02-26-2006, 01:21 PM
<b>Mantras</b>
<i>Prof. S.K. Ramachandra Rao </i>
Among the several approaches to spiritual power, insight and welfare of man, the cult of Mantras is an important one. There has sprung up in this country an elaborate science of Mantras called Mantra Sastra or Mantra Vidya. The science has three major divisions Kerala (also called Misra), Kashmira (called Sattwika) and Ganda (Vama Marga). And it covers not only Vedic Hinduism (with its Saiva, Sakta and Vaishnava sub- divisions) but Jainism and Buddhism also. The science has intimate associations with the practice of cosmograms called Yantra and with the occult rituals known as Tantra.
The Sanskrit expression Mantra is derived from two roots man (to think) and trai (to protect) (Yaska: Nirukta 7.12). The general meaning of the word is that of a device by means of which whatever one thinks and attends to with earnestness will protect him from all ill and evils (mananat tranant). We read in Pingala- mata:
<i>Mananam Vishvavigyanam thraanam sansaarabandhanaath|
Yate: karoti sansidhdo mantra ityuchyate tata: ||
Mananaath traannaashchaiva madroopasyaava bodhanaat |
Mantra ityuchyate samyank madadhishthanata: priye ||</i>
A mantra is usually a formula, a collection of letters (or phonemes) or words with or without meaning. Even when the words are meaningful, it is not the meaning that is as important as the effect its repetition produces. The sounds involved in a mantra are themselves significant for they generate in the individual an unusual mystic power. The mantra is expected to reveal its import or deity to the person who works on it. For a mantra to be effective, therefore, it is prescribed that it must be duly given by a competent master at the most beneficial time, and that it must suit the individualâs temperament, eligibility, needs and capacities. A mantra picked up from books, or casually communicated by another individual will serve no purpose whatever: and indeed it may spell harm and ruin. Hence we read
Guroopadeshto Mantra: |
It becomes a Mantra only when a Guru gives it, otherwise it is a group of letters or words and nothing else.
There are therefore, rules about the constitution of mantra, extraction of a Mantra (mantroddhara), visualizing the import of a Mantra by orderly repetition (purascharana), sacramental rituals connected with a mantra (mantra- samskara), articulation of a mantra (manta- japa), infusing power into the mantra (manta- chaitanya), the aspects or several limbs of the mantra (like Armour or kavacha, heart or hrdaya, weapon or astra, eye or netra), and practice of a mantra (mantra sadhana).
The total number of mantras available in texts (like Mantra Maharnava, Mantramahodhdhi, Mantra Parijata and Mantra Sarvasva) is said to be seven corers. But the devotee, for they suffer from âdisabilitiesâ and âdiseasesâ (which the texts describe as Chinna, ruddha, rakta-hina, paranmukha, sputa, visirna etc). A mantra is said to be like an individual and must go through several sequences before it can become effective; janana (birth), dipana (bringing to light), bodhana (activising), abhisheka (consecration), tarpana (satiations) and aphyayana (completing). The mantra must be given by the Guru who has himself mastered the mantra by continuous practice. Only one who has realized the import or deity of a mantra can give that mantra to others (hence called âmantra dataâ) and when he gives, the mantra is already powerful and full of potentialities.
There are however, some mantras, which are pf proven merit, and they are called Siddha- mantras. One who is earnest and disciplined may use these mantras even when not given by a Guru. Examples are âOm Namo Narayanaâ and âOm Namah Sivayaâ. The famous Gayatri Mantra also belongs to this category. These mantras are generally beneficent to the individual who recites them, but are not calculated to solve ant difficulty or accomplish any desire. They are not, in other words, kamya- Siddha. For a mantra to be effective in a particular context, it must be specifically and individually communicated by a Guru.
The mantras are of different kinds, depending on the number of letters or phonemes (varna) involved in them or the form it assumes. If the mantra has only a single constituent letter or phoneme, it is called pinda; if there are two of them, it is kartari; if three or more but less than nine, it is called a bija; the formula with letters of phonemes whose number ranges from ten to twenty is strictly called a mantra. If the constituent letters are not more than twenty, it becomes a Mala- Mantra. It is more usual, however, to make it only a three-fold division: Mantra, bija- mantra and Mala- mantra. The bija- mantras are said to be effective in the early years if life, while the mantras are useful in middle age and Mala- mantra in old age. Any mantra will become effective in any stage of life, when the practice is doubled.
The mantras are further divided into three groups, on the basis of the form assumed by the mantra, especially when it ends, the mantras are âmasculineâ (pum) when they close with expression like âhumâ or phat (tantric ejaculations which are themselves meaningless but acquire with practice the vigor to ward off evil and misfortune); âfeminineâ (stri), when they end with vaushat or swaha (expression of dedication and the offering of oblations); and neuter (napunsaka or kliba) when they end with Namah (signifying submission and prostrations). These terminal expressions are known as the mantrapallava.
There is also another classification. Some mantras are known as Agneta or Saura (solar, associated with fire), as for instance in the mantras involving expressions like Om (pranava), the sound of ra (repha) and the vocable ha (ha-kara) prominently. All the other mantras are called chandra or saumya. The belief is that the former type of mantras is effective when practiced during daytime, while the latter type tends to deliver goods only when recited when the moon had arisen.
The form a mantra generally assumes involves (1) the name of the deity sought to be realized or visualized (mantra- devata), (2) the relation of the devotee to the deity (indicated by expressions like Namah, swaha, phat, vaushat, etc), and (3) the significant single- lettered seed-syllable from which the deity is supposed to emerge (bijakshara). Each of the gods and goddesses of the pantheon has one or more mantras specific to that god or goddess. They are not only forms of Siva, forms of Vishnu or forms of Sakti, but also subordinate or minor divinities like Hanuman, Ganesa, Virabhadra, Sudarsana and Yogini. The relation is usually that of supplication, seeking aid or protection to overcome or prevent ailment or misfortune. In the case of kamya- mantras it is usual to indicate the desire of the devotee also (like bhayam motaya, vyadhin nivaraya, Kaman sadhaya etc).
As regards the single- lettered mantras Om or Pranava is best known. It is called ekakshara (single-lettered), because it is articulated as such, but in actually it is a composite (kuta) of three units a,u and m, which represent the three Vedas the three deities (Brahma, Vishnu, Siva), the three Gunas (Sattava, Rajas and Tamas), the three values of life (Dharma, Artha and Kara), the three processes (origination, endurance and dissolution) the three centers of individual existence (navel, heart and head) and so on.
A mantra usually begins with Om, for it is said to bestow life to the mantra (jivanam sarvamantranam); when Om occurs also at the end of the mantra, the mantra is known as samputita or enclosed. Several other single- lettered mantras are associated with Om in their form (like Krom, Srom, Haum etc). Om is regarded as the head of any mantra (siras).
There are dictionaries (bija-kosha or bijakshara nighantu), which means make a list of mantras, which are called âseed-syllabusâ (bijaksharas). They are described as âseedâ because each of them is capable of generating the form of a deity when repeated or prescribed, or accomplishing an act desired. The dictionaries also provide information about the deity or act that the see-syllabus signifies:
Im (Vishnu), Hrim (maya-bija, Sakti), Gam (Ganapati), Klim (kama), Ha (Siva), Ra (Agni), Srim (Lakshmi), Aim (Vagdevi), Hsaum (great power), Kshim (eliminating poison), Hum (protection), Glaum (arresting paralyzing), Blum (chasing away), Krom (suppression, goad), Jum (driving out) and so on.
The mantras are either deity-specific or act-specific. Well-known are the mantras of the former deity. Generally the first letter of the deityâs name is transformed into a seed-syllable by adding the anusvara (m) to it; like Gam for Ganapati, Ham for Hanuman, Dum for Durga, Trim for Tripura, Tam for Tara, (Lam for Lakshmi, Dam for Dattatreya) and so on.
The act-specific mantras are again grouped under ânormalâ contexts are the desires of the devotee for health, wealth and happiness (tushti and pushti). Naham, Svaha and Hum are the usual terminal expressions (pallava) in this group. The other context is black magic and witchcraft where harm is intended for the enemy. This is generally known as abhichara, and takes several forms: Killing (marana), driving away (uchhatana), arresting an activity or paralyzing a limb (stambhana) and causing enmity and strife (vidveshana). The terminal expressions in the mantras employed are Hum, Phat, Tha, Vaushat, Ghe Ghe etc.
The one-letter mantras are also employed in ritual placement of deities on the devoteeâs fingers of the hand (kara- nyasa) or limbs of the body (anga-nyasa). Here the basic letter is hra and its conjunctions with the vowels are used: Hram, Hrim, Hrum, Hraim, Hraum and Hrah. The ritual called sakali-karana is worship presupposes such establishment or specific placement (nyasa, vinyasa, viseshana sthapanam) of the prescribed letters (transformed into seed-syllabus) on the tips of fingers (angulyagreshu nyasaksharani) an act, which is called bija-sthapana.
The mantras are known by the number of letters they consist of. A mantra with five letters I called panchakshari (Om Namah Sivaya), with six letters, shadakshari (Gam Ganapataye), with eight letters ashtakshari (Om namo narayanaya), with twelve letters dvadasakshari (Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya). In Purascharana of a mantra, it is prescribed that the mantra is to be repeated as many lakhs of times as there letters in that mantra, if there are five letter, five lakhs of times; if twelve, so many lakhs of times. However, this is not done all at once. The devotee should previously decide the number of times he can possible repeat the mantra every day, and then repeat the mantra so many times (neither more nor less) everyday, until the required number is completed.
It is this Punascharana, which will render the mantra effective. The word means a prior performance, a practice that must be perfected before any act is undertaken. It also suggests that the deity of the mantra will appear before the devotee (puratah). The significant sequence involves five aspects (panchanga), worship (puja), repetition of the mantra (japa), oblations (tarpana), fire-rituals (homa) and feeding the pious Brahmins (brahmana-bhukti). This is meant to compel the deity to bestow his presence and grace mantra that will be practiced. It is said in Kularnava (17,37)
<i>Panchaangopaasaneneshtha devata preetidaananta:|
Purascharati bhaktasya tatpurascharanam priye||
</i>
A mantra without this sequence compared to one who is ill and therefore unfit for any undertaking.
<i>
Vyaadhigrasto yathaa dehi sarvakarmasu na kshama:|
Purascharanaheeno ayam tatha mantropi keertiti:||</i>
The practice of a mantra after this sequence will be effective in two ways. The deity of the mantra will manifest as a personification of the mantra (mantramurti). And the body of the devotee subtly is transformed into the expression of the mantra (mantra- tanu). The deity and the devotee will thus partake of the nature and spirit of the mantra, they meet each other in the mantra.
The philosophy basic to the mantra-lore is given in Sarada- Tilaka-Tantra (1,55-57). The Sabda-brahma which is all-pervasive occurs in the human being as Kundalini in muladhara (basal center of vital consciousness). The desire to create assumes the form of articulation. The primal impulse at the muladhara level is para-vak (transcendental speech). When it reaches the svadhishthana center, it becomes pasyanti; when it goes up to Anahata (heart), it is madhyama. These are articulations, which are subtle and inaudible. But when this urge to express comes into the throat and mouth, it manifests itself as audible speech, called vaikhari and articulation takes the form of an alphabet with fifty letters a to ksh a which are imperishable expressions of the divine urge (hence called akshara). Each letter (varna) is a living conscious sound power, and functions like a matrix (matrka) when the letter is rounded with an anusvara. The letter is Siva and the matrix is Sakti.
All the mantras emerge from these units, which are in fact divine mothers (matrka). All mantras therefore, are only forms of the Devi.
<i>
Te sarve tava mantraa: syu:|
Tvamaadyaa prakrutiryata:|| </i>
(Maha- nirvana-tantra 5,19) 201.93
<i>Prof. S.K. Ramachandra Rao </i>
Among the several approaches to spiritual power, insight and welfare of man, the cult of Mantras is an important one. There has sprung up in this country an elaborate science of Mantras called Mantra Sastra or Mantra Vidya. The science has three major divisions Kerala (also called Misra), Kashmira (called Sattwika) and Ganda (Vama Marga). And it covers not only Vedic Hinduism (with its Saiva, Sakta and Vaishnava sub- divisions) but Jainism and Buddhism also. The science has intimate associations with the practice of cosmograms called Yantra and with the occult rituals known as Tantra.
The Sanskrit expression Mantra is derived from two roots man (to think) and trai (to protect) (Yaska: Nirukta 7.12). The general meaning of the word is that of a device by means of which whatever one thinks and attends to with earnestness will protect him from all ill and evils (mananat tranant). We read in Pingala- mata:
<i>Mananam Vishvavigyanam thraanam sansaarabandhanaath|
Yate: karoti sansidhdo mantra ityuchyate tata: ||
Mananaath traannaashchaiva madroopasyaava bodhanaat |
Mantra ityuchyate samyank madadhishthanata: priye ||</i>
A mantra is usually a formula, a collection of letters (or phonemes) or words with or without meaning. Even when the words are meaningful, it is not the meaning that is as important as the effect its repetition produces. The sounds involved in a mantra are themselves significant for they generate in the individual an unusual mystic power. The mantra is expected to reveal its import or deity to the person who works on it. For a mantra to be effective, therefore, it is prescribed that it must be duly given by a competent master at the most beneficial time, and that it must suit the individualâs temperament, eligibility, needs and capacities. A mantra picked up from books, or casually communicated by another individual will serve no purpose whatever: and indeed it may spell harm and ruin. Hence we read
Guroopadeshto Mantra: |
It becomes a Mantra only when a Guru gives it, otherwise it is a group of letters or words and nothing else.
There are therefore, rules about the constitution of mantra, extraction of a Mantra (mantroddhara), visualizing the import of a Mantra by orderly repetition (purascharana), sacramental rituals connected with a mantra (mantra- samskara), articulation of a mantra (manta- japa), infusing power into the mantra (manta- chaitanya), the aspects or several limbs of the mantra (like Armour or kavacha, heart or hrdaya, weapon or astra, eye or netra), and practice of a mantra (mantra sadhana).
The total number of mantras available in texts (like Mantra Maharnava, Mantramahodhdhi, Mantra Parijata and Mantra Sarvasva) is said to be seven corers. But the devotee, for they suffer from âdisabilitiesâ and âdiseasesâ (which the texts describe as Chinna, ruddha, rakta-hina, paranmukha, sputa, visirna etc). A mantra is said to be like an individual and must go through several sequences before it can become effective; janana (birth), dipana (bringing to light), bodhana (activising), abhisheka (consecration), tarpana (satiations) and aphyayana (completing). The mantra must be given by the Guru who has himself mastered the mantra by continuous practice. Only one who has realized the import or deity of a mantra can give that mantra to others (hence called âmantra dataâ) and when he gives, the mantra is already powerful and full of potentialities.
There are however, some mantras, which are pf proven merit, and they are called Siddha- mantras. One who is earnest and disciplined may use these mantras even when not given by a Guru. Examples are âOm Namo Narayanaâ and âOm Namah Sivayaâ. The famous Gayatri Mantra also belongs to this category. These mantras are generally beneficent to the individual who recites them, but are not calculated to solve ant difficulty or accomplish any desire. They are not, in other words, kamya- Siddha. For a mantra to be effective in a particular context, it must be specifically and individually communicated by a Guru.
The mantras are of different kinds, depending on the number of letters or phonemes (varna) involved in them or the form it assumes. If the mantra has only a single constituent letter or phoneme, it is called pinda; if there are two of them, it is kartari; if three or more but less than nine, it is called a bija; the formula with letters of phonemes whose number ranges from ten to twenty is strictly called a mantra. If the constituent letters are not more than twenty, it becomes a Mala- Mantra. It is more usual, however, to make it only a three-fold division: Mantra, bija- mantra and Mala- mantra. The bija- mantras are said to be effective in the early years if life, while the mantras are useful in middle age and Mala- mantra in old age. Any mantra will become effective in any stage of life, when the practice is doubled.
The mantras are further divided into three groups, on the basis of the form assumed by the mantra, especially when it ends, the mantras are âmasculineâ (pum) when they close with expression like âhumâ or phat (tantric ejaculations which are themselves meaningless but acquire with practice the vigor to ward off evil and misfortune); âfeminineâ (stri), when they end with vaushat or swaha (expression of dedication and the offering of oblations); and neuter (napunsaka or kliba) when they end with Namah (signifying submission and prostrations). These terminal expressions are known as the mantrapallava.
There is also another classification. Some mantras are known as Agneta or Saura (solar, associated with fire), as for instance in the mantras involving expressions like Om (pranava), the sound of ra (repha) and the vocable ha (ha-kara) prominently. All the other mantras are called chandra or saumya. The belief is that the former type of mantras is effective when practiced during daytime, while the latter type tends to deliver goods only when recited when the moon had arisen.
The form a mantra generally assumes involves (1) the name of the deity sought to be realized or visualized (mantra- devata), (2) the relation of the devotee to the deity (indicated by expressions like Namah, swaha, phat, vaushat, etc), and (3) the significant single- lettered seed-syllable from which the deity is supposed to emerge (bijakshara). Each of the gods and goddesses of the pantheon has one or more mantras specific to that god or goddess. They are not only forms of Siva, forms of Vishnu or forms of Sakti, but also subordinate or minor divinities like Hanuman, Ganesa, Virabhadra, Sudarsana and Yogini. The relation is usually that of supplication, seeking aid or protection to overcome or prevent ailment or misfortune. In the case of kamya- mantras it is usual to indicate the desire of the devotee also (like bhayam motaya, vyadhin nivaraya, Kaman sadhaya etc).
As regards the single- lettered mantras Om or Pranava is best known. It is called ekakshara (single-lettered), because it is articulated as such, but in actually it is a composite (kuta) of three units a,u and m, which represent the three Vedas the three deities (Brahma, Vishnu, Siva), the three Gunas (Sattava, Rajas and Tamas), the three values of life (Dharma, Artha and Kara), the three processes (origination, endurance and dissolution) the three centers of individual existence (navel, heart and head) and so on.
A mantra usually begins with Om, for it is said to bestow life to the mantra (jivanam sarvamantranam); when Om occurs also at the end of the mantra, the mantra is known as samputita or enclosed. Several other single- lettered mantras are associated with Om in their form (like Krom, Srom, Haum etc). Om is regarded as the head of any mantra (siras).
There are dictionaries (bija-kosha or bijakshara nighantu), which means make a list of mantras, which are called âseed-syllabusâ (bijaksharas). They are described as âseedâ because each of them is capable of generating the form of a deity when repeated or prescribed, or accomplishing an act desired. The dictionaries also provide information about the deity or act that the see-syllabus signifies:
Im (Vishnu), Hrim (maya-bija, Sakti), Gam (Ganapati), Klim (kama), Ha (Siva), Ra (Agni), Srim (Lakshmi), Aim (Vagdevi), Hsaum (great power), Kshim (eliminating poison), Hum (protection), Glaum (arresting paralyzing), Blum (chasing away), Krom (suppression, goad), Jum (driving out) and so on.
The mantras are either deity-specific or act-specific. Well-known are the mantras of the former deity. Generally the first letter of the deityâs name is transformed into a seed-syllable by adding the anusvara (m) to it; like Gam for Ganapati, Ham for Hanuman, Dum for Durga, Trim for Tripura, Tam for Tara, (Lam for Lakshmi, Dam for Dattatreya) and so on.
The act-specific mantras are again grouped under ânormalâ contexts are the desires of the devotee for health, wealth and happiness (tushti and pushti). Naham, Svaha and Hum are the usual terminal expressions (pallava) in this group. The other context is black magic and witchcraft where harm is intended for the enemy. This is generally known as abhichara, and takes several forms: Killing (marana), driving away (uchhatana), arresting an activity or paralyzing a limb (stambhana) and causing enmity and strife (vidveshana). The terminal expressions in the mantras employed are Hum, Phat, Tha, Vaushat, Ghe Ghe etc.
The one-letter mantras are also employed in ritual placement of deities on the devoteeâs fingers of the hand (kara- nyasa) or limbs of the body (anga-nyasa). Here the basic letter is hra and its conjunctions with the vowels are used: Hram, Hrim, Hrum, Hraim, Hraum and Hrah. The ritual called sakali-karana is worship presupposes such establishment or specific placement (nyasa, vinyasa, viseshana sthapanam) of the prescribed letters (transformed into seed-syllabus) on the tips of fingers (angulyagreshu nyasaksharani) an act, which is called bija-sthapana.
The mantras are known by the number of letters they consist of. A mantra with five letters I called panchakshari (Om Namah Sivaya), with six letters, shadakshari (Gam Ganapataye), with eight letters ashtakshari (Om namo narayanaya), with twelve letters dvadasakshari (Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya). In Purascharana of a mantra, it is prescribed that the mantra is to be repeated as many lakhs of times as there letters in that mantra, if there are five letter, five lakhs of times; if twelve, so many lakhs of times. However, this is not done all at once. The devotee should previously decide the number of times he can possible repeat the mantra every day, and then repeat the mantra so many times (neither more nor less) everyday, until the required number is completed.
It is this Punascharana, which will render the mantra effective. The word means a prior performance, a practice that must be perfected before any act is undertaken. It also suggests that the deity of the mantra will appear before the devotee (puratah). The significant sequence involves five aspects (panchanga), worship (puja), repetition of the mantra (japa), oblations (tarpana), fire-rituals (homa) and feeding the pious Brahmins (brahmana-bhukti). This is meant to compel the deity to bestow his presence and grace mantra that will be practiced. It is said in Kularnava (17,37)
<i>Panchaangopaasaneneshtha devata preetidaananta:|
Purascharati bhaktasya tatpurascharanam priye||
</i>
A mantra without this sequence compared to one who is ill and therefore unfit for any undertaking.
<i>
Vyaadhigrasto yathaa dehi sarvakarmasu na kshama:|
Purascharanaheeno ayam tatha mantropi keertiti:||</i>
The practice of a mantra after this sequence will be effective in two ways. The deity of the mantra will manifest as a personification of the mantra (mantramurti). And the body of the devotee subtly is transformed into the expression of the mantra (mantra- tanu). The deity and the devotee will thus partake of the nature and spirit of the mantra, they meet each other in the mantra.
The philosophy basic to the mantra-lore is given in Sarada- Tilaka-Tantra (1,55-57). The Sabda-brahma which is all-pervasive occurs in the human being as Kundalini in muladhara (basal center of vital consciousness). The desire to create assumes the form of articulation. The primal impulse at the muladhara level is para-vak (transcendental speech). When it reaches the svadhishthana center, it becomes pasyanti; when it goes up to Anahata (heart), it is madhyama. These are articulations, which are subtle and inaudible. But when this urge to express comes into the throat and mouth, it manifests itself as audible speech, called vaikhari and articulation takes the form of an alphabet with fifty letters a to ksh a which are imperishable expressions of the divine urge (hence called akshara). Each letter (varna) is a living conscious sound power, and functions like a matrix (matrka) when the letter is rounded with an anusvara. The letter is Siva and the matrix is Sakti.
All the mantras emerge from these units, which are in fact divine mothers (matrka). All mantras therefore, are only forms of the Devi.
<i>
Te sarve tava mantraa: syu:|
Tvamaadyaa prakrutiryata:|| </i>
(Maha- nirvana-tantra 5,19) 201.93