Why Mantra?

First things first.

I am not going to tell you about the ‘mantras’ from the ‘vedas’ or the ‘upnishads’ or any other religious scripture. I am going to tell you about the mantras of the modern world, mantras of the current civilization, which is going through time at such pace that even God would be sitting amazed in heavens.

When Neil Armstrong stood on the moon and described the achievement as a “One Giant Leap for Mankind”, the world changed. When Steve Jobs launched iPhone, and with it a whole new category of devices which took the human-machine experience to a level never imagined before, the world changed. When the civil revolutions began to uproot the decades old dictatorship in every Middle Eastern nation, the world changed. What drove these brave men, these extraordinary people to step ahead and achieve the impossible, do the unimaginable?

All these people had a vision. Vision requires action so that it can become reality. Action requires motivation so that there is no backing out once the first step is taken. Motivation comes through belief that whatever we are doing will bring good & positive results. A mantra is required to maintain this belief.

What’s Mantra?

A mantra is an instrument designed for the mind. There is no sense in following a mantra without giving a thought to it, without giving the proper concentration which a mantra requires to get itself seeded in our minds. For many centuries, religious groups have been reciting countless mantras to bring peace & harmony into the lives of people. Those were the vedic mantras which were supposed to bring one in direct connection with God. Though with time, the idea of mantra is forgotten and with the dawn of the modern age, religion & philosophy have taken a back seat, for a while.

For the learned mind, a mantra is something associated with daily life. Anything which is done repeatedly becomes mantra. In this case, mantra is habit. The word ‘habit’ is just a word with no past, present or future attached to it, with no emotions linked with it. Whereas the word ‘mantra’ ignites something. As soon as we come across the word ‘mantra’, the first thing that comes into our mind is ‘Om’.

‘Om’ is a very powerful mantra. It is the omnipresent sound wave. Lock yourself in a room with no windows, make it sound proof, tape your mouth so that you are unable to utter a word, sit in silence and you will hear it. Om. The sound of Om is present not only in silence but in every thing we do. According to a research, the sound of OM is present all around us.  Some claim that the sound of ‘Om’ is heard even in vaccum.

Yes, I know you must be thinking that ‘sound’ is an energy and it takes a medium for an energy to travel from one point to another. When I say that the sound of ‘Om’ is recorded in vaccum, I contradict with the laws of physics. I do not want to prove that Sir Isaac Newton, Karl Morh & Einstein were wrong. All I want is to make a point very clear that the sound of ‘Om’ is present everywhere. As outside, so within.

When in vaccum, the ringing sound in our ears, which is ‘Om’, does not come from the outside, but from the inside. Similarly, when we are in vaccum of thoughts, when we are disturbed by a situation and are unable to make a decision, the self-conscious guidance steps in : instinct. Many people follow their instinct and believe that following their instincts leads them to a position from where they can control any situation and turn it around to make it work in their favour.

That is the mantra I am talking about. The modern day mantra – Instinct.

There is so much of information pouring in from all directions, so much of collected knowledge which is shared with us everyday. So much of action that is based on the information which is provided to us. It becomes our duty as human beings, to filter that knowledge, keep the positive one for future generations and destroy the negative one. In the digital age, information spreads like wildfire and affects people all over the globe in a matter of hours or probably minutes. Still, there is a system that works automatically when we come across a new set of information. Our instinct guides us and somehow we know the authenticity of the information. We know in our hearts whether the information that is being shared is correct or incorrect.

As important is the role of instinct in our lives, so is the importance of our actions based on our instinct. Most people ignore their instinct as soon as it arises. They decide to go by the rules. Rules of the society. They are not afraid of the outcome because they do not know what would be the outcome if they act on their instinct. They are only concerned about walking in the crowd and go wherever the crowd is heading to.

From tonight onwards, I am starting a series of articles on various topics that affect our lives. I will try to be as transparent as I can be so that the message remains clear. The message is not an order or a set of instructions on how to live your life. It is not about what is right and what is wrong according to the society, religion or the system.

The message is a question and the question is : “What’s your Mantra?”