I could see that mantras were really very useful things. “Telling your mantra to someone else is fatal, but there are other mistakes which can also ruin you. Mispronunciation is one of the worst. The way a word is pronounced has a lot to do with its meaning. For instance, when you come in and I say, ‘Hello, Robby, how are you?’ with a pleasant voice and a smiling face, how do you feel?”
“I feel like you’re in a good mood.”
“Naturally, and so your confidence grows and you ask me questions. But if I just say ‘good morning’ in a cold voice you would immediately think, ‘Oh, he is off his mood today,’ and you would keep quiet or leave. Isn’t that it?”
“It is, most certainly; I have done that before."
“Yes, I know. Well, it is the same with mantras. When the mantra is pro nounced precisely and correctly the result is inevitable. One mantra pro nounced in two different ways will have two very different, and perhaps even entirely opposite, effects. That is why the Vedas lay such stress on pros ody and intonation. You cannot get any benefit from the Veda unless it is pronounced perfectly without any error. No mortals today know how to do this properly, so while I like to listen to you and Freddy recite certain Vedic hymns I don’t want you to recite most other portions of the Veda aloud. The game is not worth the risk.”
He paused to permit me to demonstrate compliance with his request, which I did by saying, “I will remember that advice, and I will pass it on to Freddy."
“Good. I tell all my children’ to always recite their mantras silently, men tally, and I want you to do the same thing. How many people can properly pronounce Sanskrit nowadays? Very few. Sanskrit is called a mantric lan
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guage because each of its words can be used as a mantra. This is why San skrit is not to be taught to just everyone. It should be taught only to those who can pronounce it properly, because if the name is incorrect the form will also be wrong, and then everything will be in a mess.
“Long ago conditions were different. Sometimes two Rishis would meet and gather all their best disciples together. One Rishi would say, ‘This boy has been reciting such-and-such a part of the Veda with such-and-such an intonation, and just look at the result!’ Then that boy would recite and the result would be demonstrated. The other Rishi would then show, with one of his own pupils, how an entirely different result could be gained by using a different intonation for the same passage. This is how Rishis used to com
pete.”