Hinduism: Is the memorization of slokas and mantras essential to being a good Hindu?

By Gurudeva Sivaya Subramuniyaswami

Hinduism: Is the memorization of slokas and mantras essential to being a good Hindu?

Introduction

This is a question that obviously you won't be asked by anybody, so it will be answered just for all of your here today. Most mantras and slokas are in the Sanskrit language, and your knowledge of Sanskrit is probably like my own. Nil! We must realize that slokas are like affirmations and are spoken in the language the speaker understands. Though Sanskrit has a tremendous value because it is a spiritually powerful language, we should combine two languages, English and Sanskrit, when we are learning slokas. Repeat the sloka first in Sanskrit and then in good American English. This is like repeating affirmations. Affirmations remold our subconscious mind and keep us mentally alert. They remind us of the goal of life, they give us strength and power but, of course, only if we understand their meaning. If we do not know Sanskrit, the key is to speak the sloka first in Sanskrit and then speak it out again in English. Yes, of course, slokas are extremely important. Without them we would tend to forget our religion. They are capsules of our enlightenment heritage, much like E=MC2 capsulates the physicists' truth. These sacred utterances are to be said before sleep, upon awakening, in the shrine room in the morning, in the temple and before any important event.

Mantrams are different. They are sound vibrations seen in the inner astral atmosphere as light and color. Mantrams awaken latent brain cells. Some mantrams such as AUM can be said before initiation and others should not be used. The simple yet powerful mantram Aum harmonizes the physical forces with the emotional forces with the intellectual forces. When this happens, you begin to feel like a complete being. There are different mantrams taught within the four major sects of Hinduism. Mantrams are most generally given by the Sat Guru. Many of the most powerful mantrams need no translation. They are what they are. Their power is supreme. There is one great mantram at the very center of the Vedas which has the five syllables: "Na ma si va ya."Memorizing slokas and repeating mantras definitely is a vital part of our personal religious life. They should be memorized for a mystically, profound purpose. A mystical Hindu places stress on quality and not quantity. There are Sanskrit scholars who believe that their salvation lies in the numbers and complexity of the mantras and slokas they have at their command. Among themselves, they judge that those who know the most verses are necessarily the most enlightened.

The mystical Hindu knows that this is a false concept. He comprehends that a devotee can know but a single mantra, use it perfectly and wisely to reach God consciousness. Under no circumstances should we judge a person's attainment by how many verses he has memorized. Rather, we should judge it by how he uses the verses that he knows. Some of the greatest of all Hindus did not know a single syllable of Sanskrit or any other sacred language.

Prepared for the July 4th, 1990 meeting of the youth of the Hindu Temple of greater Chicago, by Gurudeva, Sivaya Subramuniyaswami