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On Mantra - was Lot's of Hogwash...
[Much clipped]
>It is the meaning/message etc contained within these that are more
>important then the rest of the mumbo-jumbo.
>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!
"Never mind" is two words. :-)
The masses are never helped by the spiritual practices. It is only the
individuals who achieve anything because it requires a certain amount
of talent and dedication. For every musician who can give concerts,
there are thousands who tried but could not make it. It is the same
thing with the repetition of the Divine Name. Look for the individual
sages and saints of all religions, who have either realized God or been
greatly purified through the repetition of the Mantra.
The following is what a great modern Sage, who realized God through the
Divine Name, had to say about the Power of the Mantra. I hope that it
will give you something to think about.
Jack
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ON MANTRA
Words possess tremendous power (Sakti). By words you can encourage and
cheer up others. By words you can give greatest happiness to others. By
words you can ruin or displease others. By words the Master imparts his
knowledge to the disciples. By words the mother trains the children. By
words the orator keeps the audience spell-bound. Word is Brahman or God
in manifestation, Be careful in the selection of your words. Understand
and realize the power of words and become wise."
(Swami Sivananda)
Mantra is a holy Sanskrit word of tremendous spiritual power, The Sakti
energy, divine force, permeates a Mantra because it was originated,
cultivated, and sacredly repeated by great Saints and Sages, whose
vibrations are vital and living through and in the Mantra. Japa is
repetition of Mantra and in general - of the Name of God.
First let us understand that the word Mantra means "a sacred word."
Now, why should a sacred word, preferably be uttered in the ancient
language which is not used in daily life? Because the ancient language
was in the very beginning of Creation. You remember how the fantastic
Gospel of St. John starts: "In the beginning-there was the Word and the
Word was with God and the Word was God." And the word was OM. Those who
have the ears - let them hear! The most ancient, therefore, the most
potent of all languages is Sanskrit, Then comes Egyptian, Greek,
Hebrew, Latin. Even in Russian prayers the modern Russian is replaced
by the ancient Slavic - the language of the first Saints of this
country. You see, - words are powerful vibrations and certain words
emanate majestic aura of Saintliness and Truth. Those are the only
words which are suitable for Mantra or Japa Yoga.
Now let the Sat Guru tell you: "Mantra Yoga is an exact science. A
Mantra is divinity encased within a sound structure. It is Divine Power
or Daivi Sakti manifesting in a sound body.
"The Sacred Mantra or the Divine Name is the vital Symbol of the
Supreme Divinity directly revealed in the innermost depths of Divine
Communion to the Sages of Self-Realization in the hoary Vedic and
Upanishadic times. These symbols are in the nature of unfailing keys to
gain access into the transcendental realms of absolute experience.
Sounds are vibrations. They give rise to definite forms. Each sound
produces a form in the invisible world and combination of sounds create
complicated shapes.
"The repetition of the Mantra (is known as Japa) - has a mysterious
power of bringing about the manifestation of Divinity. just as the
splitting of an atom manifests the tremendous forces latent in
it." (Swami Sivananda)
* * *
I have stressed emphatically that the Name is a Sacred Force. Even if
you repeat it automatically. it establishes a purifying rhythm and a
protecting "shell". Yet there should be an inner background for it. By
this I mean an intelligent. earnest understanding of the Cosmic Truth
as well as an intuitive perception of the Cosmic Vibration. For that is
what the "Name" is - a sacred. mysterious vibration of Gods.
Christian Scriptures refer to the God's Power (Sakti) as a WORD. At
times as the 'Holy Ghost' which means a sacred, holy, subtle as the
'ghost' vibration which is the Author of everything that lives. The
'Amen' of Jews and Christians is also a 'Name' - it is the sacred Om or
Aum of the yogi. 'Vibratory Energy' is acknowledged even by material
science which discovered a fraction of the Truth which so fully is
perceived by all saints of all ages. Thus, what the yogi knows as the
'NAME' is very, very sacred and should never be used in a parrot-like
manner. Christ warned about it, forbidding to take the Name of the Lord
in vain.
To perceive this awe-inspiring Name (vibratory sound) - is to live a
Cosmic Life. To say Rama and to ecstatically feel THAT which words fail
to express - is to be in the vibration of God. Chanting of the Name and
listening to your own voice is useless. If you chant and become minus
body, minus human voice, in short - minus egoity - you are invoking the
Name.
You stop thinking while chanting or mentally chanting the Name and
experience Bliss Divine - you are in the Name!
The factual Cosmic motion is so subtle, so grand, so intelligent, that
it is unperceivable by human ears or human mind and un-utterable by
human tongue. One can perceive this Divine Force only through the
highest Intuition or super-conscious awareness.
The gradual development of this superconscious awareness comes through
faithful REMEMBRANCE. Whatever gives you re-newal of consciousness,
whatever purifies you - that you ought to remember daily and nightly.
And, on the background of this, you ought to repeat the Name
prayerfully, dedicating it to the best you know. First, you think and
repeat intellectually but gradually you perceive intuitively. The
latter is the result of general great purification. The fascinating
fact is that the Name purifies and accelerates liberation, but... the
"but" of it is in how earnest and faithful you are to the great
Principle - to this Cosmic Sakti which is the Life-Fountain of all
sounds. vibrations - Life.
(Sivananda-Valentina)
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For more of the spiritual Teachings of Sivananda-Valentina, see our web
site at http://lightsv.org/
