Do Not Test Your Mantra: A Story from Childhood
by Dr. Harsh K. Luthar (Harsha)
Thank you Sri Ramji for your post (given below after my story). This comes at an opportune time as on HarshaSatsangh, there has been some discussion of mantras. I am reminded of my own childhood and will share the following story.
Hindus are taught the Gayatri at an early age as soon as the child learns to speak. This is the first mantra that I remember hearing and memorizing when I was around 3 or so. It is held in much esteem of course and is said to bring knowledge, wisdom, and purity. It is also meant to increase intelligence and offer general protection as well. I had deep faith in Gayatri and my first attempts at meditation consisted of simply reciting it over and over again with a focus on the forehead. I used the Gayatri mantra for everything, even for escaping punishment at school when I did not do my homework!
One day, when I was around 11-12 or so, I had not done my homework when I went to school. I wanted to test whether the Gayatri was effective or not and so I made the following experiment. I thought that whenever I have not done the homework and I recite the Gayatri, the teacher never calls on me and I am protected. But how do I know that teacher may not call on me today whether I recite the Gayatri or not. So I decided not to recite and to experiment to see what would happen.
Well the teacher asked all children who had not done their homework to come out in front of the class. I sat in my seat pretending that I had done my home work. The children who had not done their home work were taken care of first. They were beaten by the teacher using a cane (this was typical in India of the 1960s). After the teacher satisfied himself that everyone who had not done the work had been thoroughly beaten and was sobbing appropriately and repenting he started randomly calling on the rest of us. I was sitting there pretending I had done my homework and not reciting the Gayatri as this was my experiment to test the Mantra. The teacher was calling on other students for a while and I thought I was escaping. About 15 minutes before the class ended, the teacher called on me! I was quite stunned! Stammering, I confessed that I could not answer as I had not done the work. The teacher then asked me why I had not come out earlier to accept my punishment for not doing my homework. I had no answer to that.
The teacher decided to make an example of me and called me in front of the class. For the next 15 minutes, I received quite a beating from the teacher. He decided to give me triple that of the other students and used his hands as well to slap me repeatedly (as if the cane was not enough by itself)! On top of the physical pain, the humiliation was quite bad.
I learned many lessons that day. One of them was "Do not test your Mantra!" :-)
~~~~~~~
Gayatri Japa and its Meaning
by Ram Chandran
Hari Om:
Those who belong to the Yajur Vedic Traditions, observe today, Gayatri Japam. Yesterday was the Upakarma day - the first day to begin the study of Yajur Veda. This tradition has been observed from the Vedic time period and is widely observed by the followers of Yajur Veda Traditions. This year, the Upakarma day was the same for the observers of both Rig and Yajur Vedic traditions. The Gayatri Japam is typically recited for 1008 (or 108) times. The Upakarma and Gayatri Japam are considered most important for unmarried youngsters who are entrusted with the responsibility of learning the Vedas.
Gayatri Japam and Meaning
=========================
Aum bhoor bhuwah swaha,
tat savitur varenyam
bhargo devasaya dheemahi
dhiyo yo naha prachodayat.
Oh God! Thou art the Giver of Life, Remover of pain
and sorrow,
The Bestower of happiness, Oh! Creator of the
Universe,
May we receive thy supreme sin-destroying light,
May Thou guide our intellect in the right direction.
Word for Word Meaning of the Mantra Aum = Brahma ; bhoor = embodiment of vital spiritual energy(pran) ; bhuwah = destroyer of sufferings ; swaha = embodiment of happiness ; tat = that ; savitur = bright like sun ; varenyam = best choicest ; bhargo = destroyer of sins ; devasya = divine ; dheemahi = may imbibe ; dhiyo = intellect ; yo = who ; naha = our ; prachodayat = may inspire ; Meaning of Gayatri Mantra
Rishis selected the words of various Mantras and arranged them so that they not only convey meaning but also create specific power through their utterance. Gayatri Mantra inspires wisdom. Its meaning is that "May the Almighty God illuminate our intellect to lead us along the righteous path". All the problems of a person are solved if he/she is endowed with the gift of righteous wisdom. Once endowed with far-sighted wisdom, a man is neither entangled in calamity nor does he tread the wrong path. A wise man finds solution to all outstanding problems. Only those persons who do not think correctly find difficulty and take wrong steps due to foolishness. Chanting of Gayatri Mantra removes this deficiency. The teachings and powers incorporated in the Gayatri Mantra fulfill this purpose.
Hindus believe that righteous wisdom starts emerging soon after the recitions (Japam) of this Mantra is performed. Try chanting the Gayatri Japam silently and attain the eternal peace!
Om Peace! Om Peace! Om Peace!
by Dr. Harsh K. Luthar (Harsha)
Thank you Sri Ramji for your post (given below after my story). This comes at an opportune time as on HarshaSatsangh, there has been some discussion of mantras. I am reminded of my own childhood and will share the following story.
Hindus are taught the Gayatri at an early age as soon as the child learns to speak. This is the first mantra that I remember hearing and memorizing when I was around 3 or so. It is held in much esteem of course and is said to bring knowledge, wisdom, and purity. It is also meant to increase intelligence and offer general protection as well. I had deep faith in Gayatri and my first attempts at meditation consisted of simply reciting it over and over again with a focus on the forehead. I used the Gayatri mantra for everything, even for escaping punishment at school when I did not do my homework!
One day, when I was around 11-12 or so, I had not done my homework when I went to school. I wanted to test whether the Gayatri was effective or not and so I made the following experiment. I thought that whenever I have not done the homework and I recite the Gayatri, the teacher never calls on me and I am protected. But how do I know that teacher may not call on me today whether I recite the Gayatri or not. So I decided not to recite and to experiment to see what would happen.
Well the teacher asked all children who had not done their homework to come out in front of the class. I sat in my seat pretending that I had done my home work. The children who had not done their home work were taken care of first. They were beaten by the teacher using a cane (this was typical in India of the 1960s). After the teacher satisfied himself that everyone who had not done the work had been thoroughly beaten and was sobbing appropriately and repenting he started randomly calling on the rest of us. I was sitting there pretending I had done my homework and not reciting the Gayatri as this was my experiment to test the Mantra. The teacher was calling on other students for a while and I thought I was escaping. About 15 minutes before the class ended, the teacher called on me! I was quite stunned! Stammering, I confessed that I could not answer as I had not done the work. The teacher then asked me why I had not come out earlier to accept my punishment for not doing my homework. I had no answer to that.
The teacher decided to make an example of me and called me in front of the class. For the next 15 minutes, I received quite a beating from the teacher. He decided to give me triple that of the other students and used his hands as well to slap me repeatedly (as if the cane was not enough by itself)! On top of the physical pain, the humiliation was quite bad.
I learned many lessons that day. One of them was "Do not test your Mantra!" :-)
~~~~~~~
Gayatri Japa and its Meaning
by Ram Chandran
Hari Om:
Those who belong to the Yajur Vedic Traditions, observe today, Gayatri Japam. Yesterday was the Upakarma day - the first day to begin the study of Yajur Veda. This tradition has been observed from the Vedic time period and is widely observed by the followers of Yajur Veda Traditions. This year, the Upakarma day was the same for the observers of both Rig and Yajur Vedic traditions. The Gayatri Japam is typically recited for 1008 (or 108) times. The Upakarma and Gayatri Japam are considered most important for unmarried youngsters who are entrusted with the responsibility of learning the Vedas.
Gayatri Japam and Meaning
=========================
Aum bhoor bhuwah swaha,
tat savitur varenyam
bhargo devasaya dheemahi
dhiyo yo naha prachodayat.
Oh God! Thou art the Giver of Life, Remover of pain
and sorrow,
The Bestower of happiness, Oh! Creator of the
Universe,
May we receive thy supreme sin-destroying light,
May Thou guide our intellect in the right direction.
Word for Word Meaning of the Mantra Aum = Brahma ; bhoor = embodiment of vital spiritual energy(pran) ; bhuwah = destroyer of sufferings ; swaha = embodiment of happiness ; tat = that ; savitur = bright like sun ; varenyam = best choicest ; bhargo = destroyer of sins ; devasya = divine ; dheemahi = may imbibe ; dhiyo = intellect ; yo = who ; naha = our ; prachodayat = may inspire ; Meaning of Gayatri Mantra
Rishis selected the words of various Mantras and arranged them so that they not only convey meaning but also create specific power through their utterance. Gayatri Mantra inspires wisdom. Its meaning is that "May the Almighty God illuminate our intellect to lead us along the righteous path". All the problems of a person are solved if he/she is endowed with the gift of righteous wisdom. Once endowed with far-sighted wisdom, a man is neither entangled in calamity nor does he tread the wrong path. A wise man finds solution to all outstanding problems. Only those persons who do not think correctly find difficulty and take wrong steps due to foolishness. Chanting of Gayatri Mantra removes this deficiency. The teachings and powers incorporated in the Gayatri Mantra fulfill this purpose.
Hindus believe that righteous wisdom starts emerging soon after the recitions (Japam) of this Mantra is performed. Try chanting the Gayatri Japam silently and attain the eternal peace!
Om Peace! Om Peace! Om Peace!
No comments:
Post a Comment