When that energy which connects the highest state of consciousness with the ordinary state became more definitive, it started to take the forms of very distinct sounds first on a subtle level and then on a gross level which they called mantras.
The sounds such as Om, Om Namaḥ Śivaya. etc. Different mantras were discovered by different rishis.
By following that energy they were able to re-enter the superconscious state.
The rishis did not invent the mantras – they discovered or saw them. The rishis are called draṣhtas – the seers of the mantras. The mantras are the energies that always exist in the universe at any time. Just as the law of gravity was not invented but discovered by Isaac Newton so also the rishis only discovered these subtle energies.
Because of the purity of their minds they were able to discover the mantras. For example, there are many different energies and waves around us but we are not able to perceive them because we are lacking a perfect instrument in order to capture them.
Influence of music on the chakras (psychic centers)
Music has a direct influence on our psychic body, or the mind. A low type of thought vibration expressed in some forms of modern music which has a repetitive and almost hypnotizing beat and poor melodic lines act specifically on lower chakras.
For example: hip-hop, disco, psychedelic music, etc. Music of this type arouses thoughts and experiences associated with physical pleasure, sex, food, and so on. In any form of music there are better and worse pieces that will vary in terms of how they affect the mind.
We choose music according to our state of mind, or according to what we would like to experience. Music also has a power to shift our mood. Music in yoga is called Nāda yoga and its purpose is the same as that of meditation.
Building of pyramids
According to one theory (this view is held by the yogis too) the big rocks used for building pyramids were moved by manipulating sound vibrations. The same theory holds true for Stonehenge in England.
Four states of sound
““In yogic theory, thought, form and sound are all the same, just as steam, water and ice are all the same substance. They are different aspects of a particular wavelength, or the same vibrational energy as passed through different levels of consciousness.
Thought and sound manifest in four fundamental states, with sound at one end of the spectrum and thought on the other. These are: spoken, middle, telepathic and transcendental. The pure energy of the mantra lifts the mind from the lowest to the highest level of pure thought.
Repeated verbally or mentally, a mantra lifts one into the telepathic stage and beyond to the transcendental.
“Rama,” for instance, has a specific form that merges with the name in the telepathic state. On the fourth level, name, form and one’s own Self as witness are indistinguishable.”
Swami Vishnu-devananda
Here are some common mantras used for meditation:
OM ŚRĪ MAHĀ GAṆAPATAYE NAMAḤ
OM NAMAḤ ŚIVĀYA
OM NAMO NĀRĀYAṆĀYA
OM NAMO BHAGAVATE VĀSUDEVĀYA
OM ŚRĪ RĀMĀYA NAMAḤ
OM ŚRĪ DURGĀYAI NAMAḤ
OM ŚRĪ MAHĀ LAKṢMYAI NAMAḤ
OM ŚRĪ SARASVATYAI NAMAḤ