STEP TWENTY-ONE
THIS STEP IS CALLED PURVA MANTRA JAPA OR PRELIMINARY MANTRA CHANTING AND IS DONE BEFORE YOU PERFORM THE MANTRAS (THE NEXT STEP). YOU USUALLY HAVE TO DO THE PRELIMINARY MANTRA CHANTING ABOUT 21 TIMES. THAT WILL BE MORE THAN SUFFICIENT. IF YOU CAN'T CHANT 21 TIMES, DO IT 7 TIMES - THOUGH I DON'T SEE WHY YOU CAN'T CHANT 21 TIMES.
WHILE WE ARE GOING THROUGH ALL THIS, YOU MAY THINK, WHY BE SO ELABORATE? OR, DOES THIS REALLY HAVE ANY MEANING? OR, WOULD MANTRAS REALLY BENEFIT ME IN ANY WAY? I CAN TELL YOU ONE THING. WHEN YOU CHANT WITH DEVOTION. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHICH MANTRA YOU CHANT- WITHOUT A DOUBT, YOU ARE GOING TO EXPERIENCE A DIFFERENT DIMENTION OF YOURSELF.
STEP TWENTY-TWO
THE OTHER MEANS BY WHICH WE CAN BE AT ONE WITH THE OBJECT OF OUR WORSHIP IS MUDRAS. AS I WAS EXPLAINING BEFORE, WHEN YOU CAN'T HEAR SOMEBODY, YOU CAN WERE AT HIM AND HE WILL STILL BE ABLE TO SEE YOU. MORE THAN THAT, WE DO THE MUDRAS OF THE DEVI OR ANY DEVATA, FEMALE DEITY OR MALE DEITY, WE BECOME THAT DEITY. AND IT HAS BEEN MY UNFAILING EXPERIENCE THAT THE MOMENT I DO THE MANDRAS, SOMETHING HAPPENS. YOU COULD SAY IT IS PURELY PSYCHOLOGICAL, BUT MY WHOLE CONSCIOUSNESS ELEVATES TO A DIFFERENT LEVEL, I EXPERIENCE A DIFFERENT FLOW OF ENERGY IN MY BODY.
IN GAYATRI SADHANA, THERE ARE TWO SETS OF MUDRAS. ONE SET OF 24 MUDRAS IS PERFORMED BEFORE THE CHANTING IS DONE, AND 8 MUDRAS ARE DONE AFTER THE CHANTING. THE 24 PREMILIMINARY MUDRAS ARE SAMUKHAM, CHATURMUKHAM, PANCHMUKHAM, SHANMUKHAM, ADHOMUKHAM, VYAPAKANJALIM, SHAKATAM, YAMAPASHAM, GRANTHIM, UNMUKHONMUKHAM, PRALAMBAM, MUSHITIKAM, MATSYA, KURMA, VARAHAM, SIMHAKRANTAM, MAHAKRANTAM, MUDGARAM AND PALLAVAM.
I'VE EXPLAINED THESE MUDRAS WITH PICTURES IN THE APPENDIX.
STEP TWENTY-THREE
UPCHARAS ARE DEVOTIONAL OFFERINGS. YOU CAN MAKE 16 OR 5 OFFERINGS. OFFERINGS ARE USUALLY MADE OF WATER A LITTLE HONEY, SOME RICE AND OTHER SUCH INGREDIENTS, BUT IF YOU WANT TO KEEP IT PURE, AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING FOR AND OFFERING, YOU CAN JUST DO AN OFFERING MENTALLY. WHEN I WAS IN THE WOODS, THERE WAS NO WAY I COULD OFFER ALL THESE INGREDIENTS TO MOTHER DIVINE. SOURCING THEM WOULD HAVE BEEN WOULD HAVVE EATEN THEM ANYWAY, SO I DID THE OFFERINGS MENTALLY.
THE USUALLY CONVENTION IS TO ADD, AT THE BEGINNING FOLLOWED BY THE NAME OF THE INGREDIENT AND THEN "SAMARPYAMI" IN THE END. SAMARPYAMI MEANS, I'M OFFERING THIS TO YOU. FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU ARE OFFERING INCENSE TO THE DEITY, JUST SAY, "OM DHOOPAM SMARPYAMI". PANCHAOPCHARA -FIVE OFFERINGS - IS NORMALLY THE LEAST YOU CAN DO. THE CONVENTIONAL FIVE OFFERINGS ARE :
DHOOPAM (INCENSE), DEEPAM (LAMP), NAIVAEDYAM (ANYTHING EDIBLE LIKE A SWEETMEAT, A FRUIT, ETC. IT CAN ALSO BE A PLATE FULL OF FOOD), TAMBULAM (BETEL LEAVES ) AND PUNGIPHALAM (SUPARI - COMMONLY KNOWN AS BETEL LEAVES) AND PUNGIPHALAM (SUPARI - COMMONLY KNOWN AS BETEL NUT OR ARECA NUT). SO WHILE OFFERING THESE, YOUR MANTRAS WILL BECOME.
- OM DHOOPAM SAMARPYAMI
- OM DEEPAM DARSHYAMI
- OM NAIVEDYAM SAMARPYAMI
- OM TAMBULAM SAMARPYAMI
- OM PUNGIPHALAM SAMARPYAMI
