The Mantra

Abstract

Chapter 1 introduces the reader to Tantric mantras. It situates them within ritual and meditation and offers a brief overview of their form. It then contextualizes the mantra oṃ juṃ saḥ within the Tantric canon and compares it to a Vedic mantra that shares both its name and its intended outcome. Finally, it offers a translation of the section of the text in which the mantra is encoded. This provides the reader with an example of mantric encoding. It also demonstrates that each component of the mantra can be defined by sound, shape, and movement. These elements are far from arbitrary. Instead, they show that mantras are essential parts of the cosmos. They exist to help people discover, not to create. Even in- and out-breaths can be understood and utilized as mantra.