Page 20 - All India Magazine Sep-2026

Scriptures — Veda, Upanishads, Gita, — it may well have a pow-
er to awaken a spiritual impulse, an uplifting, even certain kinds
of realisation. To say that it cannot contradicts spiritual experi-
ence.
*
Mantras for meditation
The Vedic poets regarded their poetry as mantras, they
were the vehicles of their own realisations and could become
vehicles of realisation for others. Naturally, these mostly would
be illuminations, not the settled and permanent realisation that
is the goal of Yoga — but they could be steps on the way or at
least lights on the way. Many have such illuminations, even ini-
tial realisations while meditating on verses of the Upanishads
or the Gita. Anything that carries the Word, the Light in it, spo-
ken or written, can light this fire within, open a sky, as it were,
bring the effective vision of which the Word is the body. In all
ages spiritual seekers have ex-pressed their aspirations or their
experiences in poetry or inspired language and it has helped
themselves and others. Therefore there is nothing absurd in my
assigning to such poetry a spiritual or psychic value and effec-
tiveness to poetry of a psychic or spiritual character.
*
Mantras and meditation
Mantras come to many people in meditation. The Rishis say
in the Veda that they had the Truth by vision and inspiration,
"truth-hearing seers", kavayah satyasrutah—Veda is sruti got by
inner hearing.
*
When one repeats a mantra regularly, very often it begins to
repeat itself within, which means that it is taken up by the inner
being. In that way it is more effective.
*

20 All India Magazine, September 2026