Impact of mantra recital on health

[Chris Beetle]

At 10:36 AM 5/9/00 +0530, Surya P. Mittal wrote [to the INDOLOGY mailing list]:
>Is there any research (completed/ongoing) on the impact of
>mantra recital on health -- more specifically the mental
>health, i.e. the psychological/psychiatric problems ?
>Any references (web-sites/print/contact persons) will be
>helpful.

David Wolf did such a study for his Ph.D. dissertation in the field of
social work.  He used three groups, one chanting the Hare Krishna mantra
(Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare), another chanting a concocted mantra composed of
Sanskrit words arranged in the same pattern as the Hare Krishna mantra, and
another who chanted no mantra.  He tested all the participants in the study
three times, at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of the study
using four or five standard psychological tests.  The result was that those
who chanted the Hare Krishna mantra improved in mental health to a greater
extent than the control groups.  You may write him for more information at:
dgovinda at aol.com

Best wishes,
Chris Beetle