Ishta Devata -- II

If you are born a Hindu and grew up in India you worship a number of Gods and Goddesses. But the path of spirituality is through Japa/Mantra/Meditation. If you do Japa of many different Gods, it is not effective. Also the first step in spirituality is the realization that God is one. Who is this one God? Your Ishta Devata. Then you do Japa of that God with Mantra. As the mantras vary depending on the God, you choose the Mantra of the Ishta Devata. In meditation and Japa you have to visualize the form of the God. So you visualize the form of your Ishta Devata.

One God -- with form -- without form

Though many people may not even know the term Ishta Devata the process of progress in spirituality is the same. There are people who do not have an Ishta Devata and learn the mantras of many Gods. This fritters away your energy making it more difficult to reach a higher stage.

The whole process is about raising of the Kundalini Sakthi (Consciously or otherwise).

Choose a God/Goddess known to you. The process of visualization is also simpler.

We have a music season every year in Madras during which there are a number of Carnatic (south Indian Classical) music concerts. Some years back a Catholic Nun became our friend as she also attends these  concerts regularly. Carnatic music is basically Bhakthi. When we were discussing the music the nun told us that her Ishta Devata is Lord Jesus and her Sadhana is through Carnatic music.

Hindus in India come to know about the different gods and Goddesses through the family and environment. But they also learn by visiting temples and through books/magazines. Books are a major source of information. The more gods you know about the more difficult the process of selection.

As per the classical texts the Guru selects the Ishta Devata if you do not have one. The process of selection also includes Astrology. You should be extremely fortunate to get a Guru like that.

I feel that I should have used the term "the ultimate principle" instead of God. Your Ishta Devata is the ultimate principle. Since it is easier to go from form to formless, you choose a form for the Ishta Devata.

We have misunderstandings when it is not realised that the ultimate principle is the Ishta Devata. When I say MAA KAALI is Brahman or Lord Krishna is Brahman it only means that the ultimate principle is in the form of MAA KAALI or Lord Krishna. Since I am comfortable with a form with compassion, love etc. I imagine MAA to be like that though I do realize that, since she is Brahman she is Nirguna. This is in conformity with my reasoning of going from Bhakthi Marga to Jnana Marga.

You concentrate on only one form at a time. To explain this I have to use the term Upasana. I am more comfortable with this term than with Sadhana.

Your Ishta Devata is your Upasana murthi. Though you may worship many Gods there should be only one Upasana murthi. I was warning about doing Upasana of many murthis at the same time. You may change your Upasana murthi depending on many factors. There is no harm in that. It does happen often.

Meditation requires concentration. You concentrate on the form of your Ishta Devata. Even for meditation on the formless many Gurus suggest imagining sky with a bird flying or open ocean.

Many people collect mantras like stamps. They also start Upasana of many Gods simultaneously. This leads to frittering of energy.

Sankar

Mantra for Beginners -- IV --Purgatory Mantras

There are some Mantras which are intensively purgatory in nature. These mantras purge you of your past karmas, attachments and whatever stands in the way of your achieving salvation. But to the ordinary person who is still attached to material things, the process of purging will come as a shock. Many people after practicing these Mantras complain that bad things are happening in their life like loss of a job, estrangement with close relatives, friends, loss of material things etc. etc. What they fail to understand is that this is a way of paying your karmic debts and getting rid of attachments.

In the case of all Mantras this sort of things happen. I know a person who received initiation from the Swamiji in Ramakrishna math. But he had so many problems that he approached the Math for giving up his Mantra. I do not know what happened there. But what I do know is that he went all the way to Varanasi from Kerala to give up his Mantra. The changes brought about by Mantra japa or meditation may not be always acceptable to the family and friends. I find parents complaining about the effect of mantra on their children and colleagues complain about the effect on their co-workers. In Mantra Sasthra, which is Tantrik, there are no Saguna or Nirguna Mantras. This division is Vedantic. Even the division of Spiritual and non-spiritual mantras is artificial.

The path to the ultimate is not an easy one.

In the words of Swami Yatiswarananda (Meditation and Spiritual Life - Ramakrishna math. Bangalore)

"Spiritual evolution at first brings great suffering to the aspirant, not happiness. In the intermediate stages his life becomes very difficult. Then he has no longer any real interest in what he has in the world, and cannot yet obtain self-realisation, which is still beyond his reach. It is just like hanging in mid-air without being able to go up or down. "

Again in Swamiji's words

" We should look upon it as a great fortune that, for some reason or the other, our mind possesses an  attraction for the higher and eternal things, and should see that we steadily and gradually proceed along the higher path, never flagging till we reach the goal. Our spiritual fervour is to be maintained, but we very often run the risk of becoming slack. Thus spiritual striving stops in most people after they have taken to the spiritual life for a certain time. Their minds are too restless and too outgoing to keep up this spiritual fervour and intensity for a long time, and to go on steadily and doggedly with their spiritual practice, reading, and studies. So we should be on our guard. Dogged tenacity is the one thing needed for spiritual life. All progress can only be had through great steadiness and tenacity, never allowing ourselves to flag or to become lukewarm. "

In India where we are very fond of our mad monks, such people who do not seem normal are accepted. I know of many seekers in all margas who cannot be called normal by the strict definition of normalcy. We call them God Crazy. But tolerance and acceptance is part of the Indian psyche. I have known many Sanskrit scholars, mathematicians, and religious people who would have been committed to an institution in other countries. I do not understand why there are more crazy professors in Sanskrit and mathematics whereas we rarely find one in Economics.

But then in this crazy world everyone is crazy. Power crazy, Money crazy, Fame crazy or God crazy.

Jai MAA !!!

Sankar

Mantra for Beginners -- III

I have been posting messages about Mantras with the aim of demystifying Mantras. I was talking about Sri Sri Chandi only to point out that there is a lot of difference between the books and practice. I do not know how people started reading Sri Sri Chandi. But I know about Soundharya Lahari. This was not read by many people in the south because of the restrictions imposed. But in the early 70s The Kanchi Kamakoti Peetathipathi told his followers that there is no restriction in reading the text, and that it is extremely beneficial if Housewives recite it. So Soundharya Lahari became very popular.

Again Gayatri mantra was supposed to be only for the upper castes who receive Upadesa. But then Swami Dayananda Saraswathi (founder of Arya Samaj) removed all restrictions on this mantra. Now it has even become a cinema song.

Excepting a few Tantrik mantras other mantras do not cause any harm. It is only said that the effect may not be as dramatic as it is when it is recited properly. 

You know there are mantras in languages other than Sanskrit. I know many mantras in Tamil and Hindi. My Diksha Guruji gives initiation of mantras in Tamil. I know of Muslim magicians who use Arabic and Persian mantras. These mantras called Sabar Mantras by Dr. P.R. Tigunait the spiritual head of the Himalayan institute. (Disciple of Swami Rama). His classification of mantras is

Meditative mantras
Contemplative mantras
Siddha Mantras
Maha Mantras
Apta mantras
Sabar mantras

Malas have an effect on their own. This is independent of the mantras. Generally Saivites and Sakthas use Rudraksha and Vaishnavites use Tulsi. Tibetans use wooden malas. Counters have become popular for mantra japa. They are used when you have to do Japa thousands of times. Counters are used by Hare Krishna Devotees. I have used a counter.

Namah is a declamation used at the end of a Nama in Archana or in the middle in a mantra.
Example- Om Sri Rajarajeswaryai Namah - Namavali
Om Namo Bagavathe Vasudevaya - Mantra.
Swaha is used generally when giving an oblation into the fire in Homa. It is also used in a mantra at the end. Swaha is a name of MAA. There are other interpretations as well.

Friends who are keen on furthering their knowledge of Mantras can refer to the book Understanding Mantras -Edited by Harvey P. Alper - This book contains 10 research articles on the subject.

Jai MAA !!!

Sankar

Mantra for Beginners -- II

Someone in the forum had asked about Devi Mahatmyam. The following was my response. This was again posted in 2001.


You had said about Devi Mahatmya and other hymns. Devi Mahatmya is considered to be the supreme text of many Saktha Sampradhayas. To even read Devi Mahatmyam you need Adhikara or right, which can be given only by a Tantrik guru. Again there are rituals and laid down procedures for even reading Devi Mahatmyam. This is emphasized in all texts. For the full details of the rituals of reading Devi Mahatmyam you can see the book Sri Chandi by Swami Sathyananda Saraswathi. The text by the Gita Press also gives the rituals and contains a warning not to read it without Adhikara. To get over these restrictions Sri Sri Chandi was translated into Bengali long time back. The Sthudhis can be said without any restriction.

Similarly very strict rules have been laid down for reading Soundharya Lahari.

But these rules have been given a go by in the case of Soundharya Lahari in South India. This has started happening in the case of Devi Mahatmyam also.

This has started happening in the case of mantras also. Mantras have ceased to be the exclusive privilege of the few. In India you can get any mantra from a book or magazine. People have also started reciting even esoteric mantras.

I reproduce a part of my message in another club

" Fortunately in the last few years the irrational fear of Mantras has begun to disappear among common people due to the efforts of many saints, scholars and popular magazines. There are magazines in Tamil "Bhakthi" and "Anmeekam" and also in Hindi, which have started giving one Mantra every month, sometimes with the Yantra also. I was  surprised to see that a magazine came out with MAA DHOOMAVATHI Mantra a couple of months back stating that it is very good for general prosperity. Then I realized that I am having a wrong conception of MAA DHOOMAVATHI because of her image. She is MAA and will reward
devotion."

All books on mantra contain a warning that mantras should not be said without the guidance of a Guru. In fact some of them in English even disclaim any responsibility if anything goes wrong. According to Mantra Sasthra there are millions of mantras. But not all of them are listed in books. Many mantras have been forgotten. Many remain the exclusive property of some families.

There is no standardization even in important mantras. For example there is one mantra with two Beeja mantras. There are many different ways of reciting the same mantra.

1. Mantra alone.
2. Mantra preceded by Om
3.Mantra with Om followed at the end with Swaha
4. Mantra without Om but with Swaha.
5. The two Beeja mantras repeated once.
6. Beeja mantras repeated twice.

And so on.

So you see the same mantra in different permutations and combinations. The exact mantra will depend on the tradition of the Guru.

There is no generalization or classification of mantras as safe or otherwise.

About the pronunciation of the mantras different views prevail. Some insisting on proper pronunciation. But this is a puritanical view. I have known many Tantriks with Siddhis whose pronunciation of Sanskrit leaves a lot to be desired. With no two Indians agreeing about whose pronunciation of Sanskrit is correct, this is a difficult subject.

I give below the words of Buddhist Govinda

"If the efficacy of the mantras depended upon their correct pronunciation, then all the mantras in Tibet would have lost their meaning and power, because they are not pronounced according to the rules of Sanskrit, but according to the phonetic laws of the Tibetan language (for instance not: OM MANI PADME HUM but OM MANI Peme HUM) 

This means that the power and the effect of the Mantra depend on the spiritual attitude, the knowledge and responsiveness of the individual. The sabda or sound of the Mantra is not a physical sound (though it may be accompanied by such a one) but a spiritual one. It cannot be heard by the ears but only by the heart, and it cannot be uttered by the mouth but only by the mind."

Filtered through Brooklynese, uttered as a Bronx cheer, whispered in an East Texas drawl, OM is always OM - or it isn't. "

About the effect of Mantras on Kundalini and how they work a lot of research has been done. But we have not seen any conclusive evidence.

Mantra Sasthra is a vast subject. You keep on learning. The book "Understanding mantras" from Motilal Banarsidass is a good book.

My Gurus told me that "MAA is your Ultimate Guru. You seek her permission to recite any Mantra."

Can I have more than one Guru? -- II

Now about the advantages of having more than one Guru and whether it is absolutely necessary to have more than one guru.

It is not absolutely necessary to have more than one Guru.

You may be among the fortunate few who have found the right Guru and is happy in practicing the path shown by him. That means you are satisfied with your path and are not seeking any more. The progress in the path would be swift and smooth for such people.

But this does not happen to most of us. We are not satisfied by the path shown by one Guru. We seek further. It does not mean that you are showing disrespect to your Guru. Far from it. It is only that the you have the urge to seek and explore further.


We have all read stories of Saints and Sadhus who were directed by their Guru to go to another Guru for further studies. Let us see why it is many times necessary to have more than one Guru.

1. All Gurus teach the path by which they have achieved salvation. They specialize in one particular path. But it is possible that the path may not be in conformity with your leanings. One may also like to learn about other paths. The book "Choosing a path" by Swami Rama gives a bird's eye view of all the paths. But every path has many sampradhayas. So you have to seek a Guru whose sampradhaya suits your vasanas. As Sri Ramakrishna said "There are as many ways as there are men."

2. The Guru is supposed to identify the attitude/inclination/vasana of the disciple and direct him accordingly. Swami Sivananda directed Swami Chinmayananda to go to Tapovan Maharaj. But this requires intensive inter action between the Guru and the disciple. This rarely happens now. Most of us are followers or devotees of a particular Guru. We can not call ourselves disciples in the real sense of the term. If your Guru is able to identify your attitude and direct you to the path with which you are satisfied, then you are one of the few fortunate ones.

I will quote some examples.

1. You may have a liking for a particular God/Goddess whom you consider your Ishta Devata. But the Guru you are with may be specialised in the upasana of another Deity. There are some organizations which give Deeksha in a particular Mantra because it is their standard procedure. But people who have Ishta Devata who is different from that of the Mantra face problems.

2. The path shown by Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi is one of pure Advaita. Atma Vicharam. But it is not suitable for every one. People who are basically Bhakthas who are initiated into Advaita mantra have problems.

In fact if we examine our beliefs most of us would find that we have adapted ideas from different sources. Gurus, books, newspapers, TV and Internet forums.

Jai MAA !!!

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 - 2

MAA KALI is the Supreme Deity of the Saktha religion.

Before going on to the details of Kali upasana, a couple of important points. Some of this may not be known to all.

1. MAA KALI has many Rupas, more than any other Deity in the Hindu pantheon. Ranging from Smasana Kali to Shodasi Kali (also known as Maa Lalitha Tripura Sundari). Not many may be aware that the Tripura Sundari temple in Tripura is Shodasi Kali. That is the local name. The state of Tripura is named after her. She is called Shodasi because of the Shodasi mantra (sixteen lettered mantra) with which she is worshiped.

2. Yes. Kali is worshiped in the SriVidya tradition also. There is a KramaDiksha for that. Medha Samrajya Diksha is the Purna Diksha.

3. Kali Upasana does not have any rigid rules. This is emphasized by all the Tantras. Kali is accessible to everyone irrespective of caste, creed or social status.

3. Kali Upasana ranges from the purely Sattvic Upasana to the extreme form of Tantric Agora Upasana.

4. Though many Tantras emphasize the so called Vira Sadhana, in real life it is seen that Maa Kali is pleased with all types of Upasanas. Though Sri Ramakrishna did learn Tantras fom Maa Bhairavi Brahmani, he did not worship Maa Kali in the Tantra tradition. He was a Kali Bhaktha and worshiped her with Bhakthi. As we all know Sri Ramakrishna was the foremost Kali Bhaktha in living history and had her Dharshan.

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