Fragrance of Mantras

Different energy systems were understood and known to the ancients and continue to be practiced in Sanatana Dharma.

Electrical signals are transmitted to the brain by the olfactory sensory neurons via the olfactory cortex. These electrical signals regulate the brain functions including memory, thoughts and emotions. Inhalation of fragrances affect the brain function since they are able to cross the blood brain barrier to interact with receptions in the central nervous system.

Olfactory stimulation produces immediate changes in physiological parameters such as muscle tension, pupil dial action, blood pressure, skin temperature, pulse rate, brain activity and more. They are known to open channels admitting calcium, chlorine and sodium ions into the cell for further action. Our thoughts, speech, actions, behaviour, emotions, feelings are the reflection of neuronal activity within the brain. There are voltage fluctuations from these ionic flows of the neurons in the brain.

Theta is associated with subconscious fears, anxieties, worries, nightmares.

Alpha is associated with cognition and an enhanced perception of calm. Alpha waves are related with mental coordination, alertness, bringing together learning states of the brain.

Beta is related to academic performances and increased cognitive skills. Beta waves affect mental conditions.

Gamma being the fastest are involved in conscious attention establishing neuronal circuitry and simultaneous processing of information from different areas in the brain. Hypnotic states, spiritual emergence, expanded consciousness are times when this is found working with memory and matching the sequences.

Mantra Japa, Bhakti, Sadhana and such help us set our Sankalpam and focus on realizing them. These are means to our ends, depending on the journey undertaken to reach our individual destination.

Scents from natural products used in temples have been used for healing of all kinds - mental, spiritual and physical for the longest time. They have been used as preventive medicine and for existing disorders of the body mind energy spirit. It has been used in motivation and memory from childhood through temple darshanams as a routine. Olfactory stimulation through fragrance inhalation and stimulation of other sense organs are known to create psychophysiological effects on beings.

Fragrance in particular is a volatile chemical component with a molecular weight of <300 Da that humans perceive via the olfactory system.

Animals/birds are the vahanas of all devas and devis.

Sensory coding is a basic principle in nature. It is a medium of language and communication. All species attempt to perceive natural surroundings and make sense of them. Crucial decisions leading to behavioural responses are a result of sensing. Temperature, humidity to light and sound to volatile or non-volatile chemicals are detected through the sense of smell.

Smells by itself are of many dimensions and not one single dimension. There is not one single parameter such as wavelength or frequency like sounds/hearing or vision have. The stimuli for smell are so diverse that there are an infinite number of classifications to their positions along a single dimension alone. Which means the olfactory system has to encode and translate the orders/scents/fragrances into an accurate neural map in the brain. Scents move from the peripheral olfactory organs to the first olfactory centre in the brain and then to the higher processing areas where the odor comprehension takes place. They have to be recognised to enable organisms to make odor guided decisions which are the very basis to their survival.

Mantra Japam helps in beating the damaru within our head, mouth - the tongue - to stimulate the various sense organs into getting their sharpest fittest best. Most of the senses are housed within the region of our head - smell, vision, hearing, taste; just like the elephant head, Gajaanana, the back of the human head and spine.