Mantras
A Mantra is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit believed by practitioners to have psychological and/or spiritual powers. The earliest mantras were composed in Vedic Sanskrit in India, and are at least 3000 years old. During the early Vedic period, Vedic poets became fascinated by the inspirational power of poems, metered verses, and music. They referred to them with the root dhi-, which evolved into dhyana (meditation) of Hinduism, and the language used to start and assist this process manifested as a mantra. By the middle Vedic period (1000 BC to 500 BC), mantras were derived from all Vedic compositions.
The most basic mantra is Om, which in Hinduism is known as the "pranava mantra" the source of all mantras. The Hindu philosophy behind this is the premise that before existence and beyond existence is only One reality, Brahman, and the first manifestation of Brahman expressed as Om. For this reason, Om is considered as a foundational idea and reminder, and thus is prefixed and suffixed to all Hindu prayers. While some mantras may invoke individual gods or principles, fundamental mantras, like the 'Shanti Mantra, the 'Gayatri Mantra' and others all ultimately focus on the One reality.
The most basic mantra is Om, which in Hinduism is known as the "pranava mantra" the source of all mantras. The Hindu philosophy behind this is the premise that before existence and beyond existence is only One reality, Brahman, and the first manifestation of Brahman expressed as Om. For this reason, Om is considered as a foundational idea and reminder, and thus is prefixed and suffixed to all Hindu prayers. While some mantras may invoke individual gods or principles, fundamental mantras, like the 'Shanti Mantra, the 'Gayatri Mantra' and others all ultimately focus on the One reality.
