Theos-Talk Archives (March 2002 Message tt00243)

Part IV -- MANTRAMS -- Conversations on Occultism

Offered by D T B

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MANTRAMS

W. Q. Judge


STUDENT. - You spoke of mantrams by which we could control
elementals on guard over hidden treasure. What is a mantram?

Sage. - A mantram is a collection of words which, when sounded in
speech, induce certain vibrations not only in the air, but also
in the finer ether, thereby producing certain effects.

Student. - Are the words taken at haphazard?

Sage. - Only by those who, knowing nothing of mantrams, yet use
them.

Student. - May they, then, be used according to rule and also
irregularly? Can it be possible that people who know absolutely
nothing of their existence or field of operations should at the
same time make use of them? Or is it something like digestion, of
which so many people know nothing whatever, while they in fact
are dependent upon its proper use for their existence? I crave
your indulgence because I know nothing of the subject.

Sage. - The "common people" in almost every country make use of
them continually, but even in that case the principle at the
bottom is the same as in the other. In a new country where
folk-lore has not yet had time to spring up, the people do not
have as many as in such a land as India or in long settled parts
of Europe. The aborigines, however, in any country will be
possessed of them.

Student. - You do not now infer that they are used by Europeans
for the controlling of elementals.

Sage. - No. I refer to their effect in ordinary intercourse
between human beings. And yet there are many men in Europe, as
well as in Asia, who can thus control animals, but those are
nearly always special cases. There are men in Germany, Austria,
Italy, and Ireland who can bring about extraordinary effects on
horses, cattle, and the like, by peculiar sounds uttered in a
certain way. In those instances the sound used is a mantram of
only one member, and will act only on the particular animal that
the user knows it can rule.

Student. - Do these men know the rules governing the matter? Are
they able to convey it to another?

Sage. - Generally not. It is a gift self-found or inherited, and
they only know that it can be done by them, just as a mesmerizer
knows he can do a certain thing with a wave of his hand, but is
totally ignorant of the principle. They are as ignorant of the
base of this strange effect as your modern physiologists are of
the function and cause of such a common thing as yawning.

Student. - Under what head should we put this unconscious
exercise of power?

Sage. - Under the head of natural magic, that materialistic
science can never crush out. It is a touch with nature and her
laws always preserved by the masses, who, while they form the
majority of the population, are yet ignored by the "cultured
classes." And so it will be discovered by you that it is not in
London or Paris or New York drawing-rooms that you will find
mantrams, whether regular or irregular, used by the people.
"Society," too cultured to be natural, has adopted methods of
speech intended to conceal and to deceive, so that natural
mantrams can not be studied within its borders.

Single, natural mantrams are such words as "wife." When it is
spoken it brings up in the mind all that is implied by the word.
And if in another language, the word would be that corresponding
to the same basic idea. And so with expressions of greater
length, such as many slang sentences; thus, "I want to see the
color of his money." There are also sentences applicable to
certain individuals, the use of which involves a knowledge of the
character of those to whom we speak. When these are used, a
peculiar and lasting vibration is set up in the mind of the
person affected, leading to a realization in action of the idea
involved, or to a total change of life due to the appositeness of
the subjects brought up and to the peculiar mental antithesis
induced in the hearer. As soon as the effect begins to appear the
mantram may be forgotten, since the law of habit then has sway in
the brain.

Again, bodies of men are acted on by expressions having the
mantramic quality; this is observed in great social or other
disturbances. The reason is the same as before. A dominant idea
is aroused that touches upon a want of the people or on an abuse
which oppresses them, and the change and interchange in their
brains between the idea and the form of words go on until the
result is accomplished.

To the occultist of powerful sight this is seen to be a "ringing"
of the words coupled with the whole chain of feelings, interests,
aspirations, and so forth, that grows faster and deeper as the
time for the relief or change draws near. And the greater number
of persons affected by the idea involved, the larger, deeper, and
wider the result. A mild illustration may be found in Lord
Beaconsfield of England. He knew about mantrams, and continually
invented phrases of that quality. "Peace with honor" was one; "a
scientific frontier" was another; and his last, intended to have
a wider reach, but which death prevented his supplementing, was
"Empress of India." King Henry of England also tried it without
himself knowing why, when he added to his titles, "Defender of
the Faith." With these hints numerous illustrations will occur to
you.

Student. - These mantrams have only to do with human beings as
between each other. They do not affect elementals, as I judge
from what you say. And they are not dependent upon the sound so
much as upon words bringing up ideas. Am I right in this; and is
it the case that there is a field in which certain vocalizations
produce effects in the Akasa by means of which men, animals, and
elementals alike can be influenced, without regard to their
knowledge of any known language?

Sage. - You are right. We have only spoken of natural,
unconsciously-used mantrams. The scientific mantrams belong to
the class you last referred to. It is to be doubted whether they
can be found in modern Western languages -- especially among
English speaking people who are continually changing and adding
to their spoken words to such an extent that the English of today
could hardly be understood by Chaucer's predecessors. It is in
the ancient Sanscrit and the language which preceded it that
mantrams are hidden. The laws governing their use are also to be
found in those languages, and not in any modern philological
store.

Student. - Suppose, though, that one acquires a knowledge of
ancient and correct mantrams, could he affect a person speaking
English, and by the use of English words?

Sage. - He could; and all adepts have the power to translate a
strictly regular mantram into any form of language, so that a
single sentence thus uttered by them will have an immense effect
on the person addressed, whether it be by letter or word of
mouth.

Student. - Is there no way in which we might, as it were, imitate
those adepts in this?

Sage. - Yes, you should study simple forms of mantramic quality,
for the purpose of thus reaching the hidden mind of all the
people who need spiritual help. You will find now and then some
expression that has resounded in the brain, at last producing
such a result that he who heard it turns his mind to spiritual
things.
Student. - I thank you for your instruction.

Sage. - May the Brahmamantram guide you to the everlasting
truth - OM.
]
Path, August, 1888

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Dallas