Om mani padme hum ("Om, jewel lotus"; often inaccurately translated as "O you jewel in the lotus blossom"; refers to the all-encompassing compassion for all beings) - This mantra, also called 'loving eyes', is aimed at the bodhisattva of universal compassion Avalokiteshvara,

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Reciting a mantra is intended to release mental and spiritual energies, often as a prayer. Every syllable and every word during a puja, a Hindu service, is considered a mantra. The priest's external activities only gain their meaning and effectiveness through the reciting of the prescribed words. The oldest mantras include the sacrificial formulas and prayers of the Vedas.

Certain combinations of mantras are also used as incantations, for example against snakes, demons or other negative forces. As in the Vedic rite, where the correctly intonated formula fulfilled an important function as an effective force, in Hinduism, too, sound and song are given religious value and effectiveness.

The vajra is a weapon used for ritual purposes in Hinduism and Buddhism that combines the properties of the diamond (indestructibility) and lightning and thunder (irresistible power).