Guest guest Posted January 22, 2010 Report Share Posted January 22, 2010 Posted: 21 Jan 2010 06:12 PM PST I was recently writing one humble article dealing with Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Sufism. It was interesting to find out that in both of these traditions chanting is very essential. In Orthodox, or in Hesychasm particularly, they chant the following prayer " Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. " They chant this prayer quite similarly as we chant our japa. They similarly speak about purification of the mind from material desires, and it's said that on a high level this prayer is vibrating in the mind and heart nonstop without any extra endeavor. In Sufism, the mystical practice of Islam, chanting the name of Allah is an essential practice also. There is small nice story about famous Persian sufi, Abu Sa´id ibn Abi´l-Khair (died 1049AD):As a young Sufi disciple he was contemplating what book his Sufi master was holding. His master noticed this and said: “Abu Saíd! all the one hunred and twentyfour thousand profets are sended here to preach only one word. They told man to say “God” and dedicate their lives for Him. Those who heard this only with their ears, letting it come in from one ear and let go from another, but those who heard this with their soul, imprinted this into their hearts and souls and their whole being became this word. At the end they didn´t have to say say this word aloud, they were released from syllables and letters. When they had realized the spiritual meaning of the word, they got so absorbed into it, that they were no more aware about their own non-existance.” These words made great impact into young Abu Sa´id and he left his earlier studies and started to wander the road of the sufies and seek for mystical wisdom. For seven years he chanted the name of Allah, until the word “Allah” vibrated within him without any endeavor. His being has changed into God´s glorification. We Gaudiya Vaisnavas are especially lucky since we chant the maha-mantra which is most powerful and we follow Srimad Bhagavatam, sri-guru-parampara and the whole Vedic culture but we can take inspiration even from other traditions - by Krsna´s mercy the process of sankirtana is known to at least some degree even for christians and muslims. Muniraja dasa LET US NOT MAKE OUR STOMACH A GRAVEYARD. LET US NOT EAT FLESH. LET US BE VEGETARIANS AND STAY HEALTHY. Animals are to be loved, not eaten. Eating flesh is good neither for the mind nor for the intellect, not even for the body. It distorts the basic character of human. Think Soul is Soul and it came from the Supreme Soul...God Head Krishna Chant:Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare HareHare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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