Why do we need a mantra?

Julia H.,

This is a very good question, and a good answer is going to require quite a bit of background explanation, so I ask your patience.

Most of the world knew of meditation almost exclusively in its non-mantra forms until the arrival of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the mid 1950's. And still, today, forms of meditation that involve simply sitting in silence, or trying to be aware of being in the now, or to eliminate thinking, or focusing on breathing or heartbeat or a location in the body are popular in spite of a lack of research evidence showing comparable effectiveness. People want and need a solution to the accumulation of stress in their lives, so they will try anything out of hope.

For the first time in recorded history, Maharishi brought a truly revolutionary message to the world: that effortlessness is the most efficient path to enlightenment. He pointed out that we had been simply imitating the behavior of enlightened people in an attempt to bring about their state of consciousness. He said that this was putting the cart before the horse. Instead of following a long list of behaviors, such as sitting in a certain position, eating certain foods, and acting in certain ways, the efficient process was to start from where we were and move towards enlightenment. The key was purifying consciousness by eliminating stress and eliminating stress by purifying consciousness.

The quasi-religious ideas that we are already in enlightenment, but simply don't know it, or that nothing need be done to achieve enlightenment since it comes by the grace of the Divine (both of which are advanced insights which may be relevant to people who are already in enlightenment but are not so useful for those wanting to get there) were now complemented by Maharishi's new insight: a clear presentation of the previously obscured Vedic tradition of the effortless elimination of stress. Effective meditation was now available to everyone.

And, finally, research showing the healthy physiological and psychological effects in the 1970's gave this new understanding objective scientific validation.

For the first time, meditation instructors trained by Maharishi promoted an understanding that the blocks to enlightenment were physical abnormalities (stresses) stored in the nervous system. They explained that the nervous system could repair itself if given a special form of deep rest along with mental alertness (transcending).

Why do we need a mantra as part of this process? An answer requires understanding that the accumulation of stress hinders the functioning of the nervous system in many ways. In particular, it interferes with the ability to transcend thought and achieve transcendental consciousness (TC).

TC is a physiological state of deep rest along with mental alertness, just as necessary and as measurably distinct as the other major physiological states of waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. Adding TC to our daily lives is an easy and relatively quick path to full functioning (enlightenment). Enlightened people are generally free of stress and tend not to pick up new stresses.

Indeed, it is the lack of the experience of TC that is primarily responsible for our susceptibility to stress in the first place. Unenlightened people pick up stress because of the abnormalities caused by their existing stress. It is a vicious cycle that frequently (although not necessarily) leads to poor health, unhappiness, addictive or antisocial behaviors, and other increasing problems in life.

The presence of stresses makes entering TC difficult for most of us because as we begin to experience deep rest during the process of transcending, the stresses begin to release. The release of stress, being a physical process, tends to bring us out of the state of rest. It tends to generate thoughts, disturbing feelings, and other results of this inner activity of cleansing.

One part of the solution to the problems posed by stress for meditation is education. Since the process of stress release is not obvious through common sense, having a good understanding of it goes a long way towards helping people accept it as part of the process. Educating people about the nature of stress release is one of the main things we do here in the NSR forum.

Understanding transcending itself is also vital: transcending is the process of experiencing quieter and more abstract levels of thinking until we experience the source of thoughts, an area of unlimited intelligence and creativity deep within our mind.

Besides education, however, another important part of the solution is the mantra. Thinking the mantra as a fine impulse gives us the right "angle" for diving within. There are several reasons for this. One is that the mantra is meaningless. By giving the mind an activity that has no meaning (thinking a sound), the mind is kept alert but not restricted to the surface (concrete) level of life.

If we were to think about going to the store, for example, that would lead to thoughts about what we need to buy, and so forth. Our mind would be kept active, but transcending (thinking thoughts less concretely) would be close to impossible. The mantra, being meaningless, does not keep us hung up on the level of meaning.

Another reason for the remarkable effectiveness of the mantra is that it is a special, beneficial sound that we get from the Vedic tradition, going back thousands of years. Unlike other sounds, it is "slippery", easily forgotten, and feels good when experienced as a quieter and more abstract impulse. These qualities make it ideal as a vehicle to lead the mind within. Without a mantra, it may not be clear where the source of thoughts is, but with the mantra, we have a handy signpost pointing in the proper direction. Its property of being easily forgotten helps the mind to experience quieter and more refined impulses of thought. These more abstract levels of thought are more charming, so the mind enjoys experiencing them. This gives us a vehicle for transcending that takes us to areas of greater enjoyment, culminating in the bliss of Self-realization that leads to enlightenment.

This, then, is the great value of the mantra: it serves as a vehicle to help us dive within and experience the state of TC, which means: pure consciousness without any specific object of perception, being (awareness) without activity, the potential for accomplishing what we want in life, and an unbounded state of fulfillment.

The answer to your question about why the mantra sometimes seems more potent than at other times, is now simple: our perception of the mantra is conditioned by the stresses stored in our bodies. When the stresses permit, the mantra may be experienced in enjoyment. When the stresses are actively dissolving, the mantra may be experienced less clearly, or not at all. In all these cases, we simply start with the mantra but then take it as it comes, letting it change or disappear. The proof of the process is that it works: the stresses are dissolved efficiently whether the mantra seems to be present or not.

David Spector
NSR Meditation/USA