why religious mantras work?

[mon9999]

I've been chanting the "hare Krishna" maha mantra lately and all I can say is WOW!
I'm not a hindu and in fact I'm not a believer of any religion, but now after a few weeks of chanting this mantra it just gives me a sense of bliss and well being. I am also an astral projector from time to time but with no success lately so I tried chanting this mantra that I've found from the internet.
here is the full mantra:

Hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare
Hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare.

I just have to chant it without being concerned with the technical way of chanting it. Just chant it as if you are reading it.

Now my question is this, If religion Gods are not real or some of us believe that religions are fake or does not make any sense( for some ) then why do this hindu mantra work?? 

[Xanth]

In my opinion, the words are "literally" meaningless.
What the mantra does for you is focus your intent upon your goal.  Nothing more, nothing less.

It works because you choose to make it work.

Take that same intent that you use to say those words... and say any gibberish phrase.  You'll find the same will work too.

"Steak potato apple orange gorilla"... that would work just as well as long as you placed the same intent behind it.

[Astral316]

"Steak potato apple orange gorilla"

Sounds like the ingredients for a good time, am i rite? 

[personalreality]

In my opinion, the words are "literally" meaningless.
What the mantra does for you is focus your intent upon your goal.  Nothing more, nothing less.

It works because you choose to make it work.

Take that same intent that you use to say those words... and say any gibberish phrase.  You'll find the same will work too.

"Steak potato apple orange gorilla"... that would work just as well as long as you placed the same intent behind it.

I have to address your cynicism right quick.

You ought to study some theoretical physics and electromagnetism.  I've been reading some stuff lately that might imply significant properties of acoustics, properties that could have a measureable impact on the mind and body.  Specifically, I've been reading a completely unrelated (to this topic) book, by Joseph Farrell, about the possibility of Giza being a weapon.  But in the course of explaining the theory, the author has pointed out some things that make me contemplate the effect of sound waves in more detail.  There was one particular part about using two different waves to cancel out and utilize the difference between them.......hemi-sync anyone? 

A mantra may be the remnants of a lost technology.  We may not understand the physics behind the tonal qualities, but that doesn't mean that there isn't something deeper happening than just "focusing".

Also, a woman taught me a mantra that I like,

"Nam-[Myo-Ho]-[Ren-Ge]-Kyo"

I don't know what it means.  The syllables in brackets are said together.

[CFTraveler]

Now my question is this, If religion Gods are not real or some of us believe that religions are fake or does not make any sense( for some ) then why do this hindu mantra work?? 

Mantras have nothing to do with religion, so why wouldn't it work?
If you take the word 'God' out of the theistic bracket (that is, the idea of 'a' god or 'many' gods as limited objectified beings) and see God as the creative force of the universe (amongst other views) then you could say that saying a mantra allows you to tap into that creative power and use it to channel your creative ability.
As to what ps said about sound technology, who knows?  Technology can take many forms, and this can be one too.  We know that certain frequencies affect the brain in different ways, so maybe some mantras were previously researched in antiquity.

[mon9999]

thanx for your replies guys, I learned something but I have to prove to myself if using other mantras with still the same intention would still work. 

[mon9999]

Try it guys, experiment and chant the mantras, after a few weeks you will experience bliss. same feeling when you're in deep trance state or when you are in higher astral dimensions during OBE.
chant it for at least 30 cycles in the morning and 30 cycles at night before sleep.

[Stillwater]

The way I think about, I think I take a somewhat altered version of what Xanth suggested:

I don't think that the meaning of the syllables is at all relavent, outside of causing you to contemplate a certain idea as you say them; the real force of a mantra probably comes from two places:

1) The focused intent: when we focus on a mantra, we are causing our concentration to take an object, which becomes the majority of our awareness, allowing us to better get into a meditative state.

2) The modulations of pitch: it has been shown that not only do binaural sounds have the ability to direct brain-waves, but that in in addition, strongly modulating sounds of low modulation frequency also can affect brainwave states (beta to delta, etc). The effect of larges numbers of monks chanting a powerfully reverberent sound which modulates at a 4-8hz range is a powerful aid to directing your mental state into the meditative brainwave of theta and delta. So it is not impossible that chanting a mantra in a certain manner might also help you entrain your brainwaves to one of these states.

[mon9999]

I don't have to chant it in a certain manner ar style, I don't have to be concerned with my pitch, voice, how loud i chant it. I just have to chant it like reading a word.

[NoY]

i think its sympathetic resonance
when you say Auuuummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
your mind not only resonates with the group mind of all the monks saying Auummmmm
but you resonate with every monk who ever said it expanding your mind over eternitys

:NoY:

[mon9999]

try it guys, I recommend this, you don't have to be a hindu or to be a religious fanatic. just use it for wellbeing 

[Pauli2]

Hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare
Hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare.

Many years ago a teacher bought a record with this mantra. It went on for an hour.

The same stuff was repeated again and again.

The leader gets followers.

Brainwash.

[CFTraveler]

Many years ago a teacher bought a record with this mantra. It went on for an hour.

The same stuff was repeated again and again.

The leader gets followers.

Brainwash.

I don't know anything about poetry, but... is that a haiku?

[mon9999]

What's brainwahsing about mantras? like I said you don't have to be a hindu or give up what you believe in. It just give you a sense of wellbeing that's all. It worked for me yet I don't have the slightest interest to be a hindu or monk or whatsoever

[blis]

i think its sympathetic resonance
when you say Auuuummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
your mind not only resonates with the group mind of all the monks saying Auummmmm
but you resonate with every monk who ever said it expanding your mind over eternitys

I hadnt thought of that. I can believe it.

That could explain why the mantra makes you feel so good. Hare Krishnas are Bhakti yogis, they concentrate on loving devotion of god. They must generate some pretty good feelings.

In saying that, I totally agree with PR though. Sound/words can have real power.

About five years ago I got into chanting the hare krshna maha mantra. It made me go a bit mental to be honest. I wouldnt chant any "god's" name these days. How do you know it's really a manifestation of god and not just some powerfull non-physical entity trying to feed off your energy and tie you to them in the afterlife.

[c0sm0nautt]

I've had strange dreams connected to my mantra where I am taken to worlds outside my reference of space and time - for example Tibetan monasteries for hundreds of years ago.

[brian1234]

Religious Mantras are helpful in our day to day life.It helps to reduce the stress and tension from our mind.Also there will be physical and mental exercise which helps to keep us healthy.By repeating the mantras the sound and frequency utilizes some energy and hence the extra calories can be burnt away easily.

[Homesick]

What NoY said

Also physical resonance created from the sound has much to do with the effect.
No need to believe anything.

Try for yourself.
Just find the resonance and calmly and gently hum a way 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG_lNuNUVd4&list=PL872683CC21872DF2&index=6

My favorite, as it's so earthly, easy and has very soothing rhythmic.

[dotster]

It's no mystery that life wouldn't exist without vibration; everything in our measurable existence is vibrating to some degree. The meaning of the mantra itself is unimportant but the words used are used purposefully for the vibration that they invoke in the throat that resonates in the body. Mantras are considered to "massage" the central nervous system and internal organs by using vibration and resonance and it creates not only a calming effect from vibration (not unlike sitting in one of those vibrating massage chairs), but also distracts the mind from its normal chatter by focusing awareness on the part of your body that resonates with the sounds being produced. This shouldn't be a very unusual concept if you are a singer. Aum (the dipthong au in english) is the tone that resonates in the head. Take a deep breath and then let it out in a comfortable normal voice until you come up on the end of your breath. During this you should feel the vibration in your cranial cavity. The sound "Ahh" resonates in the heart area. When doing a mantra try feeling where in your body the tone is resonating. Use old mantras and learn to "feel" them in your body as they vibrate and as you get comfortable with the different sounds and relating them to where they resonate then you can make your own mantras to suite your own needs. Mantras are in my opinion best utilized with the Tactile Imaging technique to help "highlight" internal areas that cannot be stimulated by external stimuli such as a finger. After "targeting" the area with a mantra it is easier to place awareness there. That's just my two cents anyways hehe 

All the best,
dotster

[astralnaut1]

my mantra will be: Its peanut butter jelly time, peanut butter jelly time..... XD

[Jilt]

When I chant "Om" while OOB it helps with lucidity, enhances flying ability and heightens the overall experience. I was OOB this week and a man said to me that I would have a better experience if I chanted Om which was interesting since I had forgotten to do so. People's experiences could also be related to breathing since when we chant or sing mentally our physical breathing becomes deeper to match.

[majour ka]

first off congrats!! Secondly there's three things that make sense to me from my experiences...and by the way im not religious either.

1. mantras give you a focus they create space in our thinking which allows the sense of being, that is to say the power of your own spirit that which is prior to thought shine through.

2. The words you are chanting are imbued with thousands of years of spiritual vibration, they will help you elevate your mind to connect with that collective spiritual consciousnesses. 

3. The vibratory qualities of the thought and and sound will have an effect on the electro magnetic field and our chakras, different tones different points of energy on the body and mind.

Try the Om for half an hour with eyes closed and gently gaze between your eye brows...It will blow your mind...you can start to sense the whole wold as particals of sound and light...then tell me there's no god