Herr Leo Fischer, the Austrian Sanskritist, was one of a handful of European
academics to throw aside his scholastic robes and assume the robes of a
Dashanami Swami. It was rather remarkable for his day but now, unfortunately,
any California Hausfrau can do the same
The text you quoted below was the first serious study of mantra by an
Orientalist. However, his qualifications were strictly academic - not spiritual
nor a mix of both. He was, after all, the person who grandly declared Ramana
Maharshi to be nothing but a "crashing bore".
Agehananda put on Ochre robes because it gave him access in India to many
people who wouldn't usually talk to a Westerner about tantric traditions. In
this way he broke new ground. However, after all these years, his works are no
longer a main resource in defining mantra, although his works are still widely
cited.
One thing to note is that his definition of mantra, as given below, is now
just one academic opinion among others. Among those other opinions are claims
that mantras can only be evaluated by their "purpose for use". Thus, even if
mantra syllables have no meaning "as such", they can still be defined by how
they are used in ritual speech acts or meditative practice.
empty
"Richard J. Williams" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
bill wrote:
> When someone tells us such meditation is hindu worship
> then they are simply misinformed, ignorant or ideologues.
>
For clarity, here is a definition of mantra, according to
Swami Ageananda Bharati:
"A mantra is a quasi-morpheme or a series of quasi-morphemes,
or a series of mixed genuine and quasi-morphemes arranged in
conventional patterns, based on codified esoteric traditions,
and passed on from one preceptor to one disciple in the course
of a prescribed initiation ritual."
According to Swami Ageananda, this definition does not include
any reference to the purpose or purposes of mantra, for the
statement of purpose is a material statement, which must be
excluded from a definition, which is a set of formal
propositions of exception less validity. If there is a
single exception to a statement, then that statement
forfeits its claim to being a definition. As there is a
conceivable exception with regard to the purpose of mantra,
purpose could not be included.
Work Cited:
'The Tantric Tradition'
Swami Ageananda Bharati
Rider, 1965
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