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Fundamentally, the three symbolise the three primary techniques open to human beings for harnessing God’s power and using it to carry out their compulsory obligations on Earth. They are used in the Bhagavadgita’s three major paths: the road of action (karma marg), the path of knowledge (jnana marg), and the path of renunciation (jnana marg) (sanyasa marg). They can be utilised constructively to bring about peace, wealth, and emancipation, or destructively to cause chaos, cast wicked spells, or cause others grief and misery.
Mantra is a way of invoking divine power for both positive and negative objectives by using the mind or mental force (man+tra). Yantras utilise the will’s restraining power (yan + tra) for the same goal. Through the use of tantu, the Tantras are supposed to alter and transmit the physical (sexual) force of the body (tan) from lower levels to higher ones (nerve fibres or nadis). Tantra therefore refers to the employment of the body’s strength (tan + tra) or the body’s nerves (tant + tra), or both. Tantu is also a sign for the lord of the body, God or Self (Tantunama or Tantu Nadha). Tantra, in this meaning, refers to the application of God’s power (Shakti) for self-transformation and freedom.
The mind and intelligence are engaged in Mantra practise. The organs of action and perception are engaged in Tantra practise, whereas the ego is active in Yantra practise. The Mantra technique is largely sattvic, the Yantra is rajasic, and the Tantra is tamasic, according to the triple Gunas. The three are the three basic techniques of divine worship and devotional service in Hinduism, by which one might complete compulsory obligations, practise self-purification, and attain freedom. They are also the fundamental and universal techniques that Hindu worshipers utilise to defend Dharma, satisfy wants, and attain the four purposes of human existence (purusharthas).
However, like with many other parts of Hinduism, the line between the two is blurry, since Mantras may be employed in Yantra and Tantra practise and vice versa. As a result, the components of all three are present or profoundly intertwined in most Hindu forms of devotion. They can also be found in Vedic sacrifice rituals. Mantras are used to call gods, Yantras are used to build the sacrificial pit (yajna stala) in certain geometric patterns, and Tantra is used to discipline the body before or during the ritual, and to sacrifice (offer) the body and or its elements during the sacrifice.
The use of Mantras
Each Mantra is a collection of sacred words or sounds used as an invocation to a god or a group of deities in a Vedic rite. They are part of the Vedic hymns, which may be found in the Vedas‘ Samhita section. The majority of them are written in a certain metre, however others are written in prose. The emphasis of Vedic mantras is on the sounds rather than the language.
It is believed that when a Mantra is correctly uttered with devotion and the right intention according to scriptures such as the Vedangas, which lay down the rules for proper pronunciation and worship methods, the power of the mantra will awaken, carrying the prayer to the intended deity and making it heard.
The efficacy of a mantra is claimed to be dependent on the location and technique of worship, as well as the person who repeats it and how it is spoken. The deity will be delighted and the request will be answered if it is appropriately pronounced. Otherwise, it may provoke the gods’ anger, necessitating expiation, penance, or penitence. Some individuals think that a Vedic mantra is a kind of divinity in and of itself. If it is uttered correctly, as prescribed in the scriptures, the deity who is summoned by it answers immediately, as if he is compelled by the Mantra’s energy and has no volition of his own.
In other words, they see mantras as more powerful than gods. The truth, though, appears to be somewhere in the middle. While each mantra has a secret power, it appears that a multitude of elements, including the worshipers’ karma and the deity’s will, influence whether a chant produces fruit or not. The Upanishads encourage individuals to undertake sacrifices as a responsibility rather than a desire, and to leave the consequences to God.
In audible form, the Vedas personify Brahman’s might. The mantras symbolise many parts of him, such as aural expressions. Brahman takes them over space to the targeted god and promotes connection between the worshipper and the worshipped when they are repeated loudly. As a result, it is correct to say that Brahman is both the cause and the effect of the Vedic hymns. In addition, he is the ultimate receiver of all sacrifices.
When a sophisticated yajna is performed, such as a soma sacrifice, horse sacrifice, or other yajna, a number of priests chant or sing hymns from one or more Vedas concurrently call numerous deities. Normally, the chanting is rather loud. Aum, Hime, Hrim, Swaha, and other holy words are used to begin or conclude each mantra. The priests are known by various names depending on their expertise. Each sacrifice has three parts: a beginning, a middle, and an end, during which the priests recite Vedic hymns to make the sacrifice successful and beneficial. Their chanting generates tremendous vibrations that travel to the heavens via the mid-region (the gap between the earth and the sky), where they awaken the gods and aid their descend to the seat of devotion.
Chanting and music are only a small element of the sacrifice ceremonies. There are more aspects of Tantra and Yantra that are critical to their effectiveness. They increase the manifesting power and help the ceremonies go smoothly. Their significance in Hindu ceremonial devotion will be discussed later. The Brahmana and Aranyaka sections of the Vedas go into great depth into the mechanics of Vedic rites and sacrifices. Much of this information has been lost or rendered outdated as their ceremonial, spiritual, and symbolic relevance has faded.
As previously established, the Mantras are sound or voice representations of gods. Each one contains the energy of a certain god, which lies dormant until the Mantra is correctly spoken with the proper purpose, intonation, and aspiration, as described in the scriptures. The Mantra’s god awakens only if the sounds produce the appropriate frequencies, and the remainder of the sacrifice is carried out correctly, with the appropriate attitude, offerings, and in the specified manner. The efficiency of the mantras is also influenced by fate and karma. Some mantras are beneficial, while others are harmful, and their effects vary depending on how they are used and intended. As a result, the mechanical and procedural parts of the rituals are crucial. Indeed, the Purva Mimansa school of Hinduism regards Vedic rites as the root of all creation and the highest manifesting force in and of itself, rather than God.
The use of Yantra
Yantra is a Sanskrit word that meaning “to control, govern, regulate, constrain, protect, or prevent.” Yantras are names, shapes, diagrams, patterns, and sound forms that have the five divine abilities of creation, upkeep, concealment, manifestation, and destruction. Yantras are produced utilising certain items, symbols, sounds, names and forms, and precise divisions of time in Hindu ceremonial traditions that date back to the Vedic era to evoke the might of a god for any of the five objectives listed previously. Yantras are energy centres that are only present for a short period of time. They emit spiritual energy, or the power of the god who governs it. They are used to strengthen or weaken one’s own willpower, fend against evil, seek protection from adversaries, or eliminate them. Even in the right hand ways of Vedic worship, the more benign forms of Yantras may be observed.
For example, folding one’s palms in front of a god is only a type of Yantra. Its purpose is to calm the mind and body and aid focus, allowing the mind to interact with the god through the power of will. The way a Vedic sacrifice is performed, the way the site is prepared and the ingredients (sambhra) are collected, the way the oblations are poured into the fire, the way the priests sit around the altar, and even the act of mechanically repeating the Mantras serve the same purpose as the Yantras. They’re said to boost the rituals’ magical and manifesting abilities, as well as manage and rule the lives of the worshipers who take part in them, assuring their wellbeing, tranquilly, and prosperity, or protecting them from danger. Yantras are also employed in Tantric ceremonies to call forth mysterious energies and to create good luck charms, amulets, and spells, among other things. Some charlatans utilise them to manipulate people and gain money since they are linked with a lot of mystery and superstition.
The temple’s design as a physical representation of existence and creation in the material plane, the act of visiting a temple, circling it to gain the deity’s favour, entering the temple, and lighting the lights in front of the divine all follow the Yantra pattern. The decorations and ornamentation that are so common in Hindu temples and places of worship, the way the images are built and installed, the lighting of the lamps, the offerings, the method of worship, the partaking of prasad, and, in short, any mechanical, symbolic, and ritualistic practise, all fall under the Yantric approach. They are designed to summon God’s might and channel it for monetary or spiritual gain.
The use of Tantra
Tantra is the use of the body (including the perceptive mind) and its components (tattvas) in a systematic way for self-transformation and self-realization. The lower self is made up of the body and the perceptual mind. They are seen as an impediment to liberation because they cause beings to engage in desire-driven acts and worldly pleasures when under the influence of the three gunas, namely sattva, rajas, and tamas, and therefore bound them to the cycle of births and deaths. They are responsible for the changes in the mind and body that beings experience in many ways, such as pain, attraction and repulsion, attachment, illusion, ignorance, birth and death, egoism, and so on. Beings are connected to the mortal world and the rule of karma as long as they act and react under their influence.
Tantra practitioners manage and transcend impediments and impurities that are generally avoided in other ways. Desires are employed to conquer the gunas that cause them, rather than being rejected. Controlled sexual activity allows impure sexual energy (retas) to be transformed into pure spiritual energy (ojas) and physical vitality (tejas). Tantra attempts to free and reform the mind and body from their natural urges and constraining impurities, making them suited for self-absorption and self-realization, through such revolutionary and transformational practises. This is accomplished through a variety of postures, breathing and meditation techniques, and self-purification activities.
To get speedy results, some Tantra schools use severe practises like as self-torture, burial rites, and pharmacological drugs. Many people dislike Tantra methods and practises because of their severe character. As a result, many of its methods are kept hidden and only divulged to certified members, making Tantra even more controversial in the public view. The left-hand ways (vamachara) of Tantra are currently connected with a lot of myth and disinformation. Tantra, on the other hand, is a spiritual practise that strives to liberate the mind from habitual ideas, judgements, and conditioning. As a break from society’s rigorous conventions, it attempts to achieve righteous purposes via a variety of traditional and unusual techniques. Tantra has therefore been a significant and integral component of Hindu spiritualism from ancient times, and it has successfully maintained its place and importance in Hindu ascetic and renunciant traditions’ rituals and spiritual practises.
Tantra- Not only for Tantrics
Many people believe that Tantrics solely employ Tantra through sex and other undesirable purposes. This isn’t correct. Tantra has a dark side, but it is merely one of many aspects. Tantra brought Hinduism down to earth and transformed it. Tantra elements are now included into Hindu ceremonial worship. Tantra’s ideas and practises appear to have had a significant impact on Atharvaveda. Traditional Tantrism is an extreme form of Tantra in which the body and mind are permitted to express themselves freely under the guidance of an enlightened teacher in order to come to terms with them and master them completely. Tantra may, however, be observed in action in everyday life in its gentler and more common forms. For example, Patanjali’s Yoga is a kind of Tantra in which yogis strive for body control through physical postures, purifying rituals, and mind control techniques.
The conventional home worship (puja) included many factors of tantric worship, including purification of the ritual place, using mystic syllables, symbols and gadgets such the sacred pot (kalas), vermillion, mystic diagrams, and swastika, set up and consecration of the idols, prostrating earlier than the deity, becoming a member of the palms in the front of the deity, making use of sacred marks at the frame to evoke the electricity centers, sporting rudraksha beads, purification of the frame via fasting and bathing, worshipping the bodily frame of the deity from head to toe, use of sacred gestures (mudras) and postures (nyasa), controlling the thoughts and frame via yoga practices including withdrawal of the senses, breath control, meditation and devotional singing. In natural devotional styles of worship, the frame and the thoughts are provided to God as an act of perfect self-sacrifice and internal detachment, thereby permitting the divine power (Shakti) to descend into the frame and do the purification and transformation.
Tantra’s impact can also be seen in a complex Vedic ceremony. A Vedic ritual will yield no results unless the performer’s body and mind have been properly trained and prepared to engage in the ritual with the appropriate degree of purity and sincerity. All of the Mantra chanting will be for naught, and the sacrifice will be worthless if these two are not in tune with the ritual’s purpose. Before executing the ceremonies, the sacrifice host (yajmana) and priests must maintain greatest purity and tight discipline. Furthermore, the Vedas, like Tantra, accept sexual intercourse as a kind of Vedic ritual.
Hindu Worship
Mantra, Tantra, and Yantra are three highest ways of spiritual growth on the road to freedom. They cleanse the mind and body while also strengthening the soul. They reawaken buried supernatural powers and energy centres, burning away impurities and past life memories. The Hindu manner of worship, which integrates all three disciplines, is a complex form of divine devotion, not a superstitious ritual. Higher universal energies are invoked in the energy field of the mind and body in that holy endeavour to aid inner awakening and greater awareness. They assist worshipers in not just achieving certain worldly goals, but also spiritually evolving into greater creatures that radiate God’s strength and knowledge.
Practical Significance
Small brains are prone to see things adversely or suspiciously, oblivious to the greater picture that lies behind. Without leaping to assumptions based on a few superficial impressions, introspection may teach you a lot. Negative criticism of Hinduism’s traditional ritual customs has a powerful effect on people. This is due to the belief that only spirituality is beneficial and that all other religious activities are simply superstitions. Are all spiritual disciplines, however, equally effective? Even prayers and yoga routines have a lot of superstition attached to them. It might be a belief or just superstition when someone claims that yoga can heal cancer. Because belief has no rational basis, no one can say when a belief becomes superstition. The distinction between belief (faith) and superstition (superstition) is purely conceptual. Belief is blind in and of itself, according to logic. It doesn’t make any sense. You have two options: embrace it or reject it. It cannot be deemed belief if it is not the case. As a result, anybody who claims that certain components of religion are factual and acceptable while others are superstitious is simply repeating the human mind’s logical error.
Let us investigate if Mantra, Tantra, and Yantra have any relevance in human existence beyond their outer ceremonial significance in this regard. Outward observances are a part of every faith. You may look at them casually and dismiss them as simple superstitions, as many people do, or you can analyse them more deeply to determine whether they have any underlying meaning. Anyone familiar with Hinduism understands that any religious discipline or knowledge cannot always be taken at face value because it may contain a lot of symbolism and hidden meaning that becomes self-evident only when you are in a certain state of mind or when your mind and body are sufficiently purified. You may either take its information literally and place your confidence in it till your mind awakens, or you can go deeper into its texts in search of greater and symbolic understanding.
The same may be said about religious practises such as Mantra, Tantra, and Yantra. They aren’t only acts of superstition, as some would have you believe. True, they are frequently abused by con artists and charlatans to defraud people and generate false impressions about them. Their primary goal is to purify the mind and body and make them suitable instruments for self-realization.
The methods of Mantra, Tantra, and Yantra all carry a secret life lesson. They tell you that you are an aspect of God, and that you may awaken the dormant power of God in you by using the mind, body, and will. Many individuals have probably read or seen the movie The Secret. It may surprise you to learn that the book contains many Tantra aspects that are essential for invoking the hidden energies of your mind and body in order to actualize your ideas and aspirations.
Mantra, Tantra, and Yantra are the three primary techniques for manifesting your desires or destiny. The major purposes of human existence, according to Hinduism, are duty, prosperity, pleasure, and liberation or ultimate freedom. To achieve any objective in life, you must employ the three natural gifts that you have been given: mental power, body power, and the power of your intention. To become self-aware or to let others know what you need, desire, or seek to manifest, you must rely on your thoughts and words (the Mantra technique). Then, using your willpower and dedication, you must practise your talents, acquire essential resources, and create the proper conditions and circumstances (Yantra) for them to appear. Finally, you must use sufficient physical effort (Tantra) to mould and manifest your goals and wishes. As a result, whether you are an atheist or a theist, you must always rely on one of the three paths to achieve your objectives. They are useful instruments to bring out the best in you and realise your aspirations and desires according to your vision, strength, and intelligence, as some would like to argue.
