Mantra Initiation

Swami Satchidananda, the founder of Integral Yoga, says, "It is advisable to get the mantra [for meditation] through adepts who have already created that vibration in themselves, because they won’t give you just a mantra. When they give the mantra, they, also, infuse a little of the vibration into you. That is what you call ‘initiation.’ It is a completely different experience from what you read in a book. From a book, you get only the word; you won’t get the vibration."

Is that true? Well, I have a lot of respect for Swami Satchidananda. He is one of my main teachers (he died in 2002). Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was the other of my main teachers (he died in 2008), and he says basically the same thing. Even though I respect these two teachers very much, I am the skeptical, scientific sort, so I am not sure.

I do know that when I was initiated into Transcendental Meditation in 1973, it sure felt like there was a transmission of energy, as I immediately entered (what seemed like) a very deep state of meditation, but that could be attributed to my expectations. I suspect expectations are the main causal factor, and perhaps that is why Indian gurus propagate the story of "spiritual transmission" in initiation, to build up those expectations.