Is there any miraculous power in a mantra?

[This question is part of a Mahā Satsaṅga (grand spiritual discussion) between Swami, Shri Parikshit, Smt. Bindiya and Dr. J. S. R. Prasad.]

Swami replied: The mantra is a sentence that you utter, even though its meaning is not told to you. When the meaning is not known, you cannot develop any feeling upon reciting it. If there is no feeling, there is no devotion. If there is no devotion, God will not be pleased with you and He will not perform any miracle in your favor. The mere utterance of a mantra, without knowing its meaning and without any feeling, is totally useless. Sound is energy, which is only an imaginable item. It cannot generate any unimaginable event, called a miracle. Everything depends on the feeling that you develop while you utter the mantra. You must know that the unimaginable God alone can perform the miracle. He might perform the miracle for you if He is pleased with you and if He thinks it will benefit you. The inert sound energy of the mantra or some technical process (tantra) can never produce any miracle.

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