Divertimento ~ Mantra Mumbo Jumbo
by Sravaniya DiPecoraro
Sanskrit seems to be making a comeback. Individuals are getting Oṁ symbols tattooed on their shoulders, chests and elsewhere, and are chanting verses at the beginning of their yoga workouts. Congregational singing accompanied with instruments (kīrtan) is arriving on the scene as a social activity. This can be a good thing, or a bad one.A curious conversation occurred at a rehearsal for kīrtan which I attended. When a yoga instructor was sharing a chant to Lord Śiva that she enjoyed singing, a leader of the group, a young brahmacārī, or celibate monk, who had lived and studied for a considerable time in his guru’s yoga ashram, corrected her pronunciation. “Hara means Śiva,” he said. “Hari means Krishna and Hare means Rādhā. It should be Hara, not Hari.” She hesitated, then came out with “Well…this is the way I learned it.” Her reply was simple but dismissive. It seemed she was not interested in taking on board what he was saying, as if chanting any which way was fine. This is a teacher, mind you — someone who is supposed to guide and correct her students in their yoga practice.“It’s all the same anyway,” chimed in a devotee of an Advaita swami, who beamed a most politically correct smile, as if we should all be nice children and get along. The brahmacārī sniffed, readjusted his position at the harmonium and looked down at his notes. The matter slipped through the cracks in the floor and that was that.This is nothing new. In kīrtan performances I have heard the egalitarian proclaiming with happy conviction: “It doesn’t matter what the meaning of the chant is. It’s all one…we are all one. So just join in.” This is extremely seductive.[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]If Sanskrit changes your consciousness, shouldn’t you, like… read the label on the mantras, so to speak, and make sure they are okay? [/perfectpullquote]But people take everything so casually and do whatever they feel like under the banner of free self-expression. In the US, the bastion of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, even convicted murderers and rapists get their day or special mini-series playing rock music on national cable television, never mind how the survivors of their crimes or their families feel about it. Artistic expression is sacred and nobody is allowed to throw a monkey wrench into the works. So chanting Sanskrit incorrectly is fine, too. We all know what happens if we spell an email address incorrectly, but chanting mantras any which way doesn’t matter, right? From the pinnacle of my admittedly modest fund of knowledge after more than forty years of study, let me say this: Everything manifests from the subtle level to the gross. The mind is the cause of the body. Sound influences consciousness. It can elevate or it can degrade the mind. Sanskrit, in particular and distinguished from all other languages, is the seed of form.[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]What you chant changes your consciousness and will manifest eventually in form.[/perfectpullquote]This is the reason why I consider it essential for a yoga teacher to be able to pronounce the Sanskrit names of the poses; their students will hear and then through cultivation and practice manifest the form correctly. I have seen this happen.Sanskrit has been called the language of the gods. It summons them, supplicates and glorifies them. There are other incantations, however, that summon other beings and have also been used for centuries.It is better to be careful what you chant and, for that matter, what you hear. Find out what it means first. You can’t afford not to. Anyone involved in teaching so-called spiritual practices who is really vague or doesn’t explain what they are doing is either poorly trained or trying to pull a fast one. Either way, they are not looking out for you.
~*~
This is an excerpt from the author's book Basic Bhagavad-Gita: An Introduction of Bhagavat Vedanta, available here.
Sravaniya DiPecoraro has been an initiated disciple of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada since 1971. She was instrumental in getting Srila Prabhupada's Bhagavad-Gita As It Is translated into Chinese. A Yoga Alliance E-RYT 500 instructor, she has also taught hatha yoga in the Far East since 1983 and in the early 90s was the first professional yoga teacher in Hong Kong. Sravaniya has also been an astrological and psychic consultant since 1992 and her clients include people from all walks of life and diverse cultures. She has been featured in a variety of publications including The Asian Wall Street Journal, the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong Standard, HK Magazine and others, and has appeared on CNBC as well as local television and radio. Learn more about her on her website or Facebook page, Barefoot Philosopher.