@GhorAngirasa Part of this pertains to rahasya-s that are only discussed with inner circle but the following is to make sure I understand you correctly: I would say the mantra-s are conscious (rather than living) with shabda-tanu just as a living being is conscious with an ANava-tanu. The
@GhorAngirasa other sounds are conscious too just as a stone or dead wood is conscious but they are almost entirely of the guNa tamas. However, a mantra like a living organism has the additional enrichment of sattva which impinges on that consciousness. That makes them different from just a
@GhorAngirasa random sound. That sattva in the mantra is seen in the form of its Chandas, bIja combination and other features which map to the deity of the mantra. That's why I'm an opponent of the kautsa thought. Finally, I'd add the same concept also extends to yantra-s: what distinguishes
@GhorAngirasa them from a random assortment of points or lines. This widely used in sAdhanA by the erudite sAdhaka-s but the theory was less developed in most popular traditional sources as H tended to focus more on the linguistic side.
