Many believe mantras hold within themselves an inherent “spiritual” meaning. Anyone chanting one even without understanding its meaning will become connected with the deity and its nature. Modern Buddhist teachers like Bodhipaksa and Sunada believe this is correct. In an experiment, British biologist Rupert Sheldrake, known for his theory of “morphic fields”, found that Europeans could learn a well-known Japanese nursery rhyme than a new Japanese poem with the same rhyming structure. Does it mean a pattern of words may have a direct effect on the mind?
Often, mantras are a route to learning more about the deity. The mantra becomes part of the figure, and constantly reminds the chanter of the deity’s qualities. The Buddhist teachers feel a mantra, chanted even for the first time without even understanding it, brings results. Or at least a change within. The mantra is a way to concentrate and still the mind while reaching out to the object of worship. The recitation of a mantra reduces internal chatter. Mostly people think about things that are part of daily life: something we desire, or which irritates or depresses, and this agitates them. Many times, the chanting of the mantra coexists with these mundane worries, but after a while they integrate and the mantra eventually washes away the daily monologue.
Mantras boost awareness. Simply focusing on sound of the mantra is a form of meditation, just as paying attention to movements of breath. It takes discipline to force the mind to return to the mantra even as the parallel mundane pressures continue simultaneously, but over a period of time, the mind becomes cohesive and attentive.
Using the correct pronunciation while chanting a mantra is an important concentration tool. The lips, mouth, tongue, vocal cords and breath have to be brought to work in harmony and precisely. The chanter should also be aware of his posture.
Mindfulness is the key to chanting a mantra. When chanting out loud, the physical vibrations in the body become manifest over a period of time. While chanting it soundlessly and in the mind, it has a vibrant effect on the body, mind and even emotions. The ultimate aim of the mantra is to enhance concentration and mindfulness as a means to reach the attentions of the object of your worship.