The wise say that chanting a mantra is good for you. You take time to think of something positive spoken in Sanskrit which has vibrations of its own, or you can chant the name of the Lord. Mantras are usually chanted for 108 times. The dictionary meaning of mantra is simple: It describes ‘mantra’ as a word, sound or phrase in Hinduism or Buddhism that is repeated to aid concentration in meditation.
It is said that the human mind is capable of thinking some 60,000 thoughts in one day. Often, these thoughts are repetitive, negative or useless, but the mind is powerless to stop them. To give you an idea of what this means, think of where all your mind wandered just now. You may have concentrated on this sentence for a couple of seconds, then immediately thought that you should take a sip of your tea which is getting cold. Or you might have thought of your next meal, while simultaneously glancing at your phone to read a WhatsApp message. In between, you might for a fleeting second think that I have to fill water for the bath. That’s just a quick example. In any one day, your thoughts can take you from your childhood to adulthood, from here to there, all in a matter of seconds.
Now, you may ask what is the purpose of chanting a mantra? Is it so magical that the few words that you are chanting can transform your life? Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says that if you can get so upset and angry on hearing someone verbally abuse you, because it creates some negative vibrations, then how “can a very sweet name, a chant, which includes a lot of energy of the cosmos, not do anything to your body?”
Swami Sivananda has said that mantras are powerful and are a “mass of radiant energy”. He explains that japa is of three kinds: either it is verbal, or has a humming sound or done silently in the mind. He recommended that you try all three. Repetition eventually brings the wandering mind back to the task of reciting the mantra.
People who take to meditation and mantra chanting say that the main purpose of chanting a mantra is to discipline your mind. On a simplistic level, you have to keep concentrating on the words of the mantra and that keeps bringing your wayward mind back to the main task of the moment―that of chanting your mantra 108 times.
At least for the time it takes you to chant your mantra, you are able to control your wandering mind and remain focused on the present moment. That itself is a big achievement. It also means that if you have been in the habit of thinking negatively, you have not thought negatively at least for the time it has taken you to recite the mantra 108 times.
To complete a chanting of a mantra such as the Maha Mritunjaya Mantra, you need about 45 minutes. To do 108 rounds of the Gayatri Mantra it might take a minimum of 30 minutes. So, when people say that they manage to chant their mantra in just 15 minutes, they are obviously doing them at the wrong speed frequency. The wise says that a mantra done wrong, will only generate negative energies and not be as effective.
Mantra chanting needs the right pronunciation at the right frequency. When you do it fast or too casually, it can have a negative impact, which manifests as obstacles at work or as unhappiness. That is the reason why most people join a spiritual organisation and learn mantra chanting under the guidance of someone who meditates regularly or has been initiated by a spiritual leader.
The most popular mantra is Om. You take a deep breath, and as you exhale, you say Om. In a way, it is like also doing your pranayama for the day, taking in life-giving oxygen and breathing out your toxins during exhalation.
Many people replace Sanskrit mantras with positive affirmations. Ultimately, do whatever works for you and makes you happier and more peaceful.
Reena Singh has more than 37 years’ experience in senior editorial positions in The Times of India (TOI) and Genpact. She was Deputy Editor with TOI’s spiritual newspaper, The Speaking Tree, where she spent nine years.
