Value of mantra-practice

[Guest guest]

Bruce, Mark, I have to respectfully disagree somewhat with the quotes and

statements made about mantra-practice

 

<The bead and the word do quieten the chattering mind, but this is a form of

self-

 

<hypnosis. You might as well take a pill. >

 

< looking from a broader perspective, is dullness. You can stimulate your

<thalamic areas and feel that you have become very senitive--but you have

also <become dull, because you have supressed the cerebral functions.">

 

<one does well to understand the nature and limitations of such

 

<activities, including the potential for drug-like habituation and escape

from <that which one fears most -- most often, this is "to look at the fact

as it is.">

 

 

In my (obviously limited) experience, mantra-recitation is one of the most

powerful and revealing spiritual "techniques".

 

One fundamental spiritual experience that can be gained by repetition of a

mantra is the insight that "I" am not the mind, but rather the silent

observer of the mental - and ultimately physical- processes.

 

In the ordinary state of consciousness the identification with the psyche and

the body tends to be extremely strong and mantra practice can cut through

this conditioned identification.

 

Concentrated repetition of the mantra seems to be an excellent exercise for

achieving one-pointedness of the mind. This, I believe tends to awaken,

rather than dull the mind. (Technically, this probably has to do with an

added influx of energy or shakti to the brain)

 

If we to the notion that we and the world around us are essentially

phenomena shaped and influenced by mind, mantra practice can give us

interesting insights into how our minds interact with "reality". So, I

wouldn't view mantra repetition as an escape from "reality" or a means for

avoiding things in life but rather as an excellent tool for

self-understanding.

 

Also using the appropriate mantras seem to stimulate and harmonize the

chakras or centers of consciosuness. This in turn can have beneficial effects

on health patterns within mind and body and again seems to open up the psyche

and consciousness rather than restricting it...

 

And I have a notion that this is really only scratching the surface....

 

Michael ( a friend of sound)