Hearing-II
What we hear in our hearts is important, but we need the ability to choose when we want to hear it and when we don’t. Quite often what we hear within is not a helpful voice but a cacophony of competing voices and sounds, which creates both exhaustion and confusion. This manifests outwardly in an erratic style of thinking and living. Which is precisely what we don’t want if we want to lead a spiritual life. Spirituality without discipline is a joke.
Hearing is also important in the practice of mantra-repetition or Japa. The first hearing of the mantra happens when the Guru imparts it to the disciple in an initiation ceremony called mantra-dīkṣā. The subsequent hearings occur when the disciple starts repeating the mantra, also known as “doing Japa.” It’s the mind that repeats the mantra and we are expected to “hear” the mind chant the mantra. This is what should happen ideally. In practice, though, things don’t always turn out that way.
When we begin the practice of Japa, we are able to hear the mind repeating the mantra. But soon enough, and completely without our knowledge or consent, the mind opens itself to other sounds — and we begin to hear all sorts of things, such as what we intend to do immediately after Japa is over, or the heated exchange we had with someone earlier in the day, or the particularly heartbreaking event we saw on TV, or the things we need to plan for an upcoming celebration. The more these other voices gain prominence, the more feeble the sound of the mantra becomes until it vanishes altogether. It is revived when we become aware that the mind was distracted. We hear the mantra again, but there is no knowing when it will be drowned out again by the other voices in the head. It’s a relentless struggle.
The practice of Japa doesn’t have to be a continual inner battle. The practice of meditation is an invitation, an opportunity, to go back to ourselves and to recover our native peace, joy, and freedom. It is possible to prevent this restful and joyful dwelling in one’s true self from being a chore to be finished or a struggle to be endured.
