How To Use A Mantra

one of the simplest and most effective tools for working with the mind

My first serious immersion in a type of mantra meditation came when I was a living as a Buddhist monastic for three years in California. In that tradition breath meditation was emphasized, but we were also taught to combine the “meditation word” buddho with the breath, or simply to focus on the internal repetition of buddho, which means “awake.”

That tradition, Theravada, doesn’t share the view—common in yoga traditions and other schools of Buddhism— that some words have special power. I was told that we might just as well have been meditating on the word “table.” It was a just a tool to calm the mind. Yet one day, after making slow progress in meditation for years, I decided to meditate on the Indian name of God, “Rama”, often chanted simply as “Ram.” Ram is a very popular mantra in India which has been chanted for centuries or possibly milennia. It was Gandhi’s mantra, and the last thing he said before he was shot.

I had a startling experience. I sank into a the deepest meditation I had yet experienced. Why? Was it pychological because the name meant more to me? Was it accidental? Was it a result of the name “Ram” echoing through the collective unconscious of humanity for thousands of years? Was it because it is an inherently powerful phoneme which is a sound incarnation of God, as Hindus believe?

I don’t know. This experience led to decades of interest in Indian religion and my becoming a certified Ayurvedic counsellor and Yoga teacher. It also led to mantra becoming one of my main spiritual and psychological tools since then.

Here I want to share the method and benefits of mantra for anyone who resonates with the practice, regardless of how they view mantras themselves.

What Is A Mantra?

A mantra is a word or series of words which one repeats and attends to. You can chant it out loud (vācika japa), whisper it quietly (upāṃśu japa), sing it (sankirtan), or repeat it internally (mānasa japa). Some write it over and over again in a special journal (likhita japa)¹.

These terms are from yoga traditions, but mantra is also important in Mahayana Buddhism in all of its varieities, where mantras are used to evoke different deities, energies and qualities of mind. In both mainstream Indian religious traditions and Buddhism the phonemes— the sound— of the mantra itself is believed to be powerful, and the words may or may not have any understood meaning. In Islam, dhikr (repetition of the names of God) is believed by some Sufis to have such inherent power as well, but generally they are used for contemplation, not for their inherent power.

In Orthodox Judaism the names of God have inherent power and are recited for magical and devotional purposes. In Christianity the famous Jesus Prayer²— read your J.D. Salinger— is recited not as a mantra but as a way to engage in constant, purificatory prayer. In the last century Christian teachers like John Main did develop forms of meditation on repeated sacred words which are similar to mantra meditation.

So some believe that mantras are purifying, revelatory, or invocations, but here I will focus on another use which is attested to throughout world religions— their effects on the mind. “Mananāt trāyatē iti mantrah” it is said, which means mantra is repetition (mananāt) of that which protects (trāyatē). One folk etymology of mantra is it is that which saves (trā) the one who meditates upon it (man-).³

What Does Japa do?

Japa is the repetition of a mantra. Mental japa provides you with an achor in the mind, something outside of your thoughts to hold your attention. This is invaluable. The mind is more agitated the more objects it focuses on— the more it moves— so giving it one object calms it down. Japa provides a current of calm that balances the mind more towards composure even when you’re in the midst of activity, or need to think.

Over time internal japa becomes effortless — this is called ajapa japa, or repetition that repeats itself. It is often experienced as the mantra repeating itself in the heart (for whetever reason, this is literally the way I experience it, as echoing in in the area of my chest). The mantra seems to flow of itself in the mind and comes to the fore front of consciousness whenever there is no need to pay focused attention to other things. It becomes a companion, support, de-stresser and source of pleassure.

How to do Japa?

In one sense the instruction is very simple. Just repeat the mantra internally and “listen” or attend to the sound. It is important to do this continuously and as much as possible to experience the effects.

It is also a good idea to put aside some time to chant the mantra softly and gently in your mind in sitting meditation. In the beginning I would recomend no more than five or ten minutes of this, as appraching mantra in an overly effortful or ambitious way can be counter-productive.

Make sure not to focus on the mantra tightly or to grasp it with your attention. The mantra is dynamic sound, and needs to flow. So just as you might keep a soft, wide angle gaze of a room, keep a soft, wide angle internal “gaze” of the mantra. Let yourself feel any tone, vibration, or mood which comes from the japa.

There may be some activities you want to get absorbed in and don’t want to repeat the mantra during. This might include watching a movie, reading, sex, or an intimate conversation. That’s fine, and you can pick it up later.

I would encourage you, though, to experiment with repeating the mantra internally during all of these activities anyway and seeing what the effect is. You may find it surprisingly useful or revelatory in some of them, and unwelcome during others. In some cases mantra may disrupt the level of hypnosis or compusivity these activities trigger in you, and you may find yourself seeing your relationship to the activity more clearly, maybe even becoming disinterested in it. In other cases the mantra may increase your calm and confidence and act as an alongsider. You may also find yourself spontaneously drawn into meditation on the mantra alone, feeling it pull you into a rapturous feeling or into stillness. Follow this call as long as you feel it.

In your daily life, notice how repeating the mantra helps you not to fall into destructive thought patterns as much. This will not necessarily happen automatically without mindfulness and intent on you part, but if these qualities are there, then mantra can be very helpful in this regard.

Imagine you see someone on the street who brings up bad memories, or stirs anger. the mind may say, “Oh yes, let’s think about this thing that happened that fosters anxiety, or rage, or dejection, or useless obsession….” but instead of going with that, you can think, “Ram, Ram, Ram.” Just keep on giving the mantra your attention and let the energy of the thought dissipate.

Any questions? Ask in the comments.

Possible Mantras To Use

Some mantras require initiation- one is supposed to recieve them from a guru in an authorized lineage. Others are available to anyone. I’ve only included the latter kind here, as well as some from western traditions or made of simple english words.

Some may be attracted to a mantra because of its meaning, its source, its sound, and/or its length (short or long). I would recomend not skipping around too much, but trying out the sound of a few and sticking with one for a good while and only changing with good reason.

Ram

This is a very soothing mantra I’ve worked with quite a lot, which is said to invoke a mood of being protected. It is a name of God which literally means delightful or pleasurable.

Mahamantra

This famous mantra is said to be the liberating mantra for the “degenerate age” of kaliyuga we find ourselves in. It invokes Krsna in both masculine and feminine form (Radha). It is a mantra of joy, and closely connected to cultivating the attitude of a servant of the Divine. The words are given many meanings, but a popular understanding is that it evokes the dance of Radha and Krsna, Radha as divine energy (Hare), and God as all-attractive (Krsna) and delightful (Rama).

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare

Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

Om

Om is the pranava (original vibration) and is important to Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs. It is recomended in the 3rd century Yogasutras as a meditation object, traditionally begins many mantras, and is possibly the simplest of them, said to represent the original energy, ground of being, or God (Ishvara), depending on who you ask.

Buddhist

Om Mani Padme Hum

This is the most popular mantra in Tibetan Buddhism, and is chanted, carved, and painted by Tibetan Buddhists. It’s a mantra of the people, and it evokes compassion. It means “Om, the Jewel (compassion) in the Lotus (wisdom), Hum” and is the mantra of Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, who is the presiding deity of the mantra.

Jesus

The Jesus Prayer is the most popular Jesus “mantra,” used by the Hesychasts, or mystics of the Eastern Orthodox Church. It goes Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,have mercy on me, a sinner. Another popular phrase which is explicitly used as a meditation mantra in the Western Church is maranatha, which is aramaic for” Lord, come.”

YHVH

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov (18th century Hasidic mystic) suggested repeating the simple Hebrew phrase “Ribbono Shel Olam” which means “Master of the world.” “Shalom” (peace) is also used, as is other names of God.

Islam and Sikhism

I don’t know enough about mantras and names of God in these traditions, but I know they are important in both. If one of these is your tradition, find an elder to ask.

English

One can also use a simple english word like Calm, Love, Center, or Peace. Try a couple out and see what the effects are.

Shoutout to Eknath Easwaran

The person who first inspired me to respect the power of mantra is Eknath Easwaran. Mostly forgotten now, though some of his popular books still haunt the local Barnes and Noble, Easwaran was a devotee of Indian yogas and Mahatma Gandhi who designed his own modern, elegant and powerful system of meditation and self-discipline.

Easwaran was a professor of English literature who came to the United States in 1959 on the Fulbright Program at the University of Minnesota before transferring to the University of California, Berkeley. In 1961, Easwaran founded the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation and in 1968 Nilgiri Press, which published over thirty books of his. Mantra meditation was an important part of what he taught, explained well in his Mantram Handbook. What Easwaran taught about mantra was traditional in most respects, and what I said above about how to use mantra either follows his teachings or comes from y own experience and study.

Any questions or experiences to share? Let us know in the comments.

Photo by Alexey Demidov: https://www.pexels.com/photo/decorations-on-wall-in-black-and-white-10208806/

1. Neem Karoli Baba, the famous devotee of Rama and the guru of Ram Dass and many other westerners who discovered him in north India in the late 60s, kept a diary. After he left his body disciples looked in it and found every day was carefully dated and filled with writing. The only thing written, however, filling each page, was the name of Ram.

2. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.

3. The website Visible Mantra provides a “niukti style” etymology for mantra, which means one that plays with the phonemes of the word to bring out “edifying etymologies” as follows: “I haven't found a Nirukti etymology for mantra but it is easy enough to construct one on traditional models by collecting words that sound similar:

• manā is devotion, atttachment, zeal.

• manikṛ - to take to heart.

• manu – wise, intelligent, thinking.

• maṇ - sounds

• maṇī is a jewel.

• tra- protection, and trā a protector

• traṃs can mean "to speak" or "to shine".

From these we can say that: Mantra protects ( tra) the mind (man) from confusion (trap) and so that one is not afraid (tras). A mantra tears (tru) the veil of illusion (māyā). Protection (tra) is born of the mind (manoja) because a well guarded mind protects on from all evil. A mantra is the function (tra-) of the intelligent mind (manas), it speaks (traṃs) intelligently (manu), it shines (traṃs) like a jewel (maṇī). In the final analysis wisdom (manu) is the best protector (trā), because all is mind (manas).”