The Power of Mantra: Throughout history, spiritual masters have often stated that mantra can change physical reality, not just one's emotional, mental, and spiritual condition. Mantra is said to be revealed from another plane of existence, and to connect the practitioner with the power, and even the deity, from whence it comes.

Some teachers emphasize the occult effects of the sounds of the sequences of precise vowels, syllables, intonations and silences - without which, repetition is said to be futile.

All agree that the concentrated intent and belief of the practitioner is primary. In a well-known story from the genre: a passing monk informs a practitioner that his heartfelt efforts are in vain due to incorrect pronunciation. The monk departs. After some time, now on the opposite side of the river, the monk hears the practitioner slip back into his old way, and then silence. He looks back to see the practitioner approaching him, walking across the water, calling out, "How does that go again?"