Meditation and Mantra

Part 1
The mantra a the word or sound, which is supposed to have a real and direct junction with its sacred meaning.

In all religions, we find some symbols or word usage, that is used for the purpose of concentrating and channeling the mind towards the Divinity that is recognized in that individual’s belief system.
Religious liturgy expands on the use of sounds into chanting, incantations, prayers, so the use of sound is important. It’s not just the words, but also how that sound is produced. (Tone, metre, volume, cadence).

Mantras are also know to be used in witchcraft, primitive ceremonies, and modern day activities. (As in, “It’s my go to mantra”)! Even in the repetitive lines that school children used to get given to do as punishment, if they were naughty.
The benefits are derived, not so much from the word, sound, or sentence itself, rather from the repetition that is intended to concentrate the mind. Repetition also helps achieve any other desired outcome.

Repetition seems a rather boring at times way to go about achieving some degree of one pointed concentration. It is to a degree, about overcoming mind blocks, (or blocking the mind). Just as when we watch a film we will become engrossed, (or when we watch some sport). We enjoy the experience partly because of a focused mind, and partly we manage to forget the world and its problems outside. Not so good afterwards! When we come out as a film into the cold night air, everything is just the same, and for the all the engagement the film engendered we still returning to the same old world.

This it not to say that the value of mantras, religious practice, or even hobbies and sports, is a negative means to achieve either mental tranquility, or happiness. The reality is about how much we may, or may not get, permanent unchangeable happiness, (spelt with a capital H). This is something else, a separate entity that is desired? It is also a natural and achievable entity, but unfortunately lies at the heart of a person’s being, and is thus often just overlooked, due to our pressures of being engaged in our world. This does not make sense. That it is so near, yet so far away!

Just as a person with a map can find a route through a strange city, so if we are equipped with a map of the workings and ways of the subtle mental forces behind our world and existence, we can plot away to the heart of reality, the Truth.
We need to know what the mind is what it does and how it functions.
We need to know the effect of our mind on our lives our personalities and most importantly on our happiness.
We need to know how other minds affect ours, and understand national minds that are culturally driven en masse for whole nations. Include here regional religious and linguistic groupings, to name but a few. Also, globally, does God even have an influence on our mental functions, (as a worldwide phenomenon)?
If the information that we need for our own map is beginning to sound a bit complex, don’t worry. Even in the big city if we wish to reach the center we only need to approach from one direction. We only need one route in order to reach our goal. Similarly if we wish to weave our way through the maze and hit the center, we only need some fairly simple instructions and knowledge of what we are likely to encounter on the way, and landmarks, as it were.

To be continued in Part 2…………………….