Over the years I have heard an argument professed by some former TM
meditators who stopped practicing because they claimed they were
deceived about the "meaning" of mantra-s. I have also seen
similar declarations put forth by various disputant webrunners wishing
to dissuade anyone from beginning any form of mantra meditation with
roots in India.
The fundamental claim is that a mantra is the name of a Hindu god
an assertion also put forth by many Indian nationals and ex-patriots.
Therefore, the conclusion is that a mantra encapsulates a method for
worshiping a Hindu god but that this fact is withheld from
practitioners. Within the domain of this argument, the webrunners often
will quote a webtext from a Hindu Tantra, which assigns a particular
deity to a particular mantra and sometimes assigns a set of deities to
each of the Sanskrit letters composing the written form of the mantric
sound. This textual assignment is sometimes done haphazardly and
sometimes is done in the classical Vedic format of rishi-deva-chhanda.
Along with the quoted Tantric text, is often a statement by MMY,
declaring that a mantra is a "sound whose effect is known". This
argument sometimes quotes the TMO claim that a mantra is used in TM for
the beneficial effects it produces in causing the spontaneous refinement
of perception. This explanation is then paraded as an example of
shameful exploitation of Westerner's ignorance of the
"Hinduistic" foundation of TM and of any other Indian meditation
which does not confess itself as a form of "Hindu
devotionalism". This devotionalist criticism is compounded by
various Indian swamis and cross-eyed "yogi-s" who make these
very claims and arguments themselves.
Some considerations about these claims:
1. Most meditating westerners are functionally ignorant about the
nature, range, depth and complexity of Vedic, Hindu, Buddhist and Jain
yoga-s. Most of them could not explain the difference between Vedic,
Hindu and Tantric traditions of practice nor could they explain how
these three streams intertwine in daily rites. They don't know vidhi
from vedi.
1. Most swami-s and exported "yogi-s" are not Pandits,
Indologists, or Sanskritists nor are they formally educated in the yoga
traditions of the Indian subcontinent. Most are only trained in asana,
pranayama and japa. A little bhakti here, a little jnana citation there
and "om tat sat".
1. Most of us Westerners who meditate are therefore at a
disadvantage when presented with claims that we cannot contextualize
within an informed view.
My point here is to give people a corrective to this misunderstanding by
providing a short but authoritative quotation from an impeccable source
about the difference between yogic mantra practice and devotional japa
practice.
Baba Hari Dass - On Mantra:
Mantra is the repetition of sounds or words which have power due to the
vibration of the sound itself. Japa is the rhythmic repetition of a name
of God. It consists of automatic Pranayama, concentration and
meditation. The main idea in doing Japa is to make the mind thoughtless.
Then automatically body consciousness disappears. If your body
consciousness disappears, it means your sadhana is going well. The body
is the medium of sadhana and the body is the hindrance in sadhana. Japa
is a formal method of worshipping God. It should be done privately and
preferably with a mala, or rosary.
Silence Speaks: from the chalkboard of Baba Hari Dass, 1977 (my talics).
This distinction between the yogic sound-value of a mantra and
devotional, religious practices using mantra-s is also found in the
Tibetan Vajrayana (originally called Mantrayana) and was discussed by
Lama Khenchen Thrangu, Tibetan Khempo and tutor to HH the 17th Karmapa.
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