Guest guest Posted April 27, 2006 Report Share Posted April 27, 2006 hi ... i go to my local drugstore and buy ear plugs. they are the disposable kind and are pretty inexpensive. steve , Puneet Gulati <puneetgulati05 wrote: > > Greetings to All! > > I am a newbie and needs guidance on a very basic step. > > I live near a very busy market place. So, there is no > quite ever. Which is making concentrating even on the > mantra sometime very difficult. > > To get ride of the noise, can I put some cotton or ear > buds in my ears while chanting? Please note, I am not > doing meditation, but mantra chanting. > > Please HELP !!!!! > > Regards, > > Puneet > --- <artsofnapa > wrote: > > > > Chapter 6, verses 1-5: "The Goddess said to the > Gods: Who is so fortunate as to see this > > greatly wonderful cosmic form? This capacity to have > perceived Me is only attained > > through sincere devotion// Not the study of the > Vedas, nor the practice of Yoga, nor the > > giving of gifts, nor purifying austerities can make > My inconceivable form perceivable. Only > > through My Grace can this form be seen.// Oh Lord of > Kings, listen. The Supreme Soul > > becomes an Individual Soul because of His Nature. By > union with attributes (Upadhis) he > > thinks himself to be an actor, enjoyer, etc." // Jai > Maa, Blessings to all...Gautamananda > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Links > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > <*> / <*> <*> Your Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 27, 2006 Report Share Posted April 27, 2006 >>>Greetings to All! I am a newbie and needs guidance on a very basic step. I live near a very busy market place. So, there is no quite ever. Which is making concentrating even on the mantra sometime very difficult. To get ride of the noise, can I put some cotton or ear buds in my ears while chanting? Please note, I am not doing meditation, but mantra chanting. Please HELP !!!!! Regards, Puneet" Namaste Puneet, To me, this is the BEST kind of sadhana...and it looks like you have been given this practice right away! Sometimes we have a longing for the silence and stillness that we can find in meditation halls or in the inner sanctums of Temples but what I have found is that in this silence, there is another noise that arises...the "noise" of your own mind! There will always be "noise"...in the forest, the birds and even the wind can make "too much noise"; in the meditation hall, the ticking of the clock can be so loud! Sometimes even the sound of your own breathing..and the sound of the blood rushing through your body can be as loud as an autorickshaw going by! I remember the first time I went to India. I was accustomed to very quiet Temples in the USA...no one speaking or rustling papers..I was so shocked by the "noise" in the Indian Temples.. BUT after around a week, I found them much quieter than those in the US, much more conducive to meditation and japa, even with the trucks going by, the birds flying through open windows and the children running around.Why? because of the atmosphere of worship as an "ordinary thing".. not something "other than life". Now I go to a Hindu Temple in the US and what I have learned is that all of the noise: 4 priests chanting different Vedas in different parts of the Temple, archana going on, children running around, people catching up on gossip, someone sitting down next to me and beginning to chant "Lalitha Sahasranam" at the top of his voice when I am trying to complete a japa ....all of those things...when accepted as "natural" and "part of life" are not at all intrusive and, in fact, they are a huge gift in enabling you to learn how to focus your attention on what YOU are doing.I think the trick is to accept whatever "noise" is going on...just allowing it to be there and taking your attention GENTLY back to your mantra japa. It is really only your MIND that thinks..."this noise is good; that one is bad". If you can gently bring your mind back to the mantra japa with alot of compassion, you will find that you have overcome a problem that afflicts almost every spiritual practitioner: the separation of "spirituality" from "the world". best luck to you, sadhvi ------------------------ Sponsor --------------------~--> Join modern day disciples reach the disfigured and poor with hope and healing http://us.click./lMct6A/Vp3LAA/i1hLAA/XUWolB/TM --~-> <*> / <*> <*> Your Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 27, 2006 Report Share Posted April 27, 2006 In a message dated 4/27/2006 9:10:22 A.M. Mountain Standard Time, sadhvi (AT) charter (DOT) net writes: I am a newbie and needs guidance on a very basic step. I live near a very busy market place. So, there is no quite ever. Which is making concentrating even on the mantra sometime very difficult. To get ride of the noise, can I put some cotton or ear buds in my ears while chanting? Please note, I am not doing meditation, but mantra chanting. Please HELP !!!!! Regards, Puneet" Namaste Puneet, Part of the lesson is control of the senses, just as you would not listen to the conversation of strangers that are not relating to you, the market is background music and concentration on the mantra is foreground. The Divine is within both. Om Namah Sivaya Love Kanda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 27, 2006 Report Share Posted April 27, 2006 Namaste Puneet, Your post reminded of a story from our Swamiji's life. He had spent many years chanting with his Guru. Once Swamiji and his Guru came to Calcutta after a period of seclusion. His Guru instructed Swamiji to chant the Chandi on the Railway Station. When Swamiji asked how he would be able to concentrate, his Guru said that it was the true test - whether one can concentrate on God in the marketplace. Looks like you are literally living near a marketplace. Some of our group members have already given you good techniques to block out the sound. I would like to suggest something - how about puja before you start the chanting? It has been my experience that all the steps of a puja are the most effective way to start from where we are right now . Puja is a great way to bring in focus and concentration without even having to try too hard. All the steps , guide us inward, so gradually .... So if there is sound, never mind, we ring our bells even more loudly so that we can hear only Her, if there is a bad smell, never mind, we light an incense stick so that we purify the atmosphere around us ... etc etc. And the love and attention we give to the deity in front of us - the offering of bath, the cloth, the garland, food etc naturally make us one pointed. The puja makes us more receptive and ready to do more sadhana . And then the chanting of mantras or meditation seems to flow better. As Swamiji once said (and I paraphrase) "It is good to do a puja before chanting the Chandi". I would extend it to any chanting. Best of luck with your chanting. Nanda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.