Intro
- It is an aid to concentrating the mind on the deity or a sentiment or even an entire philosophy. This is often true in the context of a ritual.
siddhi-s
- General siddhi note elsewhere.
- Many attribute supernatural effects beyond it - mAraNa, vashIkaraNa, uchChATana, stambhana, mohana, vidveShaNa … All these are said to be possible with mastery (siddhi) over a single mantra and knowledge of appropriate rituals.
- siddhI is said to be earned by practice involving diet and behavior restriction, japa, Asana-s, prANAyAma-s, secrecy (AG_T_27.3 IMG) etc.. over an indeterminate period of time - under the guidance of a (dear) personal trainer/ guru (who helps avoid or counteract bad side-effects). Potential bad effects (physical, mental etc..) and errors in books (deliberate or otherwise) dissuade unguided uninitiated practice of many mantra-s.
- Greater the siddhi, tougher the things that are said to be possible. Master tAntrikas sometimes train from childhood, with a big syllabus of mantra-s and rituals - and have siddhi-s over multiple mantra-s. The deshika-s among them are said to even be capable of making new effective mantra-s for disciples.
Whence the power of mantra-s?
Sources of ineffectiveness
Some claim that mantra-s are ineffective in case:
- The user is not specially initiated [Personal note: partially disagree]
- In case some ‘curse’ on a mantra is not removed (BVP16) [Personal note: disagree]
Matching mantra-s with rituals
- nyAsa places mantra-s and deities at various parts of an object or body. Classic examples date back to the veda-s. [IF16]
- A general (bad) rule is “मन्त्रविनियोगो लैङ्गिकः।” , where one bases the choice of the mantra for a certain purpose based on the occurance of a similar sounding sound or word in it, not caring for the meaning (Eg. The so called durgA sUkta is mostly about agni. The “Vijyam dhanuh kapardino” has nothing to do with “vijayA” or bhAng intake where it’s sometimes used.).
mudra-s
These are the sign-analogs of mantra-s. So, similar notes apply.
Abhinavagupta and Kshemaraja considered mudrā as a “way of accessing higher layers of the cosmos, meaning individual consciousness is absorbed into or possessed (āvesa) by mudrā…one’s own body becomes possessed by the mudrā and mantra, which can be read as becoming a channel for higher cosmic powers, which erode the sense of individuality and distinction.” [Gavin Flood, 1993.]. Abhinavagupta, further, says that all actions of an awakened one are in fact mudrā!
मन्त्रविभागाः
- मीमांसाक्षेत्रे दृश्यताम् ।
Related Notes
छन्दः
तान्त्रिकमन्त्रेषु पद्य-भिन्नेषु च्छन्दोऽभिज्ञाने का प्रक्रिया, किञ्च प्रयोजनम्??