Mantras
Mantras are mystical sounds usually given by the guru to his chela or student upon initiation into mantra yoga with the instruction to repeat the mantra continuously either silently or aloud.
The mantra is said to have magical properties by which the vibration of the sound can awaken latent powers within the student. Mahatma Gandhi, who led India
to its independence from England
, accomplished non violently in less than 20 years what Ireland
could not do in over 500 years of armed struggle. Gandhi repeated as his mantra “RAM”, which is one of the Indian names for God, it was said that he died, after being shot by an assassin, with the mantra still on his lips. Gandhi was one of the most incredible men who ever lived, so great in fact that upon his death the great physicist, Albert Einstein said of him “Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this walked the earth in flesh and blood.” Gandhi knew and utilized the power of mantra repetition in his life and look at what he was able to achieve.
There are single syllable mantras called Bija or seed mantras such as OM
, RAM, LAM, VAM, YAM, and HAM and multi syllable mantras such as the Tibetan Buddhism Om Mani Padme Hum, or Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo repeated by the Japanese Buddhists of the Nichiren tradition.
While there is ample evidence that sound vibration can have significant affects on both our emotions and brainwave patterns such as in the Mozart effect and the positive emotional impact that our favorite music has on us when we listen to it. Bija mantras are in theory supposed to awaken the latent energy centers in our spine called chakras and stimulate the evolutionary energy called the Kundalini stored in at the base of the spine. However, the practical value of repeating a mantra may more be in that it will keep the mind focused on it as in the curly hair in the story of the genie, and with the mind focused on the mantra there is no room for worry, anxiety, or pessimism.