I have seen many people talking about mantras. But not many people have the scientific understanding of what are mantras and why people all over the world are getting inclined towards it. So let’s demystify the science behind mantra chanting. Mantras are nothing but certain utterances of a particular sequence of sounds. In yogic text chanting mantras have been given a significant importance. The reason is very simple, these mantras are very very powerful tools which help in bringing about a balance between your body, mind & emotions. So let’s understand what is the science behind the mantras and how these can benefit us and take us towards our original nature which is happiness and joy.

The Scientific basis of Mantras: So as we said earlier that mantras are nothing but a sequence of sounds arranged in a particular way. Let’s look at the facts from the perspective of quantum physicists today. What physicists are saying is that the whole cosmos is one single energy and there are no boundaries in the universe. All the boundaries are only notional. Now in another way what scientists are saying is that the whole universe is a certain level of reverberation. Reason being where ever there is energy, there is bound to be a reverberation or a sound. Hence you and I is a certain level of reverberation, stone, animals, plants, planets, stars etc. are the different levels of reverberations or vibrations. But essentially we are all sounds at the very fundamental level. Even a stone is also a sound, but its just that the energy which is stored in a stone is dormant as compared to other beings like humans, animals, and plants. Even the colors are also sounds at the very fundamental level. The color has no significance of its own. We can never know the color of a particular object. There is a scientific reason for it. Let’s take an example of a Red Rose. Now we say that the rose is red, but it’s not true. When the light falls on the rose, it absorbs all the colors and reflects the light of a particular frequency & wavelength which then hits our eyes and we call it red. Hence we have categorized the basic color band in 7 colors, which is VIBGYOR (Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red). All the other colors are mix up of these basic colors. When I say colors, these are not the colors, but this is just a property of light or photons and for the conventions of our language we call it a color. What basically is being reflected from an object is not a color but the photons of light and when it hits our eyes, it produces sensations which we start calling as red, green, blue etc. Let me ask you a very simple question; Can you see a color in darkness? The answer is ‘No’. That means the very basis of a color is light waves or photons of light. Now if the colors are essentially waves of light, the waves have the certain reverberations within themselves, which in turns leads us to sounds. Hence colors & images also translate themselves into sounds.

So where ever there is a vibration, there is bound to be a sound. Hence what we can say is that the whole existence is a complex mixture of various mantras (Mantras means sound). This whole creation is an amalgamation of million different sounds. Out of these million sounds, there have been identified certain sounds which can help you in bringing about a balance between your body, mind, and emotions. They also help you identify the true nature of your existence, which means they can take you to the path of self-realization. They help you turn inward and experience the higher dimensions of your life. So mantras are acting as a key here which can help you unlock the true potential of a human being.

Role of self-awareness while chanting mantras: Now while you are chanting any kind of mantra, it is very important that you do this activity with full awareness. When you are chanting mantras, you are simply uttering same sounds repeatedly. Now if the necessary awareness is missing then it will lead to dullness. Because the nature of the human mind is such that when we perform the same activity again and again, it leads to dullness and boredom. Hence the awareness has a significant role to play here. Only when the mantra is approached with full awareness, it can become a powerful tool for the self-realization.

When you are chanting a mantra, what is happening is, these sounds make an impact at the specific part of our body, which further start to activate our energies at that particular region. So what we are uttering and how we are uttering makes a significant impact. Nowadays everyone is chanting mantras. Now depending upon the area, region or the country you belong to, the pronunciation of that mantra also keep on varying, which basically dilutes the impact of the mantra. The mantra has to be pronounced in exactly the same manner as is required, otherwise, it will not benefit the way it has been consecrated for. Now we all know that every sound has a different frequency, and hence these different frequencies carry different levels of energies. Let’s take an example. The signals which are used to transmit the sound energy over a telephone have different frequencies and the signals which are used in radars, sonars under defense technology have different frequencies.

Only because these signals are of different frequencies, these signals can be used for different applications otherwise there will be distortions and interference between these signals. Same is the logic behind the mantra chanting. Every mantra carries a different level of vibration or frequency within it. And if you want to reap the benefits out of chanting mantra, you need to pronounce it in exactly the same frequency, otherwise, it will not work. Now you can chant a mantra correctly only when you actually understand what a mantra means, and what are the dynamics behind it. As I earlier told, every utter of sound will make a vibration in a particular part of your body, and you need to be conscious of that. Once you have understood the very mechanics of how the mantra works, uttering that sound the way it is intended will not be a big challenge for you.

So In a way, a mantra is a tool using which you can tune yourself to the tune of the universe. Once this happens, you will start reverberating and dancing to the song of the universe, although you might not know what the tune is. In physics terminology, we call it ‘Resonance’. That means you will reverberate with your full potential at a specific frequency and that frequency is the same frequency with which the universe functions or vibrates. Once your frequency of operation matches with the universal frequency, you will experience the whole universe as a part of your self. You will experience that what you call as me and what you call as universe are not separate entities, but both these are one single whole.

Hope this article will leave you with more awareness & deep understanding of the mantra chanting and the science which works behind it. In the upcoming article we would dedicate a whole chapter on AUM (the fundamental universal sound), So stay tuned.

Happy Reading 🙂