Proper pronouncation of mantras

September 14, 1999

I got this interesting posting from one of the other lists that I am

d to. I got it sometime back. The author of the posting describes

his experience as well. I would like to know your comments on this.

----------

From Chander M Khanna <cmkhan01

There is an interesting incident which I heard at a lecture given

by Swamini Vimalananda in Uttarkashi that gives an indication that not

only is there a connection between the sound and the thoughts of any

mantra, for that matte,r but form is also incorporated therein. This is

an incident that happened some years back in Germany. A group of

scientists were experimenting with production of images from different

sounds by passing sound waves over very sensitive and minute sand

particles. Whenever anybody spoke over the film of sand, the sound wave

produced a form which was then analysed to study the relation between

the sound waves and the form which was produced on the sand.

There was an Indian scientist among the experimentors who had been born

and brought up in Germany and knew very little about India and its

heritage. Being a brahmin, however, he remembered some shlokas which

he must have heard his parents recite in his childhood. Each of the

scientist spoke something on the apparatus while conducting the experiment

and the Indian, when his chance came, rattled off on of those shlokas.

The scientists however could not interpret the figure that was formed.

They asked him to repeat the shloka and the same figure was formed again.

After some research on the subject they discovered that the figure was

a pretty accurate outline of Ganesha and that the shloka that the Indian

had recited was in praise of Ganesha. This raises the interesting

question that maybe all that we say, hear, do or see is incricately

connected. If the sound waves of a shloka on Ganesha can reproduce his

figure on the sand, it can similarly cause a thought process connected

with Ganesha to start in our mind even if we don't know the meaning of

what we are speaking.

There is another proof of the fact that knowledge is somehow

unconfined by the language in which it is conveyed from an experience

that I myself had. I have very rudimentary knowledge of the Sanskrit

language and my vocabulary is not so good to understand shlokas easily.

There is a series of shlokas which are collectively known as

Gurustrotram. This was something which I used to recite every morning

but I understood only about 20 % of it. One day, I decided to experiment

if the shlokas could reveal their meaning to me themselves. I had heard

that if you are willing to recieve, knowledge will reveal itself to you.

I did not believe that knowledge could be so confined so that you could

not get it if you didn't understand the language it was written in.

Reciting the shlokas in the same spirit, I observed that although I did

not know the meaning of half the words, I could get the essence of what

the shloka probably meant. By the time I finished reciting it, I felt

that I now understood about 80 % of it. I crosschecked on what I had

understood and surprisingly saw what I thought it had meant was, in fact,

right. It made me sure that if anybody concentrated on the vedas and

upanishads for enough time and with enough faith, sooner or later, their

meaning would become clear to him irrespective of whether he knew

anything about them. I'd like to have your comments on this concept.

Shruti Khanna

September 14, 1999

I read that the recitation of mantra can produce the images even in air.

I was reciting some the mantraas which concerned Lord Shiva n to my

surprise i could see his image getting build up faintly in my mind.

True that recitation of words generate the emotions n feelings in us. N

the other should also be true. The vibrations that have link those

emotions n feelings will be expressed through words having similar

vibrations.

As i have heard frm here n there mostly the shalokaas r known in

meditation or kind of known through divine grace. They r not something out

of intellect. So can be that their true meaning can only be reaveled

through divine grace n divine love . I think i remember reading or

hearing such a thing in one of the lectures who was saying it on the

experience of Sri Aurbindo if i remember correctly.

On Tue, 14 Sep 1999, Magesh Margabandhu wrote:

> Magesh Margabandhu <mmagesh

>

> I got this interesting posting from one of the other lists that I am

> d to. I got it sometime back. The author of the posting describes

> his experience as well. I would like to know your comments on this.

>

> ----------

> From Chander M Khanna <cmkhan01

>

> There is an interesting incident which I heard at a lecture given

> by Swamini Vimalananda in Uttarkashi that gives an indication that not

> only is there a connection between the sound and the thoughts of any

> mantra, for that matte,r but form is also incorporated therein. This is

> an incident that happened some years back in Germany. A group of

> scientists were experimenting with production of images from different

> sounds by passing sound waves over very sensitive and minute sand

> particles. Whenever anybody spoke over the film of sand, the sound wave

> produced a form which was then analysed to study the relation between

> the sound waves and the form which was produced on the sand.

> There was an Indian scientist among the experimentors who had been born

> and brought up in Germany and knew very little about India and its

> heritage. Being a brahmin, however, he remembered some shlokas which

> he must have heard his parents recite in his childhood. Each of the

> scientist spoke something on the apparatus while conducting the experiment

> and the Indian, when his chance came, rattled off on of those shlokas.

> The scientists however could not interpret the figure that was formed.

> They asked him to repeat the shloka and the same figure was formed again.

> After some research on the subject they discovered that the figure was

> a pretty accurate outline of Ganesha and that the shloka that the Indian

> had recited was in praise of Ganesha. This raises the interesting

> question that maybe all that we say, hear, do or see is incricately

> connected. If the sound waves of a shloka on Ganesha can reproduce his

> figure on the sand, it can similarly cause a thought process connected

> with Ganesha to start in our mind even if we don't know the meaning of

> what we are speaking.

>

> There is another proof of the fact that knowledge is somehow

> unconfined by the language in which it is conveyed from an experience

> that I myself had. I have very rudimentary knowledge of the Sanskrit

> language and my vocabulary is not so good to understand shlokas easily.

> There is a series of shlokas which are collectively known as

> Gurustrotram. This was something which I used to recite every morning

> but I understood only about 20 % of it. One day, I decided to experiment

> if the shlokas could reveal their meaning to me themselves. I had heard

> that if you are willing to recieve, knowledge will reveal itself to you.

> I did not believe that knowledge could be so confined so that you could

> not get it if you didn't understand the language it was written in.

> Reciting the shlokas in the same spirit, I observed that although I did

> not know the meaning of half the words, I could get the essence of what

> the shloka probably meant. By the time I finished reciting it, I felt

> that I now understood about 80 % of it. I crosschecked on what I had

> understood and surprisingly saw what I thought it had meant was, in fact,

> right. It made me sure that if anybody concentrated on the vedas and

> upanishads for enough time and with enough faith, sooner or later, their

> meaning would become clear to him irrespective of whether he knew

> anything about them. I'd like to have your comments on this concept.

>

> Shruti Khanna

>

September 14, 1999

As regarding the proper recitation of mantra. I was once sort of

experimenting (Mind u it can be dangerous too) with one mantra n i found

that only when i recited close to the wat really should be the recitation

i was getting the experience. N the experience got less as i varied the

recitation away frm the proper recitation. I too found that peace of mind

, sanyam n dridhtaa does play a imp. role in sadhana. Devotion being of

utmost importance.

N only few days back i got to know that if one recites a mantraa other

then specified no. of times then side effects can be seen taking a

manifestation in the body. I was thinking how strict can the rule of

reciting a mantra a specified no. of times be. It seems one shouldn't

waver frm it.

May be members on the list can shed more light or correct light on it.

I just remembered same sentences can be spoken in a different way to

convey all together a different meaning.