Impact of mantra recital, etc.

[Michael Witzel]

Re: Dr.  Herbert Benson of Harvard Medical School and of the Mind/Body project
(  http://www.mindbody.harvard.edu/   ) ...

.... I heard it from the H[orse]'s mouth last Friday in a local conf. about
Shamanism.
Benson has no prejudice/preconceived idea about any religion/technique and
has worked with several of them.

His claims therefore should be seriously compared with those mentioned on
the list, whether
consisting of just 1 or some 500 studies...

(The results mentioned by some go squarely against his express stress on
reptetion of *any* syllable/word)

And  (difference in) research methods should be highlighted as well.

I leave all of that to our medical & hightech shamans, not the zramaNa!

------------

on a different topic : indicated by : "Subrahmanya S." :

http://www.vkyogas.org.in/research.html : see:

Dave & Nagendra H R "Effect of Agnihotra on germination of rice seeds - a
controlled trail".

No time to check that out. -- I just hope it is not the same type of
"controlled" experiment done some 20 years ago at U. of Khanpur, according
to a book on "Agnihotra":

- sow one field  with seeds and Agnihotra ash.
- sow one field, next to it,  with seeds but no Agnihotra ash.

Result: the one with Agnihotra ash delivered much more grain!!!

==========

On still another topic, QUOTE, 'the amateurs splitting away from the
professionals':

"indology", renamed "IndianCivilization", now has 59 members and 172
messages, since April 25.

============

========================================================
Michael Witzel
Department of Sanskrit & Indian Studies, Harvard University
2 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge MA 02138, USA

ph. 1- 617-496 2990 (also messages)
home page:  http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/mwpage.htm

Elect. Journ. of Vedic Studies:  http://www1.shore.net/~india/ejvs
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