02-10-2013, 12:29 AM
(This post was last modified: 02-10-2013, 12:33 AM by AgentOrange.)
Mantras need initiation or they don't work. They're just words. You might as well say "s***" over and over trying to get to trance (& possibly to greater effect). Now a lot of people will tell you that it doesn't matter. You repeat the word and concentrate. That's not meditation. It's "focused attention", or what NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming) calls hypnosis. It's roughly the same state of mind you're in when some one calls out your name unexpectedly. Apparently that's what a lot of people call 'meditation' now. To get to trance though your mantra has to be 'plugged in', or 'charged', and that's what the initiation does. Don't waste time getting anything out of a book.
BTW there are some mantras that don't need initiation, like "om mani padme hum" or "Om nama shivayai". They're open channels given to the world. Do one of these and eventually you'll meet your teacher and they'll initiate you. Real meditation is a very deep altered state trance. This is where everything happens. It's not counting your breath for 10 minutes and thinking to yourself "Wow I'm in on this now!", like those poor people who carry their yoga mats around with them. You'd get farther smoking marijuana (believe me!).
So if you're serious and won't settle for less than full flat out samadhi - start with one of those 'general usage mantras' like om nama shivayai, & wait for the door to open.
BTW there are some mantras that don't need initiation, like "om mani padme hum" or "Om nama shivayai". They're open channels given to the world. Do one of these and eventually you'll meet your teacher and they'll initiate you. Real meditation is a very deep altered state trance. This is where everything happens. It's not counting your breath for 10 minutes and thinking to yourself "Wow I'm in on this now!", like those poor people who carry their yoga mats around with them. You'd get farther smoking marijuana (believe me!).
So if you're serious and won't settle for less than full flat out samadhi - start with one of those 'general usage mantras' like om nama shivayai, & wait for the door to open.