Lessons in learning Sanskrit Mantra...
- juliegeissler
- Feb 20
- 7 min read
The Svastha Yoga Retreat for Inner Strength (Jan 2025) was my first yoga retreat away from home (an my first visit to India) and I knew this was not going to be a typical ‘feel good wellness retreat’, but something special, something that would take us deeper into our yoga studies and practices.
On day 1 of the retreat we took the first steps in learning a lengthy Sanskrit mantra... it felt like we were straight in at the deep end. For some, this was water off a ducks back. For me it felt like I was wading through mud!
The sanskrit words seems to blur together in a long string of sound, and my tongue struggled to navigate the alien combination of sounds. What's more the spelling of the words did not always seem to match the sounds I was hearing.
Let’s take a step back and reflect on why this felt a bit overwhelming…
As a child I held this self-limiting belief that I was not good at learning languages; I dropped out of French at school and chose extra PE instead. Who chooses extra physical education? Who would rather play hockey in icy conditions than learn a second language? (This is the North East of England and its chilly out there!)… well, me… I definitely would!!! (Yes, multiple exclamation marks again).
Now, looking back, I realise one reason I struggled with learning a second language was because I struggle to hear the sounds in the words, especially as the words grow in length and complexity… some people might call this a phonological processing disorder.
Now, at age 57, I’ve a lot more learning experience behind me, not least because my professional life had a huge focus was on ‘learning to learn’. And when we apply a ‘learning to learn’ mindset and approach, the world opens up and anything is possible…
In addition, through previous Svastha Yoga training, I had come to understand the power of mantra in meditation and the value of learning a mantra and ‘befriending’ a mantra. I've also seen the magic of this in action in my 1-2-1 client work. Knowing this empowered me to seek mastery... with patience... and practice.
In the Svastha Yoga retreat the mantras had been carefully selected to support our journey to build inner resilience (willpower) and strength, so that we could show up for ourselves and practice with the right understanding (knowledge). It was clear that if I was going to get the most out of the 10-day training, I needed to embrace this new language. This is my reflection on that process, and if you struggle to learn new language or mantras, I hope this is of help to you.
How to go about the process of learning, assimilating and gaining mastery of recalling the mantra…
Take small steps… Our teacher had broken the mantra into short segments, so that each day (for the first 4 days of the retreat) we learned a fresh segment adding it on to what we practised the previous day. This involved repetition of the segment(s) with the teacher and class, a little like rote learning. Alongside the teacher broke down the meaning of the cmantra, word by word, narrating stories to enhance our understanding.
Inner panic and confusion… okay my tongue could not seem to wrap itself around the sounds, plus the letters on the page did not seem to match the sounds. If you’ve ever been in a situation where you are learning a language for the first time in a country you’ve never visited, you will know the language sounds like ‘gobbledygook’ to the ear because all the sounds string together and you can’t hear where one word starts or ends… that was my initial experience with the mantra.
Find a friend… Thankfully, one of the course participants had already shared with me that she was a linguist and had an inner understanding of Sanskrit. In the break, I made a dive for her mat and asked for help… what’s going on, why do I hear /sh/ and /ch/ all over the place and what’s with the /T/ and where are the extra sounds coming from? Of course, there was gentle laughter… I was asking about the phonetics of Sanskrit, of which I had no inner knowledge, and which to her made perfect sense. I rapidly scribbled notes in my book and transcribed the mantra phonetically.
Speak up... For those with inner working of Sanskrit, one or two repetitions might be sufficient. For those new to the language several more are likely to be needed. I bravely wrote and asked our teacher to do more repetitions of each new segment of the mantra (we could submit questions on cards). Guess what, the next day, our teacher did more repetitions of each new segment, which thankfully gave my brain and tongue time to align.
Sleep on it… We all know that any learning process involves multiple repetitions on the journey to mastery… The more we repeat, the easier it becomes… So just before going to sleep, my room-mate and I would try to recall the mantra. Outside of class this felt difficult, because it was also about finding the right intonation. Nevertheless, we both warbled along, and every now and then one of us seemed to hit the right tone. Of course, there was a lot of laughter too. Laugher helps.
Apply in a new context… By day 3 we’d also learned some shorter mantras. This was when I started to realise that I needed to bring what we were learning in class directly into my morning practice. I needed to let go of practising what I already knew, which reflected my comfort zone… I could do that at home… and instead, start to apply the mantra in the morning practice… gently repeating it and encompassing within my movement practice. And that’s what I started to do.
Create a study aid... Once all the segments of the mantra had been covered in class, we began to repeat the whole mantra as a group, often at the beginning of a session. To avoid having to flick through multiple pages of notes, I transcribed the whole mantra onto one page; that way my eyes could flick to the words as we chanted together. While this was helpful, I noticed that I became dependent on the study aid… how could I actually recall the whole mantra from memory? Okay, I needed to challenge another limiting belief… my belief that I cannot learn poems (mantras) by heart.
Close your eyes… The next step involved letting go of the study aid, while still having it there as a sneaky prop. Following Janet’s advice, I closed my eyes and did my best to join in the mantra with the group, sometimes being a fraction of a second behind the group. Occasionally my eyelids with gently part and take a glance at my transcript, though this became less and less frequent. Gradually I could recall longer and longer sections, AND the intonation was becoming more confident.
Make a recording… To help consolidate the mantra, and to give myself something to recall once the retreat ended, I decided to make a recording. One evening I took myself to the practice hall (there was no one else about) and sat to record every mantra we had learned, with the best pronunciation and intonation I could muster. I realised it was not perfect, so left a note for the group… would anyone like to meet to create a group recording? The next day, our group facilitators asked Indra-ji to make a recording of the mantras. Prayer answered.
How to beat the forgetting curve...
Of course, that is not the end of the story. To beat the forgetting curve we need ongoing repetition and recall, not just of the words but also of the meaning and feeling state behind the words.
Repeat, repeat, repeat... Fast-forward 2 days post retreat. Now imagine travelling two hours by car, through rural India to the next town. You got it, a perfect time to practice. I set about recalling the whole mantra from memory, without peeping at my notes and transcript. Initially, segments of the mantra came to me. Little by little, I pieced the segments together, until I had recalled nearly all of the mantra.
Then during my stay in Puducherry, while I was transcribing my study notes (there were many notes!), I revisited the mantra and repeated, this time double checking any grey areas.
Fast-forward 8 days post retreat. Another long road journey, this time back to Chennai, provided opportunity to quietly recall the mantra to myself, mumbling the words under my breath as we retraced our journey past roadside temples and cafes, past the salt lakes, past the rice fields and palm plantations, past the tuk-tuks and families onboard motorbikes, past the lily ponds and marshes, past the construction of highway (much change ahead), past the houses carved open for the world to look into… and all the time, the mantra flowed with near perfect recall.
Integrating the mantra… This is the ongoing process, because it’s not just about being able to repeat the mantra word for word with perfect or near perfect intonation. It’s also about integrating the meaning and feeling state behind the mantra. Without this the mantra is empty.
How to do this?
First, by revisiting the copious notes I made during the retreat, alongside the handout, and reorganising them. Noticing the gaps. Noticing the big picture. Noticing the essence of the meaning.
Second, by turning up to practice daily. By bringing the essence of the practice – willpower, strength and knowledge – into my daily meditation and moving practice. And sometimes, just allowing the mantra to turn up spontaneously (seems to happen when driving alone).
Final thoughts...
Deep appreciation to Indra-ji and Mohan-ji for the practices they shared on the Inner Svastha Yoga Retreat. Thank you for sharing your life’s work with us.
During the last session of the retreat Mohan-ji reminded us…
We can keep on teaching mantra. Better to reflect on them. And use in English / Mother tongue (to enhance the meaning / bavana).
Go back to the mantra when there is disturbance in the mind. It is a support.
If we can relax to divine presence through mantra, then the mind will settle and breath will be easier.“Steady your mind, do your practice.”
And... no need to go “mantra shopping” (laughter from the group).
If you are curious to bring a short mantra into your yoga practice, check out my personalised Svastha yoga 1-2-1 programme... you are my inspiration to teach.
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