Mantras for Protection

“Chant the Gayatri as often as possible. If you chant it while you take a bath, your bath gets sanctified. Likewise chant it before taking your food. The food becomes an offering to the divine. Develop heartfelt devotion to God.”  -Sai Baba

Mystical traditions believe that certain words have the power to transform our soul and can act as a powerful protection from harm. When chanted, these are called a mantra. Mantra is a Sanskrit word with many meanings. Some consider it to be “divine speech.” They are believed to increase spiritual awareness, heal, and can bring about favorable circumstances for those who chant them. They are ancient formulas recorded by the ancient sages of India.

Vedic Mantras

The oldest mantras, and arguably the most powerful, come from the holy scriptures of India called the Vedas. Nobody knows when they were first created. The teachings were transmitted by oral tradition and are believed to be over 5,000 years old. The historical writer Graham Hancock argues that they may date back 11,000 years, and are relics from the civilizations that thrived just after the last Ice Age. Like an Eastern version of the Legend of Atlantis, the ruins of this lost civilization now lie under the ocean to the south of the Indus Valley, swallowed as the waters rose when the polar ice caps melted.

There are four Vedas: the Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva. Each Veda itself is composed of parts, the Samhita (the mantras in verse), the Brahmana (rituals and liturgy in prose) and the Aranyakas and Upanishads (the philosophical works). It is believed by many that the Vedas are eternal scriptures, “heard” by ancient seers and collected by them. The Rigveda Samhita contains 1,028 suktas (hymns) with a total of 10,552 mantras (verses) arranged in ten books.

The Gayatri Mantra

Considered by many to be the most ancient and holy of the mantras is the Gayatri mantra. Legend has it that the mantra was rediscovered by a rishi called Vishwamitra, a king who went through many arduous struggles to attain spiritual insight. The mantra, it is said, not only protects the individual but will eventually transform the whole of humanity by bringing enlightenment to all. This mantra is believed to bring great benefit. Its powerful words are charged to keep you to the light and drive away all negativity.


The Gayatri Mantra by RandomVideoChannel
I was moved by it when I first heard it in India, echoing through the temples of the ashram I was visiting. Seated on the dusty ground, I could have been living thousands of years ago when the first avatars walked the earth. One of my friends, traveling with us, was a scholar of Sanskrit and made certain that every word we chanted was exactly correct. The more perfect the pronunciation, we were told, the greater the benefit the mantra brings, for its sounds correspond directly with the higher vibrations of the spirit. I found it a little difficult, but even incorrect pronunciation brings some benefit. This mantra can be used anytime and, should you feel fearful for any reason, it will generate spiritual light and protection for the soul.

The Enlightenment Mantra

Om Bhur Bhuva Suvah

Om Tat Savithur Varenyam

Bhargo Devasya Dheemahi

Dhiyo Yonah Prachodayat

Pronunciation

OM BOO BOO-VAH-HAH SWAH-HA

OM TAHT SAH-VEE-TOOR VAHR-EHN-YUM

BHAHR-GO DEH-VAHS-YAH DEE-MAH-HEE

DEE-YOH YOHN-AH-HA PRAH-CHOH-DAH-YAHT

The meaning of the mantra: We meditate on that most adorable, most desirable and most enchanting lustre (effulgence) of our supreme Lord, who is our creator, inspirer and source of eternal Joy. May this light inspire and illumine our intellect (and dispel the darkness).

Breakdown of the meanings of individual words: Aum: The primeval sound (from which all sounds emerge); Dheemahi: We meditate upon; Varenyam: the most adorable, most desirable or most enchanting; Bhargo: lustre or effulgence; Tat: of that; Devasya: supreme (Lord); Savitur: from whom all creations emerge (also means the Sun God who is our life source); Bhur: who is our inspirer; Bhuvah: who is our creator; Suvaha: who is the abode of supreme joy; [Bhur, Bhuvah and Suvaha are also considered to mean three lokaas or worlds namely Heaven, earth and lower worlds]. Yo: May this light; Prachodayaat: inspire/illumine; Naha: our; Dhiyo: intellect (activities of the intellect)]

The Psychology of Spell Casting

Naturally, psychology plays an important part in making a spell work. Just as we can talk ourselves into being ill, we can frighten ourselves into believing that bad luck and illness will befall us. If we believe we are unlucky, we may inevitably attract bad luck into our lives and curses may only succeed because the victim believes in their power. Most people find out that they are jinxed through word of mouth or when a “friend” tells them that a spell has been put upon them. Let’s face it, people love to gossip and soon the belief in the jinx is reinforced by the community at large. Inevitably, as soon as something untoward happens to the victim, the jinx is to blame. They may lose their keys or a credit card and immediately they remember what the friend told them. And so the cycle of fear begins.

Worse still, a hideous token, gris-gris, amulet, or charm may be posted to them or hung on their door to warn them that magic has been cast. A hoodoo sorcerer may nail a gruesome chicken bone amulet on your front door and cover your steps in blood red powder. In some countries, it is traditional to spit or blow powder in the victims face while speaking the words of the curse. This shock technique reinforces the power of the curse, taking the victim, as it does, off guard and naturally causes severe upset.