The power of Mantra – Space of a Dream

A mantra is a sacred sound or word or sentence that is believed to have a psychophysical, spiritual, healing effect. In Sanskrit the word mantra denotes a “vehicle or instrument of thought or thinking”. Pronouncing and repeating a Mantra not only has a beneficial effect, but it also keeps your mind and thought on the right track in the sense that it helps break the loop of recurring and obsessive thinking that one may experience when there is a problem.

A mantra has an almost hypnotic effect.

Many years ago I was in Thailand and had the privilege of participating in the ceremony of Buddhist monks who were reciting the Heart Sutra, an ancient Sanskrit text. It was a moment that touched me deeply. You feel surrounded by the rhythm of the recitation, the many voices become one gigantic wave of sound and you feel part of the chorus even though you may be silent. The vibration of the voices resonates within and you reverberate with the environment and feel part of a whole. A powerful feeling.

Listen to the Heart Sutra conducted by Taisen Deshimaru Roshi, a Zen Master known for his teaching of Zen Buddhism in Europe. His voice can be almost disturbing if you judge it without reciting yourself. If you wish, click here for words, translation and explanation. If you continue listening, you will hear that the sutra is repeated and the rhythm of the chant accelerates.

Years later, I happened to pass by the cathedral of Alghero in Sardinia around 7 pm, when elderly women were reciting the vespers. In the old times women always used to gather in the church to pray for their husbands, brothers, and sons who were at sea. Praying together was a powerful way of supporting each other.

Indeed, my grandmother and aunts – at noon and 7 pm every day – used to interrupt what they were doing, stand up and recite the Angelus, a Roman Catholic prayer. An aunt of mine still does this.

I have written out the text of the Angelus below, to give the feeling of the sound.

If we read the Heart Sutra or the Angelus or another prayer as a continuous sequence of words, standing up and projecting our voice, our breathing takes on an accelerated but regular rhythm and will have the great effect of cleaning our mind of any other thought. Like a Mantra.

It will allow us to experience the Here and Now.

I believe any religion has its form of prayers or chants that produce the same effect. The “Here and Now”. A very powerful and ancestral action, a pearl of wisdom passed down through the centuries.

So, it does not matter how we get there: once in a while, let’s find a way to experience the “Here and Now” and give our mind, soul, and body a rest.

V. Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae;
R. Et concepit de Spiritu Sancto.

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.

V. Ecce ancilla Domini.
R. Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum.

V. Et Verbum caro factum est.
R. Et habitavit in nobis.

V. Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei Genetrix.
R. Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.

Oremus:
Gratiam tuam, quaesumus, Domine, mentibus nostris infunde; ut qui, Angelo nuntiante, Christi Filii tui incarnationem cognovimus, per passionem eius et crucem, ad resurrectionis gloriam perducamur. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum.
R. Amen.

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritu Sancto,
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

Réquiem aetérnam dona eis, Dómine,
et lux perpétua lúceat eis.
Requiéscant in pace.

Amen.

Picture courtesy of Ludde Lorentz on unsplash