Matangi Question

[Palaz1pb]

Why do some people say its dangerous to recite a Mantra?
I've been using youtube to meditate to mantras of Matangi
I was raised catholic, but recently have been doing various hindu spiritual practices such as meditation and yoga. I for some reason when knowing all the diety's am drawn to Matangi i also find my traits very similar to her blessings and her traits.
While meditating to her in my heart i felt like she was telling me a mother would never harm her child. Is it dangerous for me to be doing this since i have no guru? There are no temples in my town.
I was going through a horrible time in my life and yoga and meditation has really been helping me get back on my feet.

Could you guys give me some insight if i should be praying to her or not.And why do some people say its dangerous?
Also provide me with some additional information on Matangi.

 

[Vinayaka]

As for mantras getting you into danger, how would you know you are in danger until you're in danger?

There are no shoulds or shouldn'ts. Because you're a former Catholic, you can drop that idea first.

Maybe you could give us a bit more information, like: What is it you intend to seek from repetition of a mantra?

 

[Yogi1054]

speaking from the role of a yoga teacher I have ALOT of respect for mantra and the power it has. Sound is a powerful tool to harm and heal - on a recent training day we say how ound waves can be used to bend iron and smash glass while on the other hand vibrations can be tuned to different body parts and used to heal.
when working with mantra for me is so important to be grounded....so many people I know use mantra and are unaware of the possible mental side affects it can have

 

[BSM1]

I know this is off the subjects, but are there any warnings given about mudras? My wife has a recurring dream where a being is showing her what I have determined has to be the Uttarabodhi mudra. (Let me say that we are not Hindu and she is not into eastern religions even though I have looked into many disciplines.) Can you shed any light on this?

 

[Vinayaka]

I know this is off the subjects, but are there any warnings given about mudras? My wife has a recurring dream where a being is showing her what I have determined has to be the Uttarabodhi mudra. (Let me say that we are not Hindu and she is not into eastern religions even though I have looked into many disciplines.) Can you shed any light on this?

I presume there are because very few people are taught them at all. Even the Brahmin priests know more, the higher up you go in seniority, or training. There is a lot to be said fro caution in a lot of areas within Hinduism. There is a lot of 'secret' knowledge, especially within the sannyasin and priesthood communities.

 

[Poeticus]

There is a lot of 'secret' knowledge, especially within the sannyasin and priesthood communities.

Which you need to join, Vinayaka, it's about time.

 

[Palaz1pb]

i feel like noone really answered my question
and vinyaka i mentioned the danger thing because ive read its dangerous to meditate a mantra if you werent taught it by a guru
still noone really has mentioned anything about matangi and whether its okay or not

 

[Vinayaka]

i feel like noone really answered my question
and vinyaka i mentioned the danger thing because ive read its dangerous to meditate a mantra if you werent taught it by a guru
still noone really has mentioned anything about matangi and whether its okay or not

I had never heard of Matangi until now, and had to look it up. So that may well be the reason ... unfamiliarity. Maybe someone familiar with her tradition and worship will happen by. I'm not sure how common it is either.

 

[Palaz1pb]

I found the answer myself

. No vows or preparation of any kind are needed to
ask for her blessing and the uninitiated are welcome.

looks like my heart was in the right place after all

 

[Sumit]

Why do some people say its dangerous to recite a Mantra?
I've been using youtube to meditate to mantras of Matangi
I was raised catholic, but recently have been doing various hindu spiritual practices such as meditation and yoga. I for some reason when knowing all the diety's am drawn to Matangi i also find my traits very similar to her blessings and her traits.
While meditating to her in my heart i felt like she was telling me a mother would never harm her child. Is it dangerous for me to be doing this since i have no guru? There are no temples in my town.
I was going through a horrible time in my life and yoga and meditation has really been helping me get back on my feet.

Could you guys give me some insight if i should be praying to her or not.And why do some people say its dangerous?
Also provide me with some additional information on Matangi.

Mother never harms her child so you can worship her. Can you tell me which mantra of Matangi you chant??

 

[Sumit]

I had never heard of Matangi until now, and had to look it up. So that may well be the reason ... unfamiliarity. Maybe someone familiar with her tradition and worship will happen by. I'm not sure how common it is either.

She is ninth Mahavidhya .

 

[Nivaskt]

Hello Palaz1pb,

Let me guide you to the best of my abilities and knowledge.

Mantras (Mostly some of them which deal with powerful Deities and/or those mantras for a specific purpose other then devotion) do require an Upadesha or an initiation. Also, such mantras have a procedure to be followed while reciting, the name/length of the mantra should match your physical name etc. This is because when you are dealing with a powerful Deity by asking specifically for something-they would surely want you to follow their code of invocation. A Guru-is one who has command over such Mantra or is a keen believer in that Deity. An initiation from a Guru is like giving you first hand knowledge and possible blessings and a sort of shield against any adverse effects you might unknowingly encounter.

That being said, no form of the Mother Goddess would like to even feel bad about her children if they are calling out to her. Just don't specifically ask her for anything-Mantric wise and limit to seek her blessings. Whether you ask or don't she will do the best possible as she is all knowing and all pervading. However, a Mantra is like a specific task for her divine energy-she would want a protocol to be followed generally.

Now to your specific question- Matangi is a pleasant Goddess who can be thought of, meditated without the need for a Guru (Limiting to meditating on her and her basic mantras). You can chant Jai Matangi (Hail Matangi) and meditate on her. Your longing for her would give that simple words much comparative power then one of her Mantras-which surely requires a protocol to be followed and is out of context here. You being a Catholic would not stop her from reaching out to you-she basically and especially is for all.

Your feeling when you chant is important-you get what she wants to convey. Importantly, whenever you finish meditating on her-ask her for forgiveness in case you omitted unknowingly some parts of the protocol. Just chant on her name and may she be with you.

 

[Nivaskt]

***then one of her Mantras-which surely requires a protocol to be followed and is out of context here. ***

I meant protocol to be followed and not merely initiation. Sometimes, proper initiation gives you required knowledge of protocol-so was saying so.

 

[Vinayaka]

Palaz made 3 posts on this topic almost a year ago, and that were his/her only posts. Since then there has been nothing, so there is little likelihood of getting a response.

But welcome to these forums, Nivaskt. It's always good to have another Hindu.

 

[Red Zambala]

Matangi is a Lakshmi Mahavidya.
Generally - there can be a dangerous reaction with some mantras, although most of them are harmless...
It's not really good idea to put all mantras on youtube. They are loosing some part of their attraction and magnetism, since they have been very secret for ages....

it's a different attitude - some 20 years ago - it was - oh, wow, I found a great mantra! It was so difficult to find it's so special and precious!
Nowdays it's - What? - Mantra? - go on youtube, there are hundreds of them, but who cares?!

p.s. But what I always wonder - why it's so popular keyword on google - mantra + mp3....why to search in google, when they can go to youtube and download whatever they like?

 

[Jainarayan]

I can't and don't believe that a mantra in and of itself has the power to cause harm. I'll use the example "guns don't kill people, people kill people". Mantras don't cause harm to a person, because the deity is invoked or conjured up like some magical spirit or uncontrollable genie let loose from its bottle. Let's give the deities more credit than that. It's what the person does with or expects from the mantra that causes problems... this is all my opinion, of course, and probably because I view the deities as extremely personable, affectionate and accessible.

Rather, I think the person causes harm to themselves by expecting or attempting something that they're not ready for, nor have any chance of obtaining. There's a similar concept in Vajrayana (Tibetan) Buddhism, most of which is esoteric, because of emotional and mental dangers one can cause to themselves by not being prepared, not through any deity.

For example, I've read, and this I do believe, that it's not for everyone to meditate on oṃ. Why? Because, the reasoning is that oṃ is Brahman... are you ready to try to meditate on the ineffable? Are you ready to accept being one with Brahman and give all this up? Sri Krishna even says that it's very difficult for the embodied to focus on the unmanifest. I really don't know what all those 90 lb yoginis in the local "hot yoga" class are thinking when they are chanting ommmmm. Well, to each their own, caveat emptor.

 

[Chakra]

Palaz made 3 posts on this topic almost a year ago, and that were his/her only posts. Since then there has been nothing, so there is little likelihood of getting a response.

But welcome to these forums, Nivaskt. It's always good to have another Hindu.

Nice to have you here, Nivaskt!

 

[Yogi1054]

I can't and don't believe that a mantra in and of itself has the power to cause harm. I'll use the example "guns don't kill people, people kill people". Mantras don't cause harm to a person, because the deity is invoked or conjured up

Rather, I think the person causes harm to themselves by expecting or attempting something that they're not ready for, nor have any chance of obtaining. There's a similar concept in Vajrayana (Tibetan) Buddhism, most of which is esoteric, because of emotional and mental dangers one can cause to themselves by not being prepared, not through any deity.

For example, I've read, and this I do believe, that it's not for everyone to meditate on oṃ. Why? Because, the reasoning is that oṃ is Brahman... are you ready to try to meditate on the ineffable? Are you ready to accept being one with Brahman and give all this up? Sri Krishna even says that it's very difficult for the embodied to focus on the unmanifest. I really don't know what all those 90 lb yoginis in the local "hot yoga" class are thinking when they are chanting ommmmm. Well, to each their own, caveat emptor.

Quite agree - when I teach students I always remind them of the power of sound! In the past the rishis of old we're aware of this when they heard the sacred Vedas - sound can be used for great healing and great destruction. There are now weapons that can use sound waves to melt metal doors, while on a more postive note doctors are starting to hear the sound vibrations of different parts of the body.

I have met many student who have been given a mantra that is quite unsuitable, they had not been prepared to use and it has not ended well for them

 

[Red Zambala]

Mantra is like nuclear bomb for a psychic (and also body, which is closely connected)....

Of course, mantra is always related with a men repeating it; and without person repeating it there is no mantra...

Mantra is not just deity or not deity - all deities are in our mind - mantra is sound vibrations, often with a very specific bhija seeds, and they trigger a certain reaction in a psyche and body;

and - as mantra can be specific, and our health state and psyche is also in different conditions and states - mantras can trigger sicknesses or similar dangers, as I said...

I don't find it relevant to say - it's not mantra itself; it's a person who performs it - in either way - if you repeat mantra and get sick - you have a problem related with mantra.

 

[Jainarayan]

Quite agree - when I teach students I always remind them of the power of sound! In the past the rishis of old we're aware of this when they heard the sacred Vedas - sound can be used for great healing and great destruction. There are now weapons that can use sound waves to melt metal doors, while on a more postive note doctors are starting to hear the sound vibrations of different parts of the body.

I have met many student who have been given a mantra that is quite unsuitable, they had not been prepared to use and it has not ended well for them

Yes, sound is powerful. Whales and dolphins use sound to stun their prey. The other analogy I want to use regarding where I believe the power of mantras lies is that of power tools. A power saw by itself carries no inherent danger... it won't turn itself on and cut your leg off, the way a viper will strike of its own will. It's what one does with the power saw, or the results expected from the power saw.

I think the sound of a repeated fervent prayer to Maa Kali, for example, will invoke her as much as her mantras. I believe the mantras are simply a concise and formulated way of calling on the deity. If I am not ready for, or do not want Maa Kali's assistance, I will not repeatedly call on her, either by mantra or prayer. If I simply like her mantras and perform japa, I may be getting from her more than I bargain for, because she may very well respond. As I indicated, I think a simple om sri kalikayai namaha is a way of showing her reverence, but to do japa with her mantra is to give yourself over to her and her powers. Therein lies the problem one creates for oneself... is the person ready to invite her?