On Feb 21, 2010, at 5:33 PM, BillyG wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj <vajradh...@...> wrote: > > > The mantras that are recited > > are no mantras at all. > > Without the immutable potency that is in the mantras, > > as their very life and soul (jiva), > > they are futile like a cloud that will not rain. > > > > Shiva-sutra-vimarshini > > > So Vaj-That really sounds romantic, now, just how are the mantras given > *potency*? And IF the mantras have **"immutable potency"** how then can it be > lost?
Usually through mantra diksha and then specific initiatory abhishekas. Shaktipat is usually part of the latter. That way what was awakened in the teacher, is actually, tangibly, passed on. TM mantras are (IMO) actually passed on in authentic away, if the teacher awakened something in his or her roundings. They're just not very balanced mantras, and so can therefore affect unbalanced persons in a negative way and they're not specific to the unique characteristics of the student receiving them. Many Hindu gurus consider their traditions in danger of extinction and that "casting seeds where only some will fall in fertile ground" is allowable. That's not OK with me. We now know that repetitive mentation physically shapes the brain. What happens when that goes awry? In that way Chopra's "108 mantras" could actually be 108/12 or 9 times as bad as TM mantra-diksha, as there is at least 9 times more chance for mistakes. The students loves, desires and dislikes are of paramount importance.