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A "Mantra" (/?mæntr?, ?m??n-, ?m?n-/ (Sanskrit: ?????);[2]) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit believed by practitioners to have psychological and spiritual powers.[3][4] A mantra may or may not have syntactic structure or literal meaning.[3][5] The earliest mantras were composed in Vedic Sanskrit by Hindus in India, and are at least 3000 years old.[6] Mantras now exist in various schools of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.[4][7] Similar hymns, chants, compositions and concepts are found in Zoroastrianism,[8] Taoism, Christianity, and elsewhere.[3] The use, structure, function, importance, and types of mantras vary according to the school and philosophy of Hinduism and of Buddhism. Mantras serve a central role in tantra.[6][9] In this school, mantras are considered to be a sacred formula and a deeply personal ritual, effective only after initiation. In other schools of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism or Sikhism, initiation is not a requirement.[8][10] Mantras come in many forms, including ?c (verses from the Rigveda for example) and s?man (musical chants from the S?maveda for example).[3][6] They are typically melodic, mathematically structured meters, believed to be resonant with numinous qualities. At its simplest, the word ? (Aum, Om) serves as a mantra. In more sophisticated forms, mantras are melodic phrases with spiritual interpretations such as a human longing for truth, reality, light, immortalit . . . more
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantra
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