counting during meditation

May 6, 2001

Some gurus suggest counting during meditation. Some opined on counting 108

times, some 7 times, some 3 times. Why are these differences ?

May 7, 2001

What is being counted? With regard to 108, a

mala, which is similar to a rosary or worry beads,

contains 108 beads and each time the meditator repeats

his/her mantra, the mala is moved one bead. After 108

repetitions of the mantra, the meditator comes full circle to

the meru bead, at which point, the direction of the

mala is reversed. So, one mala equals 108 repetitions

of the mantra. This is a very useful technique for

the new meditator. They can set a goal of so many

malas of mantra repetition. As for 3 or 7 times,

I don't know what these could refer to. Not mantra

repetition as that would be too few. Perhaps 3 or 7 are the

number of malas the meditator is asked to repeat with

each sitting: 3x108=324, 7x108=756

May 8, 2001

namaste! my understanding is that

meditation is a tool to help focus the busy mind, to

train it, or distract it so that a deeper awareness

can rise to our conscious self. i believe

counting, also, is such a tool. a friend of mine once

asked a teacher, what do i need to do to achieve

enlightenment? and the teacher told her to say the following

51 times daily: i have done enough, it is

time to allow my true self expression. my

friend was very excited, and that day began to recite

the above. a few days later, i asked my friend

how it was going, and was surprised when my

friend said it was too difficult to do. every time

she began to follow the instructions, she lost

count, and didn't know if she had done

enough repetitions or too many... at no time, did my friend

listen to what she was saying, and understand what

the teacher had told her. it never occurred to her

that she had done enough. she is still

struggling to find that which she needs to "do" next...

i believe the teacher understood that she

wasn't ready to hear that enlightenment isn't a matter of

"doing", but is instead a manner of "being". so he gave

her an exercise that would satisfy her mind, until

she was ready to move from "doing"

to "being". i found myself wishing the teacher had given me

that exercise, because i felt i understood it.

instead, he told me to practice saying "Thank you" to

whatever comes. but i have great difficulty doing this.

lolol.. in fact, for several years, i gave up

completely... but have returned to this over and over

again. i continue to have a hard time being truly

thankful for things i don't like at this

point, i believe each soul has through the difference

experiences and different lifetimes accumulated a unique

"way of being"... and we will each find a specific

stumbling block when we reach the point of wishing to

wake up... lolol may we all find a teacher or

guru or master to help us understand and/or

identify our own inner stumbling block/s. may we all

wake up... om shanti shanti shanti

May 9, 2001

During a Messenger conversation with

Gypsymaa, it was suggested to me that another

interpretation of the 3 and 7 times that the gurus recommend is

that those numbers refer to the number of times one

repeats their mantra on breath. I agree that that

is a possible explanation. But it is one that

applies to experienced meditators. The only way that one

could repeat their mantra that many times on each

inhale and the same number of times on each exhale is if

they did not use their vocal cords and, in the case of

7 times, if they were repeating their mantra

telepathically. New meditators tend to use their vocal cords when

repeating their mantra regardless of whether they are

repeating the mantra aloud or silently. As one becomes more

experienced, the vocal chords move less and less until the

meditator stops using the vocal chords at all. At that

point, he/she is truly thinking the mantra but even then

as thought processes become more refined and as one

enters the akasha, then the mantra can be repeated many

times on each inhale and exhale. Deity mantras

are sometimes used in a concentrated meditation

practice called purascharana, whereby the meditator

devotes a number of hours per day to japa with the aim of

repeating the mantra 100,000 times for each syllable in

order to awaken the dormant power of the mantra. 'Om

namo Narayanaya', for example, could be repeated at a

rate of 60 times per minute (low speed), 80 times per

minute (medium speed) or 120 times per minute ( high

speed). One can see that in order to achieve these rates

one must be in an altered state of consciousness.

May 9, 2001

Thanks all.. for sharing your thoughts on japa

and its repetitions. While my principle training did

not ask for any counting at all, I have been on

different occasions asked to do my japa 3, 7 or 108 times.

I have even known of special practices where it is

chanted 125,000 times. Diferent tools have been suggested

to keep track when it is considered

important. Mantra shastra, from what I know, comes from Tantra

shastra, which is the study of Energy in its creative

form. Everything in its essence is energy; including

thoughts, and sounds and collection of sounds which form

words. Mantras and higher levels of consciousness have

an energy with higher frequency of vibration. We

ourselves in our most essential form are nothing but a ball

of energy vibrating at the levels of our

consciousness. Mantras serve as tuning forks. They are

used to ‘tune’ our energy spheres /patterns to higher

levels of vibration. The length of time this “tuning"

process takes depends on the levels of the practitioner.

A Master can accomplish in one repetition what it

takes others faar longer. It is not unlikely

that the number of repetitions has something to do

with this tuning process. Such ‘tuning’ also takes

place from the words we use and the company we keep as

we see evidenced in group energy generated in group

meditations, chanting etc. I doubt any guru will be

willing to give out much details about it, however I

request our members to add any more information they may

have on this topic. Love and light Tat

Twam Asi UMA

May 10, 2001

One should understand a very important issue

there with regard to mantra and that is that there is

no distinction between the initiating spiritual

master, the mantra given by the guru, and the deity of

that mantra. That being said, i believe it is

beneficial to view the guru as a doctor and the mantra as

the medicine. The guru/doctor prescribes the dosage

with the interest of the disciple/patient in mind.

There are so many mantras, each with a fixed number of

syllables suchas for four, six, eight, 10, 12, 18, or 32

syllable. The value here is not the NUMBER or quantity but

the QUALITY. Sri Krsna invested some special

powers in the chanting of His holy names and this power

is its capacity to awaken affectionate attachment or

raga for the Lord. There are no rules for the

Mahamantra - Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare and

one can chant this mantra in any situation. Though we

may not have any taste to chant this mantra in the

beginning, through diligent chanting we will be albe to

experience its benefits, love for Krsna. If we chant this

mantra JUST ONCE in perfect submission to Guru, and

Gauranga, the mantra will fully reveal itself to us and

take us directly to Vraja where it sows us our

personal role with God. om tat sat >:*)

May 10, 2001

Uma: You requested more information on

mantras.... in my experience, I count so I'm aware of how many I

have done. This is in keeping with the 'power of the

three times three'....the mantra gains strength the

more it is chanted. Some short mantras I can do

144 times... such as OM Mani Padme Hum,,taking one

per second. Others only 33 times. Also, invoking the

gracious dispensation of Omri-Tas will increase the

energy effect times ten. Maeve

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