Thread by @jhoola7

I have a weakness to Gita, mantras, shlokas and stutis (prayers) from childhood. We learned Gita by hearing only. Gita path in the evening is our family tradition.

After Gita path we used to chant one mantra ------
ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय ।
तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय ।
मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय ।
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥
Om (Supreme one)lead me from unreal to real, lead me from darkness to light, lead me from death to immortality. Om Peace! Peace! Peace!!

This is a Shanti mantra means peace mantra. Generally Shanti mantras are chanted at the beginning and at the end of Hindu rituals. Shanti mantra always ends with three words of “Shanti” which means peace.

The reason behind speaking three times “Shanti” is to cool and purify the surroundings and remove obstacles in three realms --- Physical (Adhi-Bhautika), Divine (Adhi-Daivika) and Internal (Adhyatmika).

But in this mantra the word Om is not allowed to be chanted by girls in our society. In Assamese society there is no gender discrimination but the girls are not allowed to chant, hear or read even the Gayatri mantra.

Both my brothers were allowed to chant Om which I could not convince my mind. I always chanted Om silently.

Om is a symbol of whole universe. Om is known as the salutation mantra. It carries three basic sounds: A-U-M. These three basic sounds through which all the sounds have evolved.

AUM is everything. AUM is the source. It is the vibration and consciousness of the entire universe. AUM is considered as the greatest mantras, because it implies the whole existence, it represents the sound of soundless, the beauty of silence. It is a Beej Mantra.

Beej Mantras are seed mantra. Each diety has a specific beej mantra. Every Beej Mantra is related to our body, planets and the energy level around us. It is the source of energy.

When on the first day my guru taught me the mantras of Devtas (deity) I was quite surprised to know the names of different Devis and Devtas . I was not familiar to all the names of Devtas.

After coming from his ashram I started reading shastras to know about the Devtas whose names I was chanting. Earlier I was familiar to the words --- Bhagavan, Shiva, Bishnu, Brahma , Durga , Kali , Lakhmi, Saraswati and Krishna.

Bhagavan is the word used to refer to the personal aspect of God in general; it is not specific to a particular Devta, Devi or specific gender. According to Hindu shastras there are thirty three crores of Devis and Devtas (God and Goddess) worshiped in India.

Once I asked my guru “Why we have to worship different Devtas and Devis.”
He explained me in a simple manner, “According to the shastras the God and Goddess have many faces, or many aspects. Every aspect is represented by a particular deity and has a name.

If you want to develop a specific quality in yourself you have to worship that particular deity who is the supreme authority or the presiding deity of that specific quality.”

For example, “If you want to earn wealth or fill yourself with Divine beauty you have to worship and chant Lakhmi mantra, if you want to show good results in examination, want to develop artistic quality or want to increase knowledge you have to chant Saraswati mantra.”

Mantra sadhana is a spiritual practice that helps to realize God. It is a medium through which one can attain his goal of life. The proper recitation of Divine mantras will bring blessings, prosperity and it will protect one from all evil effects.

Chanting a specific mantra brings specific changes in one’s personality. It helps to reach a specific goal and remove obstacles.

A person enters higher state of consciousness after chanting mantra for a considerable time. It develops psychic power, enables one to predict future, and analyze past and present. Chanting mantra can give you pure joy and one can experience Divine feelings - the reality of God.

But what is mantra?
Mantra is a Divine syllable or syllables. Mantras are energy based sounds. Mantras are most powerful when chanted either audibly or mentally and silently. It becomes very powerful when repeated for a great number of times.

Repetition of Divine name or mantra is known as mantra japa. There are different mantras or different sets of words for different Devis and Devtas.

When I took Diksha from my guru and started chanting mantra I did not have much knowledge about how mantra would change my mind and my realization

When you start chanting mantra related to a particular deity regularly, the gap between you and that Divine force steadily decreases and a link will form between you and that particular deity. I was excited when I first realized this.

When you repeat a mantra number of times that sound produces vibrations in the atmosphere, that wave of vibrations touches the particular deity.

After touching particular deity it comes back to you and after completing a definite number of cycles, the waves produce vibrations on your body.

It illuminates inside your body which gives you energy, you become extremely powerful and your thoughts become positive. When you chant a mantra with full of devotion, faith and emotion you can secure the blessings of Devis and Devtas.

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