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Have you heard of the “Sanskrit effect”? It was coined by neuroscientist James Hertzell after he conducted doctoral studies at the University of Trento (Italy) in 2011.* It all started when he heard Vedic Sanskrit pundits (initiated from the tender age of 8) recite texts of great length from memory. He was fascinated and wondered whether such intense verbal memory training affected the structure of their physical brains.

In the research he conducted through the India-Trento Partnership for Advanced Research (ITPAR), he recruited professional Vedic pandits from several government-sponsored schools in the Delhi region. He then used structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at India’s National Brain Research Center to scan their brains. Results? Numerous regions in the brains of the pandits were dramatically larger than those of control groups, with over 10 percent more grey matter across both cerebral hemispheres, and substantial increases in cortical thickness. One of the conclusions he drew was that memorizing/chanting Vedic mantras increases the size of brain regions associated with cognitive function, including short and long-term memory. Although Hertzell admits that more research is needed in order to understand the full impact of Sanskrit recitation on the human brain and physiology, his findings confirm that: 1) the “sanskrit effect” is a palpable concrete measurable reality; and that 2) reciting Sanskrit/vedic hymns correlates with enhanced cognitive/cerebral function. 

But what about hearing Sanskrit? Is it just reciting Sanskrit that’s helpful, or is hearing it beneficial as well? Using music or specific sounds to relax the nervous system is common practice nowadays with hundreds of available apps to help you achieve that. The specific impact of music and sound has been a known observable practice that can be measured with modern scientific instruments for the past several decades. The PNI theory – or theory of psycho-neuro-immunology – has given many breakthrough demonstrations through modern studies. Thousands of these have been published in well-known journals showing the benefits of exposing the physiology to specific soothing sounds (nature’s sounds such as rain, waves, tropical forests, birds, etc) for therapeutic purposes. But what about vedic sound? How, and why, if at all, does vedic sounds affect our health and happiness? That was the core of Vaidya’s “SVA Vibrational Medicine” teachings. He explained that it is because vedic sound literally resonates with our “inmost core.” What does that mean, our “inmost core”? 

In his lectures, and particularly the “Vibrational Medicine” courses he taught starting 2009, Vaidya Mishra explained how and why (vedic) sound is therapeutic. He taught us that Sanskrit sounds, and the unfolding sequences of Sanskrit sutras and mantras, carry the same blueprint we ourselves are made of. They echo within us and reverberate on the same frequencies we are made of. We are made of the same frequencies as the vedic sounds are. This is what the ancient texts teach us he said, but this is also what modern physics and science is just now discovering. What does that 

“subtle vibrational core,” our atma, as the Vedic texts call it, correspond to in modern terms? Science speaks of it as a “Vibrational field.” When we peel the layers of gross physicality, layer by layer, and delve in beyond even the microscopic layers, into the subatomic layers, we find that all matter – at its most reduced quantum layer – emanates a Vibrational field. The most recent findings of Quantum physics say that at the core of it all (the whole universe as well as our bodies and absolutely everything that is in existence) are particles that emit vibrational fields.The universe manifests as the interplay of these vibrational fields. In this sense, modern “Quantum fields theory” now confirms what the ancient puranic vedic texts said thousands of years ago: everything—literally everything under and above and beyond the sun—is just a consequence of many infinitely-large fields resonating and vibrating. The entire universe is made of energetic vibrational fields “playing” a vast, subatomic symphony, and physicists are discovering and trying to understand and capture that melody. This, in terms of scientific findings, is a radical mind-bending way of thinking about who we are and what the world is made up of. But, again, when we read the vedic texts, we find that’s it’s already all there. Not only that, but we even receive the actual “notes” of the frequencies, with a manual of how to use them and what each is best for! The ancient vedic texts abound with all kinds of sound formulas, “mantra”s. A mantra is a sound packet. It is a word whose primary significance resides in its vibrational sound quality, not its meaning. Meanings and personified images are later attached to facilitate intellectual understanding.

Mantras are packets of sound vibrations identified by the Vedic rishis. They are inherent to our intrinsic nature.

 There (“yatra” in the “Mana” (mind) already exists (“vidyate”) is (“iti”) the “mantraha” (mantra). Vaidya explained: (a) mantra means/is that which already exists, that which is already there, present, “in the mind.” The mantra, sound packets, are already an inherent part of our physiology. It is part of our identity. Its frequency is our frequency. This resonates well with the recent findings in quantum physics that explains how that which is localized is also cosmic. The point contains the whole, and the whole universe is compactly carried within a point. In practical terms: the mantra frequencies that make up the universe are also the same ones that make up individual bodies. In Quantum physics terms, for example, there is everywhere in the universe, a field called the electron field. That entire field cannot be seen or known, except through single electrons that are made to vibrate. A physical electron in and of itself isn’t the field, but rather a localized vibration in the field. Every electron in the universe is a similar localized vibration of that single field. We get to know the field through the single electron. 

But there is more to consider.

Just like there is an original harmonious resonance, there is also dis-sonance. In our modern world, modern technology has evolved to the point where we can create synthetic vibrations – not originally found in nature. These are created or result from man-made materials. Vaidya taught us that mantras can be used/recited to correct “a-sura” sound, sound that are dissonant, that do not harmonize with our physiology, and that can harm us. These 2 categories of sound: sura and asura – harmonious and disharmonious, are central to Vaidya’s teachings of “vibrational medicine,” or sound medicine.  

Vaidya explained that we live in a world that is carried by very powerful non-physical energies. Particularly in this day and age, our bodies are exposed to very high quantities of vibrational pollution. What is vibrational pollution? EMF, EMR, and any/all frequencies emitted by electrical and/or magnetic devices. Cellphones, computers, pads, etc.! The polluting electrically charged vibrational energy from these devices enters our physiology and gets mixed up with our pranic energy. Vaidya explained that EMF had a fiery agneya nature. That is: if we were to see its actual impact on our bodies, it would show up as a “burn,” or excessive dryness resulting from high heat. This is what “agneya” propery means. Agni energy burns up Soma – cooling water-based energy of our bodies. EMF/EMR burn up the Soma in our bodies. Over-exposure to high quantities of agneya energy gives different results in different people. Science has yet to confirm the correlation between being irritable and having worked for too many hours at the computer; or the relationship between chronic fatigue and extended exposure to EMF/EMR; or the relationship between that and skin rashes. Assuming this is the case, how does it work? 

Vaidya explained, in ayurvedic terms, that we all have countless nadi-s or vibrational channels in our bodies, that cannot be seen under a microscope. These nadi-s not only receive prana the lifeforce from the universe that keeps us alive, but they also filter unwanted vibrational energies that the body may be exposed to.

This world around us is full of vibrational pollution which harms our nadi-s, corrupt them, rupture them. Vibrational pollution disturbs and corrupts the flow and rhythm of prana through the nadis/vibrational channels, and without prana the body gets dis-eased. The imbalanced or polluted prana carried by the nadis, in turn, causes imbalance in the distribution of prana or energy to the physical body and mind giving different ailments in different individuals. 

The proper circulation of prana in the body is affected and the whole mind/body system suffers. When the body is exposed to too much EMF on an ongoing basis, then the nadi-s become overwhelmed, and this, in its turn, affects the marma points and the sandhi-s or gaps in our cells. Vibrational technological pollution of prana affects these nadi-s. But it is not just computes or cell phones that harm our nadi-s, but also frustration, anger, or the consumption of unfit foods – leftovers; or vegetables from the nightshade family (tomatoes, potatoes, bell peppers etc.); or heavy (red) meat, large beans; all these affect the health of our nadi-s and pranic flow. 

Using/reciting or listening to mantra-s, first thing in the morning, upon waking up, helps restore and correct the vibrational frequency of our body. We can also use mantras when we are stressed out during the day, or at night before going to bed. Vaidya taught us mantra-s from his SVA lineage for different organs, organ systems, the heart lotus, and many more that have been lost and cannot be found in publications, but were preserved in his oral tradition. 

Some may object on religious grounds, arguing that this is an elaborate narrative to “convert” individuals to hinduism! Vaidya addressed this point on several occasions with great clarity. As far as Sanskrit chanting and recitation goes, while it has and is still used by religious aspirants as a religious practice, by definition in Ayurveda, and other vedic texts, chanting and the recitation of sounds or mantra-s is part of a holistic healing protocol that aims to reset the physiology on a vibrational level, to relax and calm the nervous system and to support the mind initiate total optimal healing. This is a purely scientific and observable practice that has been measured with modern scientific instruments – see the findings of PNI theory for example. The recitation of mantras or chants is not a religious activity as originally described and prescribed by Ayurveda. Through listening to chants or chanting oneself, the physiology is meant to be brought to relax, made to take the inward stroke by silencing the external sensory experiences. In this sense, chanting of specific syllables can be used by people of any credence or religion, without foregoing their faith, as a balancing tool that helps calm the nervous system, and silence the mind so there can be even better communication, for example, through prayer, between the individual and his/her God. So one does not need to abandon one’s family deities or religious convictions in order to recite or listen to mantras and vedic chants. On the contrary, Vaidya used to emphasize how the improvement in our nervous systems that affect our mental capacities and emotional stamina, allow us to continue our religious practice with greater fervor and assiduity.

Vaidya recorded many mantras – alone, as well as with renowned carnatic vocalist Aditya Prakash, and multi-talented musician Sheila Bhringi. There are mantras for organs and organ systems as well as mantras to invite prosperity, remove obstacles, and give overall peace and harmony.