R.G., now I get your point. You think the effect of a mantra, - and that could be any suitable word -, to which you feel a special inclination, would be good enough to come closer to God. This seems to me to be only a romantic idea based on the assumption that transcending was only a question of comfort, confidence and "good vibrations". But this theory is too simple in order to give justice to the vedic approach. Here the criteria for transcending are based on spota, the science about ideal grammar of (or) form. Example: The word table, in German "Tisch" and in Latin tabula may have the same meaning but different forms. Spota will teach the criteria for choosing the ideal form, which allows only one sound associatable with one particular meaning. The well-meant idea that any "good sound" or "good meaning", associated with God, would be good enough to create the same result like TM will definitely lead to a dead end. Therefore telling a school-class, that they could take anything that comforts them in order to avoid confrontation with "Indian culture" is as stupid as saying, "if you do not like Einstein's theory about relativity, because it is jewish, then take any other theory out of your cultural vicinity, which comes closest to his thoughts". :-)))
Hagen
