The spiritual texts gives the following explanation.
Mantra is That which protects/releases one from the cycle of birth and re-birth, by repetition/contemplation is called a Mantra.
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A mantra is usually any repeated word or phrase, but it can also refer more specifically to a word repeated OR sticking to a SINGLE thought or image in meditation.
Broadly, mantras can be of the following types
- Meditating upon the image of own’s GURU
- Dhyana mantras : Gayatri mantra (ॐ भूर्भुवस्व: |तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यम् |भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि |धियो यो न: प्रचोदयात्), Mahamrityunjaya Mantra (ॐ त्र्य॑म्बकं यजामहे सु॒गन्धिं॑ पुष्टि॒वर्ध॑नम् ।उ॒र्वा॒रु॒कमि॑व॒ बन्ध॑नान् मृ॒त्योर्मु॑क्षीय॒ माऽमृता॑॑त्।।) etc
- One seed mantra ॐ
- nAma japa - rAma(राम)
- (bIja) mala mantra; Mala mantras are those mantras which have an enormous number of syllables - Om̐ Aim Hreem Kleem Chamundayai Vichche
The spiritual seeker is supposed to get initiated into either Dhyana or
mala mantras, from an accomplished Guru.
pra nūnam brahmaṇas patir mantraṃ
vadaty ukthyam | yasminn indro varuṇo mitro aryamā devā okāṃsi cakrire ||
English translation:
Now the Lord of the Sacred Formulation proclaims the mantra
worthy to be spoken, in which Indra, Varuṇa, Mitra, Aryaman, and the gods have
made their home.
Now, a question arises as to how many gods reside in a single mantra.
The answer lies in the 2nd Rik, given below:
Rig Veda 7.76.4
ta id devānāṃ sadhamāda āsann ṛtāvānaḥ kavayaḥ pūrvyāsaḥ | gūḻhaṃ jyotiḥ
pitaro anv avindan satyamantrā ajanayann uṣāsam ||
English translation:
Those were the feasting companions of the gods: the
sage poets of old, provided with truth.
Our fathers found out the hidden light, by the truth
in their thoughts they brought to birth the Dawn,”
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The translation has been taken from Shri Aurobindo’s “The
Secret of the Veda”.
Rishi Vasiṣṭha composed
it. The rishi was saying that the rishis
of earlier period to his time, found the truth and attained SELF REALISATION.
Please note that the word satyamantrā - the truth in their
thoughts.
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According to my understanding,
the Rig Vedic rishis used the word mantra with the meaning of thoughts, ie.,
almost similar connotation of present-day usage of mananāt.
However, the continuous thought
ie., repetition of any sacred syllable or bIja, etc is not mentioned. Only thoughts of TRUTH are involved.
It indicates that primary or
sole mantra that the Rig Vedic rishis depended upon is ADHERENCE TO TRUTH,
with trikarNasuddhi, ie., purity in thoughts, words and action.
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ADHERENCE TO TRUTH, with
trikarNasuddhi, ie., purity in thoughts, words and action, needs
an explanation.
A
person interested in developing SPIRITUALLY, needs to adopt a multi-pronged
approach.
1) ONE has to start doing any of the methods, ie.,
- dhAyana,
- nAma japa,
- mantra mAla japa, etc,
duly taking initiation from an accomplished Guru, for connecting with the Almghty power.
2) Parallelly, ONE has start cleansing process of ONE’s OWN SELF, as an IMPURE SELF cannot sustain the connection with the Almghty power/NATURE, even if initiated by an accomplished Guru.
This cleansing process involves 2 parts,ie.,
- Keeping oneself PURE in the present life, by practicising TRUTH, with trikarNasuddhi, ie., purity in thoughts, words and action, so that new impurities shall not be allowed to accumulate.
- Getting rid of old impurities already got accumulated in the MIND, (a) in the earlier period of the present life, and (b) in the earlier births, by undergoing the results of those thoughts or actions done, now.
3) Our
mind is like a MIRROR, which reflects our own image, feelings,
expressions, etc. Hence, whatever circumstances that we face in the life, the
persons we come in contact with, the dreams that we experience, etc, are the
reflections of the thoughts that we allow to be processed in our mind, the
words that we utter and the actions that undertake as a result of our thoughts,
ie, they will come back to us, haunt us, make us undergo fear/suffering/joy,
etc.
4) Though we are aware of the thoughts that
crept in our mind, words uttered and actions done by us as a
result of our thoughts, we may not remember them for long, though
they will be recorded in our mind.
5) And,
there is a meagre chance of we remembering our thoughts, actions in our earlier
births, though their result will be carried forwarded, till they are
experienced by us either mentally/physically or through dreams.
6) So
our mind will keep on accumulating our thoughts, actions, like a MIRROR catching
dust, dirt, etc,. The dust, dirt, etc, which get accumulated on a MIRROR, will
blunt the shine of the MIRROR and reduces the reflecting capacity of the
MIRROR.
7) The
dust, dirt, etc, which get accumulated on a MIRROR over a period of time, will
stick to the MIRROR very dearly, and cannot be removed with simple dusting. It
requires some special shampoos or acids, for cleaning it and restoring
the shine of the MIRROR.
8)
Similarly, our MIND, which accumulated lot of thoughts and actions either Good
or Bad, needs cleansing of the same and making it FREE of EVERYTHING, so that
the ENERGY OF THE NATURE can flow into it.
9) Now
a question arises, as to how long will it take to cleanse the MIND?
10)
The answer is – it depends upon the quantum of accumulations that our MIND
stored over a period of time. It may
vary from person to person.
11)
The dhyana or japa and cleasing process of the MIND should be carried out parallelly,
till the NATURE responds to our efforts.
12) A
word of caution: As the cleaning process progresses, some may
develop EXTRAORINARY POWERS. UNLESS one
gets hint from the God/NATURE/GURU, one should avoid thinking/using those
powers.
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This
actions of performing dhyana or japa and cleasing process of the MIND carried
out parallelly and continuously, is what Sage Vasistha mentioned as
SATYA MANTRA, in Rig Veda 7.76.4.
gūḻhaṃ
jyotiḥ pitaro anv avindan satyamantrā ajanayann uṣāsam - Our
fathers found out the hidden light, by the truth in their thoughts
they brought to birth the Dawn (SELF REALISATION).
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