Repeating these words out loud has a specific effect on the body. As you say the mantra, your tongue is hitting meridian points on the top of the upper palate of the mouth, which affects the energies going to different glands such as the hypothalamus, the pineal, and the pituitary. By stimulating these meridian points, you are physically producing the effect of relaxation and an altered state of consciousness.
When you first start, don’t worry about your pronunciation and don’t worry about hitting the right notes. All of this will come with time. Chanting involves so much repeating, that you pick things up eventually. It can be useful to look up the words of the mantra, because sometimes the sounds are so foreign to the average westerner that your mind gets a bit confused. Spirit Voyage has a portion of its website called Mantrapedia which allows you to do just that. But do not become caught up in perfection as you are beginning…all sounds made to the divine are good sounds.
When a mantra is chanted in rhythmic tone with ups and downs, they create a melodious effect in the body . This effect can be defined as the Neuro-linguistic effect. The Neuro- linguistic effect will be possible even if you do not know the meaning of the mantra. Hence knowing the meaning of every mantra is not compulsory.
At the same time if you know the meaning it has got an additional effect which is known as Neuro-linguistic (NLE) + Psycholinguistic effect (PLE). Lot of Research studies have been carried out by many and important results derived by one of the famous professors Dr. T. Temple Tutler, of the Cleveland University, USA on these effects are remarkable. The NLE and PLE effects are due to the production and spreading of curative chemicals in the brain. These curative chemicals give smoothening and curing effect in the body. Thus mantra chanting is no way a superstition. It can also be directly called as music therapy or mantra therapy in modern words.
Listening to mantras directly lowers blood pressure, normalizes heart beat rate, brain wave pattern, adrenalin level, even cholesterol level. That is the reason why modern doctors advise the people under high tension to sit and listen to music or mantras for few minutes. This has become an accepted procedure just like the yoga and Pranayam practices. Even chanting the kirtans, melodious bhajans, songs, etc., have the good effect almost similar to the NLE and PLE. How ever there should a melodious pattern for that. The music/ song/mantra should never be hard/ harsh/rough/ etc. The speed also should have a smoothening effect for example even Gayatri mantra chanting should be done at the range of 4 - 8 numbers per minute, Om Namo Narayanaaya at 38 -62 and Om Namah Sivaaya at 42 - 68 range per minute.
Chanting the mantras everyday is excellent and important at a particular time. In physics the time, space and observer are the three important factors. Exactly like that the time, space and the person connected with chanting/listening mantras are three important factors for deriving benefit of mantras. Hence sareera shuddhi, aahara shuddhi, mana shuddhi, vaak shuddhi and karma shuddhi are essential for deriving the full benefit of chanting the mantra. Also the place where you are sitting should give calming effect, comfortable feeling etc. The ideal timings are the prabhata sandhya and saayam sandhya. (Morning & evening) Group chanting is excellent. Absolutely no mistake is expected in Vedic mantra chanting. When you are sick due to ill health or old age, one need not worry too much about his incapability of chanting the mantras. Mantras are chanted for solving our problems and for positive effects but mantra chanting/ not chanting should not become another problem for us. The ideal sound for mantra chanting can be maintained if possible at radius 7 meters. Veda mantras chanting is not easy so it is advised not to chant without the guidance from a guru.
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