VibhutiGanesh

We all in this forum are aware and convinced about different constitution of human body. The imbalance in the Vaata, Kapha and Pitta creates the dosha. We also believe that every food item either exagerates or reduces one of the three of the doshas or a combination of them. Simillarly, every season brings in new challenges to this balance. A wise ayurveda physician identifies the basic constitution of the patient, the degree of dosha, the contributory impact of the environmental and food intake and prescribe suitable medicine and changes in diet and life-style. Now, let us think about an average indian home. It is likely that every one of the family has different biological constitution. It is natural that meals menu e.g. the good and 'to be avoided' for every member would be different. However, we have a common kitchen and same serving for all the members of the family.! We do have occasional different dish prepared for a particular member of the family, however, this is largely based on 'taste' and seldom on the basis of dosha. Mind well, this continues almost thoughout the life time. The multi-crop farming and availability of fruits and vegitables throughout the year, irrespective of its natural season, is adding fuel to the fire. I belive, if we study the ailments of an average aged person of a particular region and community; we may be able to correlate the syndromes with the 'one meal for all' food habit. I wonder, is this the prime cause of old age challenges like arthritis, ostioporosis etc. What is the solution ? Well, like we know the blood group of every member of our family, we should know the prakriti of each of our family members. How nice it could be if we can make it a habit of getting our beloved's dosha checked clinically at least twice in a year and adopt befitting life style..! Let us review our family meals pattern and have scope for different dishes for different members.

Thank you very much for putting me across this beautiful source of light..! The science of vibration in the Brotherhood of Light Lessons by CC Zain. I am obliged.

:109:Well said. I laugh at the request/question and the argument in its support..! What do people mean when they refer Mantra or Tantra? I am of the opninion that even the admin or the moderator should filter out such posts derogative to the essence of the forum.

It is said "A picture is worth a thousand words" How nice it could be if you provide a picture that explains this posture. Would you please indicate what is correct from the following options ?

I have heard that this pitta is responsible for the colour pigment. It is spread all over the outer surface of human body i.e. under the cover of the skin. The colour attributes is our response to solar light. Light is made up of frequencies. In a way, I wish to hypothize the function of Bhrajaka Pitta with spiritual development. Could it be instrumental in our connection with higher frequencies ? Could it be used to harness vitality and intelligence from the Sun or even through cosmic vibrations ? This is purely intuitive. I would be oblige, if an ayurveda expert with spiritual bent be interested in pursuing such a research.

I think we get conditioned when we enter a particular forum. I have a reason to believe so. If we scrutinize the problem of the questioner, we can understand it more clearly. I have my observations. I know, s/shri anahatanandji and avanija would never agree with my observations. She is a victim of her own notions about black magic. If we believe her, "performing homam of prityangira matha, homom for varahi matha and daily chanting sundar gandam of Ramayana. I am a devotee of matha Chandi and lord Ram. I chanted Chandi paath/devi mahatmayam for more than 10 times and given 2 times of fire sacrifice during the navaratri. My spiritual guru is the god himself/herself. I pray to all god/goddess whichever is the holy spirit...." it poses serious questions about effectiveness of our Mantras, Guru and the remedial measures. If a person chants Chandipath/devi mahtmaya more than 10 times, just imagine what portion of the day she spents in this activity (or is it just during Navaratri?). I am afraid, too much of indulgence in ritualistic activities may be the reason of he state of affairs. Where is the problem ? She says "....i dont get any bad dreams. I always get positive dreams. Good sleep. only problem is the hurdle for the marriage and my career development. But, now after these good number of chants of Devi mahatmaya, the sounds into ear has been very much reduced. Only problem is the thoughts reading." - now, let me tell you the hurdle for marriage and career development is a very general sort of things and this can be experienced even in absence of black-magic. What is so bad about it..? I think she need not worry for the 'Thought reading' phenomenon. Untill, some one takes disadvantage, what is bad if though reading is done ? Does it get her thought printed over walls ? As she says.."I could not able to trust anyone and almost everyone who is so and so called manthriks are seems to be fake. " I wonder, how can she expect to get genuine guidance over the internet ? She is confussed about the problem. Karna Pishachini is the shakti attained by a sadhaka. This shakti whisper in the ear of the sadhaka about past and present events of the desired person. The shakti cannot be used to whisper things into another person's ear. I suggest that Avanija, should carefully read this webpage - it provides more useful information on her problem : Hearing Voices

Your intention here is of prime essence. Nothing to worry. For God, every part of your body is equal because they are his own creation. We need to analyze our own idea about our God..! If God is 'Antarayaami' he knows your good intention.

I am afraid, some of the text matter have been lost during an error that occurred during posting above views. I am, therefore, resubmitting the answer : I am new on this site and hence I admit, I don't know about the person you are referring as 'Guruji'. However, the words of Guruji in inverted commas, are frank. Very few Gurus admit this. Let me make it clear that in the following answer I have expressed my personal views about the so called 'Gurus' and 'Masters'. This is true and intended only for the false entities in the field of spirituality. Otherwise, I highly value the learned teachers and bow to the genuine Gurus. Let me share my experiences into Sprituality. My personal exploration in search of answers to questions like What is the purpose of Life ? Does God Exist ? How to live life to the Fullest ? What is the need of a Guru, what are the characteristics of a model Guru etc. led me into spiritual domains. On the way, I studied various schools of thoughts and found that the religions and the Ashrams have messed up the simple and easy things into most intricate concepts. In search of a real Guru, I have visited different ashrams and found that most of the places are in the hands of the administrators and the Guru is just used as a Mask (Mukhauta) of the institute so that the stream of donations may continue. At places, I observed that the Guru also keep on playing different tricks so as to keep the seekers under a sort of spiritual hybernation to keep them dormant disciples for the rest of their lives. The very first thing they demand is 'Surrender of Logic'. I failed to understand this notion. In fact, Guru should be the one who takes the disciple 'from the darkness of ignorance to light of pure knowledge'. I feel, under the cover of 'faith' they kill the inquisiteness and even common sense of the people who approach them. The senior band of disciples create such an environment that the genuine spiritual querries get discouraged and rediculed. As I approached with pure spiritual questions, except at one place, all the other skillfully escaped and showed no interest in me. Guru is supposed to know your spiritual level of evolution. Contrary to this, at most places the Guru did not even show good IQ.. I wonder, how can they guide me on spiritual path..? To my utter surprise, many of the Gurus, themselves promote reciting Guru Geeta in their own praise. Now, if you scrutinize the shlokas of Guru Geeta, you would know that Lord Mahadeva himself has narrated the characteristics of a real Guru and ultimately suggest that 'the real guru' lies within one self. The inner wisdom. Your spirit is eternal and no other person but your spirit knows the status and degree of your spiritual development. So, a real guru has just to ignite a spark within you so that your own candle is lightend up to find all solutions from within. While demystifying the spiritual concepts, I realized that to get the answers, I need to unlearn a lot that I gathered during my journey. Living a meaningful life is in deed a simple task. For an ordinary human being, the lofty concepts and theories and mystrious Kriyas hold no practical utility. On the contrary, these are the points from where his innocense pushes him in the vulnerable zone of falling prey to the mentors who are good for nothing. I have never been a good stuff to be a 'Follower' and this is the reason, I have not accepted to be a whole time disciple to a single Sampradaya or a Guru. I don't want to discourage those who are comfortable with a particular band of followership.

I am new on this site and hence I admit, I don't know about the person you are referring as 'Guruji'. However, the words of Guruji in inverted commas, are frank. Very few Gurus admit this. Let me share my experiences into Sprituality. My personal exploration in search of answers to questions like What is the purpose of Life ? Does God Exist ? How to live life to the Fullest ? What is the need of a Guru, what are the characteristics of a model Guru etc. led me into spiritual domains. On the way, I studied various schools of thoughts and found that the religions and the Ashrams have messed up the simple and easy things into most intricate concepts. While demystifying the spiritual concepts, I realized that to get the answers, I need to unlearn a lot that I gathered during my journey. Living a meaningful life is in deed a simple task. For an ordinary human being, the lofty concepts and theories and mystrious Kriyas hold no practical utility. On the contrary, these are the points from where his innocense pushes him in the vulnerable zone of falling prey to the mentors who are good for nothing. I have never been a good stuff to be a 'Follower' and this is the reason, I have not accepted to be a whole time disciple to a single Sampradaya or a Guru. I don't want to discourage those who are comfortable with a particular band of followership.

Mr. Suthar, so nice of you for clarification. It was really needed.

I have started a new thread entitled 'Law of Karma and Rationale of Remedies'. This is under moderator's scrutiny and will be published within a couple of days. You may find it interesting in resolving the issues you have posed here.

The subject involving Karma and Astrology together generates a critical interest particularly for people with Indian mindset. The Law of Karma being one of the prime precepts of Sanatan Dharma (popularly and erroneously called 'Hindu Dharma) has been imbibed in the psyche of our people through ages. However, we have, for almost all practical purposes, deformed the concept of Karma. On the other hand, we also believe strongly in 'Fate' . The co-existence of belief in the law of Karma, Fate, Freewill and Astrology creates confusion and ambiguity in life. It would, therefore, be better that we understand these notions in simple terms and then assess its relevance with each other. For this purpose, we need to understand another precept of Sanatan Dharma, 'Reincarnation' past births and the consecutive births. Vedic Astrology has been founded upon precept of 'Reincarnation'. Reincarnation is dependent upon The Law of Karma. The Law of Karma can simply be stated as: "As you sow, so shall you reap." or "For every action there is equal and opposite reaction". People who believe in 'fate', believe that during their life they are subject to experience certain events in a pre-defined way. This means, that happenings are decided long before they occur. Thus, notion of 'Fate' does not allow any scope for the freewill of a person. If we believe in 'Fate', we enter into an unending loop of the primary element of cause and the subsequent happenings. Just think 'What is the cause of creation of the Fate?' If the answer is 'Karma', this question is partially resolved. Every Action has equal Reaction. This way, Karma or action of a man is cause of the creation of Fate. However, what is the cause of the first ever Karma ? Every act once performed (whether at physical level or at mental level) creates its reward on the basis of attitude and intention of the doer. Thus, Karma is a process of transformation of 'Action Energy' into 'Reward Energy'. The generation of Karma initiates at Subtle level i.e. in form of thought, desire, wish, intention etc. Every Act howsoever it be gross, its foundation remains subtle. There is no power that can falsify this transformation. However, the time of fructification of Karma is beyond human judgment. On the basis of time of fructification of reward, Karmas are divided into three categories: Sanchit: Those Karmas where the fructification time of the reward is very long and generally beyond the present life time. Arrears of such past Karmas is the cause of cycle of lives of the spirit. Prarabdha: The portion of Sanchit Karma where the rewards are due to be delivered during the present life. Kriyamana: Are such karmas where the rewards are delivered immediately upon performance of the Karmas. An action is done, reward availed and nothing is left out. These are the actions performed through the free will of a person. These are the actions performed in present time. For the purpose of this article, we are concerned with the portion of the Sanchit Karmas, called Prarabdha. In English, Prarabdha, is called 'Fate'. However, contrary to the common man's belief, the priority and order of fruictification of the Prarabdha does get modified. This is possible through Kriyaman Karmas. As a result of the present actions, a kind of volume gets generated on the time line of human life. The pressure and volume of the resultant rewards pushes the turn of the rewards otherwise destined to be availed as Praarbdh. With this explaination, it would be easy to appreciate the validity of Astrology and Astrological Remedies. Let us understand this with the help of an illustration. Let us assume that a person 'A' is destined to avail the rewards of his prarabdha at his age of 40. The rewards are negative in nature because they are the product of some bad karma performed by the person in past, might be in previous lives. Now, the person takes help of astrology and gets cautioned about the negative period. As advised He performs some remedial measures, let us say, 'chanting of Mahamrintyunjaya Mantra'. This remedy works on different dimensions. Because of his power of faith in astrology and the reverence for the Mantra, positive mental vibrations are generated. The performing of remedy is a Kriyaman Karma because it is done in present time and with an intention to get result in immediate future. As the volume of this Kriyaman Karma increases, the fructification order gets affected. The sequence of fructification of bad karma (destined to be delivered now) gets disturbed. The bad rewards cannot get room to be delivered now. This is the secret of Astrological Remedies. In this illustration, it should be noted that the Kriyaman Karma is performed by the person who is chanting the Mantra. The volume of this act pushes away the negative rewards i.e. Worries, Tension etc. to take place in the life of the person who is chanting the mantra. It cannot affect the Prarabdha of another person even if the mantra is chanted in his name and on his behalf..! However, let us not get befooled to believe that the Prarabdha is mitigated altogether because of performance of remedies. It is only the sequence of fructification that has got changed. Its a big relief for the person concerned, though for the time being. This is what lord Krishna has directed "Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam" योग: कर्मसु कौशलम | Adeptness in Performing Acts is Yoga. Adopting and performing Remedies so as to generate pressure of Kriyaman Karma is a smart way to avoid the bad rewards for the time being.

Let me share a story I read in one book on Mantra Shastra. A pandit from Germany was offering this mantra in Banaras temple. Listening to him, a few hindu pandits who were sitting by, did not stop laughing. The German politely submitted before them and asked if he is uttering the mantra in a wrong way. The pundits brought a woodan plank and sand. The German scholar was asked to recite the mantra and at the same time lowly letting the sand down from his feast. The German did it. The sand from his feast dropped on the wooden plank placed on the ground. Then it was the turn of the hindu priests, one of them recited the "Gananam...tvam.. " mantra and the German was again asked to let the sand drop from his feast over the plank. The German was ashtonished as he saw Ganeshji's image formed on the plank. It was explained to him that the difference lies in Aroha and Avaroha to be followed during reciting every Mantra. So, the pronunciation has to be acquired from a living pundit. You can get it from Ragaa etc. they can be beautifully sung but they cannot be said to be scientifically sung.

Since ancient time till the present era; Mantras have been used as a remedy for nearly every problem. With the increasing number of TV channels in India, the situation is such that you tell about any issue and one out of ten persons, you will find at least one to come out with a handy Mantra to resolve your issue. The great learned pundits are there on the small screen almost round the clock. Now a question arises, do we really get benefit from those free of cost advice ? I don't think the TV channels will be helpful to you in this respect. They should be more than happy with the increasing TRP and would haradly get time to undertake a survey to find effacasy of such remedial mantras etc. With a view to verify the effectiveness of mantras, let us try to answer these questions Can one mantra be effective for multiple purposes ? What is the source of power of any mantra ? What is the correct way of using a mantra ? What matters the most - The sound, the tone and rhythm of reciting a mantra, the meaning of the words used in the mantra, or the procedure prescribed? By usage of a Mantra can any one be able to escape from experiencing the fructification of Karma? How does 'offering' of a mantra by a Siddha makes a difference? One Mantra removes all evil : One should not need any thing more than mere common sense to reject the notion of 'elixir' kind of a Mantra that can be used to resolve a problem irrespective of nature of problem. As we accept the low of 'Cause and Effect'; we have to find the likely cause of a problem and then the remedy has to address the cause. In a way, the remedy should be a kind of reversal process of the cause. We can understand that every problem has to have a particularly related cause and hence, it has to be addressed with a specific process. Thus, a Mantra to increase physical height of a person cannot be accepted as a cure of Cancer. Hindu mantras like 'Maha Mrintyunjaya Mantra', 'Gayatri Mantra', etc. suffer from the notion of 'One-for-All' remedy and we most humbly do not agree with the belief. The sanctity of mantras for spiritual upliftment should be maintained and must not be recommended for temporal laukik reasons as trival as 'securing a job transfer ' or 'begetting children' etc. People indulging in such activities are unknowingly doing a grave disservice to the sacred heritage of Vedas. Prerequisites for Using a Mantra : The seers who formulated the mantras offered them to their disciples who were well-versed with the prerequisites as a part of the methodology of particular school of spiritual Sadhana. The knowledge of such prerequisites was believed to be so fundamental that its narration, at times, used to be ommitted to avoid repetition. Most of the mantras have been a part of a Stotra or an Upanishad or a fullfleged Sadhana or an Anushthana and were never intended to be used in isolation. However, over a period of time, some of the Pundits started compiling the mantras and formulated books of such collection. At this stage, the brevity was the call and not only the prerequisites, but even the overall purpose and relevance lost their place. In the modern age, where education and spirituality has turned into an Industry, Astrology, too, has slipped into the hands of commercial people. In absence of honest custodians and the rightful inheritors; mantras are prescribed in most bizzare manner by the commecial astrologers for meeting their selfish means. Needless to say, mantras have become tools in their hands to exploit the greedy and ignorant people. The Rishis who formulated the mantras also advocated certain procedures to be followed for its right use. This include a formal commitment in the form of 'Sankalpa', some movements and gestures in form of 'Nyasa', creating protective sheath in form of 'Kavacha' and offerings to the Devata in the form of 'Arghya'. Let us understand the procedure as well as the parts of mantra. Sankalpa : Sankalpa with respect to Mantra Sadhana, means a formal committment about one's plan of the Sadhana. A statement of sankalpa generally contains one's own identification. This is in the vedic manner including one's full name, one's vedic lineage i.e. Veda, Gotra, Shakha etc. Then follows ones desire to chant the Mantra for a particular duration and in particular number or undertake an Anushthana for fulfilment of a particular wish. The sankalpa is addressed to the Devata of the Mantra. Ritualistically, a sankalpa is taken through Sanskrit. However, as we know the significance of Mental vibrations in Mantra Sadhana, it should be OK to undertake the Sankalpa in one's own language. Nyasa : Nyasa is an important preperatory stage of Mantra Sadhana. It is in a way a 'warming up' and 'cleansing' session prior to undertaking Mantra chanting. There are different types of Nayasa, e.g.Anga Nyasa, Kara Nyasa, Rishyadi Nyasa, Hridayadi Nyasa, Panchatatwa Nyasa, Varna Nyasa etc. pembody himself for the Mantra he is chanting. This is what called as Nyasa. For that purpose, Though each one has it's special benefits, Rishyadi Nyasa is famous. Kavacha : Kavacha' is the imagery sheild to be created for the protection of the Sadhaka during Sadhana. It is very important because, the Sadhaka loses his conscious sense of awareness as he transgress into meditative state or altered state of awareness. During such a state he stands vulnerable and exposed to abnormal frequencies and vibrations. The performing of Kavacha protects the Sadhaka from such vibrations. The Kavacha in a way create hypontic layer of self-confidence and keep him comfortable Arghya : Arghya is a symbolic gesture of hospitality offered to the Devata. As we offer some tea and snacks and respect to the guest at our home, simillarly, here during Mantra sadhana, we are invoking the Devata of the Mantra and suitable welcome is essential. The arghya is normally a mixture of water, milk, curd, flower pattles, kumkum, sandal and grains like teel. The mixture is taken in hands in the cavety created by holding two palms together and then poured in the vessle meant for it. The ingredients of Arghya are Devata specific and so is the way of offering it and as such different Mantra Sadhana requires different kind of Arghya. On mental and subtle level, the offering of Arghya signifies surrend of the individual ego at the feet of the Devata. In addition to the procedure, it is vital to understand the essential parts of a Mantra. Every mantra is suppose to be complete only when it is used with the following six parts, knows as 'Shadanga': Rishi Chhandas Devata Beeja Keelaka and Shakti. Rishi : Rishi is the person who originally formulated the Mantra. In vedic culture, Rishi is believed as the seer, a visualizer of Mantra. The prerequisite of naming the Rishi of the mantra before using the same is a humble way of showing gratitude and acknowledgement. This act of acknowledgement is the first step towards delution of personal pride and ego. The feeling of gratitude initiates the altered state of mind leading to internal environment congenial to invocation of the Devata of the Mantra. Devata : Devata of the Mantra is the form of the god who is being propitiated. The deveta element engages the visualizing faculty of human mind. Every Devata has its own Shape, Colour, Posture, Gesture, Mudra, Ayudha, and personality. The preceding steps of Rishi and Chhanda prepares the ground for effective visualization of the Devata. The initial utterrance of name of the Devata creates flashes of the visions. Its frequent repetition enables a devotee to contemplate upon the form of the Devata. Ultimately, he forgets his own self and gets unified with the form of the Devata. Chhandas : Chhandas denotes to the gramatical formation of words in a particular rhythm. The chhanda sets the pattern of words and number of syllables. The formation guides the recitation of the Mantra in a particular way. The pattern activates different points in human brain and further augment the internal psychic environment. Each chhanda has its own attributes to influence the mood of the person reciting it. Chhandas are classified into two types (1) Varnik Chhand (alphabetical stanzas) and (2)Matrik Chhand (stanzas containing short vowels). Hindu mantras follow the Chhandas of their respective Vedic Samhita and Shakha. Generally a distinct Matrik Chhanda has been preferred by different Shakha in different Samhitas. Beeja : Beeja is a single letter of Sanskrit Alphabet and it represent, again, shortes possible form of the Devata. The shape of the Beeja creates the route for the energy to vibrate. Beejam resembles the basic character (tatva) of the mantra. for example jala tatva(soft), agni tatva (hard) etc. Keelaka : Keelaka means a nail. Now, what is significance of a Nail here with respect to reciting a Mantra ? To understand the significance of Keelaka we have to link it with the nail that stops a rotating wheel slipping out of its excel. We know that the energy of a mantra is generated from the mind of the person and its important to keep it centered at a point to save it getting dissipated. This is done through Keelaka. Some people symbolize it with a key of the lock. Thus, a keelaka is believed to be a Key to open the lock of the source of a Mantra power. Shakti : Shakti means Power. Shakti means power or energy of the Mantra. This is the power generated through reciting the mantra. It has to be noted that every Mantra has its own form of Shakti. However, let us admit that today, except the name denoted to the Shakti, we do not know much about distinct forms of the energy of Mantra. The main reason for this ommission is attributable to the fact that graphical reproduction of the form of energy vibrations visualized during altered state of mind remains difficult. The second reason for the misconception is that we consider the words 'Devi' and 'Shakti' as synomniums. Due to this ambiguity, it is quite possible that a Sadhaka of a Mantra may contemplate upon a known form of Devi in stead of the energy vibrations of the Mantra. Now, it should be clear as to why we don't get the much acclaimed results from reciting a mantra. If we ignore the essential 6 parts, how can we expect the desired effects? The limitation lies on two parts. First is the ignorance of the doer. The person who undertakes Mantra, does not know the essential pre-requisites. Secondly, the limitation lies with the source from where a person receives the mantra. It is quite common now that people take mantra from any source, be it a cheap pocket book being sold at the roadside, any Sadhu or a TV Jyotishi. It is quite possible that the pre-requisites are compromised in offering and receiving the Mantra in this manner. My Objective Here: I wish to have valuable contributions from learned people so that this science can be augumented in right direction. I invite suggestions with regard to classification of various kinds of Mantras and its genuine purpose. I wish that we can compile the Shadangas of every Mantra with its dos'n'donts. Let us bring in transparency into this subject. This is the way, we can get back the lost glory to our devine heritage. Let us admit and sensitize as to what can be done and what cannot be done through Mantra.This is the way, we can curb the Cheaters and Thugs who are expoliting the ignorance of poor and needy people. To be continued and compiled..

Yes. You can. However, there are many pitfalls on this path. There are more cheats and rare real people in this field. The exercise involves the domains beyond the reach of our normal senses. This is the reason, your logic would fall helpless and that would be always and advantage to the cheaters. So, be careful. Even in the domains beyond death, there are many entities who can immitate as if he/she is your loved departed soul and can befool you. The best way is to believe in the scheme of God who has not enabled you to be in contact with the deads, Know that it is blocked for our good. If the dead has some very bothering unsettled issue, he/she will manage to get it conveyed to you in any way, be it with some gestures, some findings, through dream etc. My humble suggestion to you : Better leave the idea. -VibhutiGanesh

You are right. With the Karma Kanda turning commercial, all such compromises are allowed. I have seen pundit spitting Pan-parag amids performing pooja...! This is the reason, our spirituality and karma-kanda rituals are rediculed..!

I really liked your frankness as you admit your wrongs. Believe me, the feeling of repentance itself would be enough. The gayatri mantra would keep you up with self confidence and esteem. However, I would suggest you not to go after Vashikaran mantra to attract your ex-girlfriend. If at all, it works, it will for sure, create more of a curse than a boon. To be in relationship, requires a certain volume of past life renanubandha. If you had the renanubandha only good enough to be with her for that point of time, please don't go after her through Vashikaran. I have seen cases where the verbitum objective is fulfilled by way of black magic but always at the cost that one has to repent all the time. Once you are on the right path, why should you go unfair again ? May My Master Bless you with Good discretion. -Vibhutiganesh

Yes. For many mantras, it is a pre-requisite to receive it from a Master (one who has seasoned - Siddha, the mantra) otherwise it wont work. In other case, when you receive it from the person who has 'siddha' it, you are saved from the process of activating it. Activation here is offered by the master as a token of compassion. If you just pick a mantra from a published source, that also will work, but the onus of activating it through reciting it 'N' number of times in a particular way rests with you. At times, the publication sources do not provide the complete procedure. This might put the person in undue delays and direction-less labour. So, obtaining a mantra from a Guru would be a safe way to get optimum benefits.