Spirituality

Different People, Different Mantras

This GuruPurnima, we bring to you insights from the lives of some other greatest Gurus who walked the path of spirituality and left treasures of knowledge for us. In this series of 7 blogs, the fourth blog is an excerpt from the teachings of Ramana Maharshi. 

Ramana Maharshi was a world-renowned Guru and when the entire world was going outside, he went inside. His book ‘Who Am I’ which includes answers to all possible queries regarding one’s identity is one of the greatest works in spirituality. Since he remained silent for most of his life, his teachings are available to us in the form of excerpts from his talks with a few seekers. 

In this blog, we are narrating an excerpt from one of his talks. 

Question – “Can anyone get any benefit by repeating sacred syllables (mantras) picked up casually?”

Maharshi: “No. He must be competent and initiated in such mantras.” Maharshi illustrated this by the following story: A King visited his Premier in his residence. There he was told that the Premier was engaged in repetition of sacred syllables (Japa). The King waited for him and, on meeting him, asked what the Japa was. The Premier said that it was the holiest of all, Gayatri. The King desired to be initiated by the Premier. But the Premier confessed his inability to initiate him. Therefore the King learned it from someone else, and meeting the Minister later he repeated the Gayatri and wanted to know if it was right. The Minister said that the mantra was correct, but it was not proper for him to say it. When pressed for an explanation, the Minister called to a page close by and ordered him to take hold of the King. The order was not obeyed. The order was often repeated, and still not obeyed. The King flew into a rage and ordered the same man to hold the Minister, and it was immediately done. The Minister laughed and said that the incident was the explanation required by the King. “How?” asked the King. The Minister replied, “The order was the same and the executor also, but the authority was different. When I ordered, the effect was nil, whereas, when you ordered, there was an immediate effect. Similarly with mantras.”

The above excerpt tells us how important it is for a person to be initiated by their Guru because it is the Guru who recognizes their potential and tells them the Mantra that is best suited for them. The Mantra that is custom made for them so they can reap its benefits. Additionally, similar to the above excerpt different Mantras are meant for different things. For instance, you can’t recite the same Mantra for your career as well as your family’s well being. These are two different aspects and hence require two different Mantras. Hence, you and your Guru work together towards your goals, and then a Mantra is given to you, thus helping you achieve your goals. 

We hope this excerpt helped you understand the importance of initiations on the path of spirituality. Stay tuned for more such insights from the teachings of the other Gurus. Tell us what you feel about Mantras and initiation in the comments section.