Borayin Larios

© Adarsh Aryan

Over 4 million people in Europe, if we include Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh minorities and Yoga practitioners, use mantras regularly for rituals or holistic well-being. The term mantra itself has entered the vocabulary of most modern European languages. But how do mantras work? Where do they come from, and how did they spread across regions and religions? Despite their ubiquity and relevance, there is hardly any scientific study dedicated to the complex and widespread phenomenon of mantras. The collaborative project led by Borayin Larios (University of Vienna), Carola E. Lorea (University of Tübingen), and Finnian Gerety (University of Oxford) aims to produce an unprecedented global history and anthropology of mantras, grounded in the PIs’ expertise on the very places and traditions where mantras originate—southern Asia, where mantras are used in ritual, meditation, worship, and healing. This effort will include the participation of many international scholars, bringing together diverse perspectives and methodologies.