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Re: Power of the Mantra
> : > 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!
>
>Do mantras have "magical" powers ? I have never witnessed any such
>power. But one should not confuse the emphasis that the sages placed
How long have you practised ?
Secondly i will like to know what you mean by "magical powers " ? What
are your excpectations ?
As you yourself have elaborated below , different sounds have different
qualities and capabilities like calming down the mind or making it
perturbed etc etc . So let me put it this way , if anyone chants a
mantra due to which he/ she feels calm and relaxed the effect can be
compared with going to the counselor and speaking your mid out at the
end of which you feel calm and relaxed. But in the former case you have
saved some $ 100. So will I be stretching the truth very far if Iay that
the mantra has saved you $ 100 or to say that the mantra created $ 100
for you . If so will you not call it magical ? Themantra has created $
100 from nowhere!!!
I am just using it for argument sake .
>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.
The question needs to be asked is " How ? " , and not the statement "No
it cannot be ."
>
> 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
I disagree. At the times of the sages , India was the most affluent
country in the world and the stories of prosperity of India were told
the world over.
> 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.
>
I am not worried aout what is fashionable and what is not. I look at
myself and ask what do I do .
>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.
Definitely . What you are referring to as philosophy has come out of
thousands of yeas of experimentation by the sages and similar people .
The only reason it sounds too esoteric today is because we have been
giving too much credence to the western thought instead of taking the
Indian approach of looking inside ourselves.
What they did , wehere they did , they did not do , all these point to
outside .
What have I done ? What do I do ? How do I contribute ? is the question
Regards,
Little note : You may be amused to know , what is referred to as
Philosophy in western thought is called Search of knowledge in Indian
thought ( Tatvagyan ) , and the meaning that the word philosophy when
used in Indian thought refers to is "seeing "( Darshanam )". Lord Buddha
had his revelation when he had gone empty stomach for over eight days.
