Mantra is a Sanskrit word derived from two roots: “Manasa” or mind and “Tarana” or “to save”.So Mantra is something which saves, which uplifts the mind. It is said that within the four Yugas, Gayatri mantra sadhana predominates in Satya Yuga but by the time our age of Kali has dawned other mantras take hold of people’s consciousness.
Indian history is replete with various beings who used mantras for the good of the general population. Foremost among these, I suppose would be the avatar of Shri Rama who was taught the two mantras of Bala and Ati Bala by the Rishi Viswamitra. These are said to have enabled Rama to vanquish the 14,000 Rakshasas of Bhayanak Van in just over an hour.
Digressing a little, it is important to spell out that who we are today is based on what we identify with. So if I identify with the body or the mind then I am a finite person limited by my own finite identification.
So what is needed is a tool which chips away at this finite identification and helps us become ever more infinite in our awareness and capabilities.
Mantra is one such tool.
But, what does a mantra actually do and how can it be made to give results?
Any mantra contains a string of syllables, which are set to a meter. The mantra must be chanted in a certain set way to get its results. Mantras and their sound conceal an image of the deity which they represent. When chanted, they produce a specific form of the deity of that mantra, so a Rama mantra will produce a specific image of Rama, within the consciousness of that person. But initially, this image will form only for the duration of time that the person repeats the mantra.
Later on as the mantra becomes more potent within our consciousness in terms of its ability to produce an actual form of the deity, this image remains with us for longer and longer.
This leads us to the point that the deity actually becomes present with that particular sadhaka. This may sound somewhat fantastic, but Ramakrishna Paramhansa, it is said could see the divine Mother Kali whenever he wanted and eventually his identification with his body had so been destroyed that some believed that only God was present there, his ability to go into superconscious states was legendary. The same is also said of Swami Vivekananda, only the deity as one may surmise was Shiva.
Achieving God consciousness with a mantra is not easy, but neither is it so super difficult that you do not try it at all.
So how do we go about using this tool? Mantra sadhana is ideally done in private, where the practitioner feels safe, in a clean and dry place after the sadhaka has taken a bath and emptied his bowels and bladder. No food should be eaten at least two hours before the practise is undertaken. The body must remain as still as possible. If you are trying to achieve some particular goal, then don’t tell anybody of your sadhana.
The deity you will want to worship will be one you have worshipped in many previous lifetimes. Don’t be attracted by claims of a particular mantra’s superiority, such as the Gayatri, most Vedic mantras require specific intonation at specific syllables which may be impossible for you to master correctly. A Vedic mantra incorrectly recited is unlikely to give you any result.
Mantras can be repeated in three major ways, the most common with your oral speech or Vaikhari, this may destroy Tamas in the practitioner, but still relies on oral speech and if your Sanskrit is not good then there is a danger that you may not get any result from it. Furthermore it suffers from the problem that you are unlikely to remain still as the mantra is being recited.
Then comes the method called “Upamsu” or that using your lips but producing no sound.
Finally the method which I favour , or Manasika and that is recitation of the mantra in the mind. This method is best for achieving concentration, mental peace and it should eventually lead to the start of cutting away of the identification of the practitioner with the self, identification with the deity eventually follows.
Counting of mantra numbers may be useful in the beginning for the first few years and can be done on a rosary of 108 beads, I favour the beads of a small 5 mukhi rudraksha, alternatively Tulasi beads, Putrajiva or Lotus beads may be used as well.
Later on as mantra recitation becomes a daily practise, the need for a mala or rosary diminishes quite significantly. Eventually the identification of the self with the body may so diminish that the practitioner may enter a state of divine bliss in which one may forget to chant the mantra itself, so overpowering is the silence of divine bliss.
Some people argue that mantras can only be received from a Guru much, literally the mouth of a Guru; and since a genuine Guru is very difficult to find nowadays, best not to follow any sadhana. Yet others say that the constraints of mantra repetition given in ancient sastras are too difficult to maintain, the age we live in being so fickle and fast.
To all those doubters and nay sayers I simply point out that the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
Take up a simple mantra, as simple as a naam mantra, and persist with it for a few months doing a set number of repititions and see the difference it produces within your being.
-------------------------------------Courtesy Manish Pandit
