Hello friends.
Hope you are well today.
Usually, I don’t have a tough time getting inspired but for some reason, today, my brain span wasn’t completely here even though it’s been a great day learning, I couldn’t formulate something good until I came across the word “Mana” today. Some of you already know what the word “Mana” means. Not only that, but I also have a tattoo that hides an OM symbol on the area around my shoulder blade that many people would miss the meaning of and the charity project that I’m trying to jumpstart for a while has this word Krupa in it; the charity project’s full name is called Krupa International Projects. I figured why not bring together all these spiritual terms on one article. It just might even become clear that we have a mix; many languages, pieces of beliefs from religion, cultures, practises and spirituality that is called different things around the globe and in the end it still makes us all one and the same.
Today I came across this word “Mana,” as a spiritual term, I mean I do like this word, in fact, the first time I came across the word “Maná,” was because I bumped into a Mexican Nickelback style group called “Maná,” they’re a group from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. I actually like one song of this group in particular called Labios compartidos (shared lips),” I think you’d like it. Have a listen here.
Just went off track there. I kind of prefer this “Mana” with my lifestyle today.
Mana – Mana is a Maori belief. It means life force, prestige, presence, respect and authority. It’s a spiritual force, humble yet influential and courageous.
Prana – This word comes from Hindu philosophy. This is a Sanskrit word for life force, energy, (enlightenment in some cases) or power that causes the mind, body and senses to function.
The word or sound “Aum” or “OM” is used quite a bit in meditation and mantras. This word is Sanskrit. It is when three vibrations come together. Just notice the sound and how it’s said when meditating when saying it in mantras and Hindu bhajans (devotional songs and hymns). In India, this word is usually said three times to involve the three bodies: physical, astral and causal.
I believe this creative vibration that is “OM” to Hindus is the word “Amen” in Christianity, “Amin” in Arabic, and the Tibetans call it “Hum”. You can read further into it here.
I named the charity that I am trying to jumpstart Krupa International Projects. Krupa is a Sanskrit word. The reason why I chose the word Krupa is because it means grace, blessing, mercy and kind all in one and the same word.
Mantra and Bhajans – Is a repetition of sound or a statement (in Hinduism), while in Christianity it’s called songs of praise and in Arabic too, they have theirs. In the Native American culture, I believe they call it Hymns, in African communities they call it Gospel music.
The word Ata in Maori has the same meaning as the word Atma in Hinduism. The word is of Sanskrit origin. It refers to Soul, spirit which in Moari also called shadow.
You know I believe that there are many similar concepts if we were to spend a lot of time looking at all religions, cultural and spiritual practices from culture to culture. Weird enough, we played some mantras this morning in our home not by my suggestion but by someone else’s and since I began writing this article from yesterday, I found it interesting. So basically, throughout breakfast, I was thinking of this article. I couldn’t finish it yesterday, like, I picked a really hard topic thinking this was going to be easy, purely because I don’t even know the practices of all cultures including tribal cultures of our world or their words for spiritual and other concepts.
With this article titled, One and the same, I guess I am trying to say is we know that we all are born, we all die, we’re all made of flesh and blood, what’s in between is for us to figure out, and after the mantras played in my home this morning for at least two hours I felt that if all cultures have mantras, songs of praise, hymns whatever you want to call it to drive away obstacles, sadness, negativity, bring back faith, then there must be some kind of truth to it.
It reminds me of this time where I ended up staying with a Peruvian and Columbian guy in Mallorca, Spain (yep that time of the economic crisis), the older Peruvian guy put songs of praise which he used to listen to from his days in the village to fill some strength and faith in my spirit. I must say, it felt good, where people can’t make you feel whole in spirit at least songs of praise do even if you don’t know what they mean. Hope and faith lost somewhere along this road we call life, at least there’s something that comes from songs of praise, bhajans, mantras, hymns, the OM, hum etc. I believe from all these experiences and my father who plays Bhajans and mantras in the mornings for years, it makes me feels like it strengthens the spirit.
It’s said that the sound of OM or chanting OM helps the chakras, and when I think of people singing and playing instruments, I think of them as sending out vibrations on our planet. In some way, if we think of it, its life, if we are in tune then synchronistic events occur; aligned to vibrations and the universe and raising that. It makes me think that these Bhajans, mantras, hymns, songs of praise, gospel music, chanting etc. all increase the vibrational energy of a person or even the world (if we’re meditating against things like the Coronavirus as one massive group); whatever song, whatever language, whatever religion, whatever culture, whichever part of the world with the same message roughly in different languages then we’re all one and the same. We’re all part of the creation, cause and effect in some way somehow on this planet.
Yours sincerely,
T. Dench Patel
Thank you for the comments and support. Thank you for offering to donate if there was a donate button on here. I prefer not to take donations. You can support by either purchasing one of my books (Paperback or Kindle), The South African: True Colours, The South African: Roamer or my children’s book Light. These books can be found on Amazon mainly and other sites in your country.
The audiobook for The South African: True Colours is available on iTunes, Apple and Audible. The South African: Roamer and Light will be released soon.
Note: Do keep referring back to this site as much as possible, as I grow, a more profound perspective may form and so I will always come back to each of these articles to reevaluate them.
