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 Mantra Yoga with Muz Murray (Ramana
Baba)
I have come into contact with many special teachers
who help people on their spiritual paths and am
putting their details into my Information Centre so that people visiting this
website can read about them.
One of those teachers is Muz Murray who a leading
teacher of mantra yoga. This page has been posted so that people can find out
about his work and his training courses. Muz is one of the great teachers.
Contact details for Muz
including his website are given at the bottom of the page.
The photos are reproduced
by permission of Muz.
Background
When
I was learning Seichim and Sekhem with Helen Belôt, she mentioned in passing
that Seichim had been practiced as part of some of the Agni
Hotra ceremonies in India down through the ages. Agni Hotra is the Indian fire
ceremony which takes place at sunrise and sunset each day. I came across Muz
as I was trying to research this.
The
scope of Muz’s work is much wider than Agni Hotra. He is a leading mantra yoga teacher with over 40
years of teaching experience. It would be very difficult to find another
teacher with his particular range of experience.
Muz
advises that the teachers from the ancient days heard the sounds of the
universe as they were in deep meditation and replicated these sounds in the
form of the Sanskrit language. Mantra
yoga is the practice by which the energy of the sound in the syllables of the
Sanskrit mantras can be worked with to help release the energy of memories
and behavioural patterns in our bodies and to clear the energy blockages in
ourselves. Over time, it can be used to help us raise our consciousness and
to regain the cosmic connection. Just as sound is the process through which
energy has been able to downstep in frequency to
create the physical world, so the connection with where everything in the
physical world has come from can be made in reverse through sound.
I
have posted this page about Muz’s work so that energy healers who might be
interested in learning mantra yoga can read about him and make contact with
him. Mantra yoga practiced regularly over time has proved to be an effective
way of achieving healing and of raising consciousness. With correct attitude
from the practitioner and regular time devoted to it, the results of
practicing mantra yoga have proved to be replicable.
Mantra
yoga can be used as a stand alone practice or together with the healing
energies. A number of energy teachers do incorporate sound into their healing
work but this is often done on an intuitive basis and not always in a very focussed or relevant way. The work that these healers do
on themselves and on their clients is likely to become much more effective if
they undertake training in the tried and tested ways of mantra yoga and know
how to focus their sound work accordingly.
This is particularly so if they work with crystals in the healing
sessions which have the effect of amplifying the energy of the sounds.
Muz
Muz
Murray (Ramana Baba) is English. After doing a lot
of travelling in his early twenties, he had a very
profound spiritual experience in Cyprus where he connected with
the Cosmic Consciousness. This changed his life. In the months that followed,
he travelled southwards through Africa. A
Sikh Yoga Master arrived In Johannesburg
when Muz was there and Muz was able to learn Shabd Yoga (Yoga of the Sacred Current) with him. After
regular practice of this yoga, Muz became able to hear the ‘mystic sound’ referred to in many of the
old spiritual teachings. Shabd is the Sanskrit name
for the Divine Sound that comes from beyond the physical dimensions that Yoga
Masters have been able to tune into over the centuries and which they have
been able to work with to access other dimensions of consciousness.
When
Muz eventually returned to England,
he lived in London
where he created what became the very well known magazine ‘Gandalf’s Garden’.
This was the 1960s when society was changing and becoming much more open and
with much more personal freedom. The changes left a lot of young people
without the traditional external forms of structure and guidance in their
lives and Gandalf’s Garden was a kind of community project to give them some
vision of an alternative more spiritual way of life that could be developed
from within and to help them to connect with like minds. Muz’s introduction
in the first issue read:
GANDALF'S GARDEN is the magical garden
of our inner worlds, overgrowing into the world of manifestation. GANDALF'S
GARDEN is soulflow from the pens of creators -
mystics, writers, artists, diggers, delvers and poets. A wellspring of love
and anguish that those with searching thirsts may drink thereof. As in the
Stone Gardens of the Orient, where Soul Wizards sit within the stimulus of
their own silences, contemplating the smoothness of the million pebbles, so
should we seek to stimulate our own inner gardens if we are to save our Earth
and ourselves from engulfment.
 A small community soon
developed around the magazine with a shop, tea room and basement meeting
centre at the World’s End part of the King’s Road in Chelsea. People such as David Bowie and
Marc Bolan gave concerts to raise funds. Spiritual
teachers and gurus from around the world came to give teachings. Gandalf’s Garden was well known and helped
many people to find a more meaningful direction for their lives.
In
1972 the community closed down and Muz set off on a long delayed pilgrimage
to India.
On the way he travelled across Europe as a
member of a dance troupe. In Turkey,
he sought out the Whirling Dervishes in Konya. The Whirling Dervishes
are of the Mevlevi order of Sufism which was
founded by the followers of Rumi, the revered
Islamic poet and spiritual teacher who was based in Konya. Muz
studied the Dervish mantras with the Dervishes and he taught them the
Sanskrit mantras. The Head of the Dervishes arranged for Muz to meet other
important Sufi teachers as he travelled through Iran
and Afghanistan en route
to India.
Muz then spent three years travelling around India and Nepal studying every kind of yoga
that he could find a teacher for.
When
he returned to England,
he developed a teaching structure so that he could start to teach what he had
learned about mantra yoga. Whilst teaching, he studied psychotherapy with
many leading psychotherapists so that he could incorporate this into his work
and could help people with what they were releasing. He became one of the co-founders of The
Open Centre for Spiritualised Psychotherapy at the
Community Health Foundation in London and
started a Retreat and Therapy Centre in Suffolk.
 In the 1980s, Muz was able
to achieve the state of Samadhi consciousness and withdrew from public work
for some time to experience fully this state of consciousness.
These
days, Muz lives in the South of France
but does come to England
to teach. In his workshops, the effects of vocalised
sounds on the body, mind and spirit are explored. Participants experience the
different areas of the body which are governed, activated and energised by specific sounds. They learn ancient
harmonics which awaken dormant centres of the
brain, altering the quality of consciousness, creating a profound inner
stillness, and nourishing the needs of the soul. In addition to the mantra
practices, other practices may include yogic breathing exercises, group
chanting, group integration exercises, consciousness expansion exercises,
yoga movements and deep relaxation. If you might be interested in learning
with him, Muz’s current teaching schedule is given in the Events and Yoga
sections in the Information Centre. If you are an energy teacher and would
like to ask Muz to come to your area to hold a workshop, his e-mail address
is at the end of the page.
Muz
also leads spiritual visits to India from time to time. These
are open to people who have attended one of his courses and have started
mantra yoga work. The trips include
daily mantra yoga work with Muz, visits to other teachers and to ashrams,
trips to temples and beautiful countryside, and the opportunity for amazing
experiences with fellow travellers. Click here
to view a wmv file of picture slides from the 2005
visit to India.
(This is a large size file and will take a very long time to download for
anybody with a slow internet connection.)
Ramana Baba Village Trust
In
addition to everything else that he does, Muz has established the Ramana Baba Village
Trust which provides funding to support social projects such as education,
health and care for the elderly amongst the poor tribal people in the South
of India.
The Trust raises funds from people who give it donations and appreciates all
regular and one-off donations. There is a page about the Trust on Muz’s
website.
Forward Schedule of Training Workshops
Muz’s
current schedule of workshops may be found in the Events, Sound Healing and
Yoga sections of the Information Centre.
Muz’s Online Shop
Below
are some of the products which Muz has created himself and which are
available in the online shop on his website. If you cannot get to see Muz on
his teaching tour this year and will have to wait until another year, a good
idea is to get his CDs so you can make a start on mantra yoga. Muz also
stocks some yoga mantra products developed by other yoga masters in his
shop. His online shop has full e-commerce functionality with shopping trolley
and online payment by PayPal or by credit card.
 The Sound of Silence CD
Tracks 1 and 2: Mantracharya
Muz’s
fascinating exploration into the secrets of sound and the practical, mystical
and psychotherapeutic aspects of Mantra. Includes the pronunciation and Tantric practice of the Sanskrit Alphabet for mantrically toning and recharging the bodily forces and
energies of each plexus.
Tracks
3 to 9: Group chanting of the Mantric Alphabet, the
method of intoning Om in both single and
fluctuating styles, the ‘Sushumna Rocket’ energising sequence, Om Namah Shivaya, Rama-Rama, Bhaja Govindam and other mantrams,
including the explanation and practice of the glorious Gayatri
Mantra and Tvam Eva Mata.
 Songs of Silence CD
Muz leads his chant-group students in an hour-long dynamic Mantra Meditation
session, firstly intoning a series of energising
mantras, followed by a half-hour of deeply moving gentle mantras for
instilling peace and tranquillity, with a selection
of heart-opening, reverential, loving and lullaby mantras, (all those as practised in the weekend workshops) as a meditative
experience.
This recording consists entirely of Sanskrit chanting.
You can listen to some mantra meditation chant samples on the CD by clicking
on the following...
Om (with group), Om (fluctuating), Om Nama Shivaya, Karara Vindena, Hari Om Tat Sat
 Chanting the Chakras CD
This rendering of the
ancient Bija Mantras or ‘seed-sounds’ pronounced in
the authentic nasalised manner of the tantrics, awaken and harmonise
the whole chakra system, generating kundalini heat
and bringing energy to the nervous system and vital force throughout the
body. Yoga practitioners and healers will benefit from this
selection of powerful healing mantras, which include the the
Mantra of the Green Goddess of Healing & Liberation (the Shakti aspect of Chenrizig and
Shiva) which energises the body and brain and
empowers consciousness, Gayatri Mantra for
Enlightenment, the Panchakshara Mantra - Om Namah Shivaya
- for inner stability and freedom from fear and the almost magical Maha Mrtyunjaya Mantra for
mental, physical and spiritual healing and transcendence of death. These
latter three, performed during the Agni Hotra or Ceremony of the Healing Fire plunge the
participant into a deep state of restorative meditation.
 Yoga Nidra CD
The Sleep of the
Yogis
Track 1: (in supine position)
A profound method of deep relaxation and body mastery by the step by step
withdrawal of consciousness from the toes to the crown of the head (as taught
by the Himalayan yogis). The tranquillising effect
is heightened by the classic Dhrupad style sitar music by Sri Ramchandra Mistry. Guaranteed
to give the deepest relaxation.
Track 2: (in sitting or lotus position)
Visualising oneself as The COSMIC CANDLE leads one
into mystical contemplation of the inner cosmos expanding into the outer
cosmos.
 Mantras of Empowerment
For Health, Welfare
and Relationships
An atmospheric live recording of an intensive Mantra Workshop with Muz
Murray, chanting a dynamic selection of energising
mantras in the Tantric style, using the vibrant
frequency to activate harmony and healing through sympathetic resonance on
the subtle plane. These mantras are for engendering positive results and
conclusions in specific problem areas of life.
Click here
for further information about the mantras on this CD covering:
Healing and Protective
Mantras
Relationship Mantras
Planetary Mantras for
Healing and Chakra Energy Balancing
 Agni Hotra
Cassette (English)
Side A: Muz explains the
practical and spiritual significance of the Agni Hotra and Homa fire ceremony
for use in your own home. The materials and method of preparation are
described, as well as the profound esoteric meanings of the mantras, whose
vibrations together with the combustion of elements create the alchemical
condition of cosmic healing. The sacred fire is a tool for spiritual
transformation.
Side B: An actual sunset Agni Hotra ceremony in
progress, with fifty chanters, the occasional crackling of the fire and the
almost magical mantras for mental, physical and spiritual healing.
An explanatory book about AgniHotra is also
available from the online shop.
 Mantra Yoga Alphabet Chart
Laminated A4 Chart (English)
This mantra yoga alphabet chart has been laminated
to keep in good condition.
It serves as a useful aid for people who are learning which parts of the body
are activated and energised by specific sounds.
 Gandalf’s Garden CD
The
CD is a commemorative compilation of Gandalf’s Garden magazines, articles by
people involved with the operation together with reviews and newspaper
articles about Gandalf's Garden, photos, posters and artwork. There is also a
lengthy history of Gandalf's Garden written by Muz. The CD cover artwork is
by artist and former Gardener John Hurford.
The CD contains:
Six issues of Gandalf's
Garden
The Life and Times of
Gandalf’s Garden
Gandalf's Garden
Photographs
Gardener's Recollections
Gandalf's Garden Artwork
Newspaper and Magazine
Articles
Reviews and Mentions about
Gandalf’s Garden
Contact Details
Anybody
who is interested in Muz’s work can find out more about him on his website at
http://www.mantra-yoga.com/. His online
shop and details of the Ramana Baba
Village Trust can be
found there as well.
To
contact Muz, please e-mail him at muz@mantra-yoga.com.
Muz does a lot of travelling with a busy schedule
so might not be able to reply to e-mails immediately.
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