❤ STEP FIVE ❤
HAVING PURIFIED THE SURROUNDINGS, WE NOW DO THE NEXT LEVEL OF PURIFICATION BY DOING ACHAMANA. ACHAMANA IS TO DRINK THREE SMALL SIPS OF WATER FROM YOUR WATER POT. IT IS DONE THREE TIMES TO SIGNIFY PURIFICATION OF YOUR BODY, MIND AND CONSCIOUSNESS. WHEN WE CHANT THE GAYATHRI MANTRA, WE SAY BHURBHUVAH SVAH. BHUR MEANS THIS PLANE OF EXISTENCE, BHUVAH, THE PLANE OF CONSCIOUSNESS, AND SVAH THE PLANE OF THE SOUL. THE THREE STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS ARE THE DREAMING, WAKING AND SLEEPING STATES. THIS IS WHY WE SAY BHUR BHUVAH THREE TIMES.
ALTHOUGH MANY ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL TEXTS GO INTO GREAT DETAIL ON HOW ACHAMANA SHOULD BE PERFORMED, AND HOW PEOPLE BELONGING TO DIFFERENT CASTES ARE SUPPOSED TO DO IT, IN THE SCIENCE OF MANTRAS, THOSE RULES DON'T APPLY. BECAUSE THE MOMENT YOU ARE INTIATED, YOU DON'T BELONG TO A PARTICULAR CASTE, OR ANYTHING. YOU BELONG TO THAT LINEAGE.
HERE I'LL DIGREES FOR A MOMENT TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE ROLE OF INITIATION, OR WHY INITIATION IS CONSIDERED ALMOST SACRED ON THE PATH OF MANTRA YOGA. AT THE SAME TIME, I DON'T WANT TO OVERSTATE THE IMPORTANCE OF INITIATION EITHER. I DON'T WANT TO GIVE YOU THE IDEA THAT GETTING INITIATED IS THE END OF YOUR SADHANA OR THAT WITHOUT IT YOU CAN'T SUCCEED. THIS IS NOT THE CASE.
HAVING SAID THAT, INITIATION DOES BESTOW A CERTAIN POWER ON YOUR CHANTING. IMAGINE YOU RUN A GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT - LET'S SAY YOU ARE A MINISTER AND YOU HOLD A CERTAIN PORTFOLIO. SOMEBODY COMES TO YOU SEEKING HELP SAYING, I HAVE TO SPEAK TO A MANAGER IN YOUR DEPARTMENT." YOU MIGHT TELL HIM, "NO PROBLEM, HERE IS MY RECOMMENDATION LETTER - TAKE IT, AND GIVE IT TO THE RELAVANT MANAGER". THE MANAGER WILL SEE YOUR SIGNATURE AND SAY, I KNOW THE MININSTER HAS SENT HIM, AND OKAY, I'LL DO WHAT HE ASKS, BEING INITIATED IS SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
WHEN YOU CONNECT TO A LINEAGE, ALL THE SIDDHAS, THE ADEPTS BEFORE YOU HAVE MADE CERTAIN RECOMMENDATIONS, AND THERE IS A COLLECTIVE KARMA THAT YOU GOT TO TAP INTO. WHILE STEVE JOBS INVENTED IPOD AND IPAD, NOT EVERYBODY IN APPLE GAS TO DO THE SAME. HE GENERATED A MOUNTAIN OF CASH, AND NOW THEY HAVE ACCESS TO THAT, BECAUSE OF HIS EFFORTS, STRATEGY AND VISION - HIS EXECUTION. LIKE WISE YOU GET A BENEFIT FROM WHAT THE SEERS BEFORE YOU AND DONE IN YOUR LINEAGE.
THERE IS A STORY I ONCE READ IN A BOOK WRITTEN BY PANDIT RAJMANI TIGUNAIT, A DISCIPLE OF SWAMI RAMA. HE WANTED TO CHANT A PARTICULAR VERSE FROM A TEXT CALLED SOUNDARYA LAHARI, WHICH IS FROM THE SRI VIDYA TRADITION. IN THAT TEXT, FOR EVERY VERSE YOU CAN DO A PURUSHCHARANA, YOU CAN INVOKE AND ACCUMULATE ENERGY.
PANDIT RAJMANI CHANTED A PARTICULAR MANTRA WITHOUT TELLING HIS GURU, AND HIS CHANTING HAD NO EFFECT. ONE DAY, SWAMIN RAMA CAME BACK FROM A TOUR AND ASKED HIM TO BRING HIM HIS COPY OF SOUNDARYA LAHARI. OF ALL THE MANTRAS, HE POINTED TO THAT PARTICULAR MANTRA, AND SAIE, CHANT THIS ONE, PANDIT RAJMANAI THOUGHT, I HAVE ALREADY DONE THIS AND IT HAS HAD NO EFFECT. HE HAD TRIED CHANTING EARLIER, 11000 TIMES, 62000 TIMES AND 125000 TIMES. HIDING HIS FEELINGS AND THOUGHTS, HE ASKED SWAMIN RAMA HOW MUCH HE SHOULD CHANT EVERY DAY, TO WHICH SWAMI REPLIED BY SAYING THAT ONLY TEN TIMES.
JUST ONE-ZERO, NOT TEN THOUSAND ?, PANDIT RAJMANI EXCLAIMED.
OKAY IF THAT DOESN'T SEEM ENOUGH, SWAMI RAMA SAID, YOU CAN CHANT IT 1000 TIMES A DAY.
STILL IN A STATE OF DISBELIEF, HE ASKED, REALLY ? JUST 1000 TIMES.
WELL THEN, YOU CAN DO 2000 TIMES.
PANDIT RAJMANI REALIZED THAT EACH TIME HE QUESTIONED HIM, SWAMI RAMA WAS SIMPLY INCREASING THE NUMBER, SO HE STOPPED AND DID AS HE WAS TOLD, AND GOT THE RESULT THAT WAS PROMISED IN THE TEXT.
FORTY DAYS LATER, HE WENT TO SWAMI RAMA, ELATED, AND SAID, LOOK, TH RESULTS CAME THROUGH. I HAD THE EXPERIENCE I WAS SEEKING. THIS IS JUST REMARKABLE, BUT SWAMI RAMA SEEMED UPSET WITH HIM. PANDIT RAJMANI COULDN'T UNDERSTAND WHY HIS GURU WOULD BE UNHAPPY, BECAUSE HE HAD JUST FINISHED HIS SADHANA.
FINALLY, SWAMI RAMA CLARIFIED, YOU SEE, BEFORE YOU JOINED OUR LINEAGE, MY GURU, WITH THE POWER OF HIS TAPAS, HIS PENANCE, HAD SIMPLIFIED THIS SADHANA. IT WOULD ONLY REQUIRE SOMEBODY 10 CHANTS EACH DAY. BUT NOW, ANYBODY AFTER YOU WILL NEED TO DO 2000 EVERY DAY TO ACHIEVE THE SAME RESULT. DUE TO YOUR EGO YOU QUESTINED THE NUMBER OF ROUNDS FOR CHANTING THE MANTRA, AND CHANGED IT UNNECCESSARILY.
WHEN YOU CONNECT WITH A LINEAGE, TI BECOMES YOUR SIGNATURE. IF THE SIDDHAS HAVE SAID, THIS WILL HAPPEN WHEN YOU CHANT THIS MANTRA, SOONER OR LATER, IT WILL HAPPEN.
PRESENTLY, TO PERFORM ACHAMANA, YOU WILL NEED AN ACHAMANA POT AND VESSEL. THEY ARE VERY INEXPENSIVE BUT IF YOU CAN'T SOURCE THEM FOR ANY REASON, JUST USE ANY SMALL POT AND A LITTLE SPOON. THERE'S NO HARD AND FAST RULE FOR THIS. TAKE THE SPOON IN YOUR LEFT HAND, SCOOP UP SOME WATER WITH IT AND POUR THAT WATER IN THE PALM OF YOUR RIGHT HAND. NOW SAY , "OM KESHAVAYA NAMAH", AND THEN DRINK THE WATER FROM YOUR RIGHT PALM. DO IT ONCE MORE SAYING "OM MADHAVAYA NAMAH",AND REPEAT IT WHILE CHANTING "OM NARAYANAYA NAMAH".
SO THREE TIMES ALL UP. ONCE DONE, PUT SOME WATER AGAIN IN YOUR RIGHT PALM, PUT THE SPOON IN YOUR LEFT HAND BACK IN THE POT, "OM PUNDARIKAKSHAYA NAMAH", THE WASH YOUR HANDS ON THE LEFT SIDE.
I HOPE YOU WON'T FEEL OVER WHELMED WITH AL THESE MANTRAS JUST BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW THEM. YOU SEE, NOBODY IS BORN WITH KNOWLEDGE. IF YOU PRACTICE A FEW TIMES, THEY WILL COME TO YOU. BUT IF YOU SAY "I DONT WANT TO CHANT ANY MANTRAS AT THIS POINT, THAT'S OKAY TOO, IT'S NOT A DEAL BREAKER. YOU CAN STILL DO YOUR THING, WITHOUT CHANTING A MANTRA HERE. FOR ALL I CARE, YOU COULD CHANT THE GAYATHRI MANTRA ITSELF FOR ALL THESE STEPS, IF YOU REALLY WANT TO SIMPLIFY IT TO THE EXREME. MY PERSONAL RECOMMENDATION, HOWEVER, IS THAT YOU GO THROUGH THESE STEPS, MAKE YOUR OWN NOTES AND FOLLOW THEM. THINGS WILL THEN FLOW EFFORTLESSLY.
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