mantra of all other mantras

[1] Dr. David Frawley, "Mantra Yoga and Primal Sound, Secrets of Seed (Bija) Mantras”, 2010, p. 24.