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If two clear heads indeed are better than one, then you'll quickly grasp the advantage in merging three lucid sources of thought to get any important work done. And what could be more important than the job of LIVING? So it's not surprising that Vedic tradition, concerning itself with all of life as it does, offers a plan—in fact, more than one—for fortunate living.
Indeed, what astounds some of us living in the West is not the existence of exotic maps to better living; rather, what startles us is the Vedic tradition or its offshoot's diverse and, at times, seemingly inscrutable tactics. Know anybody, as I do, who loves his or her mantra because it opens parking spaces when needed? In accord with hearsay upheld by Asian props swirling about in the West, place a yantra's stunning geometric design in your home, perhaps on your altar, to create your personal stamped passport to the good or the God life. But whatever you do, don't miss out! So, maybe you'd prefer setting some yantra's mind-blowing pattern in a ring, or sticking it on your car's rear bumper, or even wearing it on your T-shirt.
Does it matter? Find out: There are endless courses on tantra. So what if they are weird, kitsch, spooky, or lustful. Whatever! By using mantra, yantra, and tantra, YOUR life will improve. Somehow. That's the promise associated nowadays with any one among mantra, yantra, and tantra, or all three bundled as one. Lacing many a Vedic template to a better life, the mysterious maneuvers of mantra, yantra, and tantra compel choices by people foreign to all three. The esoteric trio demands what are, for non-Asians, eccentric proposals for building a satisfying life. Calling for belief or understanding, or both, such strategies hinge on pacts made on gut instinct, simple-minded foolishness, or well-reasoned choice. Done simply or elaborately, mantra, yantra, and tantra often polarize rational or irrational behavior among non-Asians.
Chant a Sanskrit mantra; get a Buddhist yantra; take a course on tantra. In most people the notion of mantra, yantra, and tantra forces leaps of faith. Some Americans, for example, jump blindly into such Vedic designs for a fulfilling life. Others reject outright some Vedic plans to better living, labeling them as superstitions. Finally, waffling between the extremes of blind faith and scientific skepticism, yet others adopt a trial-and-error or wait-and-see approach. A little of this and a little of that; haphazardly, maybe life will get better. "I'll try a mantra," people can be heard to say—even when disinclined by nature or culture to do so. Having a thirst for the good life, they don't want to miss out.
But what is mantra, what's yantra, and what's tantra—what is their essence singly or collectively? The Sanskrit suffix tra, common to all three words, often evokes a sense of instrumentality in any Sanskrit word to which it is attached. Thus, tra attached to man, a Sanskrit word meaning 'mind,' tells that a mantra is a device for proper thinking. In turn, the suffix tra in yantra alludes to a useful apparatus, a fitting tool as an instrument. Finally, tan-tra refers to the right method of linking thought and tool, which is so instrumental to carrying out an aim. Thus mantra, yantra and tantra are like the fuel, the engine, and the ignition for successful living; they serve as instruments that enable each one of us to enjoy security, pleasure, morals, and freedom.
But they do so in infinitely varied, unendingly creative ways. Why? Because they deal with problem solving methods that use the motley 'real' world known to the five senses—Huxley's doors of perception—to gain access to a supersensory realm. How? By aptly coordinating mantra (proper subjective means, the inner world), yantra (suitable objective methods, the outer world), and tantra (correct sequencing of subjective and objective tactics) in a way specifically designed by Vedic culture to gain every purpose under heaven, including those beyond the reach of our five senses. Without correct knowledge of each among mantra, yantra, and tantra, and thorough understanding of how their whole becomes greater than their parts, this versatile Vedic trio remains tantalizing to many, yet elusive like a lover at a distance. But that is a story for another day. For now, understand that mantra, yantra, and tantra put their heads together to help solve life's problems so that we can enjoy life's fulfillment. Three clear heads are after all better than one or two.
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