Mantra meditation

Q. Do you meditate?

A. Members of the Hare Krishna movement practice mantra meditation. In Sanskrit, manah means ‘mind’ and tra means ‘freeing’. So a mantra is a combination of words that is meant to relieve the mind of anxieties arising from worldly entanglement. Vedic literature compares the mind to a mirror, and our present state of spiritual forgetfulness to a mirror which has accumulated dust. Mantra meditation clears the dust from the mirror of the mind so that we can see our original self. When our spiritual nature is inwardly perceived, then the anxieties caused by illusion cease, and we experience spiritual happiness.