Mantras - Their Role In Yoga and Spiritual Growth

Mantras are extremely powerful universal forces within the psyche, available and accessible to all who desire to study and practice them.

Mantras need to be experienced to be understood. They are sound vibrations that, when learned and applied appropriately, have a potent healing and liberating effect on our body, mind, and entire personality. 

Even though most people think of mantras as simply words used to relax the mind, mantras are much more than this. They can also be used to activate psychic powers when the practitioner has purified their mind and developed a link to higher levels of consciousness. This is a rare accomplishment, however.

Mantras have a complex mathematical basis, but even if you understand this aspect of the science of mantras, their effect cannot be understood intellectually or through standard scientific methods. Instead, it is much better for us to experience their impact experientially and intuitively, to try the method ourselves and see the results. 

Definition of mantra

The word mantra is derived from the Sanskrit man, which means mind, and tra, which implies liberation and protection. Mantras are tools that we can use to heal and enlighten our minds. They help us understand the power of the mind.

Mantras have the power to calm, energize, and inspire our minds, heal our bodies, and awaken consciousness. They act in the same way that music does—as energy and sound vibrations that profoundly affect us, our thoughts, and our emotions and, as a result, can alter our state of being. 

Mantras are letters and syllables joined in various combinations. They can be chanted in many ways to produce different effects. Mantras are extremely useful tools that allow us to calm, balance, strengthen, and integrate ourselves.

Mantra yoga

The path of yoga, as a complete system of health, psychological growth, and spiritual liberation, has four main components, each of which is a stage on that path. These four steps are hatha, mantra, laya, and raja yoga. 

Mantra yoga is an intermediary stage. It is used once we have worked with the physical body and started the process of relaxing the mind using hatha yoga and simple meditation practice. 

Once we have worked on our body and nervous system using hatha yoga, we can go deeper into the mind using the introductory stages of mantra yoga. Then, we can go further into the mysteries of consciousness using the advanced techniques of laya and raja yogas, which are much more difficult to attain. These later stages of the yoga path also utilize the power of mantras.

The four personality types 

These systems of yoga, hatha, mantra, laya, and raja yogas, are combined with four other major systems of yoga philosophy, which are prescribed and practiced according to one personality type:

1. 1. Karma yoga – for active people
2. 2. Bhakti yoga – for devotional worship (different forms)
3. 3. Jnana Yoga – for intellectual inquiry
4. 4. Raja yoga – for mystics. This highly advanced yogic system is common to both groups.

Different personality styles will use mantras in different ways. For example, someone who is devotional may use mantras as part of a faith-based religious system. In contrast, someone who is primarily intellectual or scientific in outlook may be an atheist who uses mantras purely as energetic tools that act on the body and mind, on our psychology and emotions. 

Classes of mantras

Mantras can be classified in many ways. They can be classified according to how many syllables they have, their effect, or the system they are part of. There are literally an endless number of mantras, some short, others very long. There are peace (shanti) mantras and spiritual mantras, used to soothe the mind and to open us up to the more profound harmony within; healing mantras involving sound vibrations that can be used to help heal the body and mind, for example, to decrease blood pressure and anxiety. There are mantras to calm anger, Vedic and tantric mantras, which come from various texts, and so on.

Seed or bija mantras are examples of single-syllable mantras. These are the most fundamental sound units of a mantra, e.g., Aim, Hreem Kleem. They have no semantic meaning in ordinary language. In India, these have taken on cultural overlay and great cultural significance and are linked with gods and goddesses; for example, the syllable AIM is said to be the seed syllable of the goddess Saraswati. In this regard, we can classify mantra practitioners into two main groups – those with a religious or faith-based practice and those who practice mantra as a psychological tool. For most Westerners, it is better to think of mantras as pure sound vibrations free from their cultural baggage and religious associations. Use them as psychological tools to probe our psyche's inner realms and discover our own inner truth.

AUM

The most powerful of all the mantras is the mantra AUM (also written as OM). This mantra is found in the Upanishads, ancient philosophical texts (not part of Hindu religion). 

Some of the mantras are based on numbers. The number of syllables forms the meter or rhythm of the mantra:

1. 1. 5-syllable mantra of Shiva – Namah Shivaya (Na Ma Shi Va Ya)
2. 2. 8-syllable mantra of Vishnu – Om Namo Narayanaya (Om Na Mo Na Ra Ya Na Ya)
3. 3. 24-syllables gayatri mantras – there are many gayatri mantras, all of which have 24 syllables formed into a specific meter or rhythm called the gayatri meter. 

Another extremely powerful mantra is the HAMSA mantra, also pronounced SO HAM. This is called the Ajapa gayatri mantra. Even though gayatri mantras usually have 24 syllables, this mantra is the exception. It is the mantra of the breath. SO is the sound of inhalation, and HAM is the sound of exhalation. It is used in the practice of Ajapa Japa. Practicing this mantra for a period of time unlocks the secrets of the breath and the life force.

Mantras purify, heal and illuminate (sattwic)

Three forces act on the body and mind and all of nature. These are the three great attributes of nature, called the maha gunas. They are tamas, rajas, and sattwa. Everything is polarised between tamas (darkness) and sattwa (light). Rajas is the desire at the center of human existence that moves us either toward darkness and materialism or toward light, knowledge, and enlightenment.

1. 1. Tamas is darkness, ignorance, hiddenness, disease, and degeneration. It conceals and creates form, structure, and materialism. If it becomes too strong, tamas causes rigidity, decay, pain, suffering, and death.
2. 2. Rajas is desire, momentum, restlessness, and the dissipation that comes from excessive indulgence in our desires.
3. 3. Sattwa is light, luminosity, revelation, knowledge, understanding, acceptance and healing, and deep abiding joy. It is the enlightening force that reveals the truth to us. However, sattwa is still a form of matter and bondage. Only consciousness and the transcendent Self are free from the bondage of nature.

Mantras are said to be mainly sattwic by nature as they stimulate and reveal the mind to us. The vibrations of the mantra stimulate the mind in the same way that a massage stimulates the body and reveals hidden tensions to us. Mantras expand the sattwic elements of our nature to bring about positive energy, balance, and a deep sense of inner joy. This is why mantra yoga, by awakening the sattwic elements in the body and mind, helps us to attain health, mental strength, and spiritual illumination. 

Mantras are not Indian

It is essential to understand that mantras are not Indian, and they are not Sanskrit. Mantras are primal forces that exist in life, in the universe, and in our bodies and minds at very deep levels. In human beings, they exist in the causal bodies called the vijnanamaya and anandamaya koshas in Sanskrit. These sound vibrations are in all of us, but we are unconscious of them. They were perceived by great sages, saints, seers, and rishis, who revealed them to us and made them available to us as tools we can use to go inward and discover the great mystery of who we truly are. 

Once perceived, the vibrations and sounds were embodied in the form of letters and language so that the great seers and rishis could record them and make them visible. Sanskrit, one of the great ancient languages of the world, is dedicated to preserving this profound and sacred science. India has been one of the great repositories of this sacred knowledge and has encouraged the science of mantra yoga to grow and flourish. 

However, no country or culture can claim to own a mantra. Mantras are universal forces available and accessible to all who desire to study and practice them. This is why you will find sacred words of power in all countries, cultures, and religions. They will reveal themselves to anyone who is prepared to handle the enormous power and knowledge mantras that can be unleashed in our psyche.

Religion or science

Mantras are forces with incredible power. Their corresponding sound vibrations have the power to penetrate deep into us. When we are depressed or sad, for example, music can find its way through the cracks in our psyche and be an excellent balm for our souls. Sound has power, and mantras are the most pure archetypal forms of sound. They are the building blocks of the universe, our minds, and our individuality.

Realizing a mantra, awakening its full force and knowledge into our consciousness, is a great event in our lives. It is a life-changing, inspiring, and humbling experience, and depending on our personality type, we can interpret this event from a religious or scientific point of view.

It is important to realize that mantras are not religious tools in themselves. They are simply sound vibrations that resonate at a very deep level within us. Mantra can be seen as part of an esoteric language used in many contexts: yogic, religious, psychological, medical, etc. To understand this, think of how water and fire are sacred substances used in both religious/spiritual and secular environments in many, if not all, parts of our lives. 

Mantras are not prayers but have been incorporated into Hindu religious worship and prayer. A prayer can be composed of any language and can be sung or recited in any meter or rhythm. Its meaning is clear. A mantra is not a string of words expressing what one has to say to a deity. It is a sound vibration that has profound neurological and psychological effects on the initiated. Mantras open us to higher realms of consciousness, and what we do when we get there is an individual choice.

Mantras have psychological significance. They can help us influence and modify our feelings, calm an anxious mind, energize a depressed mind, or access various strengths and abilities. They help us understand the power of the mind. Mantras can influence the entire human personality and our destiny.

In yogic texts, the mantra is mainly part of a system designed to awaken consciousness.

The effects of mantras on the mind

From the perspective of mantra yoga, a mantra is a sound vibration that awakens consciousness and liberates awareness and energy trapped within the mind's constant thinking. If we are trapped in our thoughts, we tend to identify with what our thoughts tell us. Many people think continuously and expend vast amounts of energy worrying and trying to control life in their heads. 

The sound vibration of a mantra can be used to break our normal thinking patterns by stimulating subtle parts of us outside of the thinking process. Mantras are like gentle massages that stimulate the totality of the mind. Acting in the same way, a stone thrown into a pond will send ripples out in concentric circles from its origin to the outer edges of the pond.

By spreading sound vibration in the mind, mantras enable us to become aware of and experience more profound and more subtle parts of ourselves, many of which are powerful and joyful. They break our focus on limiting thought patterns. The energy going into these destructive patterns is released and can be used to fuel more creative and joyful mental processes. Awareness trapped within thought patterns is freed and can move with energy into deeper parts of the mind. 

Ultimately, with a great deal of practice of mantra yoga, our awareness can transcend our mundane level of functioning to experience higher consciousness. This is a highly liberating and joyful experience.

Awakening the sattwic

Mantra yoga uses sound vibration to awaken sattwic luminous force into the body, mind, and personality.

In mantra yoga, we intone rhythmic universal patterns that invoke and, over time, unlock the mysteries of life and reveal them to our consciousness – this gives us true knowledge and a profoundly intuitive and experiential level.

1. 1. At a personal level, a mantra liberates energy trapped in mental patterns and frees this energy for other uses, such as healing, creativity, and higher use. We gain knowledge, insight, and intuition about our world. This mundane knowledge allows us to live better lives.
2. 2. At a transcendent level – a mantra liberates all the energy trapped in all the mental patterns and frees that energy for awakening consciousness and transcendent experience. We gain knowledge of Self and true spiritual knowledge that transcends time and space. 

Mantra meditation 

There are two primary forms of mantra meditation: japa, which involves repeating a mantra, and ajapa japa, which involves linking a mantra to the breath.

1. Japa - The Sanskrit word Japa means the practice of meditation in which a mantra is vocalized, whispered, or chanted mentally. The mantra can also be written repeatedly on a page in the practice of japa. The practitioner repeats the mantra given to him or her for a set period of time or a predetermined number, for example, 108, 1008, or more. A rosary, called a mala, is used to count. Malas usually contain 108 beads. In japa, the meditator focuses on the mantra; any thoughts that come into the mind are simply allowed to pass by and are not attended to. The attention is solely on the mantra itself.
2. Ajapa japa - The Sanskrit word ajapa japa means repeating a mantra (japa) without repetition (ajapa). This means that the mantra begins to repeat itself spontaneously, called the state of ajapa. The practice of ajapa japa aims to achieve the state of ajapa by linking the mantra with the rhythm of the breath. After extensive practice of japa or ajapa japa, the mantra erupts in our hearts and minds and continues to vibrate in our consciousness. This stimulates bliss, self-knowledge, and self-awareness.

Ajapa japa

The practice of Ajapa Japa is one of the most important and influential of all the meditation practices from the Yoga-Tantra tradition. Ajapa japa meditation unites the mantra with the breath, prana, mind, attention, and consciousness. It is a complete spiritual practice (sadhana) that can take an aspirant to the highest stages of meditation, to the realization of the highest Self. This one technique is a complete system for individual self-development and transcendental experience. If studied, practiced, and understood correctly, Ajapa Japa promotes physical health, mental strength, and spiritual enlightenment.

With time and practice, we become aware of the vast reserves of energy that lie within us and can unlock and utilize this energy to develop our potential. It is as though we shine a light on our inner universe and capabilities, which reveals a profound sense and recognition of Self.

Conclusion

From the yogic point of view, mantras are one of the most important tools we have to explore, stimulate our minds, and foster our own self-development. Mantras help us become more aware of our inner being and reveal our minds' positive and negative aspects. If we want to improve ourselves, this knowledge is invaluable. We can then use mantras to purify, strengthen, and integrate our minds. The main thing is to practice.

Big Shakti (www.bigshakti.com) has developed a guided meditation series that distills the essence of ajapa japa for beginners and advanced practitioners. The techniques in this meditation series are part of a course on how to apply Ajapa Japa for Healing the Mind.