Prayers and Recitation of Mantras Etc.

Some superstitious persons are always apprehensive that somebody bearing them a grudge is engaged in rituals to do them harm. They should be advised to pray and recite mantras to ward off all evils. This would bolster their morale and evil would be warded off. One must, however, discourage people from undertaking any rituals which might harm others. Bearing ill-will against others or to think of harming them only vitiates your own mind which pushes you towards ill-luck and misfortune. One must, therefore, pray to God that He be kind to one and all. As an ancient mantra, so favourite of our forebears, says:

Sarve bhavantu sukhinah sarve santu niramayah
Sarve bhadrani pashyantu, ma kaschit dukhbhaga bhavete

ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः
सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः ।
सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु
मा कश्चिद्दुःखभाग्भवेत् ।

If you recite this mantra morning and evening your mind is cleansed of all evil thoughts and you are at peace with yourself. Any prayers or rituals performed with peace in your heart grant you more benefits than you think is possible. This mantra should, therefore, be recited before any regimen of prayers or worship.

The Significance of Yantra, Mantras and Tantras

Meaning of words tend to change with time and place. At one time Vaishanava meant a devotee of Lord Vishnu, but now the word understand for vegetarian, regardless of the deity he worships. India's ancient texts prescribe the use of yantras, mantras and tantras for removing obstacles that one encounters in one's life.

A "yantra" connotes the removal of obstacles through the use of specific techniques. Taking recourse to medicine by a childless couple comes under the heading of "yantras".

A "mantra" is a system of syllables or words arranged in a specific manner, the recitation of which produces results. The mantras tend to influence the inner system of the body.

A "tantra" refers to the inner system of the body, represented by the central nervous system. From kundalini to sehasrara it is composed of six chakras or centres. Kundalini which is at the base of the most important of those chakras, the muladhara remains dormant. Hathayoga practices aimed at awakening it, it reaches the seventh chakra, sahasrara in the base of the brain, having passed through muladhara, swadhishthana, manipoora, anahata, vishudha and ajnachakra. When it does one is suddenly confronted with Brahma. That is the point when a person is totally bereft of any desires.

The use of tantras must be undertaken under the guidance of a competent guru, but for the recitation of mantras you only need faith and a sense of commitment. If one recites the mantras with a sense of commitment and faith in their effectiveness evil is warded off.

Mantras for the fulfilment of various desires are indicated in this article. Also given are the yantras or techniques to be used for specific purposes. It is like a doctor telling you what to eat and what to avoid when you are sick. When one has diarrhea, milk should be avoided, but the eating of curd helps you to recover. If dietary instructions are not followed, any medicines prescribed for a malady would not have the effect they should. An example is the advice to avoid the use of ice when one has a cold.

Medicine and Diet : Two Examples

A youngman of 22 years came to consult me. He wanted to marry a very beautiful girl. The youth had been left large properties by his deceased father, but he did not have any qualities which might persuade a man to give his daughter's hand in marriage to him. The reason was that he looked pale and wan, his clothes did not show any sense of dressing properly and there was a five-day Old stubble on his face. His hair was long and unkempt because he had forgotten to use a comb. He had come into this bodily state because he had been busy in some religious rituals which prohibited him from having his hair cut on many days of the week.

I did not stop him from continuing the rituals, but advised him to have his beard trimmed on the day of the week on which there was no prohibition on these things. I told him to give attention to his personal appearance regardless of the rituals and that unless his personal appearance improved no beautiful girl would consent to marry him merely because he had lots and lots of money, and that a girl would normally marry a youngman out of love and not for money.

A woman did not get along with her husband. She was sick of the constant quarrels and had come to consult me. I studied her palm and told her that her husband was stubborn, not likely to be intimidated and that the quarrels continued because he did not listen to her. She accepted the truth of my reading of her palm. I had reached this conclusion because there was quite a distance between the points of origin of the Line of Life and the Head Line. She had short nails, to boot. This made it apparent that she was wayward. Had her husband been of a pliable nature, some kind of a compromise could have been reached. But he was a man with a will of his own and his wife had to come for consultation with me.

Only the recitation of some mantras could not have given her relief and I told her, therefore, that in addition to recitations she should inculcate a spirit of toleration which would result in the improvement of her relationship with her spouse.

Having said this by way of introducing the subject, we give below some of the mantras which should be recited every day for attaining some of the desired results. Each mantra should be recited 108 times (in other words one round of the garland of holy beads).

A Mantra for Children

Childless couples desiring children should recite the following mantra:

Om shri hri kiln glaun Devaki suta Govinda Vasudeva Jagatpate
Dehi may tanayam Krishna twamhamam sharanam gatah.

ॐ श्रीं ह्रीं क्लीं ग्लौं देवकीसुत गोविन्द वासुदेव जगत्पते।
देहि मे तनयं कृष्ण त्वामहं शरणं गत:।।

This mantra should be recited every morning. Childless couples should worship their favourite deity on the seventh day of the bright fortnight of Bhadra month and fast on that day.

Couples who have only daughters throw to the winds all considerations of a planned family and go on producing children, all of them female. They should take it that God does not want them to have any boys and should remain content with daughters only. But, if they give alms on Bhishmashtami day every year, God might grant them their wish and they might have sons. Even if they do not get any sons they are saved from the disadvantage of not being cremated by their sons as the scriptures prescribe and there is no need for their shraddha ceremony in which sons offer oblations to their manes. The Bhishmashtami falls on the eighth day of the bright fortnight of Magha month of the Hindu calendar.

Mantra For a Happy Marriage

Girls who face obstacles to their marriage or married women who do not get along with their husbands should keep fast during Navaratras every year and should recite the following mantra every day:

Hay Gauri :Shankarardhanagini yatha twam Shankar priya,
Tatha Maam Karu Katyani kant kanta sudurlabhava.

हे गौरि शंकरार्धांगि यथा त्वं शंकरप्रिया ।
तथा मां कुरु कल्याणि कान्तकातां सुदुर्लभाम ॥

For men, the proper mantra to recite for this purpose is the following:

Om, Namah Shivaye

ॐ नमः शिवाय

Mantra for Wealth, Strength and Knowledge

Om shri Hrim Kleem Namah

ॐ श्रीं ह्रीं क्लीं नमः

"Om" in this mantra is the symbol of God, the Maker of the Universe. "Shri" is the name of the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, "Hrim" stands for Durga, who gives strength and "Kleem" is the name of Goddess of knowledge, Saraswati. The three deities represent the majesty of Cod in His various forms. The recitation of this mantra leads to the worship of all the above forms of the Maker of this Universe.

Mantra to Ward Off/Solve Crises

If a crisis faces you, like indebtedness, involvement in some litigation or a serious disease, you should keep fast on Chaturthi (the fourth day of each half of the lunar month) and recite the following mantra every day:

Om Ganeshaye Namah

ॐ श्री गणेशाय नमः

Other Beneficial Mantras and Remedies

A person usually benefits from the recitation of a mantra dedicated to his favourite deity (in whom he has faith). Those who have faith in Hanuman should recite the Hanuman chaleesa. We are giving below mantras for those who believe in other deities and religious beliefs.

Mantra for the Jains

Namo Arihantanam
Namo Siddhanam
Namo Aayeeryanam
Namo Uvajhayanam
Namo Loye Savva Sahunam

णमो अरिहंताणं
णमो सिद्धाणं
णमो आयरियाणं
णमो उवज्झायाणं
णमो लोए सव्व साहूणं

A short form of this mantra is :

Om Asiaoosa Namah

ॐ असिआउसा नमः

Mantra for Sikhs

Ek Onkar satinamu
Karta Purakhu,
Nirbhau, Nirvaire
Akaal murti
Ajooni sai bhanga
Guru Prasadi

इक्क ओन्कार सत नाम
करता पुरख
निरभऊ निरवैर
अकाल मूरत
अजूनी सै भंग
गुर प्रसाद ॥

Mantra fur devotees of Lord Rama

Rama Rameti Rameti Rame Rame Manorame
Sahasra Naam Tattatulayam Rama Nam Varanane

राम राम रामेति रमे रामे मनोरमे ।
सहस्रनाम तत्तुल्यं रामनाम वरानने ॥

Mantra for devotees of Lord Krishna

Om Namo Bhagwate Vasudevaye

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय

Mantra for devotees of Lord Vishnu

Shantakaram Bhujangashayanam Padmanabham Suresham
Vishwadharam Gagansadrisham Megha Varna Shubhangam
Lakshmikantam kamalanayanam Yogibhirdhayanamnaganyam
Vande Vishnum Bhavabhayaharam Sarvalokaycknatham

शांताकारं भुजगशयनं पद्मनाभं सुरेशम्,
विश्वाधारं गगनसदृशं मेघवर्णं शुभाङ्गम् ।
लक्ष्मीकान्तं कमलनयनं योगिभिर्ध्यानगम्यम्,
वन्दे विष्णुं भवभयहरं सर्वलोकैकनाथम् ।।

The Gayatri Mantra which Gives All Kinds of Happiness

Om Bhurbhuva Swaha
tat saviturvaraynyam.
Bhargo devasya Dhimahi
Dhiyo yo naha prachodayat.

ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः
तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं
भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि
धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥

Mantra for devotees of Durga

Om Hrim Dun Durgae Namah

ॐ ह्रीं दुं दुर्गायै नमः

A person benefits from worshipping the deity of whom he is a devotee, according to his beliefs, dogmas or faith. Those who do not have faith in the efficacy of mantras cannot get any benefit if they recite them. They should, instead, take to the use of the digital postures described in previous articles.

Other Remedies

Just as looking at yourself in the mirror every day tends to improve your looks, examining your palms every day tends to improve your fortune. While you look at your palms, remember your favourite deity and seek his blessings. It would bolster your morale and the evil effects of defective lines are softened, if not substantially reduced.

Some astrologers advise their clients to feed the birds. If a person does this with a sense of faith (that it would give him good results) his morale improves and this tends to affect his luck beneficially. If there is no faith, you cannot expect any gain from these remedies. But the digital postures, stones and metals do have their effect.