Mantra and Sound

I’ve written previously how devoting my breaths to the Durga mantra, Lakshmi mantra and Saraswati mantra has affected my life. (See my blog entries on Navaratri for September 23- October 2, 2006).

There are many traditions that honor the power of sound and word. Creation stories begin with sound. Oral traditions are frequently more potent than written for this reason, and consider how performing artists possess amazing abilities to generate feelings and “move” us.

Mantras, such as the popular Lakshmi mantras, channel our breath and thoughts in a very specific way. The mantra carries us by changing the vibration around us and within us.

We already know that certain rhythms can replicate our heart beat, can make us dance or set the mood for lovemaking. We are surrounded by sound, most of which we are unaware of (even more so – how it affects us). Mantras make us more aware of certain sounds.

For this reason, I believe it’s not so much that we generate the sounds (although we do contribute to them)- as we pull them out of the huge orchestral work that is the universe!

-Margaret “Saraswati”