hindu-devotionWe're still mapping where this idea was first discussed. Key passages and related ideas below.
Mantra (Sacred Sound)
Sacred sound as a spiritual force — the syllable that focuses the mind and invokes the divine.
A mantra is a charged sacred sound — a syllable, name, or formula whose very utterance is held to have spiritual power. Mantras are used to focus the mind in meditation, to invoke the divine in worship, and to consecrate ritual. The tantric and Śaiva traditions developed an elaborate philosophy of sacred speech around them, treating sound itself as a form of the divine consciousness; OM is the mantra of mantras.
Key passages(20)
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Vijñāna-bhairava 145↗explains
Vijñāna-bhairava · Anonymous (Bhairava Āgama / Tantra)
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Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 5,5.4↗explains
Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad · Vedic Revelation (śruti)
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Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 1,3.22↗explains
Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad · Vedic Revelation (śruti)
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