Transmutation of Personality through Preksha Meditation

Author(s): Tulsi Acharya
Publisher: Jain Vishva Bharati

Page 46

Q. You have talked about the scientific nature of spellcraft and the system of mantra-therapy. But it has been observed that those resorting to japa and mantras for years together, are not satisfied with the results. Some even talk of giving up mantra-japa altogether. Is that the right approach?
Ans. The words of a mantra are in themselves charged with electricity. The user of a spell also experiences its electric effect. How effective it proves, depends upon the disposition of the experimenter. "Sweetness depends upon the amount of sugar put in," is a traditional saying. Similarly, the greater the devotion, the greater the power of japa. Japa always yields some definite result, more or less. It seems to me that in order to advance in the field of sadhana, to remove obstructions in the path of spiritual progress, and to enter the inner world, the first thing to be done is japa. The doubt about the effectiveness of japa is now being replaced by a new faith in its power.
In the Jain tradition, the recitation of 'namaskar mahamantra' (obeisance-spell), of seed-letters, of a spell word or the name of one's personal deity, is still very much prevalent. The question arises if it produces the desired results. Some people get good results, whereas others draw a complete blank. But the talk of giving up japa-sadhana in the absence of any visible results, is not right. Because the reason behind the absence of results is not any lack of virtue in the mantra, but the practitioner's ignorance of the proper technique of recitation. The water has the power of slaking one's thirst. If because of some reason, the water is rendered unclean or it gets tepid as in the hot season and cannot slake one's thirst, it cannot be said that the water has lost its virtue. If the same water is cleaned and cooled, it becomes fit for use.
31