We know that mantras are traditionally spoken or chanted in the Sanskrit language. But can mantras exist in other languages? Can English words, or the sounds of other languages, function as mantras? While it is possible to use any language in a mantric manner by repeating certain patterns, cadences, and inflections, Sanskrit mantras hold a special power. We’ve touched on some of that power in previous chapters, but here we’ll examine Sanskrit and look at what actually happens when we use mantras.
The word for classical Sanskrit comes from the term Samskrita, meaning, “well put together.” It describes a refined, sculpted technology of sound that was systematically applied to language and phonetics. Linguists have deduced that a root language, which they call Proto-Indo-European, serves as the basis of most great languages and language groups of the Western world. Sanskrit is notably the closest to such a root language. The use of Sanskrit can therefore awaken us to our common spiritual heritage and connect us to each other through an intimate resonance of sacred sound.
“The Sanskrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of a wonderful structure; more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either, yet bearing to both of them a stronger affinity, both in the roots of verbs and in the forms of grammar, than could possibly have been produced by accident; so strong, indeed, that no philosopher could examine them all three, without believing them to have sprung from some common source, which, perhaps, no longer exists.”1 These words were spoken by Sir William Jones (1746-1794) on February 2, 1786, at an address to the Asiatic Society of Calcutta. Jones was a great scholar and visionary who invented the system of transliteration. He translated the ancient Hindu code of laws known as the laws of Manu (Manusmriti) from Sanskrit into English. He was also the first Westerner to study and write a paper on Indian classical music.2
The lost roots of Sanskrit are apparently still in existence but protected by yogic adepts who live deep in the Himalayas. In his book Living with the Himalayan Masters,3 the late Swami Rama describes Sanskrit as having been derived from Sandhya Basha, the language of yogic union used to transmit and preserve spiritual experiences within secret yogic schools. This ancient language of prayer, developed by the Himalayan Rishis, is evidently still used among some extraordinary teachers hidden in those mysterious mountains. Sanskrit, too, evolved to communicate and awaken spiritual experience.
SANSKRIT MANTRAS are like simple energy; they can neither be created nor destroyed; they simply “exist” in the universe. Conversely, the mantras utilized by the yogi serve to awaken the states of meditative awareness encountered by the Rishis so that the actual vibratory field represented by those particular mantras can be experienced.
Although mantras have been codified using Sanskrit, the mantras are themselves beyond the scope of language. They are luminous presences of auditory energy that simply exist in the universe, like vast and pervasive galaxies. The Rishis both saw and heard these fields while in states of deep meditation after having used rigorous yoga practices to enhance their vision and perception, like astronomers polishing the lenses of their telescopes.
When we use Sanskrit mantras, our normal perception of the world dissolves and we awaken to the spiritual fields of energy represented by the sounds. Sanskrit, as a spiritual language, has been accurately and uninterruptedly transmitted for at least four thousand years. The resonance of these sounds uttered by millions of people who have been awakened to spiritual reality assists us in our own use of the language. In other words, we draw from the power of numbers when we use Sanskrit; we connect our soul to numerous yogis and spiritual teachers who have employed this language in their own self-transformation.
THE WORD “MANTRA” comes from the root manas, which refers to the linear, thinking mind. Tram means “to protect,” “to free,” and “to go across.” Thus, mantras are sonic formulae that take us beyond, or through, the discursive faculties of the mind and connect our awareness directly and immediately to deep states of energy and consciousness. This capacity of mantra to be both pre-rational and trans-rational can be unsettling for some of us, as we are taught not to trust anything beyond the scope of our five senses. The disquieting, mysterious ancientness of Sanskrit mantras is attributable to the fact that they are not derived from everyday consciousness; they are, in fact, the fruit of spiritual practice (yoga) and spiritual vision. They exemplify the dictum of Jesus to be “in the world, but not of it.”
Mantras remind us of spiritual realities that we’ve banished from our secular world. This is why a language such as English, or any other form of the vernacular, does not help us penetrate beyond the thinking, describing mind to discover spiritual realities. Such languages limit us to the types of consciousness and references that arise from the five sensory organs, or the personality. Our spiritual being, or soul, as Gary Zukav eloquently pointed out in his book Seat of the Soul,4 is multisensory and multidimensional. That is why we need a language such as Sanskrit to capture the complexity of our deeper nature. It doesn’t make sense to use the language of the analyzing mind to cut through its own illusions, so we employ the discipline of sonic yoga to balance the limitations of our thinking, describing, analyzing mind.
The Arthasastra, a Hindu text from perhaps the third or fourth century A.D., holds that “a mantra accomplishes the apprehension of what is not or cannot be seen, imparts the strength of a definite conclusion to what is apprehended, removes doubt when two courses are possible, and leads to inference of an entire matter when only a part of it is seen.”5
Sanskrit mantras demonstrate the fact that we can suspend the process of thinking without destroying the rational mind. While critical reason remains alert, we participate in the process of knowing without providing a running commentary. This is the secret of mantra: we are undistracted. But in order to extract the states of consciousness accessible through a mantra, we must first be willing to sacrifice our projections and our descriptions of reality.
SANSKRIT IS LARGELY a language of prayer, yoga, and ritual. Indeed, it includes many words for spiritual experiences and concepts that have no equivalents in other languages. Recognizing this linguistic precision, we must then recognize that a key component of a Sanskrit mantra is therefore its pronunciation. When attention is paid to this detail, the power of the mantra is magnified. Unfortunately, many Western yogis ignore this crucial component of mantra by claiming that your intention is all that counts. That is the equivalent of your Hatha Yoga teacher telling you that sloppy posture is alright. Pronunciation forms the backbone of mantra, which strengthens the infrastructure of the soul. The pronunciation of Sanskrit actually carries with it an astonishingly sensual experience — a lively exploration of the mouth with the tongue that stimulates energy both spiritually and sexually.
The hard and soft palate, as noted earlier, are a blueprint of the body’s nervous system. Sound yogis use this knowledge to manipulate the body’s spiritual channels in much the same way that a reflexologist uses the hands and feet to stimulate the body’s meridians. Dr. Dharma Singh Khalsa, whom I quoted in chapter one, mentions the existence of sixty-four meridian points on the hard palate, and twenty meridian points on the soft palate.6 Stimulating these points, especially through the rich phonetics of Sanskrit, effects powerful changes in the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus, which govern our immune system, our emotions, and our moods. This is why medical research continues to confirm the assertion that chanting produces beneficial chemicals in the body, releasing “feel-good” hormones and endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers.
Dr. Khalsa points out that chanting yogic mantras, particularly in Sanskrit, stimulates the vagus nerve, which is situated near the jaw and is considered to be the single most important nerve in the body; it services the heart, lungs, intestinal tract, and back muscles. Sanskrit, because of its complex consonants, stimulates an enormous quantity of energy in the body and in the spiritual nervous system.
So what does proper pronunciation of Sanskrit phonetics involve? Most important is the correct positioning of the tongue in the mouth and the proper articulation of compound consonants. The difference between a poorly pronounced mantra and a correctly pronounced one is comparable to the difference between a movie and real life: the former can only simulate an effect; the latter is the real thing.
The subtlety of activating specific meridian points through proper pronunciation is further illustrated in the words of noted mantra scholar Harvey Alper. As Alper explains, “Each mantra is understood to be a finely honed instrument for exercising power, a tool designed for a particular task, which will achieve a specific spiritual purpose when and only when used in a particular manner.”7 Without correct pronunciation, the practitioner is denied access to the intended power of the mantra. This is especially true of Tantric bijas (lam, vam, and so on) and Vedic mantras, such as the sacred Gayatri mantra (Om, Bhur, Bhuvas, Suvaha), which are performed with tremendous liberties in yoga and chanting performances today. On the downloadable audio tracks that accompany this book, I will provide a pronunciation guide that corresponds with the appendixes. As I will explain in chapter nine, devotional mantras are an exception to rules of pronunciation, although their power can be enhanced through the basic applications of pronunciation guidelines.
THE USE OF SANSKRIT mantras helps awaken the third eye, or ajna chakra, which is the command center positioned between the eyebrows. As Jesus said, “Let your eye be single.” This unified vision is awakened only when the discursive, linear brain is suspended.
As I mentioned earlier, the Rishis of ancient India both “saw” and “heard” mantras in their meditations. This crossing-over of faculties is not difficult to understand. Dr. Larry Dossey uses the term synesthetes to describe individuals in whom multiple senses operate simultaneously — for example, people who can smell sounds or see musical tones. The gift of seeing sound even has a Sanskrit name: Mantra Dhrista.
Such experiences are beyond the ordinary modes of perception common to our everyday consciousness. They are available to us when we rise above our normal, habituated modes of perception — above the viewpoints others want us to employ. We may unconsciously choose such habitual modes because they feel comfortable, or because those we love and respect see things that way, or because we are tricked into seeing and believing this way because it is advantageous to someone else, notably through certain forms of popular media and advertising.
The use of Sanskrit mantras may be invaluable in our times, helping us develop our own special perspective in a culture that constantly bombards us with information. Sanskrit mantras help us rise beyond the habits of normal perception to a realm where, like a phoenix, we awaken to something fuller, richer, more expansive, more beautiful, and more magnificent than what is typically present in our everyday consciousness. Obviously, this is something we all need a dose of every day — a perceptual tonic. Otherwise, we easily become overwhelmed with the details of everyday life, and we forget the vastness of inner spaces available to the soul.
Many of us secretly suffer from psychic claustrophobia and don’t know what to do about it. Sanskrit mantras can help us break through our psychological prisons. Conveniently, mantras can be utilized anywhere: in the middle of a traffic jam, in an elevator, or even in the midst of a business meeting. All we need to do is train ourselves to use these mantras effectively.