"Mantrarupini"

 Devi "Shree" is 'mantrarupini'. Devi Lakshmi says, "In the supreme space ( parama-vyoma) I exist as the divine, total and original I-hood adorned with the garland of aksharas, (sounds and letters of alphabets) spanning all space." This is akshare parame vyoman of the Rk Veda! We may deduce from this statement how space is already filled with knowledge- sounds, sllables, words and the meaning of words that create objects meant by the word? By the way, this 'I-hood' (aham-ta) is the very embodiment of Shree Hari Narayana! Lakshmi is not distinct form Shree Hari. Lakshmi is the manifest aspect of Shree Hari Narayana and exhibits all the qualities that we attribute to Him, such as, sarvajnya, sarvantaryami, sarvatantra svatantra, sarvavyapi, As mantrarupini, Lakshmi is the 'Garland of Letters, (akshara maala). The vowels a to am and aH are full of creative power. The consonants starting from ka to na create the pancha bhuta, and the panca indriya to experience them. the Letters- ya, ra, la, va are the turbines, the wheels of energy (shakti chakra) that can be activated in meditative trance (samadhi yoga). The syllables sha, Sha, sa, ha are the very life breath and the sounds of air we inhale, and exhale everyday, supported by the 36 000 nadi (devata) on each side of our heart. We can activate the chakras and gain power/control over the elements. Each syllable lam, vam, ram, yam, ha, Om, so'ham are to be meditated upon (each one may take at least 6 months of incessant meditation)! Thus, the entire mechanism is in-built within us from muladhara (at the end of the spinal cord) to sahasrara via svadhsihtana, manipura, anahata, vishuddhi, ajnya. Thus, mantra japa paves the way for our spiritual development.  Devi Lakshmi says that the mantra is the mode of expression of the universe She has created!

  Mother Lakshmi says, "I am known as the mother of all mantras bestowing both prosperity (yashas) and liberation (mukti/moksha). All mantras surge up like waves from me, the ocean as it were, of Consciousness (chit-sagara). These forms of sounds, lovely as concentration of consciousness and bliss (chit-ananda), evolve out of me as their substratum and repeatedly flow back to me." In fact, when we utter the sacred sounds in praise of Devi, there is vibration (of sound) and resonance that reflect, resound or echo as if from the soul (Atma) to supreme soul, (Paramatma)! This is the efficacy of the mantra. However, the sacred sound or mantra remains just sound (shabhda) is not effective unless it is charged by the flow of energy from the 'guru' (a higher power). This is shaktipaata. Sant Jnyaneshwar gives sixteen ways of this flow of energy, shaktipaata in his Commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita. A mantra may just contain a syllable or a few syllables, a phrase, or a whole sentence. It should be conveyed by an attained guru through whisper in the ear (as it is imparted by the father to son at the time of upanayanam),or imparted sitting close to each other (upa vishat). A mantra is also called 'taraka' (protector) since it protects us.