Om Namah Shivaya in Shuddha Bilaval Raga
Chanting with Gurumayi Chidvilasananda
© Ⓟ 1990 SYDA Foundation®. All rights reserved. Please do not copy, record, or distribute.
Today, while chanting the mantra Om Namah Shiva in the Shuddha Bilaval raga, I perceived the music as generous waves of a joyful river, its flow guided by Gurumayi’s voice. These waters were running over the earth, carrying their blessings and graciously leaving behind some most-needed healing, regeneration, and joy. At the end of this wonderful chant, I felt very grateful and at peace because I knew that these blessings upon our Mother Earth are real and have a deep and beneficial impact on our world.
Quebec, Canada
This morning as I chanted this chant with Gurumayi, I heard these words from within: “There is no separation. We are always together.”
California, United States
Tonight I chanted the mantra with Gurumayi as I made dinner, and memories of offering seva in the kitchen at the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Boston floated up, filling my heart with so much sweetness. Enjoying a cup of tea, I looked out my top floor apartment window and felt my heart expand as I chanted to the trees, and then to the Boston skyline and the airplanes flying out of Logan Airport with their blinking lights. I chanted to a lost love who lives nearby, I chanted until I felt it was all a part of me and I was a part of it. I felt so grateful for all of it, for my life, my Guru, losses, gains, the company of trees near my window, and the sounds of cars going by. It was all alive with love, and even though I live alone, in that moment I didn’t feel alone. I offered the chant to all of it, and all of it loved me back.
I am grateful to Gurumayi for opening me to the one love that is in everything.
I am grateful to Gurumayi for opening me to the one love that is in everything.
Massachusetts, United States
I often listen to the Om Namah Shivaya mantra in this raga before going to bed. I experience so much calm and peace, and afterwards I have the most restful sleep. When I wake up, the chant is still playing within me.
This raga instantly connects me to my inner stillness! It is also my best companion during my walks in nature.
This raga instantly connects me to my inner stillness! It is also my best companion during my walks in nature.
Mumbai, India
As I listened to the Om Namah Shivaya mantra in this raga, I was transported to a universe that exists in the depth of my own self.
I felt the syllables of the mantra were assuming different shapes as they vibrated in my heart. I felt the mantra, which has been repeated countless times by our Siddha Gurus, was manifesting its power within me.
At that moment I had the awareness that I should never feel alone, because my Guru is always with me in the form of the mantra.
I felt the syllables of the mantra were assuming different shapes as they vibrated in my heart. I felt the mantra, which has been repeated countless times by our Siddha Gurus, was manifesting its power within me.
At that moment I had the awareness that I should never feel alone, because my Guru is always with me in the form of the mantra.
Macerata, Italy
Today, although I am not participating physically in the Shaktipat Intensive 2023, I chanted Om Namah Shivaya. As I chanted, I held the intention of chanting with deep honor to the God who “dwells within me as me,” and infused it into the sound that I created while chanting. I envisioned it as a sacred offering within myself.
This was an incredible experience. I felt awe and deep respect for the powerful, palpable presence I became aware of within me. Yet moments of anxiety and fear also arose in different parts of my body. All I could do was keep chanting while holding my intention and enfolding the anxiety in my love. That turned out to be a good choice as this quelled the sensation of anxiety.
Now as I write this share while listening to the chant, the powerful presence remains with me, embodying the truth of Baba’s teaching: “God dwells within you as you.”
This was an incredible experience. I felt awe and deep respect for the powerful, palpable presence I became aware of within me. Yet moments of anxiety and fear also arose in different parts of my body. All I could do was keep chanting while holding my intention and enfolding the anxiety in my love. That turned out to be a good choice as this quelled the sensation of anxiety.
Now as I write this share while listening to the chant, the powerful presence remains with me, embodying the truth of Baba’s teaching: “God dwells within you as you.”
Texas, United States
I first heard the mantra Om Namah Shivaya in the Shuddha Bilaval raga at my first Siddha Yoga satsang nearly four decades ago. It opened up a new path before me, and I took my first step onto it.
Today in meditation, I listened to the mantra in this raga and then continued to repeat it silently to myself. Suddenly the image of a path cutting through a forest with dense trees emerged in my mind’s eye. I experienced the dense trees as the fluctuations of my mind and the mantra as the path that cuts through them, leading to the Self.
Contemplating this experience, I realize that the mantra opens up a new path in my mind and in my life when I give myself to it fully, whether in listening, chanting, or repeating it inwardly. That’s how powerful an effect Om Namah Shivaya in the Shuddha Bilaval raga can have on me. That’s why I love it so much and pledge to be even more conscious in my attunement to this sacred friend.
Today in meditation, I listened to the mantra in this raga and then continued to repeat it silently to myself. Suddenly the image of a path cutting through a forest with dense trees emerged in my mind’s eye. I experienced the dense trees as the fluctuations of my mind and the mantra as the path that cuts through them, leading to the Self.
Contemplating this experience, I realize that the mantra opens up a new path in my mind and in my life when I give myself to it fully, whether in listening, chanting, or repeating it inwardly. That’s how powerful an effect Om Namah Shivaya in the Shuddha Bilaval raga can have on me. That’s why I love it so much and pledge to be even more conscious in my attunement to this sacred friend.
California, United States
Tonight I chanted the mantra Om Namah Shivaya in this sweet and tender raga for forty-five minutes. I was surprised at how quickly the time went by. It was as if I had entered a stillness beyond time, where my inner being felt deeply nourished. Afterward, I felt rejuvenated and full of love.
I am grateful for the gift of this enlivened mantra, which awakens me. I am grateful for this simple yet powerful means to worship and enter the Heart.
I am grateful for the gift of this enlivened mantra, which awakens me. I am grateful for this simple yet powerful means to worship and enter the Heart.
Warrnambool, Australia
As I listened to the Om Namah Shivaya mantra in this raga, I was transported to a universe that exists in the depth of my own self.
I felt the syllables of the mantra were assuming different shapes as they vibrated in my heart. I felt the mantra, which has been repeated countless times by our Siddha Gurus, was manifesting its power within me.
At that moment I had the awareness that I should never feel alone, because my Guru is always with me in the form of the mantra.
I felt the syllables of the mantra were assuming different shapes as they vibrated in my heart. I felt the mantra, which has been repeated countless times by our Siddha Gurus, was manifesting its power within me.
At that moment I had the awareness that I should never feel alone, because my Guru is always with me in the form of the mantra.
Macerata, Italy
Being able to chant the mantra Om Namah Shivaya, and in the Shuddha Bilaval raga, allows me to enter the most sacred sanctum sanctorum. I am forever grateful for this blessing from Bade Baba, Baba, and Gurumayi.
Mexico City, Mexico
Listening to this recording of Om Namah Shivaya reminded me that I was blessed to receive this mantra as soon as I arrived at the Siddha Yoga Meditation Center in Montreal back in 1998. Just as a key opens a door, the mantra opened the gateway to my heart. The mantra was the golden key that allowed me to dive deeper and deeper into sublime meditation.
Ville St. Laurent, Canada
Recently I had a dream in which I faced a challenging situation. In my dream I began to chant the mantra Om Namah Shivaya very joyfully. As I did so, the threat dissipated. This was a situation that normally would have frightened me in both the waking and dream states. But, in this case, with the help of the mantra, it did not. Instead, I felt pure joy.
When I woke up, I felt so grateful for my decades of practicing mantra japa and chanting the mantra. I feel as though this was truly an experience of the power of the mantra.
When I woke up, I felt so grateful for my decades of practicing mantra japa and chanting the mantra. I feel as though this was truly an experience of the power of the mantra.
Illinois, United States
My experience listening to this extraordinary recording of the mantra is of going back home! Gurumayi’s voice sounds to me like the most familiar voice; it is so beautiful. The melody is warm and majestic. It feels as if it is in motion, as if I am navigating to a great destination. Each word is sung long enough that I can delight in the journey. I feel so much love for my Guru, for my path, and for all of us, the most fortunate passengers on the voyage.
New York, United States
Hearing this raga reminds me of my experience chanting the mantra in this raga during Shaktipat Intensives. Moments of pause, of silence, of respect, and of love surface in my mind.
San Giorgio a Cremano, Italy
It was on Baba Muktananda’s divya diksha day that I received the chaitanya mantra Om Namah Shivaya from Gurumayi ji. I listened to the mantra with awareness, focus, and a sense of oneness with Shiva. I was filled with divine vibrations, and my mind became still and filled with love. After chanting the mantra with Gurumayi ji, I went into deep meditation.
Vadodara, India
We chanted the mantra in this raga during every satsang at the first Siddha Yoga meditation center I attended a long time ago. What a supreme surprise it was to encounter it again!
Ohio, United States
Like a warm summer breeze that carries a butterfly across a meadow of flowers, so the mantra Om Namah Shivaya carries me into the deep silence of my Self.
There, everything is still, everything is pure, everything is fulfilled. I have no more wanting, no more striving, no more fear, only infinite vastness of pure being.
It is amazing that in this world of impermanence and illusion, I can experience such a true, timeless, and divine moment!
I feel that my Guru takes the form of the mantra and caresses my heart with compassion until I can let go into the great Self.
There, everything is still, everything is pure, everything is fulfilled. I have no more wanting, no more striving, no more fear, only infinite vastness of pure being.
It is amazing that in this world of impermanence and illusion, I can experience such a true, timeless, and divine moment!
I feel that my Guru takes the form of the mantra and caresses my heart with compassion until I can let go into the great Self.
Unterlangenegg, Switzerland
It has been thirty years since I first received the mantra Om Namah Shivaya from Gurumayi. So many times, and particularly in harder times, I have taken refuge in it. As I chant or repeat the mantra inwardly, I am drawn to my heart and to the awareness that the Guru, the mantra, and my Self are one. Shaktipat initiation and Om Namah Shivaya are the most precious gifts I have received from Gurumayi.
Montreal, Canada
My husband and I have been choosing one of the ragas of Om Namah Shivaya on the Siddha Yoga path website and chanting along with it with our full, conscious focus.
From the first syllable of the mantra, I feel as if I am entering the space of a Shaktipat Intensive. I feel Gurumayi’s divine presence in my heart, and I open to more love.
From the first syllable of the mantra, I feel as if I am entering the space of a Shaktipat Intensive. I feel Gurumayi’s divine presence in my heart, and I open to more love.
Oregon, United States
Om Namah Shivaya—the chaitanya mantra, the initiating mantra, imbued with Gurumayi’s grace and love—has become my shadow. As a child I was familiar with this mantra, hearing people saying it at the temples and even in my home. But I never knew its meaning; I simply accepted it as a holy name.
As I began walking the Siddha Yoga path, my Guru not only explained its meaning but gave me the true experience of it, allowing me to enter deep within, transforming me, purifying me. Now each raga of the mantra draws me to my Guru in my heart.
As I began walking the Siddha Yoga path, my Guru not only explained its meaning but gave me the true experience of it, allowing me to enter deep within, transforming me, purifying me. Now each raga of the mantra draws me to my Guru in my heart.
Nairobi, Kenya
The atmosphere of the Shaktipat Intensive permeates me as I see the image and hear the voice of my beloved Gurumayi chanting Om Namah Shivaya in this raga. My breath fills with the mantra, joining in the melodious rhythm. Gratitude pulsates in my heart and my body, as I remember participating in the Intensive.
This memory is a gift that crosses space and time. I received this gift in my beloved Siddha Yoga venues, which—at this moment, when I remember—are present right here in my home.
This memory is a gift that crosses space and time. I received this gift in my beloved Siddha Yoga venues, which—at this moment, when I remember—are present right here in my home.
Mexico City, Mexico
Listening to and chanting Om Namah Shivaya in this raga brings back the memory of my first experience in Gurumayi’s presence. To this day, the feeling of being surrounded and suffused by the holiest of sacred vibrations and my Guru’s unconditional love remains as strong as ever.
West Vancouver, Canada
As I was driving recently, I found myself behind a car with the personalized license plate OMSHIV1. And yesterday I drove behind a builder’s maintenance van with the license plate SOHAM. Discovering the mantra in traffic was wonderful!
Auckland, New Zealand
This sacred mantra Om Namah Shivaya is the purest and most calming sound I have ever heard in my life. When I listen to it with every cell of my being, I experience deep silence and peace, and wave after wave of love. I feel so fortunate to have received this mantra thirty-four years ago from my beloved Gurumayi.
Plougonvelin, France
Recently my little dog wasn’t feeling well. While waiting to go to our appointment at the vet, we listened to the mantra together. I listened to Gurumayi chanting and opened to receive her blessings. After a while, my dog began to relax and then fell asleep, and I was calmer too.
At the veterinary clinic, the vet told me that my little one had to undergo emergency surgery. While I waited, it was very difficult for me to remain still. I felt that what I could do to help was to repeat the mantra again and again while asking for Shri Gurumayi’s grace for my dog.
The operation went well, and my dog recovered quickly. The doctors seemed stunned. They told me that they had never seen a dog reacting quite like that.
I am so grateful to my beloved Guru for her protection and for the sacred mantra Om Namah Shivaya.
I will always treasure this latest experience of the transformative power of the mantra.
At the veterinary clinic, the vet told me that my little one had to undergo emergency surgery. While I waited, it was very difficult for me to remain still. I felt that what I could do to help was to repeat the mantra again and again while asking for Shri Gurumayi’s grace for my dog.
The operation went well, and my dog recovered quickly. The doctors seemed stunned. They told me that they had never seen a dog reacting quite like that.
I am so grateful to my beloved Guru for her protection and for the sacred mantra Om Namah Shivaya.
I will always treasure this latest experience of the transformative power of the mantra.
Rome, Italy
Although I received shaktipat many decades ago, whenever I hear the mantra in this raga that initial experience is renewed. I experience once more the joy I felt the very first time. By simply listening, I become happy again. I become filled with gratitude for the compassionate Gurus who breathed real life into my existence.
Washington, United States
The sounds of the mantra are very sweet. Om Namah Shivaya in Shuddha Bilaval raga reminds me of the many Shaktipat Intensives I have participated in. It reminds me of the love of a mother cradling her child, of love and devotion to the Guru, and of the freedom available in solitude.
San Giorgio a Cremano, Italy
Whenever I hear this chant, tears of joy flow. I feel that I am brimming with Gurumayi’s love, and I know that she’s always there in my heart.
Colwall, United Kingdom
This is my absolute favorite raga of Om Namah Shivaya! Whenever I hear it, I feel like I’m floating in waves of grace. It is so sublime and beautiful that my heart is instantly uplifted. Freedom, love, and gratitude to the Guru arise within me.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
This chant brings me into the presence of my Guru, Gurumayi ji. I receive her grace and kind love as the chant continues to reside within me.
Shaab Al Bahri, Kuwait
Om Namah Shivaya in the Shuddha Bilaval raga is the first Siddha Yoga chant I ever heard and chanted; that occurred in a Siddha Yoga satsang thirty-seven years ago. Every time I hear it, I feel my heart opening to a new beginning, like it did back then. Every time I hear it, I feel realigned with my true Self, like our planet with its axis.
California, United States
The day I received this mantra during a Shaktipat Intensive is an unforgettable day for me. The mantra has been with me and my family for twenty-five years now. It is a pillar in my life. Whenever I sit for meditation, it takes me to a place of calm and peace.
Madampakkam, Chennai, India
When I listen to this recording, I experience deep silence in my heart, and my inner being merges into the radiant form of Bade Baba.
Aurangabad, India
Truly, I think there is no more sacred sound than this. It’s both a prayer and the answer to a prayer at the same time. Here I am, resting my forehead in my hands, swaying gently, filled with a sweet feeling of love and gratitude as I listen to my beloved Guru’s voice. Time dissolves.
I am transported back to my first Shaktipat Intensive, when I received shaktipat immediately upon hearing this sound. Simultaneously, I seem also to be aware (only just!) of a very long journey stretching back into the mists of time, bearing fruit now with this sound, which I can only describe as the arrival home.
I am transported back to my first Shaktipat Intensive, when I received shaktipat immediately upon hearing this sound. Simultaneously, I seem also to be aware (only just!) of a very long journey stretching back into the mists of time, bearing fruit now with this sound, which I can only describe as the arrival home.
Castlemaine, Australia
Whenever I hear this beautiful chant, I remember the first time I went to Shree Muktananda Ashram for a Shaktipat Intensive—twenty-nine years ago this month. I was sitting on the lawn eating lunch as Om Namah Shivaya in the Shuddha Bilaval raga was playing. I looked up at the wide blue sky and my heart opened with joy and love.
I remember this experience as if it was yesterday, and every time I do, I feel immense gratitude for Gurumayi’s presence in my life.
I remember this experience as if it was yesterday, and every time I do, I feel immense gratitude for Gurumayi’s presence in my life.
New York, United States
In February 1980 I met Baba in the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Miami. It was Mahashivaratri and the mantra Om Namah Shivaya was being chanted twenty-four hours a day. I stayed only three days. I very much needed help and was asking for it from Baba, although he was in a silent period. He looked at me and said, “She deserves some of God’s food, after lunch!”
As a newcomer to the Siddha Yoga path, I did not know what he meant, but I was very happy. After lunch, all of a sudden my heart opened with love and joy and gratitude; it was a blissful experience. And that’s how I received shaktipat initiation, which started a new life for me.
The mantra has never left me during these last forty years.
As a newcomer to the Siddha Yoga path, I did not know what he meant, but I was very happy. After lunch, all of a sudden my heart opened with love and joy and gratitude; it was a blissful experience. And that’s how I received shaktipat initiation, which started a new life for me.
The mantra has never left me during these last forty years.
Ganges, France
This morning I sat in my garden listening to Gurumayi chant Om Namah Shivaya in my most cherished raga, the Shuddha Bilaval raga. There had been rain overnight and everything sparkled. My eyes searched out the different greens of the plants and trees, how the leaves have collected the raindrops to enjoy later.
As I listened to Gurumayi chanting, I was aware of this stillness, which I realized was absolute love—and which was also the same stillness and beauty my eyes were revealing. My understanding is that I can greet each day through the lens of love and contentment. By walking the Siddha Yoga path, I can practice this every day.
As I listened to Gurumayi chanting, I was aware of this stillness, which I realized was absolute love—and which was also the same stillness and beauty my eyes were revealing. My understanding is that I can greet each day through the lens of love and contentment. By walking the Siddha Yoga path, I can practice this every day.
Hampton Hill, United Kingdom
Hearing Gurumayi chant the mantra in the Shuddha Bilaval raga has been so heart-connecting for me during difficult days. It takes me back to my time in Gurudev Siddha Peeth on Valentine’s Day in February 1990—my first time of meeting and having darshan with Gurumayi, the time when she bestowed shakipat initiation on me.
It is like coming home to hear Gurumayi chanting this mantra. I am truly grateful for this heartfelt connection that can never be broken.
It is like coming home to hear Gurumayi chanting this mantra. I am truly grateful for this heartfelt connection that can never be broken.
Lancing, United Kingdom
After chanting, I was reflecting on the power of the mantra. It was the mantra that drew me to Gurumayi thirty years ago, and it is the mantra—the beautiful, powerful, life-giving mantra—that beats in my heart today.
What joy! What profound gratitude! I experience the mantra as alive with the sankalpa and the shakti of our beloved Guru.
What joy! What profound gratitude! I experience the mantra as alive with the sankalpa and the shakti of our beloved Guru.
New York, United States
The sun was rising in the east when I clicked on the link to Gurumayi chanting Om Namah Shivaya in the Shuddha Bilaval raga. Immediately the birds who had been lightly chirping as they ate their morning breakfast from the tree outside my porch began to fly and dance around my porch, swooping up into the air and down again as if rejoicing in the sound of God filling the atmosphere. My heart leapt up in joy and in the recognition that I was witnessing a very sacred moment in the presence of God through the voice of my Sadguru.
San Felipe, Mexico
Sitting here and chanting along with the audio clip, I felt that deep connection in my heart, like when one senses that movement of warmth and the presence of love as the result of just having had darshan. This particular raga has always been soothing and comforting to me. I feel so totally relaxed into myself—so content, safe, and centered, with no concern about the past or future.
Receiving the mantra Om Namah Shivaya has been my life’s greatest gift.
Receiving the mantra Om Namah Shivaya has been my life’s greatest gift.
Florida, United States
I am grateful to be able to participate in this chant in the raga in which I chanted Om Namah Shivaya just prior to receiving shaktipat diksha, spiritual initiation, twenty-eight years ago. It was the greatest moment of this or any lifetime, conferred on me during my first-ever Siddha Yoga experience—the Shaktipat Intensive in honor of the tenth anniversary of Baba Muktananda’s mahasamadhi.
Arkansas, United States
For thirty years, chanting the mantra Om Namah Shivaya has been an everlasting joy, an amazing strength, an ever-present help in time of need, a comfort, and then—in times of joy—a vehicle for praise.
California, United States
Listening to Gurumayi chanting the mantra brings me peace and clarity. Tranquility spreads throughout my being and expands to the surrounding area. I am grateful for being enveloped in this peace.
Modiin, Israel
This is the melody with which we chanted Om Namah Shivaya with Gurumayi when I first came to the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Oakland in 1989. It still brings me deep inside to a feeling of great love and an awareness that I have come home.
California, United States
Some years ago, when I was offering seva in Gurudev Siddha Peeth, I was walking through the courtyard to go to an office while this Om Namah Shivaya chant was being chanted outdoors. It was a dark-velvet, warm night, and to my surprise, I was pulled into the chanting area by the power and sweetness of the chant. I realized that this was a perfect moment to chant. I sat down on the cool marble and started to sway and chant the mantra. Waves of bliss flowed through my heart and entire being. It is a moment that I will always remember.
Hawaii, United States
This beautiful chant with Gurumayi is my favorite. Hearing it on the Siddha Yoga path website is especially comforting. It brings me directly in touch with the grace flowing from the Siddha Yoga path. I feel love and blessings assisting me and flowing directly to a family member who is ill at this time.
Mulgrave, Australia
As I listen to this recording of the mantra, I feel it vibrating in and around my heart and spreading throughout my being in a flood of bliss.
I am grateful for the divine experience of knowing that Gurumayi is truly alive within me in the form of the mantra.
I am grateful for the divine experience of knowing that Gurumayi is truly alive within me in the form of the mantra.
Perth, Australia
When I listen to this audio recording, I feel a lot of love for Gurumayi ji. I experience deep connection within. I become more silent within and active on the outside.
Sometimes I listen to this audio recording while I offer seva, and I notice that I become more focused and offer seva with more speed and accuracy. I am able to communicate with clarity and brevity.
Sometimes I listen to this audio recording while I offer seva, and I notice that I become more focused and offer seva with more speed and accuracy. I am able to communicate with clarity and brevity.
Nasik, India