The ‘Ham-sa’ Meditation (Part 1)

Develop your powers of concentration

In today’s world, many people are being pulled hither and thither and lack focus. “Ham-Sa” is an ancient, simple and highly effective mantra that helps to develop one’s powers of concentration. The mantra Ham-Sa literally means “I am (That)” or “I am Spirit”.

Using this simple yet effective technique, the breath calms down automatically and one learns to interiorise the mind – that is, to withdraw thought and energy from the constant distractions that ‘pull’ on our senses.

By entering into a state of deep calmness, at some point, you “forget” the breath and the body, so that you can experience the peace and stillness of the One Spirit.

You can then direct this “concentrated attention” towards any heartfelt goal that you wish to manifest.

Hamsa Kriya

Paramahansa Yogananda shared with humanity in his autobiography that Ham-Sa is pronounced “hong” (rhymes with “song”) and “sau” (rhymes with “saw”).

Many have said that “Hong-Sau” is simply the Bengali pronunciation of the Sanskrit mantra, “Hamsa,” but Yogananda was concerned to prevent mispronunciations by (American) English speakers.  

The word “Ham”, for example, would typically be pronounced with a short sound, whereas the world “hong” naturally lends itself to a lengthening of sound and breath.

The Origins of Ham-Sa

Ham-Sa (Hong-Sau) comes to us from a very distant past. Indeed, “Ham-sa”  is found in the oldest of the Vedas, the Rig Veda (1550 BC, and earlier it was transmitted orally). It refers to the supreme Lord (“Law”) and also the “Atman” or Self.

Hamsa stems from the Sanskrit words “Aham-Sa,” which literally mean “I am He.”

Ham-sa (Hong-Sau) is explained in ancient vedic scriptures to be the sound of the subtle breath itself: the entry of prana into the body causes the sound “hong,” the ejection of prana out of the body the sound “sa.” Therefore the body itself is said to be automatically reciting this inner mantric sound/seed syllable 21.600 times a day! This spontaneous sound is widely known as “Ajapa Mantra” (unpronounced mantra), or “Ajapa-Gayatri,” (unpronounced Gayatri Mantra), or simply “Hamsa-Mantra.”

“Aham”, when pronounced in mantric form as “Hong,” becomes a bija (seed) mantra, vibrating with the inhalation. Its vibration corresponds, as yoga treatises teach, to the ascending current in the ida nadi.