The Benefits of Using Mantra - Swami Sivananda Radha

The repetition of a Mantra is a means of improving the powers of concen-tration. There are Indian spiritual masters who maintain that the meaning and the content of the Mantra do not necessarily have to be understood by the aspirant in order to bring about the desired effect, that the practice of Mantra alone is sufficient to achieve the spiritual awakening which is its purpose. Certainly, the use of the Mantra purifies the subconscious and even if it is repeated mechanically some purification will take place. However, each Mantra is devotional by nature and has the Divine as its form and essence. With concen-tration on the meaning, the attainment of the ultimate goal is surer and quicker.

The benefits of Mantra practice depend on you as an individual, on where you started off, where you stand now, what your past lives have been, and the intensity and degree of longing in your desire. When you chant a Mantra your whole being changes for the better. Build up the habit of repeating the Mantra at all times. The work you do will become easier and more joyful because the Mantra is continuously in the back of your mind.

One of the results that comes quickly with the practice of Mantra is control of the breath which is the means by which we can develop the ability to control the emotions. In chanting we can give all our emotions to the Mantra, to the deity of the Mantra, and ask that deity to help us gain control. In this way, we find a safe release for negative feelings. Rather than throwing them on someone else, we offer them back to their source. Continued chanting will lead to greater awareness and the replacing of negative feelings with positive affirmations.

© "Mantras: Words of Power" published by Jaico Publishing House, 121, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Mumbai 400 001. Website: www.jaicobooks.com. Reprinted with permission.

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