108 Upanishads

[Agnideva]

What is japa mala?

Namaste MG,

Japa mala is a rosary. Japa = chanting and mala = chain/garland. Hindu ones always contain 108 beads, or some multiple of 108 like 54 or 36.

Regards,
A.

[orlando]

What is japa mala?

Dear MysticalGypsi,please read the chapter Practice and Paraphernalia at http://www.harekrsna.com/practice/sa.../japa/japa.htm

It explains very well japa-mala from vaishnava point of view.

Regards,
Orlando.

[MysticalGypsi]

Thanks guys, I appreciate it.

So, when they say one round is that saying the mantra 108 times to equal a round?

[Agnideva]

So, when they say one round is that saying the mantra 108 times to equal a round?

When I hear one round, I always take it as 108 times.

So, can I say my mantra or am I supposed to only say mantra with names of the Divine? What do you think?

Not sure what you're asking MG. Can you explain?

A.

[Agnideva]

Well, the mantra that I have used since I was about 15 is from the heart sutra. But, from reading through the link, it appeared it had one, specific mantra for this practice, and it specifically stated what you should be thinking about on certain words, like Rama. I was not sure if everyone uses this mantra or various branches of Hinduism use different mantras. And, basically can I say my trusty old mantra or would it benefit me more to focus on one with Rama or some similar name in it. Or can you pick different mantra at different times. Does that make sense?

Namaste MG,

Ah, now I understand what you mean. Are you by chance chanting: gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha? This is a Buddhist mantra from the Mahayana vehicle. I am not sure as to rules for this particular mantra (i.e. beads, repetition, etc). There is much similarity between the recitation of mantras in Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Both use 108 repetitions. The difference is Hindu mantras usually contain the name of God, whereas Buddhist mantras don’t (as in the above).

In Hinduism, we have a large number of mantras. Different branches use different mantras, and there are also different mantras for different purposes. Mantras for chanting are classified into two categories: Nirguni and Saguni. The Nirguni mantras are few and usually come from the Upanishads like Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahman) or Soham (I am That). The Nirguni mantras do not contain specific names like Shiva, Rama, Krishna, Devi, etc. The Saguni mantras are more popular and there are many of them. The Saguni mantras contain the name of God like Shiva, Rama, Krishna, Devi, etc. Which mantra you chant depends on which tradition you’re following. The site you saw, for example, spoke of a very famous mantra used by Vaishnava Hindus.

If you’re focused on Hindu devotion, then it important to follow the mantra from the particular branch you follow. In my practice, for example, I use different mantras for prayer and chanting. The prayer mantras, I chant only once in the morning at my home altar. The chanting mantra I repeat 108 times with a japa mala. I’ve used different chanting mantras at different times, but I find it best to chant the same mantra all the time. Since I follow Shaivism, I use Shaivite mantras. There’s also differences in which types of beads one uses for chanting. In Shaivism and Shaktism, we use rudraksha beads primarily. In Vaishnavism, the tulsi beads are highly recommended.

Oftentimes, you’ll hear people say that a mantra is more (or only) efficacious toward spiritual unfoldment when given to you by a guru. That is not to say that we cannot use any given mantra at will (this is my personal opinion).

Hope that helps .

OM Shanti,
A.

[Agnideva]

Namaste again, MG.

Yes that is it! The funny thing is that for about 15 years I thought that little mantra was mine, as I found it in a book of mantras all by itself. It took me awhile to discover it was a famous, common mantra within the heart sutra. And, I learned to pronounce it right JUST last year. LOL Thanks to advanced technology. I think the Divine understands.

Hehe . Yeah, that mantra is really famous in Buddhism, and beautiful. I must admit it’s quite catchy too.

Anyway, I appreciate you responding and helping me in my total ignorance. The problem is this. I am still learning the basics of Hindu, let alone all the different traditions. I looked up the beads online and I found a couple of sources so that part is good. Now, I just need to decide which mantra, but when I try to think about all the various traditions, this is what appears in my mind: ?

I suppose the benefits are there whichever mantra, but I would like to have a focus. I suppose I need to learn the basics of all the traditions? I now understand the meaning of the words for all the scared texts (as n title of works, not content), so I can learn the basics of the various traditions. I do not have a guru here so....

Yep, that’s my belief too, focus is very important in practice. Hinduism is very broad, and the best way to follow it in my opinion is to pick one particular sampradaya (teaching lineage) and stick to it. Hindus who don’t have a human guru always take God as guru. Or put another way, God is the Guru of all gurus. In Shaivism, for example, Lord Shiva as Dakshinamurti is the Guru of all gurus. Do take your time and learn some basics of the various branches, and go where your heart and mind take you, that’s my suggestion.

And the chanting mantra you recite 108 times every day?

We have one very important mantra in Shaivism: aum namaH shivAya, a.k.a. panchakshara (penta-syllabic) mantra (na-maH-shi-vA-ya), and comes from the Yajurveda. When affixed with AUM, it becomes shadakshara (hexa-syllabic). This is the one I use along with rudraksha beads.

Sometimes, I’ve also chanted the Ganesha mantra: aum gam gaNapataye namaH, and the Kartikeya mantra: aum sharavana bhava, and the Nirguni mantra: soham (soooooo with the inbreath, and hummmmmm with the outbreath).

Any suggestions for this newbie?

Well MG, I don’t want to push you in any particular direction. It really depends on which tradition you are leaning toward. The best and most simple mantra is AUM (aaaaaaauuuuuuuuuummmmm) chanted slowly and deeply. It is the seed mantra for all other mantras. If you’re leaning toward Shaivism, then you can use the ones I mentioned, although it is said that aum namaH shivAya should be given by a guru for full efficacy (again, that doesn’t mean you cannot chant it). There are a couple of other important ones in Shaivism that I know of, which I can tell you if you’re interested. I am sure our Vaishnava and Shakta friends here can help out too, if you’re leaning toward those branches.

Hope that helps .

Regards,
A.

[yajvan]

Hari Om
~~~~~

Namaste MG,

Perhaps if you have time to read this post and others in this string it may help...
http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/sho...60&postcount=1

Also - the wise say, we dig one well. That is if you have settled into a mantra that is bearing fruit for you , then we stay with that.
Now, is it bearing fruit for you ? What is different about your behaviour, thoughts, etc.?

Mantra shastra is extreamely profund - the science of sound - sabda and sphota. This is essential even in our communcation , sound and form. As this sound has shakti, engery or power.

I will make a post on this once I collect all of the info that will make it interesting - yet the key of this discussion will be:
na hi kascit svasmin atmanai muhurtam avatisthate - there is nothng that subsist in its own form for a moment.
That is, everything is moving , vibrating, rearranging. We are not in the same place even in space. If you are sitting in your chair now and reading this, it is not the same akasha as one minute ago let alone yesterday. The earth has moved, the solar system has moved , the galaxy has moved. We are not the same phycially as atoms are lost, changed, etc.
All this creation is moving and changing. ( yet what does not change? the SELF)

So, what does that have to do with sound? If we are going from one level of order to another, we can influence the next state, the next moment, by the sound/mantra chosen to affect our next state of being.

In sanscrit a sound is sabda - drum, voice, bird singing, rocks falling , waves...these sounds are fundmental to creation. When theses sound are used for speach, we have vac. Yet this sabda are of two kinds ( for this conversation) - karya and nitya , or produced, and permanent, eternal ( like the veda's , not created by man).

The fundamental knowledge is this... that at its core of words, the root, the bija, the dhatuh ( meaning 'becoming') has this kriya ( action) in it.
One wise in mantra shastra is aware of this, and knows how to use the sound for benefit. The word/root has intrinsic power to convey the sense which is inseparable from it. Ssaid another way, as my teacher has instructed, root words have the same vibration in it, that is found in the object that it is describing. This has been my body of study as of late.

If there is interest I will be happy to collect my thoughts and post this.
For this, it may take a few posts , and we will need to strap on our open-mindedness , and start to ponder this, as this is very intriguing knowledge to consider.

[Agnideva]

Namaste MG,

Yes, for someone unaccustomed to Hinduism it can be mind boggling. But, I am just taking it one day at a time and reading stuff. A lot of the concepts I have read about just reading various books, but putting it all together and learning the Hindu words and what goes with what. But it is fun and have no deadlines.

You'll see, one of these days, everything will come together, and you'll say aha! i get it. You should be happy to know that you already know a lot more about Hinduism now than many Hindus, no joke.

I have used Aum and really have a love for that. Maybe I will just start learning about Shaivism since I have really found a connection with Shiva.

And, use that mantra. So, now I have a focus! Whew.

Really, Hinduism is so complex and far reaching, I think you have to just start with one idea and relax about getting it all at once.

Focus is always good . Focus on one tradition and see where it leads you.

Meanwhile, as we wait for Sri Yajvan to post his insights on mantra shastra (which I am very interested in knowing more about as well), I thought I would share this link with you. You can listen to some mp3 mantras there, but none of the ones we discussed. I absolutely love Harish Johari's deep voice. In Hinduism, we always recommend Ganesha and Saraswati mantras for education and learning. There's also some nice artwork on that site. I'm almost willing to bet that Sri Yajvan's profile avatar comes from there .

Regards,
A.

[orlando]

Namaste again, MG.

The best and most simple mantra is AUM (aaaaaaauuuuuuuuuummmmm) chanted slowly and deeply. It is the seed mantra for all other mantras. [/FONT]

Hope that helps .

Regards,
A.

Going by orthodoxy, OM/AUM is forbidden for women and shudras.

There are hindu scriptures called Agamas.The Agamas accept the authority of Vedas.

The Agamas are predominantly divided into Saiva, Sakta and Vaishnava Agamas. Agamas mainly talk about construction of temples; the rules for installation and consecration of the deities in the temples; and the methods of performing pujas in the temples.

Although OM/AUM is forbidden for women and shudras,Dirgha-Pranav or OUM is allowed as per shakta agamas.

In the Srimad Bhagavata Purana (1.4.) it is stated thus �




SB 1.4.14: Sūta Gosvāmī said: When the second millennium overlapped the third, the great sage [Vyāsadeva] was born to Parāśara in the womb of Satyavatī, the daughter of Vasu.

SB 1.4.15: Once upon a time he [Vyāsadeva], as the sun rose, took his morning ablution in the waters of the Sarasvatī and sat alone to concentrate.

SB 1.4.16: The great sage Vyāsadeva saw anomalies in the duties of the millennium. This happens on the earth in different ages, due to unseen forces in the course of time.

SB 1.4.17-18: The great sage, who was fully equipped in knowledge, could see, through his transcendental vision, the deterioration of everything material, due to the influence of the age. He could also see that the faithless people in general would be reduced in duration of life and would be impatient due to lack of goodness. Thus he contemplated for the welfare of men in all statuses and orders of life.

SB 1.4.19: He saw that the sacrifices mentioned in the Vedas were means by which the people's occupations could be purified. And to simplify the process he divided the one Veda into four, in order to expand them among men.

SB 1.4.20: The four divisions of the original sources of knowledge [the Vedas] were made separately. But the historical facts and authentic stories mentioned in the Purāṇas are called the fifth Veda.

SB 1.4.21: After the Vedas were divided into four divisions, Paila Ṛṣi became the professor of the Ṛg Veda, Jaimini the professor of the Sāma Veda, and Vaiśampāyana alone became glorified by the Yajur Veda.

SB 1.4.22: The Sumantu Muni Ańgirā, who was very devotedly engaged, was entrusted with the Atharva Veda. And my father, Romaharṣaṇa, was entrusted with the Purāṇas and historical record

SB 1.4.23: All these learned scholars, in their turn, rendered their entrusted Vedas unto their many disciples, grand-disciples and great grand-disciples, and thus the respective branches of the followers of the Vedas came into being.

SB 1.4.24: Thus the great sage Vyāsadeva, who is very kind to the ignorant masses, edited the Vedas so they might be assimilated by less intellectual men.

SB 1.4.25: Out of compassion, the great sage thought it wise that this would enable men to achieve the ultimate goal of life. Thus he compiled the great historical narration called the Mahābhārata for women, laborers and friends of the twice-born.




Women and shudras are generally considered less-intelligent as regards their philosophical perception.Because of this consideration they are considered devoid of necessary qualifications to understand the purpose of the Vedas.For them the Mahabharata was prepared. The purpose of the Mahabharata is to administer the purpose of the Vedas.

In Vishnu Purana it is said:
bharata-vyapadesena hyamnayarthah pradarsitah
vedah pratisthah sarve sarve purane natra samsayah

"On the pretext of writing the Mahabharata, Vyasa explained the meaning of the Vedas. Certainly all the topics of the Vedas have been established in the Puranas."

Since AUM/OM is shortest version of Veda,women and shudras are not allowed to recit such mantra.

For Srivaishnavism(the vaishnava tradition that I follow), reciting AUM is allowed only to qualified personal.

Regards,
Orlando.

[Agnideva]

Since AUM/OM is shortest version of Veda,women and shudras are not allowed to recit such mantra.

For Srivaishnavism(the vaishnava tradition that I follow), reciting AUM is allowed only to qualified personal.

Regards,
Orlando.

Namaste Orlando,

If the orthodox tradition you follow doesn't even allow you to chant AUM, what are you allowed to chant?

Regards,
A.