What a mantra is

The word

Mantra is a Sanskrit word. The usual explanation splits it in two: man, from manas, the mind, and tra, a suffix for a tool or an instrument.

A mantra, read this way, is something the mind works with.

Some later teachers add a second reading, that tra comes from a root meaning to protect, so a mantra is what protects the mind. Both readings are traditional, and neither is the whole story.

What matters in practice is that a mantra is a fixed sound. It is not a sentence you make up on the day. It is repeated as it was taught, often many times, and the repetition is the point.

The long tones of a sound bath work on a similar principle: a steady sound gives a wandering mind somewhere to rest.

Where mantras come from

The oldest mantras are the hymns of the Vedas, the earliest Sanskrit texts. Priests memorised them with great care for pitch and rhythm, and passed them on by voice, teacher to student, long before they were written down.

The Gayatri mantra, a verse from the Rig Veda addressed to the sun as a source of light and understanding, is still recited every day by millions of Hindus.

The Upanishads gave special weight to one syllable, the meaning of om, as the sound that stands for the whole of reality.

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras name om as the word for Ishvara and suggest repeating it while reflecting on its meaning.

Buddhism carried mantras across Asia. In Tibet, om mani padme hum, the six-syllable mantra of compassion, is carved on stones and printed inside prayer wheels.

In Japan, Shingon Buddhism is named after the word itself: shingon is the Japanese reading of the Chinese for mantra, true word. Sikh and Jain traditions have their own mantras too, each with its own meaning and setting.

Japa: repetition

The repetition of a mantra is called japa. It can be done aloud, in a whisper or silently, and many people count the repetitions on a mala, a string of beads, often 108, a number with its own meaning in yoga.

Repeating a sound in your head is harder than it sounds. The mind drifts, you notice, and you return to the sound. That noticing and returning is the practice, much as it is when you follow the breath.

Some mantras are short and are repeated through a whole sitting. Others are longer verses chanted once at the beginning or end of practice. Many end with a word of peace, as in the triple shanti that closes many chants.

How it shows up in a modern practice

In a studio class you are most likely to meet a mantra as a single om at the start or end, or a short Sanskrit verse sung together.

Chakra charts often tie chanting to vishuddha, the throat chakra, whose syllable in the tantric texts is ham. Kundalini classes chant much more, often including om namah shivaya, the mantra to Shiva, and kirtan evenings are built around call-and-response singing of mantras with music. Meditation apps often teach mantra meditation as one technique among several, and the guide on how to meditate covers the basics of sitting.

The word has also drifted into everyday English, where a mantra can mean any phrase someone repeats to themselves. That use is fine in conversation, but it is not what the texts mean.

How a mantra can come up in a class

In a one-to-one session there is no room of voices, so chanting is your choice. In a group class you can always listen rather than join in.

A teacher may begin with a single om and explain what it means before anyone tries it. If you would rather not use a Sanskrit sound, a slow count of the breath does a similar job of giving the attention one place to stay.

Some classes close with sound, and you are welcome simply to listen. Other words on this page are explained in the Sanskrit glossary.