THE SCIENCE OF MANTRAS

Definition: A sentence or a statement which, when contemplated upon,() strengthens and

protects the mind, is called MANTRA.

I would like to redefine it as follows:

A statement, a sentence, a word or even a syllable which, when uttered or repeated or

contemplated upon, creates a required effect upon oneself, upon the other man or upon the
situation, is called a mantra.

This definition is more broad based and can apply on all subjects including religion whereas
the former is confined to religious matters only.

"A spoken word has a tremendous power". It moulds the speaker, the listener and the
situation accordingly. Selection of letters (Poetic Value), its delivery (phonetic value) and the
sentiments backing it (psychic value) are all important to create a required effect. AGNI
Puran is the main source of information about the Mantra, which is a complete science in
itself, though other puranas also give some information. There are three types of Mantras viz.
Those, which have 20 or more letters in it, are called MAAL Mantras from which MALA is
derived. Those between 10 & 20 are simple Mantras and those below ten
are called BEEJ Mantras.

MAAL Mantras are recommended for old person's i.e. about 50 years of age. Mantras for below
50 years and Beej Mantras for below 20 years. Concise beej Mantras i.e. 1 to 5 letters are
recommended for all ages. Again Mantras have 3 genders. If at the end, Swaha is added it
becomes feminine mantras and is good to attract or offer. If Phat or PRANAV or HUM is added
at the end, it is masculine or Agni mantra and is good to assert or repel or for cruel purposes.
If NAMAH is added it becomes important or Saumya. Nadi is operative then Agni or masculine
mantras should be used and chandra nadi - other two categories. In Sharda Tilak Book one
more clue is given - if a Mantra has too many q or ~ in it then it becomes Saumya.

In the beginning of Shwet- Varah-Kalpa Lord was resting on SHESH in KSHEER SAGAR. SHESH
means the residual energy after creation and Ksheer Sagar means ocean of peace &
tranquility. Then Brahma happened to come there. Seeing Vishnu he enquired innocently "who
are you'?" I am the creator of this universe. Both were right. Seeing a piquant situation and to
resolve the impasse- there appeared a 'JYOTIRLINGA ' (Glittering male organ- the creator of
all) & with a Bang some letters and dots appeared on that phallic symbol. That was the origin
of the VEDAS and the MANTRAS contained in them.

There is another story. When Lord SHIVA opened his third eye and started his last dance of
destruction, a few aphorisms escaped his Tabor or Damru and became the Mantras which
PANINI complied & decoded in his ASTYAADHYAAYI.

A mantra can be Deaf, blind, static, paralysed, crucified, in-attentive, powerless,

melancholous,unconscious. desperate or cumbersome state. Use of psychology, hypnotism.
Astrology and methodology makes a mantra to give results. It can be pronounced loudly,
slowly or only in mind ( ). Tantrik mantras. have a totally different code to follow where even
phonetics has a decisive role to play. Then there are SAABAR-Mantras where meaning has no
place. They are a sort of GIBBRISH-meaningless words uttered in a particular order.
According to BEEJ-KALPA each letter of the DEVNAAGRI script represents a certain instinct and
has a different acoustic root which vibrates when the letter is spoken during a mantra or a
word or a sentence or a saabar-mantra as follows: -

A. ( ) Death destroying. The LORD.

ta. ( ) Has seed of remorse at its
A. ( ) That which attracts (Feminine)
acoustic root
tha. ( ) Has seed of Moon at its acoustic
i. ( ) That which strengthens
root
da. ( ) Has seed of Garud at its acoustic
I. ( ) That which is magnetic root
dha. ( ) Has seed of KUBER at its
U. ( ) That which is energizing
acoustic root
na. ( ) Has seed of DEVIL at its acoustic
U. ( ) That which is dislodging
root
R. ( ) That which is stunning ta. ( ) Represents eight elements
tha. ( ) Has seed of yama at its acoustic
LR. ( )That which arouses envy
Root
da. ( ) Has seed of Durga at its acoustic
e. ( ) That which controls/affects others
Root
dha. ( ) Has seed of SUN at its acoustic
Ai. ( ) That which controls the male element
Root
na. ( ) Has therapeutic quality at its
O. ( ) That which creates mass hypnosis
acoustic Root
pa. ( ) Has seed of Varun at its acoustic
Au. ( ) That which controls people in authority
Root
pha. ( ) Has seed of Vishnu at its
a. ( ) That which controls the wild elements
acoustic Root
ba. ( ) Has seed of Brahma at its
ah. ( ) That which fights death
acoustic Root
Ka. ( ) Has seed of poison at its at its acoustic bha. ( ) Has seed of Kali at its acoustic
root Root
Kha. ( ) Has seed of obstruction at its ma. ( ) Has seed of Fire at its acoustic
acoustic root Root
ya. ( ) Has seeds of Air at its acoustic
ga. ( ) Has seed of Ganpati at its acoustic root
Root
gha. ( ) Has seed of Destruction at its
ra. ( ) Makes one indifferent or detached
acoustic root
la. ( ) Has seeds of lndra at its acoustic
na. ( ) Has seed of Demon at its acoustic root
Root
cha. ( ) Has seed of LUNA at its acoustic root va. ( ) Defeats death
sa. ( ) Has seeds of Laxmi at its acoustic
chha.( ) Has seed of gain at its acoustic root
Root
Ja. ( ) Has seed of at its acoustic sa. ( ) Has seeds of SUN at its acoustic
root Root
Jha. ( ) Has seed of Fulfillment at its acoustic sa. ( ) Has seeds of Saraswati at its
root acoustic Root
na. ( ) Has seed of mohan at its ha. ( ) Has seeds of Shiva at its acoustic
acoustic root Root

According to Tantrik tradition, every seed syllable must have a nasal sound. Which results in
divine union (SHIVA-SHAKTI). Shiva-Shakti are considered two lips whose union Ieads to the
pronunciation of a Root or Beej. Beej-Akshar creates cerebral vibrations. The nasal sound
transfers these vibration to the back of the Head or between the eyebrows. A mantra can be
or

Mantras too are of three attributes or Gunas as are all the living entities viz. Satguni or
Sentient. Rajoguni or Mutative and Tamoguni or static. In every day language, we can say a
mantra to be perfect. ordinary or without a seed-syllable. When a mantra is spoken in the ears
of a disciple by a realised guru it is said to be perfect/satoguni. When a mantra is chanted a
hundred thousand times with devotion and sincerity it can also bring the desired result and is
called ordinary or Rajoguni. The best time to start a chanting is Full Moon day or no moon
day.

'One who knows God becomes God', Vedas clearly say. It simply means that such a man
operates on a higher level an exalted consciousness which gives light to others too. To an
ordinary man such self-denial appears to be a foolish idea. Pursuit of self-happiness seems a
better goal. There is nothing bad in it. But in the heat and din of this pursuit he stops caring
for others' happiness. Herein enters an element which takes away, first others' happiness and
then his own because others retaliate very justifiably. A vicious cycle starts with no end. Man
is prone to lighter ideas, no doubt as they are easy to comprehend
and follow. But it leads him to evil nay Devil.

Man is the only thinking animal in the Nature. This is his glory as well as his misfortune. He is
the only being who can go against nature. Others have no option. He can bypass nature
creating his own conditioning. And in doing so he is sure to invite trouble because nature is a
higher force. Thus he is the only who is unhappy. All other beings are happy with life. But he
can be brought back from this demented state to his original self. The method adopted in
India was to put him on the path of devotion or Bhakti that is making him God-fearing. Faith
can move mountains and Mantra is its tool, device or contraption. Mantra is also an action or
Karma though of a subtler nature. It is an auto suggestion which not only evolves him to
higher states of beings but also transfonns him to perform better physically to ensure success
or progress i.e. the higher states of doing. Life exists at both these states- of being and of
doing. Life becomes unsatisfying and un-joyful when one neglects any of these two levels.
Mantra ensures progress at both these levels.

The primordial mantra is Om which is cosmic root sound. When energy operates. it creates a
hum - a Humming noise. Such noise can be heard near high-tension electric lines or
condensers. The hum of the CREATION is OM. This is mool-mantra. Other mantras are its
variations. derivations. adop tions and the like.

Energy and matter are inter-convertible. Energy condensifies to become matter. Thus the root
is energy. The cause is energy and the effect is matter. Matter is inert or non-operative.
Matter requires energy in two ways - for its fonnation and for its operation. Energy is hidden in
various sounds and in their root.

This is the rationale of the contention of Beej Mantras. Their utterance vocally or mentally stirs
up latent sources of energy, kept inside the body as reservoir, to fall back upon. if need be.
According to SHAKTA cult the residual energy after creation is lying dormant in serpentine coil
as Shesh Naag in the Universe and as Kundalini in the human body. This kundalini can be
awakened by mantras and certain other devices. But remember this can be done only through
the grace of Sadguru otherwise it can be harmful. This is the subject matter of yoga as well as
Tantra who use this body as a machine to accomplish this task

In other words it is this serpent-power which is immortal in the body of a man. It can be
awakened through proper repetition of the root sounds HRIM and KRIM (KLIM). The entire
universe is bracketed within these two. They are also the physical expressions of the principle
of life on both levels intrinsic & extrinsic. Consequently two types of Tantras emerge - around
HRIM & around KLIM. Kundalini survives death & shesa survives dissolutions of the Universe.
(Transcendental residua of
creative force).

There are other root sounds also such as AIM shrim etc., which are frequently used in Beej
Mantras during Tantra-Saadhna.

Apart from Mantra there are YANTRAS too. These constitute diagrams of various types drawn
on papers. leaves. barks. metal sheets etc. either by writing or etching or inscribing. These
substitute idols of the deities in Vaishanavi Saadhana. Circles, triangles, Arcs. Squares, Dots &
Beej-consonants and even numericals are the material used in these diagrams. Such diagrams
are said to contain a great potential in regulating, foussing and diverting the cosmic energy.
They work from-outside-in whereas the mantras work from-inside-out. Both these efforts,
when well synchronized, are called Tantra-Saadhana.This Saadhna is meant for the warriors
who want to mould the cosmic energy in the fashion they like. It is a violent or aggressive
approach to mould the destiny, of course. with attendant risks and rigors. It is shrouded with
secrecy and confidence as other Raj-Yogas do. It is sarcastically said. "The Vedas, Shastras.
and Puranas are like harlots accessible to all, but the Tantric Science is well concealed like a
woman of a good family." Open discussion is said to puncture the very aim of Tantra. Lord and
Devi are present where Tantra is done. It is a power-game.

Following are a few Yantras with aims :-

1. Gopal Yantra : To bring complete prosperity and ultimate salvation

2. Gita Yantra : To defeat the enemy.
3. Rama Yantra : To bring mental harmony, fame & power.
4. Rudra Yantra : For controlling militant power.
5. Vishnu Yantra : For spiritual growth.
6. Yog-Maya Yantra : OR Maha-Maya ¥antra to attain enormous material wealth.
7. Lalita Yantra : To please an individual. Better on Brich-tree leaf.
S. Vasudha Yantra : To please a woman or man of choice (Sammohan).
9. Shri Yantra : To ward off poverty.

Note: Yantras give best resultes when combined with appropriate mantras as Shri-Yantra with
ShriSukta as laid down in Scriptures.