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mantras



मननात् त्रायते यत् ( that by the "manana" of which protects) is the explanation of this word mantra. manana means thinking, reflection, meditation, understanding. Thus mantra is essentially one to be privately reflected upon and understood, whatever that may mean. mantras can be very broadly classified under a) vedic mantras and, b) tantric mantras. Vedic mantras had their "role" and "meaning" only within the vedic ritual activity. But tantric mantras have an independent existence of their own. In fact within the Tantric system mantra and tantra are inseparably intertwined, IMO.

Though mantras are composed of syllables and are capable of being written down, they do not strictly fall within the ambit of "language" in a strict sense. Mantras in many instances do not have definite meanings, nor can they be used for communicating ideas. It is also quite possible that mantras have a ceratin magical element attached to them. One view of tantric mantras I came across long ago is that the lips are like the "yoni" or vulvae, the tongue is like the phallus and mantra is thus the intercourse which generates the desired results

Whatever we may discuss about "mantras" will have to be done within the confines of Hinduism and the idiom of the believers because, outside those limits, the mantras may become nothing more than pure gibberish. I have observed mentally handicapped children (sometimes normal kids also) getting addicted to some gibberish and repeating those short audio clips endlessly in blissful unawareness. Jaggi Vasudev has also developed a new class of mantras called "jibbers" which are pure gibberish coined by him. This makes me think that the endless repetition of a mantra, which by itself has no definite meaning, creates some 'looping' of the neuron circuits in the brains of the chanter as well as of the hearers. (If anyone has remained awake in any "akhanada ramanama yajna" thorughout the night, he/she will be able to feel the brain exhaustion and a certain refreshing feeling when coming out of the premises and the noise of the chanting recedes.)While the conscious mind, which is mostly rational, fails in finding any meaning in this repetition, the subconscious perhaps meets some sort of cul de sac situation and gets into a state of exhilaration. This exhilarated state of the sub-conscious mind gives the chanter the feeling of having realized the object of his chanting in the very manner in which he/she perceives it beforehand. Thus, for a person who thinks that Lord Rama will appear in front of him if he chants ramanama certain number of times, it will seem that Rama came in front of him and this is what happened most probably with Thyagaraja.

To an average outsider, mantra in any of its multitude of manifestations will be best explained in Humpty Dumpty's words, "When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less." (Through the looking glass, Lewis Carroll)

Shri Gopaindu,

Usually the established "guru"s and even aspiring gurus, are rather stingy in giving mantropadesas. When you talk about a very generous guru who "volunteered himself for giving matropadesha to you" and gave 9 mantras during his life time in two instalments, etc., I am reminded of a small-time pseudo ascetic who had only his saffron-coloured single dhoti and one rudraksha in a black cord as a short necklace, who used to visit my distant cousin's house once in two or three years, because he (the swamiyar) claimed some distant relationship with my cousin's aged father. He used to bring one or, at times two, large jute bags, the contents of which he tried not to reveal to any one. My cousin who had atheist and communist leanings even then (16 or 17 years) tried all the tricks but could not make the swamiyar to open the bag/s and reveal their contents. So, reportedly one day he lost his cool and forcibly grabbed the bag and emptied it on the floor. They contained a number of sets of pooja items, darbha mats, and a good stock of very small icons/idols, rudrakshas, saalagramams and different "murthis". When my cousin threatened the swamiyar, he admitted that he used to sell the pooja items - sent from North India, mainly Kasi - at good profit, the miniature murthis etc., were utilised by him (the swamiyar) to "materialize" them from thin air and impress some of his gullible customers into becoming ardent devotees of his greatness. My cousin now swears on his honour that this small-time swamiyar later became a very well-known swamiji whose not-so-capable son was also enthroned by the father as a virtual godman. Since I have no independent proof, I am not revealing the identities.

Coming to the topic, this small-time swamiyar was very eager to give mantropadesams. So, I am curious to know what sort of a person your guru was and whether you could trace his life.