What is a Mantra, and How Does It Work ? Options

These below are my notes composed from various sources:

Mantras are powerful sounds. Mantras are the ones that have when chanted produce great effects. These are chanted repeatedly and that is called Japa.

Mantras are very rich in their meaning. While doing japa one can meditate on the mantra and its meaning. As the mind dwell more and more into that, the mantra conditions the mind and takes up to the higher states and forms the path to the great liberation - eternal bliss.

What makes mantras so special as compared to the normal words ? Mantras are not human composed. One may wonder how can that be possible. Especially given that there are sages associated with the mantras. The point to be noted is that these sages are not composers of these mantras, as we normaly compose the sentences; they are not the inventors, but they are the discoverers of the mantra. They get to know the mantras in a state in which these words do not emanate from their thoughts, but they are just passive audience to it. It is visioned and seen as a force that is present. There is a seer, known as the rishi of a Mantra. It is the tradition that when we take to the repetition of a Mantra, the rishi should be remembered at the same time, just as when you read a book you also know the author thereof. The thought of the characteristics of the author has very much to do with the zeal with which you will study the book, and the result it produces thereby. The Mantra is not supposed to be suddenly taken into chanting without an obeisance offered to the great master who envisioned this Mantra in his meditations.

To be such a discoverer, even though they are just passive hearers, needs great amount of qualification. Only the perfect one can unchangedly reproduce the mantra heard. The only one that is absolutely perfect is God. All other discoverers reproduce that mantra only as pure as their closeness to perfection.

Mantras are energy-based sounds.

The world does not exist; it is only a huge mass of vibrations, and we seem to feel that the world is there really because of the tangibility of the so-called substances of the world, and tangibility is nothing but an electrical vibration that is produced comparable to the weight that you feel suddenly in your hand when you get an electric shock of some 300 volts of power. This can be experimented by you at your own risk, if you like. A mantra is similar in its form – a bundle of vibrations. It is a concrescence, a concretisation, a coming together, a pressurised point of a stress of electricity, subtler than electricity.

Saying any word produces an actual physical vibration. Over time, if we know what the effect of that vibration is, then the word may come to have meaning associated with the effect of saying that vibration or word. This is one level of energy basis for words.

Every Mantra has a deity. The deity is, properly speaking, a superintending divine principle which works at every juncture of the seer and the seen, the subject and the object, and determines the nature of every kind of perception or knowledge of objects. So in the recitation of a Mantra, we are invoking a god. This god, this deity, this principle superintending over the perceptional process is a force, something like a jetting light, with a form compatible with the nature of the perception or awareness at any given moment or degree or level of manifestation.

As the Mantra is a vibration, and the deity of the Mantra is also a vibration of a type, but it is superior in its intensity and subtlety to the two bundles of vibration appearing as the seer and the seen.

So when you chant the Mantra, you are trying to release the potential energy of your personality by bombarding it with concentration. And the deity releases its blessing, which means to say the superintending, transcendent aspect of the deity becomes an immanent force in our own experience – the transcendent God becomes an immanent presence. That is the vision of God that we have in meditation – transcendence becoming immanence. The deity that is above you becomes an object of cognition and perception in front of you.

Another level is intent. If the actual physical vibration is coupled with a mental intention, the vibration then contains an additional mental component which influences the result of saying it. The sound is the carrier wave and the intent is overlaid upon the wave form, just as a colored gel influences the appearance and effect of a white light.

In either instance, the word is based upon energy. Nowhere is this idea more true than for Sanskrit mantra. For although there is a general meaning which comes to be associated with mantras, the only lasting definition is the result or effect of saying the mantra.

Mantras create thought-energy waves.

The human consciousness is really a collection of states of consciousness which distributively exist throughout the physical and subtle bodies. Each organ has a primitive consciousness of its own. That primitive consciousness allows it to perform functions specific to it. Then come the various systems. The cardio-vascular system, the reproductive system and other systems have various organs or body parts working at slightly different stages of a single process. Like the organs, there is a primitive consciousness also associated with each system. And these are just within the physical body. Similar functions and states of consciousness exist within the subtle body as well. So individual organ consciousness is overlaid by system consciousness, overlaid again by subtle body counterparts and consciousness, and so ad infinitum.

The ego with its self-defined "I" ness assumes a pre-eminent state among the subtle din of random, semi-conscious thoughts which pulse through our organism. And of course, our organism can "pick up" the vibration of other organisms nearby. The result is that there are myriad vibrations riding in and through the subconscious mind at any given time.

A Mantra, therefore, is not merely a sound, but a vibrational process, even as a sound that is projected into the microphone in a broadcasting station gets converted into a vibration through the ether of space and is transmitted to the receiver somewhere else, getting converted once again into a sound, though when it traveled through space it did not travel as sound but only as a vibration which could not, with any stretch of imagination, be identified with the sound that we could hear with our ears.

Electricity is nor heat or cold, though it can appear as heat and cold. In a stove it is heat, in a fridge it is cold, and it can be a motion when electricity is connected to a vehicle that moves on a track. Just as electricity is not heat, cold or motion yet it can produce heat, cold or motion, a vibration is not a sound, yet it can appear as a sound – it can appear as colour even.

Mantras start a powerful vibration which corresponds to both a specific spiritual energy frequency and a state of consciousness in seed form. Over time, the mantra process begins to override all of the other smaller vibrations, which eventually become absorbed by the mantra. After a length of time which varies from individual to individual, the great wave of the mantra stills all other vibrations. Ultimately, the mantra produces a state where the organism vibrates at the rate completely in tune with the energy and spiritual state represented by and contained within the mantra.

At this point, a change of state occurs in the organism. The organism becomes subtly different. Just as a laser is light which is coherent in a new way, the person who becomes one with the state produced by the mantra is also coherent in a way which did not exist prior to the conscious undertaking of repetition of the mantra.

Mantras are tools of power.

They are formidable. They are ancient. They work. The word "mantra" is derived from two Sanskrit words. The first is "manas" or "mind," which provides the "man" syllable. The second syllable is drawn from the Sanskrit word "trai" meaning to "protect" or to "free from." Therefore, the word mantra in its most literal sense means "to free from the mind." Mantra is, at its core, a tool used by the mind which eventually frees one from the vagaries of the mind.

But the journey from mantra to freedom is a wondrous one. The mind expands, deepens and widens and eventually dips into the essence of cosmic existence. On its journey, the mind comes to understand much about the essence of the vibration of things. And knowledge, as we all know, is power. In the case of mantra, this power is tangible and wieldable.

Mantras as vibrations can reach distant areas or regions of space. A vibration is not in space and not in time; electric energy is superior to the space-time complex. As you know very well, our scientists tell us today that space-time itself is a mass of energy, so we cannot say that this energy is inside space and time. It is something different and superior to our notions of space-time dimensions. This energy is not a three-dimensional something – at best we may say it is four-dimensional or multi-dimensional. Hence the vibration produced by the repetition of a Mantra is superior to the spatial distance of things, and so you can come in contact with any desired object by focusing attention on the Mantra by means of the Japa of the same. The vibration is the spirit of the Mantra, and the spirit of anything is transcendent to the spatial form taken by the particular object enshrined in the force.

Statements About Mantra
Mantras have close, approximate one-to-one direct language-based translation.

If we warn a young child that it should not touch a hot stove, we try to explain that it will burn the child. However, language is insufficient to convey the experience. Only the act of touching the stove and being burned will adequately define the words "hot" and "burn" in the context of "stove." Essentially, there is no real direct translation of the experience of being burned.

Similarly, there is no word which is the exact equivalent of the experience of sticking one's finger into an electrical socket. When we stick our hand into the socket, only then do we have a context for the word "shock." But shock is really a definition of the result of the action of sticking our hand into the socket.

It is the same with mantras. The only true definition is the experience which it ultimately creates in the sayer. Over thousands of years, many sayers have had common experiences and passed them on to the next generation. Through this tradition, a context of experiential definition has been created.

Definitions of mantras are oriented toward either the results of repeating the mantra or of the intentions of the original framers and testers of the mantra.

By constant repetition of the mantra you develop that vibration because all the vibrations are within you. Each individual by himself is another microcosm. What you see in the macrocosm you see in the microcosm; you are a universe by your self. Not only you, but each and every one of your cells is a universe. How many solar systems do you have in you, how many atoms? Countless.

Therefore, when you are given a mantra, and constantly repeat it, you develop that aspect of the vibration that is already in you but hidden. You bring it to the surface, make use of it, and get its benefit. As you repeat it, you get the vibration. It kindles the dormant and subtle vibrations in you. It’s not even physically felt. Sound vibrations are more powerful than any physical instrument.

It is said that 125,000 recitations of a mantra will bring mantra siddhi, the realization of a notable level of benefit from the mantra. Many believe that when one uses a mala (beads) many times in this way, it takes on the energy of the mantra that is being chanted. For this reason it is common to chant only one particular mantra with a particular mala.

The 109th bead on a mala is called the Sumeru or Guru bead. Counting should always begin with a bead next to the Sumeru. In the Hindu tradition, if more than one mala of repetitions is to be done, one changes directions when reaching the Sumeru rather than crossing it. The Sumeru thus becomes the static point on the mala.

In order to keep account of the number of repetitions made, grains of rice are used that can be combined with malas. The grains of rice are counted and put in a metal pot. Each time a mala is completed, one grain of rice is removed from the remaining number of grains.

Malas get charged with energy after they have been used for japa frequently. If one has done 125,000 repetitions of the mantra on a mala, it becomes charged with energy (siddha), and by wearing it one gets energy from it. It is in fact the same energy one has put in it while doing the japa.

Mantras have been tested and/or verified by their original framers or users.

Each mantra is associated with an actual sage or historical person who once lived. Although the oral tradition predates written speech by centuries, those earliest oral records annotated on palm leaves discussed earlier clearly designate a specific sage as the "seer" of the mantra. This means that the mantra was probably arrived at through some form of meditation or intuition and subsequently tested by the person who first encountered it.

Sanskrit mantras are composed of letters which correspond to certain petals or spokes of chakras in the subtle body.

As discussed earlier, there is a direct relationship between the mantra sound, either vocalized or subvocalized, and the chakras located throughout the body.

Mantra energizes prana.

"Prana" is a Sanskrit term for a form of life energy which can be transferred from individual to individual. Prana may or may not produce an instant dramatic effect upon transfer. There can be heat or coolness as a result of the transfer.

Some healers operate through transfer of prana. A massage therapist can transfer prana with beneficial effect. Even self-healing can be accomplished by concentrating prana in certain organs, the result of which can be a clearing of the difficulty or condition. For instance, by saying a certain mantra while visualizing an internal organ bathed in light, the specific power of the mantra can become concentrated there with great beneficial effect.

Mantras eventually quiet the mind.

At a deep level, subconscious mind is a collective consciousness of all the forms of primitive consciousnesses which exist throughout the physical and subtle bodies. The dedicated use of mantra can dig into subconscious crystallized thoughts stored in the organs and glands and transform these bodily parts into repositories of peace.

Division Of Mantra And Their Use
The uses of mantra is divided into six categories

1. SHANTIKARAN : These mantras deal with the cure of diseases and warding off the malefic effects of the planets.
One example will be of no use as there is different mantra for different disease.

2. VASHI KARAN : Through these mantras one can put under one's control any woman, man, officer, minister, devta, soul, animal, etc. and can fulfill your wishes.
"Om namo sarvlok vashikaraye kuru kuru swaha".

3. STAMBHAN : These mantras are used to stop all the persons, souls, devtas, etc. from doing any harm to you.
"Om namah bhagvate shatrunam budhi stambam kuru kuru swaha".

4. VIDESHAN : these mantras are used for creating differences between two or many individuals.
"Om namo nardaya amukasya amuken seh vidheshna kuru kuru swaha".

5. UCHCHATTAN : These mantras deal with distraction of the mind of the enemy so that they may remain away from their country, birthplace, residence, work and family members. It is also used if the sadhak wants aperson to remain at war with others.
"Om shareem shareem shareem swaha".

6. MARAN : These are death inflicting mantras through which you can kill anybody at any distance without disclosing your identity.
To avoid it's harmful use it is not been given.

Besides one mantra given in each category, there are many mantras with different number of times they are to be recited under each category. Also specific time, day and the articles used for different mantras vary from category to category.

The basic mantras for every day recitation and early siddhi attainment of one's mantras are -
"Om Namo Shivaye".
"Om Namo Narayane Aye Namaha".
"Om Namo Bhagwate Vasdev Aye Namaha".

I would like to add the following too.
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The resonance of Mantra chanting spreads throughout the atmosphere and each Mantra sound has its own frequency. Due to this the sound wave of the Mantra reaches its particular diety, who alone is tuned to that frequency, and having gathered divine energy from it, it returns and fuses into the Sadhak's body thus transferring into him the powerful energy. If the sound produced is not of particular frequency it shall not reach the targeted diety and the effect produced shall be nil.




Mantra chanting is of three types - Vaachik,Maansik and Upaanshu.




In Vaachik the words of the Mantra are spoken out loud and clear. In Maansik no audible sound is produced rather only thought waves of the Mantra are generated by repetition in the mind. Although inaudible, these waves also produce powerful effect. The purpose with which chanting is being done determines whether the recital has to be audible or only mental.

The third type is Upaanshu in which the Mantra is spoken out softly so that only the Sadhak himself and no other person nearby could hear the sound.


Why Upaanshu is best ?

Just as outside we have a world and an infinite universe, similarly there exists an infinite universe within, which is known as Antah Brahmand or the inner universe. According to the ancient texts every object present in the outer world is also present in the very same form within. Only one needs to have the power to visualise it. Meditation is done in order to gain the capability of visualising this very inner universe.

The sound waves produced by Upaanshu recital have the properties of both the Vaachik and Maansik. And thus through Upaanshu both the outer and the inner worlds are set into resonance. In the outer world the Mantra sound reaches its target, gets reflected off it and returns to the Sadhak to instill into him the divine energy gathered. And as the Upaanshu recital makes the soul active too, hence it (soul) is fully able to assimilate this energy. Thus a direct link is formed between the outer and the inner worlds, which is the very aim of Sadhana.

It is through this very link that one gains amazing powers like telepathy, clairvoyance etc. Then when a Sadhak projects image of some person in his mind and directs thought waves towards that person in outer world, the waves travel to that individual, gather his thoughts and return to the Sadhak. Thus sitting at home a person could know about another person's thoughts or events going on in some far corner of the world.

It is because Upaanshu recital can establish link between the outer and the inner that it is considered to be the best type of Mantra chanting. But this does not imply that Vaachik and Maansik chantings are of no use. They too have their own significance and their relevance shall be elaborated in the future.

Division Of Mantra And Their Use
The uses of mantra is divided into six categories

1. SHANTIKARAN : These mantras deal with the cure of diseases and warding off the malefic effects of the planets.
One example will be of no use as there is different mantra for different disease.

2. VASHI KARAN : Through these mantras one can put under one's control any woman, man, officer, minister, devta, soul, animal, etc. and can fulfill your wishes.
"Om namo sarvlok vashikaraye kuru kuru swaha".

3. STAMBHAN : These mantras are used to stop all the persons, souls, devtas, etc. from doing any harm to you.
"Om namah bhagvate shatrunam budhi stambam kuru kuru swaha".

4. VIDESHAN : these mantras are used for creating differences between two or many individuals.
"Om namo nardaya amukasya amuken seh vidheshna kuru kuru swaha".

5. UCHCHATTAN : These mantras deal with distraction of the mind of the enemy so that they may remain away from their country, birthplace, residence, work and family members. It is also used if the sadhak wants aperson to remain at war with others.
"Om shareem shareem shareem swaha".

6. MARAN : These are death inflicting mantras through which you can kill anybody at any distance without disclosing your identity.
To avoid it's harmful use it is not been given.

Besides one mantra given in each category, there are many mantras with different number of times they are to be recited under each category. Also specific time, day and the articles used for different mantras vary from category to category.

The basic mantras for every day recitation and early siddhi attainment of one's mantras are -
"Om Namo Shivaye".
"Om Namo Narayane Aye Namaha".
"Om Namo Bhagwate Vasdev Aye Namaha".

Are these the only 6 divisions of the mantra's. To me, they all seem negative in nature, and especially seem to be coming from a place of fear. 1 - to cure diseases seems reasonable enough, and may have similarities to 3. But the others seem to be a bit on the heavy side of fearfulness and ego/control 2 - to have have control over others, 3 - stop people, devas, souls, etc from harming you 4 - creating differences between people, 5 - distract the mind of the enemy, 6 - death inflicting mantra's.

Isn't there a more uplifting, peaceful and loving connection to the Mantra's. I always thought chanting mantra's was used in meditation and yoga to connect one to the divine, to the spirit world, and to bring about a union of the human body and mind to the higher soul. The listing here of the Mantra intentions don't seem to be what I expected or experienced while doing various yoga practices.

Those 6 divisions of mantra were quoted from a book,"practicals of mantra and yantra" by Chowdry and does not really represent other divisions of mantras. There is many praises and worship mantra to the gods/goddesses and maybe mystic will be able to elaborate more on the other types of mantra.