Mantras: Re: To manoj and joanna about moving on to a new guru (was Mantras+

03-05-2006, 02:32 PM

In general, Amma believes in one guru for life, so
there is a problem with mantras from various gurus.
If the person who wants to get a mantra talks to the
people who do mantra seva, they can answer specific
questions, all of which is subject to Amma's approval.

Love,
Jyotsna

--- In Ammachi (AT) yahoogroups (DOT) com, nierika@... wrote:
>
>
> manoj wrote (to joanna about requesting a mantra from Amma):
>
> If you already have one, then the general suggestion is to stick
to
> it because at the time of initiation, a powerful bond has been
> created, and your repetitions have deepened the bond further.
Taking
> another mantra (especially from another guru) may require more
> effort to un-bond the old and bond the new before the mantra
> starts 'singing'. not a very productive strategy as you can
> see. .... but you never know, talk to Amma and explain all of this
> to her and see what she says. Grace can free up a lot of the past.
>
> if you don't already have one from Karunamayi (viz she promised to
> give a mantra but has not yet delivered because of lack of time
> etc), then I guess it's not a harm to get a mantra from Amma.
>
>
>
> Dear manoj and joanna ~ I have never heard that, having received a
mantra
> from one guru, that following one's heart that leads you to another
guru would
> preclude you from asking that guru for a mantra. Even if Karunamayi
gave you
> (joanna) a mantra, I don't believe that precludes you asking for
one from
> Amma, particularly if your heart feels clear that your guru is now
Amma. You
> might want to discuss this with whatever Swami or Swamini is in
charge of the
> mantra line.
>
> I will resort to a concept that I learned from Swami Satyananda
Saraswati. I
> was fortunate to see Swamiji and Shree Maa on their last (and maybe
final) US
> tour. I watched them perform a wonderful yagya (fire ceremony) and
the bank
> of a river in Colorado and then I was fortunate to, a few weeks
later, attend
> a several days retreat in Issaqua, Washington. During a lecture,
Swami
> discussed a concept called the "upa guru." Since this process has
an actual name,
> and I trust Swamiji implicitely, I believe this concept to be
rooted in Hindu
> tradition. Even Swamiji had several gurus before he met Shree Maa.
>
> The "upa guru" is the one who gives you the knowledge up to a
certain point
> where you are then drawn to another guru. The "upa guru" leads you
to your
> next guru, and maybe to the next and so on. Swamiji likened this
to being in
> school. He said, "the best gift you can give your first grade
teacher is to pass
> first grade and go to second grade; the best gift you can give
your second
> grade teacher is to pass and move on to third grade. At some point
you will
> discover your lifelong guru, who is also an "upa guru" because (S)
He leads you
> to the Supreme Guru.
>
> I would request that anyone inclined please resist the desire to
criticize
> Swamiji or Shree Maa. If there is a need to criticize someone, then
criticize
> me ... please.
>
> Jai Ma ~ Linda
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>