Jesus, The Mantra of God—An Exploration of Mantra Meditation

Jesus, Mantra of God explores the practice of the mantra in prayer. It comes out of the style of meditative prayer initiated by John Main and continued by his disciple Dom Laurence Freeman, OSB and the World Community for Christian Meditation. At the heart of this prayer is the Indian concept of mantra - focus upon a word or phrase of spiritual significance. The mantra, says John Dupuche, 'is like a key to unlock the storeroom from which the disciple of the kingdom brings forth things both new and old' (Matthew 13:52). The first part of the book enriches the reader's understanding and practice of the mantra, based on faith, and looks at the related aspects of hearing, breathing and the body. With this heightened understanding, the practitioner comes more fully to see the face of Christ, who is the divine Mantra, and so enter into the silence of God. The second part examines the intimate relationship between mantra-meditation and the cycle of the liturgical year. In meditation, one can relive the events of the sacred story or deepen the spiritual impact of the major festivals of the Church's year. A brief appendix deals with visualization, another aspect of contemplative prayer.

Rev. Dr. John Dupuche is Parish Priest of Beaumaris/Black Rock, in Melbourne, Australia. He is coordinator of the School of Prayer within the Archbishops Office for Evangelization and is chair both of the Catholic Interfaith Committee of the Archdiocese of Melbourne and of the Faith and Order Commission of the Victorian Council of Churches. He leads meditation groups and conducts retreats in addition to his normal parish duties. He has a doctorate in Sanskrit, specializing in Kashmir Shaivism and travels to India each year. He lectured for many years in theology at what is now Australian Catholic University. He is Honorary Visiting Research Fellow in the Institute for the Advancement of Research at Australian Catholic University.