To Surya re. Om Namah Shivaya (Was Teachings of Babaji: Mantra Bomb

[Guest guest]

> I was curious to ask you ... "Om namah shivaya" donset

> need initiation? I am a huge fan of lord shiva ... but

> I stop repeating this mantra because I dont know the

> rules that go with it .. are you aware of any?

 

Dear Surya,

 

I hope you don't mind me responding to this question.

 

First of all, yes, Om Namah Shivaya is a Siddha mantram, which means

that anyone can obtain the full benefit of it with or without

initiation.

 

Secondly, I believe that if a mantra is chanted with sincerity and

devotion, it will never do any harm. Suppose your toddler is trying

to say "Daddy", but he only manages "Da-Da". Will you be angry with

him about the mispronunciation? Or will you ignore him until he

masters saying it the right way? Or will you come to him, and help

him anyway, since you know his intentions? If we believe that the

Lord is more compassionate than any human, why would we ever think

that He/She would not be at least as kind as a human parent?

 

Sanjay Rath Ji has written a wonderful book called Vedic Remedies in

Astrology where he discusses Mantra Shastra in detail. After

elaborate discussions, he too concedes that there is no substitute

for sincere devotion, and that *any* mantra chanted with devotion

will give results. BTW, he also has a list of mantras that are

exempt from rules re. initiation, and Om Namah Shivaya is one of

them, as are other popular mantras. This is the traditional view too.

 

Om Namah Shivaya takes energy from the 3rd house of the horoscope

and gives it to the 6th. The third house is the parakrama house,

where all desires, passions etc. originate. The sixth house is the

house of enemies. The greatest enemeies of man are inside oneself,

these are the shadripu, the Six Enemies, Kaama (lust), Krodha

(anger), Lobha (greed), Moha (illusion), Mada (arrogance) and

Maschara (avarice). Hence,this great mantra provides two benefits at

one time. Our desires and passions are the root cause of all our

suffering, and these are lessened. Simultaneouly, we have more

strength to defeat the internal enemies that cause unnecessary

grief.

 

There is another variation on this mantra, Namah Shivaya. This

mantra takes the energy from the 2nd house and gives to the 5th.

This is the popular Panchaakshari, and is considered an ideal mantra

for a householder, since the spiritual blessings from the family and

lineage (2nd) are passed on to the offspring (5th). Om is called the

Guru Beeja or the Moksha beeja, and the addition of OM to this

mantra leads one to ultimate salvation. (previous para)

 

Yes, there are some mantras that you are supposed to chant to

certain meters, at certain times etc etc. My experience has been

that if you start chanting with devotion, the meter (chandassu) etc

will come by themselves ... sooner or later I fell into a rythem

without knowing it, and later came to learn that this was indeed the

correct rhythem! Guidance will come....

 

All of this is ONLY for mantras that are chanted for positive

outcomes - mantras to cause evil to others are another story

altogether, and yes, those can terribly harm the chanter at some

point because of the bad karma generated by trying to hurt others. I

know this is not what you are talking about, Surya, but just wanted

to make the point that intentions are the key.

 

I heard a charming story once. A hunter once came to a Rishi,

requesting a mantra. The rishi tried to teach him the Rama mantra,

but the poor hunter was so illiterate that he could not even

pronounce that simple word, rama. The rishi though for a while, and

advised the hunter to chant the word "mara" with devotion. Mara

means to kill, and this was very familiar to the hunter, since that

was what he did, he killed animals in the forest. The hunter

sincerely meditated on this word, and as he chanted it, the

syllables merged into each other and "Mara... Ma... Ra.. Ma..Ra.."

became "Ra..Ma.. Ra..Ma.." and sounded the name of Lord Shree Rama!!

The hunter obtained moksha for his sincere devotion - note that the

word he started meditating on was to kill, which is a terrible sin,

but his devotion, and his faith in the rishi's words led him to the

Lord himself.

 

As always, ,y humble opinion,

Sreelatha