Sage Saunaka gives valuable advice to King Sataneeka in response to the latter’s queries. The sage’s advice finds place in the work Vishnu Dharma. It has 109 chapters. He tells the king about everyday rituals, about the power of mantras etc. Everyone needs the strength which mantras confer on them. No one knows what karmas he has done in his previous births. It is only when negative consequences hit a person, that he wonders if this is a punishment for past deeds. This is where mantras can help.
While they cannot get rid of the effects of our deeds, for which we must pay, they can lessen the intensity of what we face. They are like a protective armour, which protects us from the unknown, said Velukkudi Krishnan, in a discourse. How does one learn these mantras? Mantras are to be learnt from Acharyas. He will test the suitability of a person to receive upadesa, before he teaches a mantra. He will check if the person who has come to him for mantropadesa, has sama and dama. That means the Acharya will ensure if the person has learnt to control his senses and his mind.
This might seem very difficult for us to achieve. And if we cannot even reach the stage where we become fit to receive upadesa, then how can we learn mantras? But this is the sort of negative attitude which we must avoid. It is not as if we are totally incapable of self control. Do we not sit through a discourse without eating or drinking water during the lecture? Do we not go to work and concentrate on our work at the workplace? This may be for a few hours, but if we try to extend this self-control beyond a few hours, slowly but definitely we will reach a point where we can keep the mind and sense organs under control. And then we become fit to receive mantropadesa.