Friday, December 10, 2004

Extracts from the article: The Mysteries of Mantra

Extracts from the article: The Mysteries of Mantra - Transformation by Conscious Sound by Muz Murray

Medical researchers in Paris have found that certain repetitive sounds played to cancer cells will eventually destroy them. This is a fascinating breakthrough, for all involved in sound-work. Over the past few years, having had several cancer patients in my mantra workshops, I have begun to receive letters from those who have been able to avoid operations after the effects of a workshop. One lady who was due for a mastectomy soon after a mantra workshop found the malignant growth had diminished after the five-days of chanting, so that the operation was deemed unnecessary. Five years later she is still chanting and still has her breasts. Another woman with cancer of the throat and barely able to speak had a remission and stabilisation with improved ability to speak afterwards. Clearly something powerful is in operation here.

If lifeless repetitive electronic sound can make cancer cells disintegrate in the laboratory, how much more effective the living sound of one’s own voice can be in toning the cells with the repetitive vibration of healing. Mantra is known for its vibrant pulsation of subtle healing frequencies which purify both mind and body. Because of its capacity to resonate in consciousness, it is considered by the great sages as the most efficacious method of unburdening the subconscious and cleansing it of residual traumas.

Wednesday, December 08, 2004

Accurate pronunciations of mantra Part 2

An interesting simile given by Master Guobin (a famous monk from Taiwan) I read somewhere: Mantras are like phone numbers. Mantras are direct links to the Buddhas just like phone numbers are direct communication means to homes. Without dialing the right numbers, one will not be able to call anyone. Sometimes, we may be lucky to get through even though we dialed a wrong number but it is definitely not the person we intended to call. Similarly, chanting a mantra incorrectly may still yield some effects but nevertheless, it is probably not the result we desire.

We all heard of the story of a man reciting Om Mani Padme Hum incorrectly as Om Mani Padme Niu. Despite the wrong pronunciation the man still managed to achieve a certain level of mantra siddhi with it. This story is not illustrating that pronouncing Hum as Niu is correct and it should be taught as such. Remember this happened in ancient times where people possessed better karma then now (long story to explain why, so don’t ask me). With little distractions and good karma, it was easy for him to get the mantra siddhi. On the other hand, we cannot possibly assume that we all have the same good karma and start chanting the mantras anyway we like. We mustn’t take any chances and waste our efforts.

Here’s another story told by a Rinpoche:
In ancient Tibet, there was a monk named Kuchintachahua and he practiced a special kind of sadhana. His mantra siddhi enabled him to carve words on rocks with his pestle with ease, like knife cutting through tofu. One day, a great monk came by and told him that his pronunciation was wrong and taught him the correct one. Upon changing to the new version, Kuchintachahua lost his power of writing on rocks. This was because he began to have doubts about the mantra.

What these stories are trying to say is that correct pronunciation is very important. But it is still secondary in comparison to one’s faith and sincerity. For the very moment you have doubts about the mantra or the guru that transmits the mantra to you, you will lose grasp of the mantra’s power. Thus, both faith and correct pronunciation must not be overlooked. Many Tibetan masters transmit their mantras each with their own local accents and pronunciations but their disciples still reap the results because of their faith and confidence they have in it.
For those who practice the mantras in other languages and have not gotten any results should try doing it in Sanskrit. Why deny yourself of the opportunity to achieve optimum result from your sadhana when a more accurate pronunciation is available?

Friday, December 03, 2004

The Difference between Namo and Namah

Namo is just a sandhi form of namaH, the visarga H changing to o before a soft consonant. ‘NamaH’ before words beginning with k, kh, p, ph. ‘Namo’ before words beginning with g, j, d, y, r, l, v, h (namo gaNapataye, vaasudevaaya) H changes to s : namaste, etc. H is elided before a vowel: nama iishvaraaya. H changes to avagraha ( ~ S ) before a : namo.astu te.
Both 'namo' and 'namah' mean the same. There is a sutra in Panini's 'Ashtaadhyaayi' --- 'hashi cha'. It means that if the visarga is followed by words belonging to 'hash' group, then the visarga becomes 'u' and then to 'o'. The alphabets which are in 'hash' group are: ha,ya,va,ra,la, jna,ma, nga, Na,na,jha,bha,ja,ba,ga,Da,da,gha,Dha,dha. Examples: om namo bhagavate vaasudevaaya. Here 'namah' becomes 'namo' because the visarga is followed by the alphabet 'bha' and this belongs to 'hash' group. om namah shivaaya Here 'namah' does NOT become 'namo' as the visarga is followed by the alphabet 'sh' which does NOT belong to 'hash' group.