From elsewhere -



Could you please say more about this?

To say a little more about this, I first have to give an outline of two different ways of looking at history in order to be able to zoom in on this aspect.

The first way is the evolution theory as an ascending process: Big Bang – expansion and later condensation of matter – forming of stars and planets – primeval soup – lightning and other coincidental factors – amino acids – proteins – unicellar life - amoebe – monkeys – human beings.
That's Darwin and that's what most people believe.

So do I, with one difference. I replace the coincidental factors with Bhagavan and His little helpers, the devas & devis to oversee all those processes (and perhaps are those processes). The Big Bang could be the coming out of a pore of Vishnu. And for good measure I could add the Avataras as Matsya, Kurma etc as standing for all the phases of history of life on this planet. But perhaps this belongs to the next theory.


The second possibility is the descending process. First there was the Adi Purusha or Adam Kadmon and from Him everything descends. First heat and vapours, that condenses, then minerals come down from Him (remember the story of Indra clipping the wings of flying mountains so they stood where they fell? That could be a description of those processes).

Then vegetable and later animal elements come down. This prepares the way for human beings to start incarnating. First in a sort of a group, then the seperation of the sexes making love possible, then more or less like modern human beings.

But millions of years ago humans were not the same as they are now; they are not so hard, not so bony, but softer and more malleable. If they speak a cursing word to someone he will get wounded by it (a remnant of this could be the feeling of sickness in my stomach I get when I hear the Maha Mantra on Metal music).
At that time people could easily be cured if a mantra was spoken. After the hardening of people this is hardly possible anymore. That might explain why you have to repeat a mantra lakhs and lakhs of times. Herbs don't work very well anymore either; all the natural healing systems might be remnants of that "softer" period.


That is the occult history in its very briefest. For more details see: H.P. Blavatsky, Annie Besant, Edgar Cayce, Rudolf Steiner, Mario Schoenmaker, Manly P. Hall, and perhaps a little in Bhaktivinoda Thakur and Srila Sridhara Maharaja.

And of course you could try to read this yourself in the Bhagavata Purana and Brahma Samhita. If you do that, there might be another writer of some use, the theosophist Purnendu Narayana Sinha, A Study Of The Bhagavata Purana or Esoteric Hinduism, Benaras 1901 (reprints still available).

This is interesting!
Thank you, Gerard.

I think it does still work this way. There are plenty of trance festivals where you get thousands of folks raving to the sounds of the Mahamantra and other mantras. Personally, I think if that was the only option to listen to mantras, everyone would rock out. In this day and age, materialism has become so sophisticated, that you can pass on the mantra and rock to something more sense gratificatory (is that g- word even a word? )..oh maybe I mean, sense gratifying.

HERE

Lots of Hare that i know, call "Krishna das" the Kirtan for money chanter a "Karmi Kirtanani"

I have this edition myself but this is very useful for a friend of mine who is thinking of translating this book into Dutch. Thanks.
The book itself is mainly a synopsis of the Bhagavata, but his chapters "Thoughts on..." are his interpretations.