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Mantras, songs, prayers earworms
Jainarayan
Veteran
Sorry for all the seemingly dumb and over-thought questions (I do have ocpd, after all :screwy: ). But this practice is new to me, having rejected the rituals and dogma of Christianity and Hinduism. I don't want to fall into the trap of intrusive thoughts http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intrusive_thoughts#Blasphemous_religious_thoughts namely:
Anywhoo... I've collected a number of bhajans (devotional songs) for my iPod and iPhone. I listen to these through my truck's radio, or in the gym, or wherever. Now, most of them are for the Hindu deities but I like the music. I love Indian and eastern music. Most of them are mantras and prayers to the Hindu deities (I'm also collecting Buddhist chants now), and sometimes they get stuck in my head (earworms, which people with ocd are prone to), until I flush them out with something like Macarena or Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.
I'm wondering how wrong or disrespectful it is be mentally chanting śrī krishna śaranam mama ("śrī krishna is my refuge") or om namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. I mentally chant namo amitābha buddha often throughout the day. I also have a really nice mesmerizing nam myoho renge kyo that gets stuck too.
OK, I know this is all really dumb and over-thought.
fears of sinning or breaking a religious law or performing a ritual incorrectlyThings like that.
fears of omitting prayers or reciting them incorrectly
Anywhoo... I've collected a number of bhajans (devotional songs) for my iPod and iPhone. I listen to these through my truck's radio, or in the gym, or wherever. Now, most of them are for the Hindu deities but I like the music. I love Indian and eastern music. Most of them are mantras and prayers to the Hindu deities (I'm also collecting Buddhist chants now), and sometimes they get stuck in my head (earworms, which people with ocd are prone to), until I flush them out with something like Macarena or Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.
I'm wondering how wrong or disrespectful it is be mentally chanting śrī krishna śaranam mama ("śrī krishna is my refuge") or om namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. I mentally chant namo amitābha buddha often throughout the day. I also have a really nice mesmerizing nam myoho renge kyo that gets stuck too. OK, I know this is all really dumb and over-thought.
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Comments
I wouldnt worry about being disrespectful because of words, so long as it is not hurting others. I love the pali language for its simplicity and beauty, sometimes i just listen to the metta chant for a nice peaceful mind. Or since i love playing with words i will use pali terms in a variety of ways.
If you feel enjoyment and some peace out pit of it, whats the issue?
I no longer believe Krishna is God, but a god, a deva or perhaps a buddha or bodhisattva (that would give some internet Hindus a cerebral hemorrhage :hair: ). While there is a lot of common sense and wisdom the Buddha's teachings, and form the core of practice, and might be enough, there is also wisdom in the Bhagavad Gita that can be used in one's upāya. For example, chapter 12:
13-14. Friendly and compassionate to all and without any touch of hatred; devoid of possessiveness and arrogance; ever content and contemplative; alike in happiness and misery; self-controlled and firm in conviction; dedicated to Me with all his heart and all his soul - dear to Me is a man who is thus devoted.
15. Who causes fear to none and whom none can frighten, who is thus free from the agitation of the moods caused by euphoria, anger, and excitement - such a person too is dear to Me.
16. Desireless, pure, resourceful, unattached, unworried and without any sense of self-centred agency - a devotee thus endowed is dear to Me.
17. He who is free from elation, anger, sorrow, and craving, who neither seeks the pleasant nor shuns the unpleasant - dear to Me is the man who is thus devoted.
18-19. Alike to friend and foe, alike in honour and insult, alike in heat and cold, alike in praise and blame - unattached, contented, homeless, and steady in mind - dear to Me is a man who is thus devoted.
" If it feels good - (and doesn't hurt anybody) - do it! "
They may not be meritorious or benficial, but wrong? As compared to what? Disrespectful? Of what? Who?
Well, if you think that's wrong or disrespectful, or might be, then stop doing it. There's no rule saying you have to chant any mantra. Even once. Even the most blessed phrasing in the world can be an object of attachment and source of suffering. Meditate instead.
Well, remember that these are not mantras or songs I deliberately start chanting, but when they get stuck in my head I tend to just run with them and let them play. I suppose if I don't give this much thought, I won't give it much thought. Problem solved. I can be so dense! :rolleyes: