The Theosophical Society,
The Writings of W Q Judge
W Q Judge 1851 – 96
Mantrams
By
William Q. Judge
This article first published in 1888 is in the
form of a dialogue between Student and Sage
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
long settled parts of
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
thus control animals, but those are nearly always special
cases. There are
men in
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
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
his supplementing, was "Empress of
India." King Henry of
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 -
First
published in The Path, August, 1888
The Theosophical Society,