HOW TO USE THE MANTRA

Chanting mantra is an individual matter and each person has a right to his or her own understanding. There can be no hard and fast rules. If you seek God, it is like a love affair between you and God. As you approach the Most High you grow and your understanding grows. You approach truth differently, gaining new perspective and insights.

The power of the Mantra becomes most effective when practiced regularly and for a sufficient period of time that is, until you get results. How long you chant at one time or how frequently is your decision. You are working with the laboratory of your mind so you must allow a reasonable period of effort to give it a fair trial. You cannot become a saint in a weekend. It takes nine months for a baby to be born and many more years to grow into an adult; the beginner on the spiritual path is like a spiritual baby

When you begin chanting you will find that a wave of enthusiasm carries you through the first period. Unfortunately, this soon passes as the mind wants a change, something new. Mantra practice is upsetting to the mind, forcing it out of its normal habits into a narrow path, making it single-pointed through discipline, and cutting the attachments to which it has clung. Like a child with new toys, the mind has a tendency to flit from one thing to another without discrimination. But the true reward will come only by perseverance and practice; only then will the secret of Mantra be discovered, its mystery and power revealed.

Awareness is essential; mere dreaming during the chanting will not "light the fire that consumes." Nor is it merely many hours of chanting or many thousands of repetitions or sheer will-power that lights this fire. The practice must be carried out with intensity. With application,

with the purifying of the emotions, and with the mind more single-pointed, stillness will ensue and a sense of the ever-present Presence may be felt. Combine formal Mantra practice with daily reflection and the keeping of a spiritual diary. This will help you to cultivate awareness and make the necessary changes in daily life to remove all aspects of egoism. Record the reactions of your mind to the practice and the obstacles encountered, as well as the changes you observe within yourself and any experiences you may have. It is by keeping a close watch throughout your practice that you will achieve a full understanding, not only of the Mantra, but also of the functioning of the mind. Knowing the impasses the mind encounters and also how it can overcome them can be very helpful in any situation in life

You may notice that your voice becomes smoother as you chant, that you can sing as you never could before. Delight in these improvements and put into your mind positive thoughts that you want to reach God by means of your voice, that you wish to be an instrument of God's love, and that the Mantra you chant will be of help to those in need. In this way you are master of the situation rather than becoming the slave of intellectual doubts and false pride.

During chanting, emotions may arise that you are unaware of having. Tears may come which you have been holding back for many years. You must use discrimination to recognize tears of self-pity and deny yourself that indulgence. Sometimes the tears will be part regret and part joy that the soul is at last on its way back home, regret that so many lifetimes have been wasted. Symbolically collect your tears, whatever their origin, and offer them to the Divine

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