Nada
Every question on the site tagged Nada, each answered from a timestamped source rather than a summary written from memory.
Sound or tone — the precise pronunciation that determines a mantra or stotra's actual effect, independent of the devotion behind it.
10 notes from our sourcesNotes from our sources
Why does pronunciation, not devotion alone, determine a mantra or stotra's effect?
The mantra or stotra we chant produces its effect strictly according to pronunciation — devotion (Bhava/Bhakti) has its own place, but if pronunciation held no significance, no text would be an object of formal recitation at all.
What is "feigned innocence" in mispronunciation, and why does God not accept it from educated practitioners?
Assuming deities will overlook incorrect pronunciation because they are the parents of the universe is feigned innocence, not true devotion — God is never pleased by a display of pseudo-innocence, especially from someone educated enough to learn the correct pronunciation.
Why is Nada considered Brahman, and what is the significance of Om's threefold sound?
Sound is Brahman (Nada Brahma) — if pronunciation is not correct and accurate, the effect received from a mantra or stuti will also be improper; the threefold sound of Om has resonated eternally throughout the cosmos since creation, which is why it is called Brahman.
Knowledge heard only for transient entertainment satisfies the mind momentarily and is then discarded, never entering life
One listens to spiritual discourse knowing it concerns their welfare and spiritual elevation, but what is heard merely for transient entertainment is never integrated into life — it satisfies the mind momentarily, then is discarded, and at higher spiritual levels, seriousness and precision of sound become necessary instead.
What happens if the meter is distorted, even under the pretext of devotional emotion?
When one distorts the meter under the pretext of emotional absorption, abandoning the verse's rules and inventing an arbitrary rhythm, the meaning is corrupted — and when the meaning changes, the resulting fruit of the practice alters, leading to detrimental outcomes.
Village elders quieted a severely afflicted woman by gathering raw rice above her head and uttering a precise three-or-four-word formula
An educated indigenous woman was severely afflicted; after standard exorcism attempts failed, village elders gathered raw rice from above her head and uttered a precise three-or-four-word formula that immediately quieted her, then the consecrated rice was smashed in two pots before the deity, manifesting blood-like matter, resolving the affliction.
The Pranava as the first upadesh, and its birth from the five faces
The speaker says the first upadesh Bhagavan Sadashiva gave was the Pranav: Omkar is the vachak and Shiva the vachya, the mantra is his own form, and daily remembrance of the Pranava is remembrance of him. A-kara came from the northern face, u-kara from the western, ma-kara from the southern, Bindu from the eastern and Nada from the middle face; with these five parts the Pranava expanded fully and became one syllable, and from it the whole world arose. He asks listeners to keep in mind that the form of bindu is the form of Mahamaya, as the Devi Atharvashirsha says bindu rupena: Bhagavati herself emerged as the bindu from the eastern face and took the form of Omkar.
Maha Ganapati split the Vedic Pranav at the root of creation and manifested with Shabda, Nada and Bindu
It is said that the piercing of the Vedic Pranav — the sound that first manifested at the root of the first creation — was performed by Maha Ganapati, and that he then manifested along with Shabda, Nada and Bindu. As Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh and Mahashakti are from creation's beginning, so is he.
In the Maya beej and Lakshmi beej, is the anusvara makar or the one with nada?
Asked whether the utterance of the anusvara in the Maya beej and the Lakshmi beej is correct as makar or as the one with nada, he says: look, if you go along taking makar, and you are a householder, then it is exceedingly good.
How does a mantra muttered in the mind produce nada and reach the deity?
He answers that by speaking aloud we are doing things related to physicality, whereas all these — manan, niti, mantra — are things that run by the mind. All these are the taking of things from within us outward, and the assimilating of things outside into our own within. There is an outer pujan and there is an inner pujan: the outer pujan is needed only until your practice of the inner state comes about. Once your practice is established, there is no need to show the outer; there is then no need of the outer covering.
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