Guest guest Posted September 18, 2003 Report Share Posted September 18, 2003 Question from Kelly: I've noticed that Shree Ma will chant certain vedic mantra's differently than how I have been taught, like the Gayatri. How important is it to get the intonations perfect when each teacher teaches it slightly different? I've been told vedic chants must be perfect otherwise other 'malefic' influences will be attracted when chanted incorrectly. How does one know the way they are taught is the way it was intended? Answer form Swamiji: First, that you do it, is more important than how you do it. The most important ingredient is your intention. The proscription against mispronunciation is for professionals who want to altar other people's karma because of their prayers. For students who want to purify themselves and reach to Godliness, the intention and effort is more valuable than the perfection of the technical presentation. Consider our own experiences. When our children brought home a drawing they made in kindergarden, didn't we praise them and place the picture on the refrigerator? If we could be so encouraging with our children, how much more the Divine Mother will do for us. There are 22 major languages of India, with 247 dialects officially recognised. The pronunciation of Sanskrit is different in every region, and every region does it differently. Try to come as close as you possibly can to what your gurus teach, and realize that wherever you go someone will say you are not correct. But their judgement does not matter. You will get your certificate from Her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 4, 2003 Report Share Posted October 4, 2003 This is fascinating!!! And clears up my confusion about the same question. I have read & heard the same warning: that the chants have to be pronounced perfectly to be effective, and YET in my experience the mantras WORK for me and I KNOW I'm not pronouncing the Sanskrit words correctly! (Speaking foreign languages has never been easy for me.) When you write that the "proscription against mispronunciation is for professionals" I'm assuming you're referring to Hindu priests & mantravadis (sorcerers)? Astraea , "Sarada" <sarada_saraswati> wrote: > Answer form Swamiji: First, that you do it, is more important than > how you do it. > > The most important ingredient is your intention. The proscription > against mispronunciation is for professionals who want to alter > other > people's karma because of their prayers. For students who want to > purify > themselves and reach to Godliness, the intention and effort is more > valuable than the perfection of the technical presentation. > someone will say you are not correct.... You will get your certificate > from > Her. 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.