Do Mantra Have Power ?
The more we repeat our mantra, the more it is “energized” or “magnetized”. For one-syllable mantras, it is said that after 125,000 repetitions it “gets a life of its own”. It is our repeated attention working with the mantra that charges it. The mantra eventually becomes the most powerful thought in your mind, and then you can truly rely on it to bring you peace.
Once your mantra really gets momentum, the repetition becomes more and more effortless. It’s almost as if we simply “start” or “log into” the mantra, and it continues on its own, taking us into inner silence.
This is the traditional progress of the practice:
Verbal recitation — you repeat it out loud. This engages more of your senses, making it easier to keep your attention focused.
Whispering — the lips and tongue move, but there is barely any sound coming. This practice is subtler and deeper than the verbal recitation.
Mental recitation — you repeat the mantra only inside your mind. In the beginning, there is naturally some movement in the tongue and throat; but with time these also cease, and the practice is purely mental. This stage is what people typically associate with mantra meditation.
Spontaneous listening — at this point you are no longer repeating the mantra, but the mantra goes on by itself in your mind, spontaneously, all the time. At this point, there is no need to worry about its loudness, speed, etc. Just listen to it being repeated as it naturally wants to be repeated. This level is called ajapa japa.
Adepts sometimes refer to this phase of meditation as “listening to the mantra.” The mantra becomes audible without mental exertion, and the inner space of the mind is filled with its sound. The resulting practice is effortless and delightful—but it occurs only after considerable experience with a mantra.
As you can see, there is a progression from gross to subtle, from effort to effortless. A potential mistake some people make is wanting to skip levels and start directly with mental repetition only, or spontaneous repetition. That is a much more steep climb than the step-by-step progression outlined above.
Even if you don’t like verbal recitation, and want to go directly to the mental level, I recommend you at least do a few rounds of whispering recitation in the beginning. That will help you center your mind on the mantra much more easily.
Sometimes the mantra is recited; at other times it is listened to. Sometimes it is repeated fast; at other times slow. Sometimes it is simply repeated by itself, and at other times in connection to concentration on the breathing, certain feelings, chakras, visualizations or abstract concepts.
Indeed, the subject of mantra and related practices is a vast and complex study within Hinduism, Yoga, and Buddhism.