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A sound that carries the mind
A mantra (mantra · मन्त्र) is a syllable, a word or a verse that is spoken, whispered or sung in repetition. What matters is not the content of the words but the effect of repeating them: the sound gathers the attention, and thinking comes to rest. On this page you can get to know what the word means and where it comes from, four kinds of mantras and three ways to practise them.
A mantra is a syllable, a word or a verse that is spoken, whispered or sung again and again. The word goes back to manas, “mind”; the suffix -tra denotes a tool: a tool of the mind. Unlike a prayer, a mantra aims less at the content of the words than at the effect of repetition: attention stays with the sound, thoughts pass by, and thinking comes to rest. The oldest mantras are the verses of the Rigveda; the Upanishads interpret the syllable Om, the Yogasūtra recommends its repetition, and the bhakti movement turned recitation into the singing of kirtan. It is practised silently or aloud, alone or in a group, often in rounds of 108 repetitions. Because mantraḥ is masculine in Sanskrit, in German we say der Mantra.
The sections that follow cover what the word means, where it comes from, four kinds of mantras and three ways to practise a mantra.
The Sanskrit word mantra (मन्त्र) goes back to manas, “mind” or “thinking”. The suffix -tra denotes a tool; the tradition also hears in it the root trai, “to protect”. A mantra is therefore a tool of the mind: a sound the attention can hold on to, and that carries the mind.
Unlike a prayer, a mantra aims less at the content of the words than at the effect of repetition. Whoever speaks, sings or silently thinks a mantra gives the mind a single task: to stay with the sound. Thoughts arise, pass by, and the attention returns to the syllable. That is meditation in its simplest form.
It is practised silently or aloud, alone or in a group, with or without a melody, often in rounds of 108 repetitions. In yoga you meet the mantra in singing together, in meditation and in movement, for instance in the sun salutation, whose twelve postures each carry a mantra. In Sanskrit mantraḥ is masculine, which is why in German we write der Mantra.
The oldest mantras are the verses of the Rigveda, composed roughly between 1500 and 1000 BCE. From it comes the Gayatri mantra, which is spoken to the sun in the morning to this day. The Upanishads read the syllable Om as the sound of the whole, and the Yogasūtra of Patañjali recommends its repetition as a way to collectedness (I.27–28). In the bhakti movement of the Middle Ages recitation became song: kirtan carried the divine names out of the temples and into the streets, accompanied by drums and cymbals, later by the harmonium.
Rigveda · Upanishads · Yogasūtra I.27–28 · bhakti movement
There are mantras in great number, from the single syllable to the long verse. Four forms will meet you with us again and again:
ॐ
The primal syllable
In brief
The syllable at the beginning and the end of almost every recitation. Its sounds a, u and m stand for waking, dream and deep sleep, held by the silence behind them.
Example
Om three times at the beginning and the end of a yoga class
बीज
The seed syllable
In brief
Single syllables without a literal meaning, whose effect lies in the sound. They are assigned to the chakras and repeated in meditation.
Example
laṃ, vaṃ, raṃ, yaṃ, haṃ, oṃ; also so ham in the rhythm of the breath
गायत्री
The Vedic verse
In brief
A verse from the Rigveda to Savitṛ, the enlivening power of the sun. It asks for light for the mind and is traditionally spoken at sunrise.
Example
oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ, tat savitur vareṇyaṃ … (Rigveda III.62.10)
नाम
The names of the divine
In brief
Mantras that call on a name. In kirtan they are repeated in call and response; in the sun salutation twelve names of the sun accompany the twelve postures.
Example
oṃ namaḥ śivāya; oṃ mitrāya namaḥ in the sun salutation
A mantra does not want to be understood but practised. Three ways you can get to know with us:
We sing Om at Mantras & kirtans, the syllable itself is read by the Upanishads, and you will find the sun salutation with its twelve mantras under Surya Namaskar.
Om. A sound that carries the mind.
At our mantra and kirtan evenings we sing together, accompanied by guitar, harmonium and drums. No experience and no reading of music needed.
