My teacher Hari taught me this meditation, which is meant to help us find harmony in prakriti. Prakriti is nature, or all of the manifested Universe, which is subject to the effects of the three gunas. The gunas are the three potential qualities found in everything that is manifested. The three qualities are sattva (purity, light, harmony, and balance), rajas (activity and passion), and tamas (darkness and inertia).
As an example, your asana practice can be perfectly harmonious and balanced (sattvic), or aggressive and potentially harmful (rajasic), or lazy and without any dedication (tamasic). One’s body and mind are prakriti, but the soul, the Atman, is not. This meditation helps us to come closer to who we really are.
Hari learned this meditation from Gajanan Maharaj, who lived in or near Poona, India. Hari didn’t name it, but I call it “Sivoham Meditation.” You will find it on page 164 of the book Letters From The Yoga Masters, and you can be guided through a recorded version of the meditation under the techniques on the same website.
Sit in siddhasana or your comfortable meditation seat and softly focus the eyes to the tip of the nose (nasagra drishti). Softly curl the tongue back into the modified khechari mudra (amritpan khechari) — the tongue is positive, the palate is negative, so this mudra creates a current of energy movement.
Four mantras are repeated mentally.
Sudhoham comes from suddha, which means “purity,” and aham means “I am.”
Budoham comes from Buddha, which means “enlightenment.”
Muktoham comes from mukta, which means “free.”
Sivoham comes from Siva. Siva is a name for God.
Mentally say the first mantra once, Sudhoham. Ponder its meaning for several minutes. Mentally say it again, and ponder its meaning some more in a manner that you truly cognize what it means—I am purity.
Mentally repeat Budhoham. Ponder its meaning for several minutes—I am all enlightenment.
Mentally repeat Muktoham. Ponder its meaning for several minutes—I am free.
Now add the mantra Sivoham. Repeat it mentally while you ponder the meaning—I am Siva; I am One with God.
Continue with the process pondering the meanings of these mantras.
An optional technique I like is to repeat each mantra over and over, as in japa, and then ponder their meaning. If you would like to try this format and be guided through it, visit the website Letters From the Yoga Masters under the Techniques, and scroll down to the Sivoham Meditation.
Excerpted from Letters from the Yoga Masters: Teachings Revealed through Correspondence from Paramhansa, Yogananda, Ramana Maharshi, Swami Sivananda, and Others by Marion (Mugs) McConnell, published by North Atlantic Books, copyright © 2016 by Marion (Mugs) McConnell. Reprinted by permission of North Atlantic Books.