Student:
So for the past couple weeks I’ve been meditating upon Om Mani Padme Hum. A beautiful mantra, and I’ve felt spiritual experiences with it. Along with this I’ve chanted AUM, which has been also deeply spiritual. However, as I’ve read the yoga sutras, I’ve come to learn more about AUM as the seed sound which all others manifest. It is the sound of god; the most universal sound that is found in all sincere religions (in Christianity it is interpreted as Amen, and in Tibetan Buddhism it is interpreted as the sacred sound HUM). On top of this, I read from Yogananda that it is always vibrating within us, and meditation upon AUM will bring one to a direct experience with the internal vibration of god in his purest form; it is mentioned in the Sutra that “concentration on a single subject prevents the obstacles.” Is this referring to mantras? Would me switching to AUM be abandoning the hole I was digging deep with Om Mani Padme Hum and starting a new one, wasting my efforts, or would I be digging the same hole with a different shovel? Regardless, yesterday I meditated upon AUM for the first time out of inspiration, and I had the most spiritual experience I’ve had, like the last one, except this time I felt like I was above my body.
Dr. T:
Greetings! Again I caution you in moving too fast, in this case from practice to practice. Om Mani Padme Hum is OM. It just has some inspiration added….”Praise to the jewel in the lotus” (an esoteric prayer of praise that contains all the ingredients of the supreme). Use whatever one feels good and stick with it. You may also, on your chosen meditation, use another OM mantra for variety or experimentation. Dig the hole deep. Concentration on a single object refers not only to mantra, but to any subject or issue you raise. In group I will explain why anything works. When you have good will, and are a genuine seeker, even your mistakes produce fruit. It is the purity and intensity of the intention, more than the particular, practice that works the magic of gradual transformation.
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