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Re: Power of the Mantra
In article <ghenDs5L3K.9sK@netcom.com> santhosh@iss.nus.sg (Santhosh Kumar) writes:
Anand (anandk@ksc.net.th@ksc.net.th) wrote:
: > Come on if there was really somuch power within these mantras, then
: > surely we would have been in a far better state then we are in today.
: > After all there must be millions of people who over the ages have been
: > following the rules for reciting them - what good has it done to the
: > society - one word comes to mind - never mind!
:
:
:
: If only everyone had followed the
: ancient tradintions and values we wouled have been in much better shape
: today. Making blanket comments like what it has done to the world is a
: non issue.
:
Do mantras have "magical" powers ? I have never witnessed any such
power. But one should not confuse the emphasis that the sages placed
on proper pronunciation and phonetics with magical power. Even today
scientists study the effects of sound, yes in language even, on the
mind. It turns out that when human beings speak or emit certain tones
or sounds, it affects the temperature of the brain. Lower brain
temperature tends to be more conducive to learning. There was
actually an article on it in the New York Times of last Tuesday I
think. Certain facial muscles when contracted tend to lower the brain
temperature.
So the short of it is that the theory of sound or phonetics having
some subtle influence on man may not be as ridiculous as people think.
But then there are those who immediately jump the gun and insist that
it can bring world peace, cause destruction etc. And they are
generally the ones who are the least informed on the subject.
I think ancient india went to the extreme of
being highly religious, we had a lot of sages
who spent their time on their salvation alone,
we sacrificed the social uplifting of millions for the
salvation of a few. A balance of the two should have been
the right approach. As Vivekananda points out in one of
his speeches( I cannot remember the exact words of his
speech ) that the philosophy is useless to a person
with empty stomache. On the other hand, we are trying
now to go to the other end, highly materialistic, even
talking about religion or philosophy is considered out of
fashion especially if it is about hinduism.
Vivekananda is correct. Philosophy is indeed not the first concern of
someone with an empty stomach. And as Buddha said all the wisdom in
the world remains useless as long as it remains in books. It must be
applied! And I really do believe that Hindu philosophy may have
application even in the sciences.
