Mantra
We explain to you what a mantra is, what are the different meanings of this term and some of the most popular mantras.
What is a mantra?
It is known as a phrase or word that, endowed or not with literal meaning, contains a mystical, spiritual or psychological power that can be triggered by repeating it successively, inducing the mind to a been similar to trance.
The term mantra comes from the Sanskrit, ancient and ceremonial language, still used in rites of various regions of India and Nepal, and is composed of the voices man - ( ) and the suffix - tra of instrumental type, so that it could be translated from the scripted as a mental tool . Hence, its repetition during rituals and physical practices (such as yoga) is destined to generate a certain effect on the psyche.
This term appears in the texts of different oriental mystical traditions, such as the Hinduist (in the Rig-veda, the oldest sacred book) as an instrument of thought, that is, prayer n, supplication, hymn or song .
In Tibetan Buddhism, on the other hand, each mantra is understood as representative of some specific aspect of enlightenment, which must be recited to assimilate or train in that aspect of the enlightened mind. In this tradition, the mantra can also be written or waved on a flag and have the same effect as if it were pronounced.
Lastly, in Western psychology, it is called the neurotic repetition of some subjects, which has as its purpose and consequence to strengthen a circular or repetitive behavior. This meaning comes precisely from the mystical idea of the repetition of the mantra, used in this case as a metaphor for a pathological mental process.
See also: Allahu Akbar.
Some known mantras
Some of the most popular mantras:
- Om mani padme hum . One of the most famous of the religion, linked with compassion and with the deity Avalokiteshvara, Whose ncarnation It will be the Dalai Lama.
- Nam Miojo Rengue Kio . Referred to the law of cause and effect, with which the reciter commits his life.
- Om Namah Shivaia Dedicated to the god Shivá, it entails the virtues of an enlightened life: truth, simplicity and love.
- M ajá-mritiun-yaia . Coming from Sanskrit and Hinduism, it is the prayer to Conquer the Great Death, and it appears in the Rig-veda. It is also addressed to Shivá, the destroying god of the universe.
- O m aim Sarasuatiai namah Dedicated to the hunduist goddess of wisdom, Sarasvati, one of the three main goddesses of religion along with Laksmí (beauty and good luck) and Durgá (maternal love and violent justice).
