Guest guest Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 ......chant the Lalita Sahasranama daily with *love and devotion. *How is that one knows if its not been done with Love and Devotion ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Most people will say that as long as you have Amma in your heart that's enough, but it's not. And only experience will show you that. Love is a feeling to most. Devotion is love in action, but not the same as Love itself. You can have love for someone or something and have no devotion towards it. Devotion can grow like love can grow, but takes effort. Devotion involves things like sacrifice, effort, attention. For example, I know many people who 'love' the 1000 names, some who even have memorized them, chant them regularly. But if you're watching how they do it, they ramble. They go through the motions. No effort to improve pronunciation over time, which is easier when you're chanting so often. I've seen people lay down halfway and chant with their eyes closed because they don't want to sit up (people who I know don't have back problems). People whose attention wanders all over during it (ok in learning stage). That's why the props and techniques are there, like changing pitch (but not excessively) and offering rice, etc. It forces effort, sacrifice and attention (ie, Devotion). Chanting w/o love and devotion brings Karmic results only, not Sadhana results (both karmic and grace). Ammachi , sreekumar govinda <sreekumargovinda wrote: > > .....chant the Lalita Sahasranama daily with *love and devotion. *How is > that one knows if its not been done with Love and Devotion ? > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 >.....chant the Lalita Sahasranama daily with *love and devotion. *How is >that one knows if its not been done with Love and Devotion ? Some ways this might happen is mechanically, or with distracted thinking about other things, or getting lost in anger and other negative emotions, dwelling on the past, feeling competitive with others, or chanting as a show-off performance. I think it's more helpful to imagine how it *would* be done with love and devotion, could be. Not only feeling love and reverence for Devi, but adoring, reaching for, attuning to the Divine qualities named in the litany. Clarifying intention and desire to reach That, affirming and embracing that inner Essence and outer Radiance. A lot of the Names teach about the transformations we need to go through in order to reach awareness of Adi Parashakti, so chanting them becomes intense prayer in a devotional approach. Resounding them, feeling the divine energy pervading, letting the mind fall into the heart, all that good stuff. Jai Maa Max Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 8, 2010 Report Share Posted January 8, 2010 There's a difference between devotion to the names, and specifically the practice of chanting as the original question was about. Ammachi , Max Dashu <maxdashu wrote: > > (snip) > . Not only feeling love and reverence for Devi, > but adoring, reaching for, attuning to the Divine qualities named in > the litany. Clarifying intention and desire to reach That, affirming > and embracing that inner Essence and outer Radiance. > > A lot of the Names teach about the transformations we need to go > through in order to reach awareness of Adi Parashakti, so chanting > them becomes intense prayer in a devotional approach. Resounding > them, feeling the divine energy pervading, letting the mind fall into > the heart, all that good stuff. > > Jai Maa > > Max > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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