curtisdeltablues wrote: > "That's why though Benson > thought one could meditate on any old word he didn't pick up much > support in other Indian paths of meditation as they already knew that > but only specific mantras were safe to use and other words had already > been shown even though they calmed the mind to produce insanity over > time." > > > This claim seems dubious. Are you saying that mantras were found by > trial and error? Do you think someone from a deeply religious culture > would actually attempt to meditate on random words long enough to go > insane? Do you think anyone has any evidence of even one person going > insane this way? I really don't think you could possible know this in > any convincing way. > My tantra teacher feels the mantras were developed this way. And I've heard this from other teachers as well and other writers on Indian philosophy who have discussed it with pundits. The "trial and error" may well be the "cognizing that MMY" talked about. IOW, some Indians are dubious about the idea that sages at subtle levels of consciousness discovered these sounds that could take you the rest of the way down. And you're right you can't prove it but you like me are a musician so you are a master of the nada yoga and should know subtlety of sounds and their effects. A blunt sound will leave you at the surface but other sounds will take you there but some in a skewed way that may effect other areas of the brain and over a period of time leave you unbalanced. The real key to this is Ayurveda. It will give you a real handle on the effects of different sounds. Every mantra has an effect on the doshas. If you don't take that into account then problems can pop up. That's why in some schools of though the guru likes to give you a mantra that fits your temperament as those will work best (again Sivananda writes well on this subject as does Devananda his disciple). Somebody too pitta can drive their pitta dosha through the roof doing an agni mantra. > People drop out from practices that don't have a lot of strong beliefs > attached to them. The people who just took TM and didn't go on to buy > into the more complete belief system stopped meditating. It has > nothing to do with the qualities of the mantra. > They also drop out because it didn't work for them or they felt something was wrong with it and not from a religious sense. I think as many as 20% or more stopped practicing after 6 months from what I saw. > The experience of meditation is just not that much of a big deal for > most people who don't have a strong belief system in place about what > it is doing for them, just like with prayer. And among people who pray > and those who meditate, there is often a belief that supports the > practice even if they don't see any results. Here on this board we > have had discussions about why a person may not experience any > relative benefit from practicing TM and yet some people enjoy it just > the same because of a belief that they are growing in a personally > meaningful quality. Faith is natural for humans. We are wonderfully > imaginative creatures to both our credit and our fault.-- In > [email protected], Bhairitu Unless like me you were born dubious of religions and had a family that reinforced that outlook. As a teenager I considered myself an existentialist and a big fan of Sartre. I think the existentialism and atheism is the final step towards what some would call "God Realization." You've negated the belief in God and only after that can you realize the whole of creation is God (if you want to use that word). It's all just the reference point you chose.
I've also spoken with long time TM'ers who have told me they have only transcended a few times. They apparently keep up the practice (though irregularly) because of the relaxation they experience. I have no problem with TM in general but as a teacher now of another technique who has attained a certain level or title as a tantric I have a duty to correct misconceptions about meditation here mainly espoused by people I consider TM fundies who we laughed about in the TM center I was associated with (in Seattle). I've also traveled to India which in itself will rid most people of misconceptions and preconceived notions and discussed these things with other practitioners from other paths there. Keep in mind the debates here are actually rather tame compared to what you'll find on forums and groups populated with Indian pundits. If we had that fervor here Rick would really here from the bliss-a-ninny shits that asked him to put a posting limit in place to begin with.
