The Five Tibetans - Why 21 Repetitions?

It is unlikely we will ever find the original developers of The Five Tibetan Rites of Rejuvenation. When China invaded Tibet, in the 1950's, they destroyed numerous monasteries, ancient spiritual texts and sacred images, and with it the chance of discovering the true source of the Rites. Out of 6,259 monasteries and nunneries in the whole of Tibet, only eight remain undestroyed. (Source: Dept of Culture & Religion, Tibetan Government-In-Exile).

No doubt the number 21 had some spiritual significance which may be universal to Tibet and not just this one monastery. Hopefully someone will write in and provide some information on this.

Perhaps the 21 is a combination of 3 x 7 or 7 x 3 (= 21)?

Seven is of course a very spiritual number and the number three symbolises the power of the trinity in many cultures: The Hindu's trinity was Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and the Egyptian Holy Family was divided into 3 parts; Osiris, Isis and Horus.

In the "Rámáyana" seven yards are mentioned in the residences of the Indian kings; and seven gates generally led to the famous temples and cities of old.

In the old Aryas in India there were the seven sages (Sapta Rishis), seven worlds (Sapta Loka), seven cities (Sapta Pura) and so on.

In the Latin and Greek tongues "three" was also mystical, owing to "its supposed perfection, because, containing a beginning, middle and end, it seemed to signify all things in the world (Thomas Wemyss).

I have received this information from Beatrex Quntanna (thank you Beatrex), who does Tibetan Astrology and Tibetan Numerology. Beatrex is also an Author, Spiritual Psychic and Metaphysical Teacher. Here is what she says about the significance of the number 21.

21 is a sacred number because it holds the 21 Arcane Laws. These Laws are the 21 steps to Enlightenment. 21 is 3 sets of seven. Seven is a sacred number which indicates a complete cycle of learning.

The first set is the physical level of learning, the second set is the mental level of learning, and the third set is the spiritual level of learning. These are the 3 cycles we, as humans, must integrate while living in the energy of the school called Earth.

Often we concentrate on one level of learning and miss the other 2 levels. When we set the stage to do things in sets of 21 we then incorporate all levels of awareness. This sets up an intention to integrate and then true healing can occur.

I hope this helps you and if you would like to know the meaning of the 21 steps to further your knowledge and your teachings, I would be glad to share them with you.

Sincerely Yours, Beatrex Quntanna
www.beatrex.com
www.spiritualityonastring.com

If you have any knowledge about this, please consider sharing it with us. We would all be most grateful.

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Copyright (c) 2006 Carolinda Witt - author T5T - The Five Tibetan Exercise Rites (Penguin) and The 10-Minute Rejuvenation Plan (Random House)

The Five Tibetan Rites and Om.

In the original text written about the Five Tibetan Rites of Rejuvenation, Colonel Bradford does not give instructions to chant the mantra OM. This appears to have been added in later volumes.

Peter Kelder who wrote about the adventures of Colonel Bradford in ‘Ancient Secret of the Fountain of Youth – Book 2” quotes Bradford as saying, “When intoned correctly (Om) has a very powerful stimulating effect on the pineal gland, which is related to the seventh and highest vortex.” He cautions however, that unless a person has already begun to focus on practices to raise higher consciousness, they should not overstimulate the pineal gland. He warns against “overdoing a good thing”, and suggests that it should only be repeated three or four times in succession. He adds that what is important is the sound vibration of the voice, rather than the meaning of the word or the act of chanting.

Om is a mantra – which is traditionally sounded AUM when chanting out loud or said silently within - when focusing your mind or during meditation. A mantra assists your mind to focus when it is scattered. When you chant a mantra, it produces a powerful vibration which can eventually still all other vibrations, although it takes a lot of practice to achieve this. The purpose of a mantra is to produce a state by which you are able to vibrate at the same rate, as the energy and spiritual state produced by and contained within the mantra.

Om is believed to be the first sound heard from the creator - the sound of the universe. It is commonly chanted at the beginning and end of a yoga class, to attune yourself to the universal consciousness. It allows us to experience our connection or reflection as part of the whole. It can be chanted at any other suitable time - at a length to be determined by the individual chanter, which meets his or her level of total comfort – and provided it does not strain the lungs. According to Hindu scriptures, the highest experience in life is to hear the sound of OM in deep silence. The repetition of OM is said to generate the mystical power that can lead your mind into deep meditation and finally into the sate of higher consciousness known as samadhi (bliss).

To chant AUM, you begin with a deep breath. In an effortless single out breath, the sound A originates in the naval, then rises to the throat with the U - opens the fontanelle at the top of the head, and ends with M which rolls over the tongue with the lips closed at the final point. At the beginning of the chant there is an expansion outwards, which ends with a contraction inwards at the conclusion of the M sound. Then repeat again and again as desired.

If you wish to publish this article for your website - you may do so, provided you assign the correct copyright and accreditation exactly as shown below:

Copyright (c) 2006 Carolinda Witt - author T5T - The Five Tibetan Exercise Rites (Penguin) and The 10-Minute Rejuvenation Plan (Random House)