Singing Mantras

[Guest guest]

|| Jai Sadguru Dutta ||

 

 

I vividly remember an incident that happened when I was a child ( 8

years old ). I had been to ShrngEri along with my parents. When we

went to Guru darShan, we saw an elderly scholar, singing Shri

Saundarya lahari infront of Shree aBhinava vidyAteerTha swAmigal. All

of a sudden, Shree swAmiji thundered "STOP!!!!", and said "mantras

should not be sung. it is APACHARA.......". He also explained why,

but I neither understood what he said nor do I remember any of his

words now.

 

Nowadays, we come across so many audios in which the GAyathri,

GanEsha aTharva SheerSha, Saundarya lahari, LalithA sahasranAma and

the like are sung in different tones. Each time I hear such audios,

Shree swAmiji's words humm in my ears.

 

Can any of the enlightened members kindly explain why it is forbidden

to sing mantras?

 

kind regards

[Guest guest]

Namaste,

 

I am not so sure of this. Perhaps you are correct,

but not from what I have heard/read. Please see

 

http://www.kamakoti.org/souv/5-111.html

 

Besides, I personally know one mami in T.Nagar

Madras who teaches the SL in a garland of 100

ragas. She told me how her guru was very much

appreciated when she first presented it to

Mahaperiaval and he specifically instructed

her to spread the same to as many people as

possible. Also, on a number of occassions, MSS

has prefaced her rendering of kritis with verses

from the SL.

 

In my opinion, earlier explanation provided by

Mr. Vishwanthan Krishnamoorthy as "LS is both a

stotra and a mantra sastra, hence it can be set to

music, however while performing Havan or

Archana it is a mantra and the rules for mantra

apply*" is the right way to understand this.

Surely I accept we cannot apply the stotra

argument and sing it *while treating it as a

mantra*.

 

Regards.

> well said and for all the reasons given by you HH Mahaperiaval

> of Kaanchi has prohibited singing both Soundarya LahAri and

> Lalitha sahasranama specifically.

[Guest guest]

, Vinesh <dakinic_monk> wrote:

> swara and rAga. These rules that mantras are not to be sung are

>absurd

> and ridiculous. Mantras are prayers devI the mother of mothers.

>She who

> is said to love songs, singing. According to most Tantras the way

>to

> please devI kalika is to sing a heartfelt song/mantra to her.

 

 

Mantra is not the same thing as a prayer. The following is what

Arthur Avalon has to say regarding the difference between a mantra

and a prayer. Source: The Garland of Letters. Chapter 28.

 

"A mantra again is not the same thing as prayer or self dedication

(Atma nivedana).Prayer is conveyed in what words the worshipper

chooses and bears its menaing on its face. It is only ignorance of

Sastrik principles (See "Principles of Tantra" as to what precedes

and follows) which supposes that mantra is merely the name for the

words in which one expresses what one has to say to the divinity.If

it were, the sadhaka might choose his own language without recourse

to the eternal and determined sounds of Sastra."

 

> The >word

> kavItra (poetic clothing) is also a synonym for kAdi vidya.

 

If possible can you please write more about this?

 

rgds