Mantras

A mantram is a definite succession of sound
arranged by an occultist in order to bring about certain definite results.
These sounds, repeated rhythmically over and over again in succession,
synchronise the vibrations of the vehicles into unity with themselves.
A mantram is thus a mechanical way of checking vibrations
or inducing the vibrations that are desired.
Its efficacy depends upon what is know as sympathetic vibration.
The more a mantram is repeated, the more powerful its result.
-A. E. Powell

Mantra is the essence of sound
and the embodiment of the truth in the form of sound.
-Sogyal Rinpoche

May we not forget that mantra is life, that mantra is action, that mantra is love, 

and that the repetition of mantra, japa, bursts forth wisdom from within. 

-Yogaswami

Mantras do not act on account of their own "magic" nature,
but only through the mind that experiences them.
They do not possess any power of their own;
they are only the means for concentrating already existing forces -
just as a magnifying glass, though it does not contain any heat of its own,
is able to concentrate the rays of the sun
and to transform their mild warmth into incandescent heat.
-Anagarika Govinda

Mantra is a path of return
through the maze of the Sakti world.
-Harvey Alper