Prabha Duneja, Vedic scholar; Author, The Legacy of Yoga in Bhagawad Geeta and Hinduism: Scriptures and Practices

Meditation with mantra has been highly glorified by the Vedic sages as a powerful means for inner peace and yogic unity in transcendence. A mantra can be a syllable, a single word, a hymn or a verse. It is a word of power imbued with enormous latent energy. Constant recitation of a mantra is said to enclose the thoughts into a small circle and the scattered attention into a collective, thus preparing the mind for concentration and calmness in meditation.