Mantras and Siddhis

Mantras

The discussion about whether one should give the Mantra in print on
paper or over the Internet and whether one should utter these Mantras
has been discussed in many forums especially over the Internet. But
what we should understand that there is no forum in India where such
matters are discussed. Unfortunately there is very little opposition
to the commercialisation of Mantras and Tantras in India. We find not
only books but also cassettes and magazines, which give Mantras and
advise people to chant them for various benefits. Not one Acharya or
religious head has raised his voice against these practices.

Before I go into Mantra Sasthra I would like to say something about
Tantra, Upasana, Sadhana and Siddhi

We generally use the above terms whenever we talk about Tantra and
Mantras. Now there is a lot of confusion about these terms. I would
like to present a simple definition of the above terms. I am always
open to correction as I am not a Guru.

Upasana: Upasana is devotion to a particular deity or mantra. It
means approaching the Divine step by step till the self attains
identity with her. When somebody says I am a Durga Upasak, it means
that he is a worshipper of MAA DURGA. Upasana is different from
Bhakthi in that you concentrate on one particular Deity or Mantra.
The deity is normally called Ishta Devata. When you do mantra Upasana
you follow the procedures laid down for that Upasana.

Sadhana: is the method by which you do Upasana. Mantra sadhana means
the method followed is by recitation of a specific mantra. Tantra
sadhana means you follow Tantric procedures, which include Mantras.

Siddhi. - Means power or attainment. The common forms of Siddhi are

Ashtamaa Siddhi - eight great powers
1. Anima -To become tiny as the atom within atom
2. Laghima - To become light as vapour in levitation
3. Mahima - To become big in unshakeable proportions
4. Prapti- To enter into other bodies in transmigration
5. Prakamyam- To be in all things, omni pervasive
6. Isatvam-To be lord of all creation in omnipotence
7. Vasitvam- To be everywhere in omnipresence
8. Kamaru Tattva (Kamavasyitva) -Attainment of whatever you desire*

Source: Thirumandhiram- verse no.668 to 693

* Some books give it as Garima (the power of becoming heavy)
The minor Siddhis are
Doora Dharshan (clairvoyance)
Doora Sravan (clairaudience)
Iccha Mrityu (death at his will)
There may be others also.

Kariya Siddhi - Getting your heart's desire. This is what most of us
aim for. We pray to God to beget children, get promotion in job, get
wealth, remove unhappiness etc. etc. If you pray fervently you get
things done. This is also the easiest of the Siddhis to get. Pray for
a specific purpose and your prayers are granted.


Jai MAA KAALI !!!

Mantra for Beginners -- VII

Where does Philosophy fit into this? In Hinduism religion is philosophy and philosophy is religion. They cannot  be separated. When you are in your teens and look at the people doing Pooja, prayers and Japa and find that superstitious (we tend to call what we do not believe or understand as superstition), you are attracted by Philosophy. Later you realize that religion is the practice and philosophy the theory/principle behind the practice. Sanskrit terms like Karma, Klesha , Samsara etc. makes you wonder whether you can make any spiritual progress. Later when you do Sadhana and want to know the theory or the principle behind this you understand these terms.

In the 60s in the Hippie Era LSD was often used by young people who wanted a new experience. As anyone who has used LSD will tell you it is an unforgettable experience. But whether the experience was most pleasant or nerve shattering varied from person to person. We knew what precautions to take having learnt by experience. Even now drugs are used in Spiritual Sadhana. But smoking Hashish or pot is not the way to spiritual Sadhana. The risk is not worth it and the effect is only temporary.

All this heavy stuff is written because many of us seem to believe that there is a short cut or an instant way to spirituality. In the days of Instant coffee and Instant Tea we want Instant Nirvana, Instant Mukthi, Instant Brahman. Unfortunately this is not possible. (if one of my young and impetuous friends ask what about Bagavan Ramana Maharishi or Bagavan Sri Ramakrishna, my answer is such people one in a billion.) If  anyone claims about Instant Kundalini and you fall for it, you are surely in Instant trouble. Years back we used to know a professor of Psychology who was specializing in Parapsychology. He was doing a research on Tantra, various systems of meditation, prayers and other rituals. His comment on some of the forms of meditation was " pure torture". (Unfortunately like all nutty professors I do not think he ever published his findings).

So Pooja, Japa, Meditation, Kundalini Yoga, choose a path, which is suitable for you. Do not be led by the so-called superiority of one path over the other. Before deciding finally learn all about the path, its effects, advantages, disadvantages, risks involved etc. At the same time do not be unduly frightened by the risks. You should take a risk because the reward that you get by spiritual progress is worth it. But it should be a calculated and thought out risk.

Mantra for Beginners -- VI

In my earlier messages I had equated Mental Japa to meditation. I saw recently that some one had called this Dhyana Yoga. The Art and science of Meditation. I was talking about how in India we generally proceeded from rituals to meditation. In Tantra this process is emphasized. The initiates are classified according to their levels. You proceed gradually from one process to the other. Some of the more esoteric Sadhanas are meant for only advanced initiates. You proceed from the form to the formless. Tantras are basically instruction manuals. They tell you how to proceed. Again in Tantra we specifically forbid anyone to act without a Guru.

We are not discussing Tantra now. I am only drawing a parallel. There is a lot of interest in Yahoo groups and the different forums to know about advanced Tantrik Sadhana like Smasana  Sadhana, Sava Sadhana, and five Ms. But after trying to answer some of the curious people I realized that without explaining the basic philosophy of Tantra and the pre-requisite qualifications, talking about these Sadhanas will be only vetting the appetite of the curious and......

Talking about the pre -requisites, there is a Sadhana, which you might be familiar with, called Jala Sadhana. You stand in water (preferably in a holy river) up to your neck in water and meditate or do mantra Japa for hours. But do you know what happens to your body? Cramps ! I was discussing this with a Tantrik friend. He said he had to be almost hospitalized as the body had become so stiff. We talk about Smasana  Sadhana or worship in the graveyard/cremation ground. Leave alone Sadhana, do you have the courage to spent hours in the middle of the night in a Graveyard? And how do you ensure that the police do not arrest you? Even in India you will be.

Meditation being the highest form of Sadhana also gives very quick results. Scientific studies have clearly proved the effects of Meditation on the body. So it is but natural that everyone is attracted to meditation. Again this does not have the dogma of ritualistic or idol worship.

Now the entire spiritualistic practices of Hinduism are a synthesis of many aspects. You want to do meditation or even Japa for 1 hour. How do sit still for one hour. Your legs start feeling numb after 20 minutes. How do you concentrate for 3 to 4 hours or more than that, if your body does not cooperate? That is why Hatha yoga was considered an essential part of Hinduism. Again if you have training in Pranayama it is much easier to meditate.

Maa Kundalini or Kundalini Sakthi resides in everyone. We all have the Chakras. All spiritual practices right from Pooja, Japa, Meditation has an effect on Kundalini. In Tantra we call SriVidya, pure Kundalini Yoga. All Tantrik practices have their basis in Kundalini Yoga. I had asked my Guru before my initiation about Kundalini. He said with Mantra Japa your Kundalini will automatically be raised. With meditation the Kundalini raises much faster. The raising of the Kundalini again depends on the Mantra. Even with a Nirguna mantra you cannot prevent or control your Kundalini from rising.

Since with meditation it raises much faster the effects may not be what you had anticipated. For most of us Kundalini Sakthi is at different levels. So the effect of meditation will be different. Though the road is smoother at 80 mph than at twenty mph because the car feels the bumps less, if you hit a wall the effects are much more serious than at 20 mph. You may find an explanation in Kundalini Yoga about what is happening to you.

Mantra Siddhi? What is it? - II

The Purascharana I was talking about is strenuous, time consuming and expensive. Assuming that it takes 5 to 10 seconds for performing the Ahudhi. That is taking the Ghee reciting the mantra and offering it in the fire. Assuming the short time of 5 seconds it would take 125 hours to perform the Homa. If you do it for 5 hours daily it would take 25 days.

I have taken 5 hours daily because sitting in front of a Fire for more than 5 hours is a problem. Even 5 hours is a tremendous strain. You move your hand from the ghee pot to the fire 3600 times. You can manage 2000 times daily. That would take longer to complete in 45 days. Of course the time for doing Tharpan.

Imagine the physical strain.

Again there is the job of keeping the fire going for days together. And the cost of the Ghee and Firewood.

Add to this the cost of feeding the Brahmins.

Thus Purascharana is very strenuous, time consuming and very expensive.

Still people do Purascharana, though not many. Why?

What is so great about Mantra Siddhi that one is willing to devote so much time, effort and money on that?

Or are we chasing a Mirage?

Jai MAA KAALI !!!

Mantra Siddhi? What is it? - I

According to the Tantric texts, to attain Mantra Siddhi you have to

1. Repeat the Mantra a specified number of times. Normally the number of letters in the Mantra multiplied by lakhs. For example for Navakshari (Navarna) Mantra it is 9,00,000 times.

2. Perform a Purascharana homa. The number of Ahudhis should be 1/10th of the repetitions. For Navakshari it is 90,000.

3. Tharpana of 1/10th of Ahudhis. Thus for Navakshari it is 9,000.

4. Feed number of Brahmins 1/10th of Tharpana. For Navakshari it is 900.

If you have done all this you will get the Mantra Siddhi.

Mantra Siddhi is important in the case of Krama Deekshas where you have to get the Mantra Siddhi of one Mantra before proceeding to the higher one.

But then let me raise a question which may seem basic, but which is not answered.

There is no book which defines Mantra Siddhi.

1. What do you think is Mantra Siddhi?

2. What do expect when you get Mantra Siddhi?

Fly through Air? Attain Ashtama Siddhi? Have Dharshan of the Mantra Devata? Some might talk about Kundalini reaching the Sahasrara or the Crown Chakra. Then what happens?

Are we aiming for something about which we know nothing?

Is Mantra Siddhi necessary for spiritual advancement?

Jai MAA KAALI !!!

KALI UPASANA/SADHANA

कालिकायै विद्महे श्मशानवासिन्यै धीमहि

तन्नो घोरा प्रचोदयात्।

I was thinking of posting an article about Upasana/Sadhana of Maa Kali in the web site. A long unfulfilled promise.

I will now post a series about Kali Upasana, Kali Mantras and also trace the history of Kali worship in India.

Kali is worshiped all over India from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. There is a mistaken impression that Kali worship is confined to eastern India. This is far from true.

We hear of Kali worship from the times of Kalidasa the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C4%81lid%C4%81sa

His famous poem on Mother Kali is Shymala Dhandakam

You can find an English translation here.

http://www.sthothrarathnas.com/shyamala_dandakam

Some of you especially from South India may shout now. "Stop. Shymala Dhandakam is about Saraswathi and not Kali. I know the poem. My grandmother used to recite it. It is very popular in South India."

Yes. It is very popular in South India and is known as a poem on Saraswati. But that information is wrong. The above quoted translation is by a Tamil Brahmin. See his comments. Then Kalidasa who called himself as Kali's servant would be writing about Kali and not Saraswati. The term Shymala means dark colored one. We also call Maa Kali, Shyama. Pray when did Saraswati become dark in color? She is portrayed as fair in color in all other slokas.

Matha marakatha shyama as Kalidasa calls her.

Of course there is another theory that Shyamala is Matangi or Raja Matangi. But there is nothing to indicate that Kalidasa was a worshipper of Raja Matangi.

Maa Kali is well known for bestowing her Upasakas with Kavithvam or the ability to compose poems. There are slokas for that. About that later.

Again Kalidasa lived during the period of King Vikramaditya. We all know the stories of Vikramaditya, his minister Bhatti and of course the famous Vethaal. Vikramaditya was again a worshipper of Maa Kali. The stories are full of magical powers (Ashtama Siddhi) and Kali Upasana is well known for getting Astama Siddhi.

The place of birth of Kalidasa and Vikramaditya viz. Ujjain has played a major role in the spread of Kali worship.

By the way The mantra that Kalidasa reportedly used was the Shadakshari (six lettered ) Mantra

क्रीं - क्रीं -हुं - हुं - ह्रीं - ह्रीं