The Sanskrit language holds special interest for me. Sanskrit is after all an Energy based language rather than a meaning based one. Energy based languages express the principle that Sound is Primordial and it predates Light. In the Sanskrit language there are 50 letters, each one representing the petals of the Main Chakras from the Root to the 3rd Eye (The Crown Chakra is soundless or soundwhole.) Intonation of Sanskrit words (Mantra Chanting) activates the corresponding Chakra petals and their corresponding energetic qualities. The meaning of a Mantra is based on the outcomes of activating particular petals in a given order. This is congruent with the fact that Energy is Information. Energy gives meaning to the words but that meaning depends upon your current consciousness level and what you can perceive energetically. It is then necessary to caution that mantras or intonation of Sanskrit words can cause effects beyond our comprehension and our ability to perceive. It is for this reason that Chanting Mantras should be done with care and even under the guidance of a teacher.
I am by no means a seer of the great Om Mani Padme Hum Mantra. (Hey, when you read that sentence, you were already chanting the mantra!) Yet this Mantra holds a special place for me because it embodies the concept that Enlightenment comes when the Mind reaches to the Heart. My first external Mantra teacher, Namadeva, says that this mantra can be used to develop the Manas Chakra (Mani) at back of the head. When this Chakra is properly developed, it is able to work with great ideas that flow into the intellect at enlightenment. He says that OM is the unity of feminine and masculine energies at the brow center (3rd eye), MANI is the Mind in its highest and enlightened state, PADME is the manifestation of consciousness in the Anahata or Heart Chakra (Padme) and HUM is the opening of the gateway between Heart and Mind at the Throat Chakra (Vishuddha). So this Mantra circulates energy from the 3rd eye to the Manas Chakra to the Anahata Chakra and then up to the Vishuddha Chakra. The effect of this Mantra is that it magnetizes and empowers the upper part of the spine such that the lower Chakras are guided by the higher ones. In essence it allows one to exercise Power (Siddhi) through Wisdom (Buddhi).

