Mantra

Mantra

मन्त्र, mantra

• reasoning, saying (man – "mind" and tra – "guarding or defending");

• sacred syllable, name or combination of words, usually in Sanskrit, requiring accurate reproduction of sounds (man – "mind", tra – "prana", interpretation from "Hatha Ratnavali", author Shrinivasa)

Has a significant influence on the mind, emotions and even external objects. It is considered the source of the divine.

Vaidica-mantras are mantras of the Vedic period (from the text of the Vedas); As a rule, these mantras require a long purashcharana, nyasa takes a long time. Begin with the sound OM.

Puranika-mantras are mantras where mainly the names of the Deities are used (nama-mantras); In practice, the murti of the Deity and other items of puja are used.

Tantrika-mantra is a mantra using many bija-mantras, as well as the yantra of the Deities. In the tantra for the realization of the siddhas the mantra must be read many times (purashcharana or anushthana). For example, the Devi mantra consists of 9 syllables, accordingly, it should be read 9 lakhs, this is 900 000 times. After that, in the tantric Purashsharana, havan or agnihotra (libations of ghee oil into the fire) is performed. For this divide number (900 000) by 10 and during the agnihotra repeat the mantra 90,000 times more with the libations of ghee into the fire. As a result of the whole process, the sadhaka receives the power of this mantra, i.e. realizes it. Usually, tantrikas perform many different purashcharanas and develop different siddhis.

Shabar-mantras are mantras that can be composed in any language, unlike those described above. It is believed that through the shabar-mantras the will of Shiva is manifested, therefore they don`t require purashcharana and act almost immediately.