http://www.care2.com/greenliving/a-gift-of-insight-from-sound.html
A Gift of Insight from Sound
I recently had a small encounter with destiny so small that I could have ignored it entirely. A man came to visit me who had devoted his entire life to spirituality. He told me about his many visits to India and his devotion to its ways. He wore amulets of the kind you can buy at temples and holy sites; he knew many sacred chants, or Bhajans; he had been blessed by many holy men in his travels, Some had given him mantras as a gift. A mantra can as short as a syllable or as long as a sentence, but it’s basically sound. In what way can a sound be a gift?
To someone steeped in Indian tradition, the gift isn’t the mantra itself but the effect meant to bring, such as wealth or a good marriage. There are thousands of mantras and thousands of possible results they bring.
When I asked him what he did for a living, the man waved his hand and said, “Oh, a little healing, a little psychic stuff. You know mind-reading. I don’t pay much attention to it.” His careless attitude intrigued me, and I asked if be could show me an example. He shrugged. “Think of somebody and write a question you want to ask them.”
The only person on my mind that day was my wife who had been visiting family in New Delhi. I reminded myself that I should call to ask her when she was planning to return–we hadn’t set a fixed date since some of the family members were elderly, and my wife’s stay depended on how well they were doing. I wrote this down and looked at my visitor. He closed his eyes and began to chant a long mantra. After a minute he said, “Tuesday. You’re thinking about your wife, and you want to know when she is coming home.” He had got it right, and after he left and I was able to phone my wife, he got the day of her return right, too. I congratulated him, he smiled and waved his hand with the same careless gesture and said “It’s nothing. I barely pay attention to it.”
Adapted from , by Deepak Chopra (Three River Press, 2004).
More from Deepak Chopra (540 articles available)
Go to the Source
related stories
-
(37 comments)
-
deepakc
(23 comments)
-
(7 comments)
Robyn
Melissa
Deepak
Eric
Dave
Dr. Brent
Isha
Susan
Delia
Michelle
Wendy
Megan
Hilary
Ann
Judi
Ronnie
Kelly
Lily
Terri
Betsy
Cait
Andrew
Jana
Annie B.
Veronica
5 comments
add your comment »I think Om is the most known mantra... anybody knows what would be it's effects? Because, as Mr. Chopra says, every mantra has thousands of possible results, but some intended effects...
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
Yes, all over India one meets people with amazing intuitive gifts. They think nothing of it and are materially poor and don't belong to the mainstream. It is difficult to understand how they are so gifted because they are also outside the ambit of conservative learning and thought process and the the usual yardsticks of success. They hold the key to an entire unexplored vista of life!
- Rajendar Menen
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
I have participated in mantras using Om for as long as an hour and find the results truly an opening along my path. We are accustomed to so MUCH sound, often cacaphony, that we need to open ourselves to the purity of mantras. Try it!
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
I know that you could give us a sound- a u-tube sort of deal and I could hear a sound that you make and I could make this sound and give it to others and we could move this world up a notch toward love and peace and sharing and a care or not attitude about making our way, instead of stressing about making money, stressing about finding love in a mate, about our future, our children's future, the planet's peril...
It's a great message and I have the Third Jesus and Tolle's New Earth, but a sound would really help me- what if I just start humming? could I possibly do myself any harm? I guess not. okay. Love ya
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
I use to think: You have it or you don't. Now, Intuition is said to be... held by all. We just have to learn to tap into it. Visualization, meditation, and journaling sychronesities are stepping stones. What else can one do?
What are the other paths: crystals, chakras, stars/astrology, tarrot readings -never had it, Just curious. I wish Sylvia Brown would help more people who have signs; especially children.
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
Facebook account: