Rajendra.Deshpande.

B.Pharm.(Nagpur).M.M.M.(Bajaj.Inst.).PGDIT.
Skyperaj4success
Trainer.Sales.&.Marketing.
Pharma,Travel.Hospitality,Aviation.
BusinessValueIndia,

Essentialsof"Mantra"Sadhana

SinceancienttimetillthepresenteraMantrashavebeenusedasaremedyfor
nearlyeveryproblem.WiththeincreasingnumberofTVchannelsinIndia,the
situationissuchthatyoutellaboutanyissueandoneoutoftenpersons,youwill
findatleastonetocomeoutwithahandyMantratoresolveyourissue.
Thegreatlearnedpunditsarethereonthesmallscreenalmostroundtheclock.
Nowaquestionarises,dowereallygetbenefitfromthosefreeofcostadvice?I
dontthinktheTVchannelswillbehelpfultoyouinthisrespect.Theyshouldbe
morethanhappywiththeincreasingTRPandwouldhardlygettimetoundertakea
surveytofindefficacyofsuchremedialmantrasetc.
Withaviewtoverifytheeffectivenessofmantras,letustrytoanswerthese

questions:
Canonemantrabeeffectiveformultiplepurposes?

PrerequisitesforUsingaMantra
Theseerswhoformulatedthemantrasofferedthemtotheirdiscipleswhowere
wellversedwiththeprerequisitesasapartofthemethodologyofparticularschool
ofspiritualSadhana.Theknowledgeofsuchprerequisiteswasbelievedtobeso
fundamentalthatitsnarration,attimes,usedtobeomittedtoavoidrepetition.
MostofthemantrashavebeenapartofaStotraoranUpanishadorafullfleged
SadhanaoranAnushthanaandwereneverintendedtobeusedinisolation.
However,overaperiodoftime,someofthePunditsstartedcompilingthemantras
andformulatedbooksofsuchcollection.Atthisstage,thebrevitywasthecalland
notonlytheprerequisites,buteventheoverallpurposeandrelevancelosttheir
place.
Inthemodernage,whereeducationandspiritualityhasturnedintoanIndustry,
Astrology,too,hasslippedintothehandsofcommercialpeople.Inabsenceof
honestcustodiansandtherightfulinheritorsmantrasareprescribedinmost
bizarremannerbythecommercialastrologersformeetingtheirselfishmeans.
Needlesstosay,mantrashavebecometoolsintheirhandstoexploitthegreedy
andignorantpeople.
TheRishiswhoformulatedthemantrasalsoadvocatedcertainprocedurestobe
followedforitsrightuse.Thisincludeaformalcommitmentintheformof
Sankalpa,somemovementsandgesturesinformofNyasa,creatingprotective
sheathinformofKavachaandofferingstotheDevataintheformofArghya.
Letusunderstandtheprocedureaswellasthepartsofmantra.

Sankalpa
SankalpawithrespecttoMantraSadhana,meansaformalcommitmentabout
onesplanoftheSadhana.Astatementofsankalpagenerallycontainsonesown
identification.Thisisinthevedicmannerincludingonesfullname,onesvedic
lineagei.e.Veda,Gotra,Shakhaetc.ThenfollowsonesdesiretochanttheMantra
foraparticulardurationandinparticularnumberorundertakeanAnushthanafor
fulfillmentofaparticularwish.ThesankalpaisaddressedtotheDevataofthe
Mantra.Ritualistically,asankalpaistakenthroughSanskrit.However,asweknow
thesignificanceofMentalvibrationsinMantraSadhana,itshouldbeOKto
undertaketheSankalpainonesownlanguage.

Nyasa

Nyasa
NyasaisanimportantpreparatorystageofMantraSadhana.Itisinawaya
warmingupandcleansingsessionpriortoundertakingMantrachanting.The
sadhakawhileexercisingPranayama,touchesdifferentpartshisbodyeither
physicallyorvisualizementallydependinguponthetypeofnyasahehasadopted.
TherearedifferenttypesofNayasa,e.g.KaraNyasa,AngaNyasa,HridayadiNyasa,
RishyadiNyasa,PanchatatwaNyasa,etc.Here,againtheprimaryobjectiveisto
augmenttheprocessofattainingembodimentwiththeMantraanditsDevataat
psychelevel.

Kavacha
KavachaistheimageryshieldtobecreatedfortheprotectionoftheSadhaka
duringSadhana.Itisveryimportantbecause,theSadhakaloseshisconscious
senseofawarenessashetransgressintomeditativestateoralteredstateof
awareness.Duringsuchastatehestandsvulnerableandexposedtoabnormal
frequenciesandvibrations.TheperformingofKavachaprotectstheSadhakafrom
suchvibrations.TheKavachainawaycreatehyponticlayerofselfconfidenceand
keephimcomfortable.
Whatisthesourceofpowerofanymantra?
Whatisthecorrectwayofusingamantra?
WhatmattersthemostThesound,thetoneandrhythmofrecitingamantra,the
meaningofthewordsusedinthemantra,ortheprocedureprescribed?
ByusageofaMantracananyonebeabletoescapefromexperiencingthe
fructificationofKarma?
HowdoesofferingofamantrabyaSiddhamakesadifference?
OneMantraremovesallevil?
Oneshouldnotneedanythingmorethanmerecommonsensetorejectthenotion
ofelixirkindofaMantrathatcanbeusedtoresolveaproblemirrespectiveof
natureofproblem.
AsweacceptthelowofCauseandEffectwehavetofindthelikelycauseofa
problemandthentheremedyhastoaddressthecause.Inaway,theremedy
shouldbeakindofreversalprocessofthecause.
Wecanunderstandthateveryproblemhastohaveaparticularlyrelatedcauseand

hence,ithastobeaddressedwithaspecificprocess.Thus,aMantratoincrease
physicalheightofapersoncannotbeacceptedasacureofCancer.
HindumantraslikeMahaMrintyunjayaMantra,GayatriMantra,etc.sufferfrom
thenotionofOneforAllremedyandwemosthumblydonotagreewiththe
belief.
Thesanctityofmantrasforspiritualupliftmentshouldbemaintainedandmustnot
berecommendedfortemporallaukikreasonsastrivialassecuringajobtransfer
orbegettingchildrenetc.Peopleindulginginsuchactivitiesareunknowinglydoing
agravedisservicetothesacredheritageofVedas.

Arghya
ArghyaisasymbolicgestureofhospitalityofferedtotheDevata.Asweoffersome
teaandsnacksandrespecttotheguestatourhome,similarly,hereduringMantra
sadhana,weareinvokingtheDevataoftheMantraandsuitablewelcomeis
essential.Thearghyaisnormallyamixtureofwater,milk,curd,flowerpetals,
kumkum,sandalandgrainsliketil(sesame).Themixtureistakeninhandsinthe
cavitycreatedbyholdingtwopalmstogetherandthenpouredinthevesselmeant
forit.TheingredientsofArghyaareDevataspecificandsoisthewayofofferingit
andassuchdifferentMantraSadhanarequiresdifferentkindofArghya.Onmental
andsubtlelevel,theofferingofArghyasignifiessurrenderoftheindividualegoat
thefeetoftheDevata.
Inadditiontotheprocedure,itisvitaltounderstandtheessentialpartsofa
Mantra.Everymantraissupposetobecompleteonlywhenitisusedwiththe
followingsixparts,knowsasShadanga:
Chhandas
Devata
Beeja
Keelaka
Shakti.
Rishi

Rishi
RishiisthepersonwhooriginallyformulatedtheMantra.Invedicculture,Rishiis
believedastheseer,avisualizerofMantra.TheprerequisiteofnamingtheRishiof
themantrabeforeusingthesameisahumblewayofshowinggratitudeand
acknowledgement.Thisactofacknowledgementisthefirststeptowards
dissolutionofpersonalprideandego.Thefeelingofgratitudeinitiatesthealtered
stateofmindleadingtointernalenvironmentcongenialtoinvocationoftheDevata

oftheMantra.

Devata
DevataoftheMantraistheformofthegodwhoisbeingpropitiated.Thedeveta
elementengagesthevisualizingfacultyofhumanmind.EveryDevatahasitsown
Shape,Colour,Posture,Gesture,Mudra,Ayudha,andpersonality.Thepreceding
stepsofRishiandChhandapreparesthegroundforeffectivevisualizationofthe
Devata.TheinitialutterranceofnameoftheDevatacreatesflashesofthevisions.
Itsfrequentrepetitionenablesadevoteetocontemplateupontheformofthe
Devata.Ultimately,heforgetshisownselfandgetsunifiedwiththeformofthe
Devata.

Chhandas
Chhandasdenotestothegrammaticalformationofwordsinaparticularrhythm.
Thechhandasetsthepatternofwordsandnumberofsyllables.Theformation
guidestherecitationoftheMantrainaparticularway.Thepatternactivates
differentpointsinhumanbrainandfurtheraugmenttheinternalpsychic
environment.Eachchhandahasitsownattributestoinfluencethemoodofthe
personrecitingit.
Chhandasareclassifiedintotwotypes(1)VarnikChhand(alphabeticalstanzas)
and(2)MatrikChhand(stanzascontainingshortvowels).Hindumantrasfollowthe
ChhandasoftheirrespectiveVedicSamhitaandShakha.GenerallyadistinctMatrik
ChhandahasbeenpreferredbydifferentShakhaindifferentSamhitas.

Beeja
BeejaisasingleletterofSanskritAlphabetanditrepresent,again,shortest
possibleformoftheDevata.TheshapeoftheBeejacreatestherouteforthe
energytovibrate.Beejamresemblesthebasiccharacter(tatva)ofthemantra.for
examplejalatatva(soft),agnitatva(hard)etc.

Keelaka
Keelakameansanail.Now,whatissignificanceofaNailherewithrespectto
recitingaMantra?TounderstandthesignificanceofKeelakawehavetolinkitwith
thenailthatstopsarotatingwheelslippingoutofitsexcel.Weknowthatthe
energyofamantraisgeneratedfromthemindofthepersonanditsimportantto
keepitcenteredatapointtosaveitgettingdissipated.Thisisdonethrough
Keelaka.Somepeoplesymbolizeitwithakeyofthelock.Thus,akeelakais

believedtobeaKeytoopenthelockofthesourceofaMantrapower.

Shakti
ShaktimeansPower.ShaktimeanspowerorenergyoftheMantra.Thisisthe
powergeneratedthroughrecitingthemantra.
IthastobenotedthateveryMantrahasitsownformofShakti.However,letus
admitthattoday,exceptthenamedenotedtotheShakti,wedonotknowmuch
aboutdistinctformsoftheenergyofMantra.Themainreasonforthisomissionis
attributabletothefactthatgraphicalreproductionoftheformofenergyvibrations
visualizedduringalteredstateofmindremainsdifficult.Thesecondreasonforthe
misconceptionisthatweconsiderthewordsDeviandShaktiassynonyms.
Duetothisambiguity,itisquitepossiblethataSadhakaofaMantramay
contemplateuponaknownformofDeviinsteadoftheenergyvibrationsofthe
Mantra.
Now,itshouldbeclearastowhywedontgetthemuchacclaimedresultsfrom
recitingamantra.Ifweignoretheessential6parts,howcanweexpectthe
desiredeffects?
Thelimitationliesontwoparts.Firstistheignoranceofthedoer.Thepersonwho
undertakesMantra,doesnotknowtheessentialprerequisites.Secondly,the
limitationlieswiththesourcefromwhereapersonreceivesthemantra.Itisquite
commonnowthatpeopletakemantrafromanysource,beitacheappocketbook
beingsoldattheroadside,anySadhuoraTVJyotishi.Itisquitepossiblethatthe
prerequisitesarecompromisedinofferingandreceivingtheMantrainthismanner.

ResearchonMantraSadhana
Myobjectivehereistosensitizetheneedforconductingaresearchupon
effectivenessofvariousMantras.Thisway,wecanassesstheeffectivenessof
differentmantras.Theresearchshouldincludethefollowing:
WhatwastheobjectiveofundertakingaMantra?
WhetherMantrawasreceivedfromaSiddhaoraGuru
Ifyeswhowastheperson?
whatwastheprocedureusedbythegurutoseason(siddhi)theMantra?

WhatweretheconditionsfollowedbytheGurutoassessthesuitabilityofthe
beneficiary?
HowmanytimestheMantrawasrecited/chantedeveryday?
Whatwastheduration/periodtheMantrawasrecited?
WhethertheShadangasi.e.Rishi,Devataetc.wereperformedritualistically?
WhetherViniyasi.e.Sankalpa,Nyaasa,Puruscharanawereperformed?
Ifyes,whatwastheprocedure?
WhatbenefitswereobservedthatcanbeconfidentlyattributabletoMantra
sadhana?
WhatwaythepronunciationandmodulationrecitationofMantraororany
instrumentalsoundusedsubstantiated?Coulditbeverifiedbya
livingexperiencedexpert?
WhethertheVerbatimmeaningoftheMantrasignifiedtheexpectedbenefits?
Whethercolourswereuseddeliberatelyi.e.,colouroftheclothsortheAsanaused
bythesadhaka
IfMantrawasusedasaremedyofanydiseasewasitverifiedthroughmedical
reports?
Iwishtohavevaluablecontributionsfromlearnedmembersandvisitorsofthisso
thatthescienceofmantracanbeaugmentedinrightdirection.Iinvitesuggestions
withregardtoclassificationofvariouskindsofMantrasanditsgenuinepurpose.I
wishthatwecancompiletheShadangasofeveryMantrawithitsdosanddonts.
Letusbringintransparencyintothissubject.Thisistheway,wecangetbackthe
lostglorytoourdivineheritage.Letusadmitandsensitizeastowhatcanbedone
andwhatcannotbedonethroughMantra.Thisistheway,wecancurbthe
CheatersandThugswhoareexploitingtheignoranceofpoorandneedypeople.
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