Mantra And Religions

Mantra is a complete set of words from the Vedas attributed to the deities or Devas. Mantras have come down from  Maharishis, saints, Sadhus and Yogis who after recitation of Mantras for several thousand years guided us to follow them.Mantras are used in Tantrik sadhanas or rituals, whispered or chanted in different combinations and contexts, setting up patterns of vibrations. One must learn to pronounce them properly as well as to understand their meaning. According to old scriptures mantras are the only ways to attain one's desires, provided one recite them with complete faith and prescribed methods and rules.

Origin

Mantras originated in the Vedic tradition of India, later becoming an essential part of the Hindu tradition and a customary practice within Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism. The use of mantras is now widespread throughout various spiritual movements which are based on, or off-shoots of, the practices in the earlier Eastern traditions and religions.

In the terms of  Vedas, the term mantra refers to the entire portion which contains the texts called Rik, Yajuh or Sama, that is, the metrical part as opposed to the prose Brahmana commentary. With the transition from ritualistic Vedic traditions to mystical and egalitarian Hindu schools of Yoga, Vedanta, Tantra and

Bhakti, the orthodox attitude of the elite nature of mantra knowledge gave way to spiritual interpretations of mantras as a translation of the human will or desire into a form of action, with some features in common with spells in general.

Mantra in Hinduism

Mantras were originally conceived in the Vedas. Most mantras follow the written pattern of two line "shlokas" although they are often found in single line or even single word form.

The most basic mantra is Aum or Om, which in Hinduism is known as the "pranava mantra," the source of all mantras. The Hindu philosophy behind this is the idea of nama-rupa (name-form), which supposes that all things, ideas or entities in existence, within the phenomenological cosmos, have name and form of some sort. The most basic name and form is the primordial vibration of Aum, as it is the first manifested nama-rupa of Brahman, the unmanifest reality/unreality. Essentially, before existence and beyond existence is only One reality, Brahma, and the first manifestation of Brahma in existence is Aum. For this reason, Aum is considered to be the most fundamental and powerful mantra, and thus is prefixed and suffixed to all Hindu prayers. While some mantras may invoke individual Gods or principles, the most fundamental mantras, like 'Aum or Om,' the 'Shanti Mantra,' the 'Gayatri Mantra' and others all ultimately focus on the One reality.

In the Hindu tantra the universe is sound. The supreme (para) brings forth existence through the Word (Shabda). Creation consists of vibrations at various frequencies and amplitudes giving rise to the phenomena of the world. The purest vibrations are the varna, the imperishable letters which are revealed to us, imperfectly as the audible sounds and visible forms.In effect each letter became a mantra and the language of the Vedas, Sanskrit, corresponds profoundly to the nature of things. Thus the Vedas come to represent reality itself. The seed syllable Aum represents the underlying unity of reality, which is Brahman.

Types Of Mantra

There are several forms of Mantra:-

1) Bhajan: spiritual songs.

2) Kirtan: repetition of God's name in songs.

3) Prayer: a way of communing with God.

4) Healing mantra

5) Guru mantra: the first initiation (Diksha) given by the master to the disciple.

6) Bija mantra: a bija mantra represents the essence of a mantra (e.g. Om).

Mantra in Buddhism

In Buddhism in China and Vietnam, ten small mantras were finalized by the monk Yulin , a teacher of the Shunzhi Emperor for monks, nuns, and laity to chant in the morning.Along with the ten mantras, the Great Compassion Mantra, the Shurangama Mantra of the Shurangama, Heart Sutra and various forms of nianfo are also chanted.

Mantra in Sikhism

In the Sikh religion, a mantar or mantra is a Shabad (Word or hymn) from the Adi Granth to concentrate the mind on God and the message of the ten Sikh Gurus.Mantras in Sikhism are fundamentally different from the secret mantras used in other religions.Unlike in other religions, Sikh mantras are open for anyone to use. They are used openly and aren't taught in secret sessions but are used in front of assemblies of Sikhs.The Mool Mantar, the first composition of Guru Nanak, is the most widely known Sikh mantra.

How A Mantra is useful

Life is a complex combination of incidents and accidents. The proper use of Mantras and recitation is essential for deriving the positive results from mantras.  Concentrate and meditate without having any of your problems or desires to your mind. The mantra should be recited softly so as to be audible only to the person concerned and not to the others. Mantras should be recited in pleasign musical tone, which will help in concentration.Continous sadhana will enable the sadhaka  to find solutions to the problems, attaining peace of mind and reducing mental strain.