The Sanskrit (ancient Indian language) terminology, Mantra came from two root words. One is Manas referring to the linear thinking (repetitious) mind and Tra or to cross over. In the Western world, people associate the Mantra with spiritual sayings or repeated chants. The definition is more complicated. One meaning from Russil Paul’s book (The Yoga of Sound: Tapping the Hidden Power of Music and Chant) describes it as a “formula of sound that takes people further than or through lengthy mental faculties and connect their awareness instantly to deeper levels of consciousness and energy.

The Need for Chanting Mantras

According to Yogi Mahesh Chetan of the Indian Association for Yoga and Meditation, among the good reasons to chant mantras are the following:

1. Soothe the mind
2. Enhance healing power and immunity
3. Ward off infections
4. Increase levels of wisdom as well as concentration
5. Keep the heart healthy
6. Help overcome stress
7. Make the mind stronger
8. Cause the skin to become more radiant

For beginners, the common and basic mantras for chakras may seem very complicated or hard to discern. To begin with, the Sanskrit word chakra means disk or wheel. In Ayurveda or Ayurvedic medicine, meditation or yoga, the term denotes wheels of energy all over the human body. The seven major chakras aligning with the spinal column starts from the underside of your backbone to the top of your head.

The basic mantras are:

1. Om- Ajan

1. Ham- Vishuddhi
2. Yam- Anahita
3. Ram- Manipura
4. Vam- Swadhisthana
5. Lam- Mooladhara
6. So Ham- Guru Mantra

These revered mantras are thousands of years old going back to the Vedic era but are recited in yoga studios nowadays. For beginners, OM or AUM refers to the fundamental universal sound or Nada (state of nothingness) consisting of:

A = Brahma (beginning or generator of the body)

U = Vishnu (sustaining or operator of the breath)

M = Mahesh or Shiva (destroyer who controls the mind)

Om or Aum means the sound of the universe that brings us in resonance with this world.

Gayatri Mantra

Meanwhile, Gayatri Mantra or Spirit of the Vedas is regarded as the primary mantra in Hinduism and Hindu principles. It is capable of inspiring knowledge or understanding through the connotation, “May the Almighty Devine enlighten our intellect and lead us along the upright path.” It also stands for the prayer to the Sun or “Giver of Light.” The Gayatri Mantra has been recorded endlessly and communicated in Rig Veda. This is acknowledged as among the first of the Vedas (olden Hindu scriptures) in Sanskrit language approximately 7,500 to 8,500 years ago. It is said that prophets, saints, and holy people have been chanting Gayatri Mantra over the centuries until the present time.

Other Mantras

There are many other mantras although the number does not really matter. What is important is the Mantra is food or nourishment for the soul that can transform our lives positively.