Om Namah Shivaya is a five-syllable mantra dedicated to Lord Shiva. The effects of chanting Om Namah Shivaya is that it connects you with true blissfulness. It is considered to be one of the most important sounds in all the universe and has been chanted for thousands of years. It’s believed that they lead to profound enlightenment (1). But there are more than just a few benefits to this powerful, ancient practice, there are many that affect us and our environment in different ways.
Om is the first sound that emerged from the vibrations of the cosmic energy that created the universe. It is the representation of the creator.mOm Namah Shivaya is self-begotten, i.e., it is on its own and doesn’t need another syllable to make its sound. Chanting Om Namah Shivaya will give you a sense of the source of the universe, and when chanted right, Om’s sound reverberates through your body, filling it with energy and tranquility.
27 Top Effects of Chanting Om Namah Shivaya
1. Chanting Om Namah Shivaya stabilizes your thoughts.
2. The Om Namah Shivaya makes you feel light and reduce the heaviness of life.
3. The Om Namah Shivaya improves your voice by giving strength to your vocal cords and the muscles around it. This is very helpful during old age.
4. It helps in controlling your senses and anxieties.
5. Om Namah Shivaya has cardiovascular benefits – by relaxing our mind and body, our blood pressure will decrease and our heart will beat with a regular rhythm (2).
6. It gives calmness to your mind
7. Om Namah Shivaya purifies the environment around you and creates positive vibrations.
8. It gives you better immunity and self-healing power.
9. Chanting Om Namah Shivaya improves your concentration and helps you focus.
10. It produces a vibration and sound which is felt through your vocal cords and sinuses. The vibrations open up the sinuses to clear the airways (3).
11. Chanting Om Namah Shivaya gives you deep relaxation.
12. It is said that rubbing your hands together while chanting Om Namah Shivaya and putting those charged hands on different parts of the body heals or activates those body parts.
13. Chanting Om Namah Shivaya gives you better control over your emotions, thus allowing you to see situations with a clear and rational mind (4).
14. When chanting Om Namah Shivaya in a group, the effects are amplified and this will produce immense positive vibrations which charge up the entire vicinity.
15. Om Namah Shivaya can even help cleanse your skin. The massive levels of internal positive energy and a cleansed aura that come from chanting Om Namah Shivaya regularly will be reflected externally with a sunny glow on your face and body.
16. Your spinal cord is strengthened through the vibrations caused by Om Namah Shivaya. As this sound is generated from the abdomen, it helps to strengthen the supporting muscles of the spinal cord.
17. Om Namah Shivaya benefits the thyroid glands and the throat.
18. If you’re looking at the spiritual eye while chanting, the effects of chanting Om Namah Shivaya will improve your eyesight.
19. Chanting Om Namah Shivaya increases the happiness chemical which is known as GABA chemical.
20. Chanting Om Namah Shivaya gives you eternal joy.
21. Chanting Om Namah Shivaya mantra makes you free from your animal passion and rude behavior.
22. Chanting Om Namah Shivaya heals your sorrows, emotional pain and takes you out of grief.
23. Om Namah Shivaya reduces the chances of heart strokes and organ failure.
24. Om Namah Shivaya spreads positivity in your house Worshipping Shiva in the home brings happiness into the family.
26. Chanting Om Namah Shivaya is believed to free you from your past sins.
27. It detoxifies your body by getting rid of the toxins, keeping you young and fresh.
The misunderstanding about OM mantras is that it is a religious mantra related to Hindus. But the truth is that it is a universal, primordial, and the entirety of all sounds which initiated the creation of the universe. Om Namah Shivaya is also pronounced as OM Na-Ma-See-Vaa-Ya. OM the single word creates the sound and vibration which enables you to feel one with the universe. It is scientifically shown that the vibration of the divine sound OM (AUM) has long term benefits on the mind, soul and the whole body. Chanting of ‘aaaaa’ gives sensation to the nervous system in the chest and stomach, ‘ooooo’ sensation can be felt at the throat and the chanting ‘mmmm’ stimulates with the nasal and the brain. Due to the high spiritual and creative power, when AUM is chanted, energy starts moving from the abdomen all the way up to the brain.
A few years ago, the effects of chanting om Namah Shivaya were also confirmed by scientists and they verified that daily frequently chanting OM (AUM) mantra decreases stress, enhances concentration, gives peace of mind, and manages depression. It was concluded in the summary that OM (AUM) works as a brain stabilizer which is energy medicine for those under stress. Research papers confirming the effects and benefits of chanting OM were published in the International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security (IJCSNS) in January 2009 Issue. OM (AUM) Mantra is discussed by everyone especially at the beginning and end of yoga and meditation sessions. OM is considered to be the most powerful of all the mantras.
The chant Om Namah Shivaya has got tremendous power, but it must be chanted with full concentration. When you chant Om Namah Shivaya, your body becomes stable and you are able to concentrate on the universe. So keep quiet when you are doing this practice because there are so many distractions that may cause us to give up chanting it. Then one has to start all over again. It is better not to practice pranayama or meditation or have too much daydreaming in the beginning stage. You can have a pre-determined time for chanting Om Namah Shivaya which you must not extend. That is why it is better to have an alarm clock to keep up with your practice because when you are serious about something, then no other thing will distract you.
When you chant Om Namah Shivaya, you are given initiation by the great god of all gods. The mantra is so powerful that if one chants it every day with complete attention to what he is saying and with a feeling of devotion, then there will be no cause for a person to have a birth again in the samsara (continuous cycle of birth and death). The word OM (Pranava) is the seed; the power which makes the manifestation of an atom possible. When there is no sound, there will be no universe. There must be sound in order to have a universe.
So chant Om Namah Shivaya with full faith and devotion and your desires will be fulfilled. Some yogis achieve siddhi by chanting Om Namah Shivaya for twelve years with the feeling of suffocation in the throat because not a single breath is taken during this process. They feel their whole body is filled with spiritual power all the time.
The chant Om Namah Shivaya is a two-edged sword. When you chant it, there is a repetition of the word Om and NaM meaning ‘not’ or non-existence. So if one chants Om Namah Shivay with full concentration, then what exists will be annihilated from existence and whatever does not exist will come into existence.
Ways to Chant Om Namah Shivaya
Now there are different ways of chanting Om Namah Shivaya. There is a Gandharva Veda chant and the Tantric chant, each with its own effect. You can choose whichever way you like because all these mantras have been proven to bring about the same result if chanted properly. To get maximum power from the mantra, you should chant it in a loud voice. If you are alone, then let the sound reverberate throughout the room before repeating it. When you do this, you will see that there is no need to take more than two or three breaths even if you are chanting for half an hour.
Morning chant – This is the best time for chanting. It should be done before sunrise and you can take a shower or bath before sitting down to chant. If possible, change your clothes after bath and wear freshly laundered clothes. The reason why people feel comfortable after taking a shower is because there are germs all over the body which are removed by water when we take a shower. What happens during the night stays on our body like dirt and by taking a bath, one feels refreshed.
You should not talk to others or make any phone calls after waking up in the morning because you need to concentrate fully for chanting Om Namah Shivaya . You may only speak when absolutely necessary, but no gossiping. Some people think that an idle mind is a devil’s workshop and if you keep quiet thinking about what has to be done and how it will be done, then the thoughts will create vibrations in your mind. Wherever we go – whether we are travelling by car, train, plane or ship – we should call upon God and chant Om Namah Shivaya .
Night chant – The night is for sleeping and you can chant Om Namah Shivaya alternatively during the day and the night. Chanting slowly with a feeling of devotion is more fruitful than chanting it rapidly because that will not give time for vibrations to come into existence within your body. However, if by chance some problem occurs during the night, then you should not get up to chant the mantra – just lie on your bed and mentally repeat Om Namah Shivaya.
Chanting during stressful times – If you are under stress from the boss, from a family member or a friend and want to overcome this problem through chanting Om Namah Shivaya , then do not take any of these people’s names while chanting. Just think about their problems and keep on chanting. This mantra is for everyone, whether they believe in God or not. There is nothing special you have to do – just keep on chanting Om Namah Shivaya . You will find that your stress will go away after some time. However, if the problems with a particular person continue for a long time, then remember that only when the problem is solved without any further action from your side, can you move forward in life.
Chanting for disaster relief – If you want to chant Om Namah Shivaya for the eradication of a particular evil, then it should be done in silence and not aloud. However, while doing this we must remember that we are only chanting and God will decide when and how to solve the problem.
The best way to chant – The best time for chanting is when you feel like doing it and where there is no disturbance from others. You should sit in a relaxed but straight posture, on top of a blanket or shawl which will be used later for ‘shi-bhojan’ (snacks during the mantra recital).