Mantras

Mantra is derived from the Sanskrit root man (to think).
Mantra  is  a  thought, indicating  something  subtler,  deeper  and unknown  to  the  five
senses of knowledge.
All the scientific principles like the  ‘Law of Gravity’ or the  ‘Theory of Relativity’ are
unknown to the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin. Knowledge is directly revealed to the
‘inner instrument’ or antah
-karan a. Mind is also called by that name in Sanskrit. Mind
in  an  intuitive  state  directly  understands  all  the  higher  laws.  One  who  knows  these
higher and subtler laws, unknown to the five senses, is called a scientist in the modern
world and is called a rishi in Sanskrit.
Rishi means rishati janati iti rishih: one who sees and knows. Sees and knows all these
higher and subtler laws. Rishi is a seer: a seer of Mantras.
Mantras are codified forms of the various facets of the Truth.
Mantras  are  seen  by  rishi’s in  their  transcendental  mental  states,  in  higher realms  of
consciousness.
Every mantra has a rishi, a meter and a deity indicating a facet of the Ultimate.
Mantras are sound symbols and are all codified.
Mantras  consist  of  one  or  more  letters.  A  letter  in  Sanskrit  is  called  aksharam.  Na
ksharati iti aksharam: one who does not perish is called aksharam. The ultimate Truth
also is called aksharam. This is in the relative phenomenal existence. According to the
Veda’s  and  even  to  the  Hindu  mythology  the  whole creation  is  a  manifestation  and
unmanifestation.  The  same  thing  is  now  more  or  less  accepted by  all of the  top
physicists, that  whatever  is  now  manifesting  was  there  earlier  in  an  unmanifest
condition.  The  Truth  according to the  Veda’s is  Absolute  Existence-Knowledge-Bliss
and  contains  the  whole  creation  including  time and  space.  By  knowing  this  ultimate
Truth one becomes that or gains that, according to the Veda’s. Hence keeping this goal
of  gaining  the  ultimate  to  become completely  free  from  sorrow,  suffering  and  all
limitations,  individuals  take  to the study  of  scriptures,  prayers,  austerities  and  deep
contemplations  and  meditations.  In  that  process some of  them  happen  to  see  various
facets  of  the  Truth.  They  are called  rishi’s or  Mantra  Drashtaraha, one  who  sees
mantras. Thus mantras are facets of the Truth in codified or capsule form.
A mantra contains at least one syllable and can contain any number of syllables. These
one-syllable mantras are called bija aksharas or bi-ja’s. Bija means a seed. In Sanskrit
when  bija is  reversed  it  becomes  jiba or  jiva,  which  means  the  individual.  Both  the
individual and the seed are eternal because no one can ever say when the first individual
or the  first  seed  started.  They  started  with the creation  itself.  Now  each  of these  bija
mantras  reflects  different  aspects  of  the  Truth  in  a  subtler  way.  Some  examples  for
bija’s are Om, Hrim, Shrim, Klim, Im, Dum and so on