Sourced: https://isha.sadhguru.org/en/wisdom/article/mantras-benefits

Mantra means a sound, a certain utterance or a syllable. Today, modern science sees the whole existence as reverberations of energy, different levels of vibrations. Where there is a vibration, there is bound to be a sound. So, that means, the whole existence is a kind of sound, or a complex amalgamation of sounds – the whole existence is an amalgamation of multiple mantras. Of these, a few mantras or a few sounds have been identified, which could be like keys. If you use them in a certain way, they become a key to open up a different dimension of life and experience within you.

So a mantra is not something that you utter. It is something that you strive to become because unless you become the key, existence will not open up for you. Becoming the mantra means you are becoming the key. Only if you are the key can you open the lock. Otherwise someone else has to open it for you and you have to listen to him.

Mantras could be an extremely good preparatory step. Just one mantra can do such tremendous things to people. They can be an effective force in creating something but only if they come from that kind of a source where there is a complete understanding of all that is sound. When we say “all that is sound,” we are talking about the creation itself. If a mantra comes from that kind of source, with that level of understanding and when the transmission is pure, then mantras can be an effective force.

The Science Behind Mantras

There are different types of mantras. Every mantra activates a particular kind of energy in a different part of the body. Without that necessary awareness, just repeating the sound only brings dullness to the mind. Any repetition of the sound always makes your mind dull. But when it is done with proper awareness, with exact understanding of what it is, a mantra could be a very powerful means. As a science, it is a very powerful dimension, but if it is imparted without the necessary basis and without creating the necessary situations, it can cause lots of damage because this is a subjective science. We know of people who have caused damage to themselves by the improper utterance of something as common as Gayatri mantra.

Mantra and Sanskrit – What’s the Relationship?

Mantras always come from a Sanskrit basis, and the basic aspects of Sanskrit language are so sound sensitive. But when different people speak, each one says it in their own way. If the Bengalis say a mantra, they will say it in their own way. If the Tamil people say it, they say it in another way. If the Americans say it, they will say it in a completely different way. Like this, different people who speak different languages, according to what language they have been used to, tend to distort various mantras, unless real training is imparted. Such training is too exhaustive and people do not have that kind of patience or dedication nowadays because it needs an enormous amount of time and involvement.

Nada Yoga – The Link Between Sound and Form

The Sanskrit language is a device, not necessarily a medium of communication. Most of the other languages were made up because we had to refer to something. Initially, they started with just a handful of words and then multiplied them into complex forms. But Sanskrit is a discovered language because today we know that if you feed any sound into an oscilloscope, every sound has a form attached to it. Similarly, every form has a sound attached to it. Every form in the existence is reverberating in a certain way and creates a certain sound.

When you utter a sound, a form is being created. There is a whole science of using sounds in a particular way so that it creates the right kind of form. We can create powerful forms by uttering sounds in certain arrangements. This is known as the Nada Yoga, the yoga of sound. If you have mastery over the sound you also have mastery over the form that is attached to it.

Benefits of Chanting Mantras

Music is an arrangement of sounds to generate certain sweetness. Music is a fine arrangement, but still it is like the water flowing. A mantra is not that beautiful aesthetically but it is much more effective. I want you to try this out: Sounds of Isha has released a CD called Vairagya, which has five mantras: Nirvana Shatakam, Guru Paduka Strotam, Brahmanand swarupa, Aum Namah Shivaya and Shambho (“the auspicious one”). This was released with a specific purpose. Listen to the CD over and over a few times, listening to each one of the mantras – each one runs for ten minutes. Figure out which mantra really draws you. This isn’t about choosing a mantra like: “Oh, I enjoy this mantra. What have you chosen? Okay, let me also choose that.” It is not done like that. Just listen and listen. When you feel that one of them is really grabbing you, you just go by that. Keep it going all the time – in your car, in your home, on your iPad, iPod, phone, everywhere. There are one-hour versions of each of these also. Simply keep them going on and on for some time.

After some time it will become so much a part of your system and it will set a certain ambience for you. Mantra is not consciousness but mantra sets the right kind of ambience. Sound will set the right kind of ambience within this physiological, psychological framework and also in the atmosphere. One can make use of this.

Nada Brahma Mantra – Experiencing the World as Sound

“Nada” means “sound.” “Brahma” means “Divine,” the All. Fundamentally, there are three sounds in the existence. Any given sound can be created out of these three sounds. If you know something about a color television, there are only three color webs. Given these three color webs, any number of colors can be created. Similarly, given these three sounds, any number of sounds can be created. You can see this with a simple experiment: without the use of the tongue, there are only three sounds you can utter: “aaa”, “ouuu”, and “mmm”. Even if you cut off your tongue, you can still utter these three sounds. For any other sound, you need the use of the tongue. You are using the tongue only to mix these three sounds in many ways to produce all the other sounds. There are so many millions of sounds you can create with your mouth, but a person who is mute can only say “aaa”, “ouuu”, and “mmm”. He cannot say anything else because he is not able to use his tongue.