GAYATHRI MANTRA STEP FIVE

                                                                    ❤  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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DREAMS WITH AUTUMN

                                                THE SEASON OF AUTUMN

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                 MARRIAGES, SO IT IS SAID, ARE MADE IN HEAVEN. THE INEVITABLE HAPPENED. ON AN AUSPICIOUS DAY SATYAKAM AND BHAIRAVI WERE MARRIED THROUGH. TANTRIC RITES UNDER KAPALA'S PERSONAL SUPERVISION. HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE ATTENDED THE CEREMONY. ALL DAY LONG, STREAMS OF DEVOTEES FLOWED IN AND OUT OF THE TEMPLE GROUNDS. CLOUNDS OF DUST ROSE IN THE AIR, AND MUSIC SUNG TO LORD SHIVA AND MOTHER KALI RANG SONOROUSLY. THOSE WHO ENTERED THE PRECINCTS WERE GREETED BY THE CONSTANTLY CHIMING TEMPL BELLS. SATYAKAM AND BHAIRAVI BEAMED WITH AN INEXPLICABLE JOY AND A GLOW SURROUNDED THEIR BODIES. WITH SILENT GESTURES THEY WELCOMED THE PEOPLE WHO HAD COME FROM VARIOUS SURROUNDING VILLAGES. MANY SAID THE COUPLE WAS AN INCARNATION OF SHIVA AND DURGA. 

             SOON THE CEREMONY ENDED, FOLLOWED BY A CONSTANT RUSH TO TOUCH THEIR FEET. THE CLAMOR WAS SO GREAT THAT PEOPLE COULD HARDLY HEAR ONE ANOTHER ABOVE IT ALL. THE COUPLE PATIENTLY ACCEPTED THE OBEISANCE. AFTERWARDS SATYAKAM AND BHAIRAVI ROSE, TURNED TOWARD THE SHRINE, AND BOWED TOGETHER BEFORE THE IMAGE OF KALI. AS THEY STOOD UP, KAPALAK CAME NEAR. BOTH TOUCHED HIS FEET. THIS WAS KAPALAK'S FIRS APPEARANCE BEFORE HIS FEET. THIS WAS KAPALAK'S FIRST APPEARANCE BEFORE SUCH A LARGE CROWD.

           HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT ALL THIS TUMULT? ASKED KAPALAK HUMOROUSLY.

         SATYAKAM REPLIED WITH A SOBER SMILE, IT IS THE SPIRIT THAT I LOVE. KAPALAK COMMENTED, YOU SHALL TEACH THE TRUTH AS TAUGHT BY THE ANCIENT SEERS AND LEAVE IT IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE.

           VOLUNTEERS DISTRIBUTED CONSECRATED FOOD AMONG THE VISITORS AND GRADUALLY PEOPLE BEGAN LEAVING FOR THEIR HOMES.

            DUSK CAME AND, EXCEPT FOR A FEW NEAREST DEVOTEES, ALL WERE GONE. ONCE AGAIN, SILENCE PERVADED THE TEMPLE COURTYARD.

           THE STORY OF SATYAKAM AND BHAIRAVI WOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE ANY OTHER HOUSEHOLDER COUPLE HAD IT BEEN FOR THEIR EXTRAORDINARY SPIRITUAL ACHIEVEMENT. THIS MARKED DIFFERENCE WAS SHARPENED BY SATYAKAM'S PROFICIENCY HE SHARED WITH HIS ADVANCED BHAIRAVI.

            THE SPECIFIC PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS OF AN IDEAL COUPLE, ACCORDING TO TANTRA, WERE NOT LACKING IN THEM. BOTH WERE HEALTHY FIGURES. HE WAS MANLY AS MUCH AS SHE WAS LOVELY, WITH HER SLENDER WAIST, FULL BREASTS, SOFT SKIN AND LOTUS EYES.

             IN THE TEMPLE'S SOLITARY COMPOUND, FREE FROM NOISE AND POLLUTION, THEY OCCUPIED THE PRIEST QUARTERS. BECAUSE THEIR FEELINGS AND ACTIONS WERE HARMONIOUS, THEY WERE WELL SUITED FOR PERFECT EXPRESSION. THE DEVOUT BHAIRAVI PLAYED THE ROLE OF THE DIVINE ENERGY AND BECAME A PERENNIAL SOURCE OF JOY TO HER LORD.

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            PEOPLE ADDRESSED THEM AS "MAHARAJ", AND "DEVIJI" RESPECTIVELY. DEVIJI DILIGENTLY LOOKED AFTER ARRAGEMENTS FOR WORSHIP IN THE TEMPLE WITH METICULOUS CARE AND MAHARAJ  GAVE SATSANG DAILY IN THE AFTERNOON. HE OFTEN TALKED ON DEVOTION TO MOTHER DIVINE. SINGING GROUPS VISITED FROM TIME TO TIME AND THE ATTENDANCE AT THE TEMPLE FUNCTIONS GREW LARGER AND LARGER. THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME IN THE HISTORY OF THE TMEPLE  SATSANGS WERE BEING HELD IN IT.

         AFTER TWO YEARS HAD PASSED, A SON WAS BORN. MANY DEVOTEES BROUGHT PRESENTS FOR THE SPECIAL FEAST. ROHIT WAS OF BROWN COLOR, HEALTHY, AND GREW HAPPILY IN THIS ATMOSPHERE OF LOVE, POWER AND HARMONY. WHEN HE WAS ABOUT TWO YEARS OLD, A SECOND SON WAS BORN. AGAIN, THERE WAS A BIG FESTIVAL AND THE CHILD WAS NAMED PURAN.

           PURAN WAS MORE FAIR AND DELICATE THAN ROHIT, WITH AN AURA OF SHINING LIGHT AROUND HIM. HE SEEMED MORE SWEET, QUIET AND INTELLIGENT THAN HIS BROTHER, NUT NONETHELESS, THEY GREW SIDE BY SIDE WITH JUDICIOUS TREATMENT AND CARE. ROHIT, IN  FEATURES, RESEMBLED HIS MOTHER AND WAS MOST FOND OF HER WHEREAS PURAN TOOK AFTER HIS FATHER. THE DIVINE FAMILY LIVED IN JOY, PEACE AND ABUNDANCE WHILE PURAN GREW TO BE ONE YEAR OLD.

          BUT NATURE IS CHANGEFUL AND NO STATE OF AFFAIRS REMAINS CONSTANT. ONE AUTUMN AFTERNOON WHEN DEVIJI GOT UP FROM A SHORT NAP, SHE DISCOVERED ROHIT MISSING. CASUALLY, SHE LOOKED HERE AND THERE AND THEN GREW SECRETLY APPREHENSIVE. AS SHE SEARCHED FURTHER, THEIR HOUSEMAID CAME RUNNING AND WEEPING, "DEVIJI, ROHIT DROWED IN THE POND"!, STUNNED DEVIJI RAN TOWARDS THE TEMPLE'S POND. THE HOUSEMAID RAN AFTER HER SCREAMING, I WENT TO THE POND TO BATHE AND AS I ENTERED THE WATER, SOMETHING STRUCK MY FEET. I LOWERED MY HANDS WITH FEAR AND CAUGHT HOLD OF THE BODY AND BROUGHT IT OUT, SHE WAS GASPING FOR BREATH.

             UPON REACHING THE POND, THEY FOUND ROHIT'S BODY LYING AT THE WATER'S EDGE. QUIET TEARS FILLED DEVIJI'S EYES AS SHE COPPAPSED TO THE GROUND LIKE A LUMP OF FLESH. TAKING ROHIT'S HEAD, WHE GENTLY PEOPLE ACCOMPANYING MAHARAJ CAME HURRIEDLY AS THE NEWS SPREAD. AS IF A DAM HAD BURST, DEVIJI EXPLODED IN A POIGNANT WAIL, FALLING ON MAHARAI'S FEET. WITH TEARS FLOWING PROFUSELY, SHE PLEADED TO HIM, PLEASE REVIVE HIM. I KNOW YOU CAN RECALL THE SPRIT TO A DEAD BODY. NO ONE HAD SEED DEVIJI IN SUCH A CONDITION OF HELPLESSNESS. THERE WERE TEARS IN EVERYONE'S EYES AND SOME PEOPLE WERE EVEN SOBBING. ALL FACES WERE TURNED TOWARD MAHARAJ WITH EXCECTANT EYES.

          MAHARAJ SERENELY SAT DOWN NEAR DEVIJI, TOUCHED THE FOREHEAD OF ROHIT AND UTTERED SOFTLY, WHAT HAD TO HAPPEN HAS HAPPENED. THERE IS NO USE GOING THE WILL OF DIVINE MOTHER WHO KNOWS BEST, "DEVIJI WAS SUDDENLY QUIET FOR A MOMENT, BUT WITH A HEAVY SADNESS SHE PLEADED DEEPLY, WON'T YOU SAVE HIM, LORD?

         

             I WOULD HAVE IF MOTHER HAD WANTED THAT, SATYAKAM BOWED HIS HEAD AND REMAINED SILENT. LIFTING HIS HAND FROM ROHIT'S FORHEAD, HE PLACED IT ON DEVIJI'S SOULDER AND RESUMED, THIS IS A TEST FOR US AND AN OPPORTUNITY AS WELL TO KNOW HUMAN FEELINGS AND ATTACHMENTS. ONE OF THE LESSONS FOR WHICH MATAJI SENT YOU HERE IS TO OUTGROW ATTACHMENTS AND CLINGING BY EXPERIENCING AND NOT MERELY BY CONCEPTUALIZING.

           DEVIJI LOOKED AT ROHIT. A THRUST OF SHOBBING ROSE AGAIN IN HER FULL BREAST AND THEN SHE LOOKED AT MAHARAJ. LIKE A DYING DEER SHE SPOKE, "YOU DON'T FEEL ANY SADNESS AND LOSS"?, A TINGE OF SAD ENVY MARKED HER WORDS.

        DEATH, REPLIED MAHARAJ, IS THE SAME AS BIRTH. BOTH ARE SIMPLY TWO SIDES TWO SIDES OF THE SAME PHENOMENON. WITHOUT BIRTH THERE IS NO DEATH AND VICE VERSA. THE SPAN OF LIFE IN BETWEEN IS BUT A FRAGMENT OF THE TOTAL  LIFE, WHICH IS NEVER LOST OR DEAD.

          ROHIT WAS SOMEWHERE ELSE BEFORE HE CAME TO US AND THEY MUST HAVE LOST HIM BEFORE HE CAME HERE. SO WE TOO MUST LOSE HIM BEFORE OTHERS GET HIM ON HIS ONWARD JOURNEY TO PERFECTION. WHO ARE WE TO  DETERMINE A SOUL'S LIFE SPAN?

           AFTER PROPER RITUALS AND CEREMONIES WERE DONE AT HOME, ROHIT'S BODY WAS TAKEN FOR BURIAL ON THE BANK OF ADI GANGA. THE PRIEST WAS SUMMONED TO PERFORM THE FINAL RITUALS. THE BODY WAS THEN LOWERED INTO THE PIT WHICH WAS FILLED IN WITH EARTH. OTHERS BROUGHT WATER FROM THE RIVER  AND SPRINKLED IT OVER THE GRAVE. ALL WERE QUIET.

           

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THE STORY OF KALAVATI

                                                       KALAVATI'S STORY

                WHEN I WAS SMALL, THERE WAS A WOMAN WHO LIVED AT THE FAR END OF OUR STREET WITH HER FOUR CHILDREN. HER HUSBAND HAD HELD A GOVERNMENT JOB, BUT HE DIED WHEN HER ELDEST DAUGHTER WAS ABOUT SEVEN YEARS OLD. THERE WAS A PROVISION IN HER HANBAND'S DEPARTMENT THAT IN CASE AN EMPLOYEE DIED WHILE STILL IN SERVICE, SOMEONE FROM THE FAMILY WOULD GET A JOB IN THEIR PLAC. BUT WITH KALAVATI BEING ILLITERATE AND CHILDREN SMALL, NONE OF THEM COULD GET A JOB. SHE TOOK TO WASHING DISHES AND CLEANING PEOPLE'S HOMES, WHICH WAS THE ONLY WORK SHE COULD DO TO FEED HER FAMILY, WHICH WAS THE ONLY WORK SHE COULD DO TO FEED HER FAMILY. KALAVATI HAD GREAT FAITH IN SHIVA, AND THERE WAS ONLY ONE MANTRA THAT SHE CHANTED ALL THE TIME, OM NAMA SHIVAYA. THIS SIMPLE MANTRA WAS THE MANTRA OF HER LIFE.

                I WAS QUITE YOUNG, NOT EVEN FOUR YEARS OLD, WHEN KALAVATI WAS WIDOWED. IT DID NOT EVEN OCCUR TO ME SHE MIGHT HAVE HAD A  HUSBAND AT SOME POINT IN TIME. I THOUGHT SHE HAD ALWAYS BEEN THAT WAY, JUST HER WITH FOUR CHILDREN, DOING DISHES IN PEOPLE'S HOMES.

            MY MOTHER SAID TO HER ONCE, "I CANNOT ALLOW YOU TO DO DISHES IN MY HOME BECAUSE YOU ARE A VERY SPIRITUAL PERSON, AND I CANNOT LIVE WITH THE BURDEN THAT YOU DO DISHES AND CLEAN HOMES. SO I WILL JUST PAY YOU SOMETHING - WE'LL GET SOMEBODY ELSE TO DO THE WORK."

           OVER THE YEARS, SOMETHING REMARKABLE HAPPENED TO KALAVATI. HER FACE STARTED TO SHINE LIKE THE SUN. SHE WAS THE FIRST PERSON WHOM I SAW WHO HAD NOT JUST A SOFT GLOW TO HER SKIN, BUT A RADIANCE SO STRIKING, AS IF IT WAS JUST FLOWING FROM HER - AND SHE WAS SOMEBODY WHO DID NOT EVEN HAVE MONEY TO BUY SOAP. HER HEELS WERE BADLY CRACKED TOO, GIFTED HER SPIPPERS - ANY TIME SOMEBODY GIFTED HER SLIPPERS, SHE WOULD SIMPLY GIVE THEM TO ONE OF HER DAUGHTERS OR SONS. SHE WOULD SAY, "MY CHILDREN NEED SLIPPERS MORE THAN I DO". SO HER HEEL WERE CRACKED, BUT HER FACE GLOWED MIGHTILY.

            BY THE TIME SHE TURNED SIXTY, NOT EVEN ONE WRINKLE FORMED ON HER SKIN, THERE WAS JUST HER LARGE, GLOWING FACE, WITH HER GIANT FOREHEAD FRAMED BY MATTED LOCKS, BECAUSE SHE WAS VERY POOR.

           AT FIRSTM, SHE AND HER CHILDREN LIVED IN ONLY ONE ROOM. WITH SOME HELP, THEY MANAGED TO GET ANOTHER ROOM FOR TWO OF HER CHILDREN, THEN ONE OF HER SONS GOT MARRIED AND THE OTHER ONE STARTED RIDING A LITTLE RICKSHAW. SHE PUT A TIN ROOF OVER THEM, AND THAT'S WHERE SHE WOULD LIVE. IN THAT LITTLE PLACE, THERE WAS A BED AND A LARGE PICTURE OF SHIVA, AND SHE WOULD SPEND ALL OF HER TIME THERE.

         ONE DAY, WHEN MY PARENTS WERE LOOKING FOR A MATCH FOR MY SISTER, SHE CAME TO OUR HOME AND SAID TO MY SISTER, TOMORROW , SOME PEOPLE ARE COMING TO SEE YOU, MY MOTHER WAS THERE, AS WAS. I WAS NOW 16 YEARS OLD. WE WERE ALL SURPRISED. BECAUSE INDEED SOMEONE WAS COMING TO SEE IF THERE WAS A POSSIBILITY OF A MARITAL ALLIANCE, BUT WE HADN'T TOLD ANYBOD. KALAVATI SAID, "THEY WILL COME IN A WHITE CAR, HIGH CAR, THE BOY WILL BE WEARING A SHIRT WITH STRIPES". AND FOR SOME REASON, AND YOU WILL GET MARRIED HERE. AND OH SHE SAID, "THE BOY IS FAIR-SKINNED".

          THE NEXT DAY, SOME PEOPLE SHOWED UP IN A WHITE TATA SIERRA - A BOY WITH A FAIR COMPLEXION, ALONG WITH HIS MOTHER AND SISTER. HE WAS WEARING A SKIRT WITH STRIPES. CAN YOU IMAGINE? AND HE ACCIDENTALLY LOCKED HIS IGNITION KEY IN THE CAR, WHICH DELAYED THEM. THEY CALLED SOMEBODY  TO HELP, BUT THEY COULDN'T OPEN THE DOOR LOCK. FINALLY, THEY BROKE THE WINDOW OF THE CAR SO THEY COULD GET INTO IT. EVERYTHING SHE SAID CAME TO PASS, WORD FOR WORD, EXCEPT THAT MY SISTER NEVER GOT MARRIED THERE. AND THE ALLIANCE NEVER ACTUALLY HAPPENED.

            THERE WAS A FUNNY REASON FOR THAT

          WHEN THEY HAD A BREAK THE WINDOW OF THE CAR, THE MOTHER OF THE PROSPECTIVE GROOM BECAME CONCERNED. SHE WAS A WINDOW FROM A VERY WELL - OFF FAMILY, SHE THOUGHT THE EPISODE WITH WINDOW TO BE A BAD OMEN. I AM WORRIED, SHE SAID, "IF THIS IS WHAT IS HAPPENING BEFORE THE WEDDING THEN AFTERWARDS, GOD KNOWS WHAT ALL WE WILL HAVE TO BEAR".

             WHEN YOU CHANT A MANTRA WITH DEVOTION AND FAITH, YOU DEVELOP VERY SHARP INTUITION - BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN EVERYTHING YOU SAY WILL COME TRUE. IT CAN, PROVIDED YOU REMAIN EMOTIONALLY UNATTACHED. KALAVATI LOVED OUR FAMILY, SHE CAME ON HER OWN VOLITION TO MAKE THOSE PREDICTIONS, AND SHE WANTED MY SISTER TO GET MARRIED THERE.

          HERE IN LIES TWO OF YOUR GREATEST CHALLENGES AS A SADHAK:

             1. TO NOT SAY THINGS THAT ARE NOT PART OF YOUR INTUITION , AND

             2. TO KNOW WHAT ISN'T PART OF YOUR INTUITION. YOU MUST ASK                                  YOURSELF, IS WHAT I AM SAYING COLOURED BY MY EMOTIONS?

            FOR EXAMPLE, YOU MIGHT SAY TO SOMEONE, "DON'T WORRY, EVERYTHING IS GOING TO WORK OUT," ARE YOU SAYING THIS BECAUSE YOU CARE ABOUT THAT PERSON AND YOU DON'T WANT HIM TO GO THROUGH ANY TROUBLE, OR ARE YOU SAYING THIS BECAUSE YOU ARE HEARING, FEELING OR PERCEIVING IT THAT WAY?

         WHEN YOU DO MUDRAS AND WHEN YOU DO NYASA CORRECTLY, THE CHANCES OF SUCH ERRORS LESSEN SIGNIFICANTLY, BECAUSE YOU ARE IN DEVI BHAVA - YOU ARE IN THE SENTIMENT OF YOUR DEITY. YOU ARE UNLIKELY TO JUST BLABBE OUT OF A SENSE OF ATTACHMENT, TO SAY THINGS THAT YOU WANT TO HAPPEN. INSTEAD, YOU WOULD SAY THINGS OBJECTIVELY, LIKE A RADIOLOGIST READING A REPORT OR SCAN. THERE COMES A DISCERNING WISDOM WHEN YOU CHANT A MANTRA CORRECTLY.

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GAYATHRI MANTRA STEPS

                                                                       STEP TWO

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            THE SECOND STEP IS TO PIT ON FRESH CLOTHES. SOME PEOPLE KEEP A SEPERATE SET OF CLOTHES FOR THEIR DAILY PUJA, AND THEY DON'T WEAR THEM ANYWHERE ELSE, WHICH IS QUITE GOOD, BUT I HAVE ALSO SEEN SOME LAZY ONES WHO WOULD WEAR THEIR CLOTHES FOR A PUJA AND HANG THEM ON A HOOK AND THEN THE NEXT DAY TAKE THEM OFF AND WEAR THEM AGAIN. THEY WILL SAY, "THESE ARE MY PUJA CLOTHES", BUT THEY MIGHT NOT WASH THEM FOR 30,40 OR 50 DAYS. BELIEVE ME, I KNOW SUCH PEOPLE. DON'T DO THAT. PUT ON FRESH CLOTHES.

             THERE IS A STORY I WROTE ON MY BLOG SOME TIME AGO. ONECE BUDDHA WAS IN SOLITUDE, WALKING, HE ASKED FOR ALMS FROM A MAN. THE MAN REFUSED AND STARTED SHOUTING AT HIM, CALLING HIM NAMES. BUDDHA DID NOT SAY ANYTHING, AND WENT ON HIS WAY QUIETLY 

           ANOTHER MAN, WHO WAS OBSERVING THIS, WENT TO THE MAN AND SAID, YOU JUST INSULTED BUDDHA".

           THE MAN SAID, "THAT BEGGAR COULDN'T POSSIBLY BE BUDDHA" THE OBSERVER SAID, "NO, HE WAS!"

           "BUT BUDDHA IS ALWAYS SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE"

      WELL, HE IS IN HIS STINT OF SOLITUDE.

            REPENTING HIS ACTIONS, THE MAN WENT LOOKING FOR BUDDHA, BUT COULDN'T TRACE HIM. THE NEXT DAY, HOWEVER, HE FOUND HIM, AND FELL AT HIS FEET.

            O LORD! HE SAID REMORSEFULLY, I AM SORRY I INSULTED YOU AND CALLED YOU NAMES.

            OH, WHEN WAS THAT? BUDDHA SAID CALMLY.

           JUST YESTERDAY!

          TATHAGATA DOES NOT KNOW YESTERDAY, BUDDHA SAID, I ONLY KNOW TODAY, THIS MOMENT.

          BESIDEDS HYGIENE, THE IDEA OF BATHING AND PUTTING ON FRESH CLOTHES IS SO YOU ALLOW YOURSELF TO HAVE A FRESH START FOR THE DAY. IT IS A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY, A DIVINE BLESSING THAT YOU HAVE ONE MORE DAY TO LIVE, ONE MORE MOMENT TO BREATHE. I READ SOMEWHERE THAT IF WE WERE TO LIVE EVERY DAY AS IF IT IS OUR LAST DAY, WE ARE MOST CERTAINLY  GOING TO BE RIGHT. SO PUT ON FRESH CLOTHES.

                                                               STEP THREE

                       NOW YOU ENTER THE PUJA GRIHA, THE SANCTUM SANCTORUM, OR STAND BEFORE THE ALTAR, IF YOU HAVE A SEPERATE PUJA ROOM OR JUST A LITTLE SPACE, HOW DO YOU APPROACH IT? YOU ARE ENTERING YOUR SACRED SPACE. LIKE YOUR WASHROOM IS WHERE YOU PERFORM PHYSICAL CLEANSING, YOUR ALTAR IS FOR YOUR SPIRITUAL CLEANING. THERE IS A MANTRA THAT YOU SAY PHAT, YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO STAMP THE FLOOR WITH YOUR HEEL. IN EARLIER TIMES, THEY USED TO DO THIS BECAUSE FLOORS WERE SEALED WITH COW DUNG AND THE LIKE. THUS, THERE WOULD BE SOME MICROORGANISMS ON THE FLOOR OF YOUR SANCTUM SANCTORUM, AND BY STAMPING YOUR HEEL ON THE FLOOR, YOU WOULF SHAKE THE SURFACE SO THEY COULD MOVE, SO YOU DON'T STEP ON THEM.

                      HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE THESE SEED SYLLABLES? IS IT "HRING", OR IS IT "HRIM", ? FOR THAT, I WOULD GIVE YOU A SIMPLE RULE OF THUMB - THE ELABORATE METHOD IS A LITTLE COMPLICATED, AND THIS IS NOT THE FORUM FOR THAT. BUT QUITE SIMPLY, HOW DO YOU SAY THE WORD, "MAA", YOU DONT SAY "MAAG", - YOU SAY MAA, SIMILARLY, THE WORD IS "HRIM", (M BEING THE SAME SOFT NASAL SOUND AS IN THE WORD "MAA") NOT "HRING".

                   IF I HAVE TO PRONOUNCE AN "M" SOUND AT THE END, I WILL NOT WRITE AN "M". I QILL SIMPLY HAVE WHAT WE CALL AN ANUSWAR, A DOT. THE ANUSWAR DENOTES A PURELY NASAL SOUND WHERE THERE IS A LURKING "G" SOUND, AS IN OM HRIM ASTRAYA PHAT. I CAN'T THINK OF ANOTHER WAY TO EXPLAIN THIS IN WRITTEN ENGLISH.

                                                                          STEP FOUR

                      STEP FOUR IS PERFORMING THE PURIFICATION RITUAL. YOU WOULD HAVE A LITTLE VESSEL OF WATER - YOU JUST DIP YOUR FINGER IN IT. REMEMBER, THE INDEX FINGER REPRESENTS IGNORANCE, IN THE INVOCATION OF MANTRAS, AS IN ALL SPIRITUAL, RELIGIOUS KARMA, WE KEEP THIS FINGER AWAY. TO PERFORM PURIFICATION, EITHER TAKE A FLOWER IN YOUR HAND, HOLDING IT WITH YOUR THUMB AND THREE FINGERS (EXCEPT THE INDEX FINGER) OR SIMPLY JOIN THE RING FINGER WITH THE THUMB IF YOU ARE NOT USING A FLOWER. NOW TAKE A LITTLE POT OF WATER. YOU DIP RING FINGER JOINEDD WITH YOUR THUMB, OR IF YOU HAVE A FLOWER, YOU CAN DIP YOUR FLOWER IN THE WATER AND CHANT THE MANTRA.

                                              OM APAVITRAH PAVITRO VA

                                              SARVAVASTHAM GATO API VA

                                              YAH SMARET PUNDARIKAKSAM

                                              SA BAHAYA ABHYANTARAM SUCIH

                          AS YOU ARE DOING THAT, SPRINKLE SOME WATER IN ALL THE TEN DIRECTIONS. YOU DON'T COUNT, ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX, ETC., - JUST DO SO SYMBOLICALLY.

                       THIS MANTRA EXPRESSES THAT EVEN THOUGH I HAVE TAKEN A BATH AND PUT ON FRESH CLOTHES, THERE ARE STILL IMPURITIES I CARRY ON MY BODY, IN MY HEART AND MY MIND, WHICH ARE TO BE REMOVED BY MEDITATING ON THE DIVINE ENERGY. THE MEANING OF THIS MANTRA IS GIVEN BELOW:

                                                  OM APAVITRAH PAVITRO VA

                                                  SARVAVASTHAM GATO API VA

                        IT DOES NOT MATTER HOW IMPURE YOU ARE, IN WHATEVE STATE YOU MAY BE. 

 

                                            YAH SMARET PUNDARIKAKSAM

                                            SA BAHAYA ABHYANTARAM SUCIH

   

           THE ONE WHO MEDITATES ON THE DIVINE ENERGY - THE LORD IS CALLED PUNDARIKAKSHA HERE, WITH BEATIFUL LOTUS EYES - THE ONE WHO MEDITATES ON SUCH FORM OF THE LORD IS PURIFIED INSIDE OUT.

            THIS MANTRA DOES NOT GIVE YOU AN EXCUSE TO NOT BATHE, BUT IT WILL PURIFY YOU, SO DO IT WITH THAT SENTIMENT.

                                                                 ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

 

 

 

 

ESSENTIAL STEPS IN GAYATHRI SADHANA

                                                               GAYATHRI SADHANA

                 THE COMPREHENSIVE INVOCATION HAS 36 STEPS WHILE THE BRIEF METHOD HAS ONLY 7 STEPS.

                 TO PERFORM SO MANY STEPS IN CHANTING THE MANTRA MIGHT SEEM A LITTLE DAUNTING IN THE BEGINNING, BUT DON'T WORRY, FIRST, WE'LL COVER ALL THE STEPS, SO YOU KNOW HOW TO DO EACH STEP, AND THEN WE CAN SEE WHICH ONES WE CAN DO WITHOUT. SOME THINGS IN MANY OF THE STEPS BELOW MAY SOUND LIKE RITUALS. WELL, THAT'S BECAUSE THEY ARE. AS I SAID EARLIER, FIRST LET ME TELL YOU EVERYTHING, AND THEN YOU CAN ALWAYS CUT OUT WHAT YOU DON'T LIKE. BESIDES, IN CASE YOU DON'T WANT TO GO THE IMMERSIVE WAY, YOU CAN ADOPT THE SHORTER ROUTE OF JUST SEVEN STEPS DESCRIBED AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER.

                PLEASE NOTE THAT THE MANTRAS USED IN THIS CHAPTER ARE FOR YOUR REFERENCE ONLY. THEIR CORRECT SANSKRIT TRANSLITERATION (FOR BETTER PHONETIC ACCURACY) IS GIVEN IN THE APPENDIX. (THE DESCRIPTION FOR VARIOUS MUDRAS GIVEN IN THE APPENDIX HAVE BEEN QUOTED VERBATIM FROM MY BOOK THE ANCIENT SCIENCE OF MANTRAS). THE PURPOSE OF THIS CHAPTER IS TO HELP YOU GET FAMILIAR WITH ALL THE STEPS BUT WHEN YOU DECIDE TO DO THE ACTUAL SADHANA, IT IS THE IMFORMATION IN THE APPENDIX YOU'LL USE DIRECTLY.

                                               THE COMPREHENSIVE METHOD

                                                                    STEP ONE

               THE FIRST STEP IS BATHING, REMEMBER YOUR MOTHER USED TO TELL YOU WHEN WERE GROWIN UP, "TAKE A SHOWER, TAKE A SHOWER?, AND YOU WOULD SAY,"NO, I DON'T FEEL LIKE IT TODAY",  AND YOU WOULD NOT LISTEN (JUST KIDDING). I AM TELLING YOU THE EXACT SAME THING. I READ THE BOOK, ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEANT IN KINDERGARDEN. THIS IS SO TRUE. ALL THE BASIC HUMAN VALUES HAVE ALREADY BEEN TAUGHT TO US BY THE TIME WE ARE JUST FIVE-OR -SIX YEARS OLD. YOU KNOW, SHARE YOUR STUFF, SAY GRACE, DON'T TELL LIES, GO TO BED ON TIME AND WAKE UP EARLY, AND SO ON.

              THE FIRST THING IS BATHING IN THE MORNING AND IT BEGINS BY SHOWING TWO MUDTRAS. FILL A BUCKET OF WATER IF YOU TAKE BATH USING A BUCKET OR SIMPLY DISPLAY THE TWO MUDRAS BELOW UNDER THE SHOWER (IF YOU BATHE BY STEPPING INTO THE SHOWER).

                                                                 KALASHA MUDRA

                  KALASHA MEANS A VESSEL, A POT, A GHAT. THIS HAS COME FROM MY LINEAGE OF SIDDHAS. FORM A FIRST WITH YOUR LEFT HAND AND HOLD IT WITH YOUR RIGHT HAND (WRAP YOUR LEFT HAND WITH YOUR RIGHT).

               SOME PEOPLE BEGIN THEIR DAY, NOT WITH KALASHA MUDRA BUT KALESHA MUDRA. KALESHA IS THE SANSKRIT WORD FOR MENTAL AFFLICTION. THEY START THEIR DAY THINKING WHAT IS NOT RIGHT IN THEIR LIFE. STAY WITH KALASHA.

             FORM A FIRST WITH YOUR LEFT HAND AND COVER IT WITH YOUR RIGHT HAND. THIS IS THE MOST SIMPLE KALASHA MUDRA. ON THAT, WE FORM A MATSYA MUDRA, WHICH IS CALLED THE FORMING OF A FISH. THIS IS WITH THE LEFT HAND AT THE BOTTOM AND RIGHT HAND ON TOP. THIS IS THE FISH - DON'T EAT IT. NOW YOU HAVE FILLED THE BUCKET WITH WATER, PERFORMED THE KALASHA MUDRA AND THE MATSYA MUDRA.

                                                                    MATSYA MUDRA

               MATSYA MUDRA FISH. STRETCH YOUR LEFT HAND, PALM FACING DOWNWARDS AND THUMB POINTING OUT. PUT YOUR RIGHT HAND ON TOP, ONCE AGAIN, PALM FACING DOWNWARDS AND THUMB POINTING OUT. JUST TWIDDLE YOUR THUMBS A BIT AND THE MATSYA MUDRA IS COMPLETE. ( MATSYA MUDRA IS SHOWN IN THE APPENDIX)

             ONE OF VISHNU'S FIRST INCARNATIONS WAS A MATSYA. THE IDEA IS THAT BY SHOWING THESE TWO MUDRAS, WE GET IN TOUCH WITH OUR PRIMORDIAL SOURCE.

                                  NOW CHANT THE FOLLOWING MANTRA:

                           GANG CHA YAMUNE CAIVA GODAVARI SARASVATI,

                           NARMADE SINDHU KAVERI JALESMINA SAMNIDHIMA KURU.

          WHEN WE CHANT THIS WITH DEVOTIONAL SENTIMENT, WE ARE INVITING THE ENERGY OF ALL THE HOLY RIVERS INTO OUR WATER -THAT WHILE I AM UNABLE TO BATHE IN THE RIVERS STATED IN OUR SCRIPTURES, WHERE OUR SAGES ONCE BATHED, I AM INVOKING THE ENERGY OF THESE RIVERS IN THE BATH I AM NOW GOING TO TAKE.

              IT IS ESSENTIAL TO INVOKE THAT SENTIMENT INSIDE YOU. A LOT BOILS DOWN TO YOUR SENTIMENT AND FAITH IN MANTRAS. YESTERDAY, A GENTLEMAN RAISED A BEAUTIFUL QUESTION ABOUT FAITH, IS FAITH REALLY NECESSARY IN MANTRAS? YES, IT IS. BECAUSE INVOKING THE ENERGY OF A MANTRAS IS NOT ABOUT BRUTE CHANTING OF IT, BUT CONNECTING YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS WITH A HIGHER SOURCE. FAITH MAKES IT EASIER. FAITH IS LOVE. IT IS HOP.

          I ONCE READ A QUOTE, "ACROSS THE GATEWAY OF MY HEART I WROTE, NO THOROUGHFARE", BUT LOVE CAME LAUGHING BY, AND CRIED, I ENTER EVERYWHERE," FAITH IS SIMILAR. IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW MUCH YOU RESIST, ONCE YOU PURIFY YOURSELF AND LEAD A LIFE OF PURPOSE, FAITH JUST MAKES ITS WAY INTO YOUR HEART. IT'S LIKE YOUR FAVOURITE PET DOT WHO WANTS TO SIT NEXT TO YOU - IT JUST BARGES IN AND LEANS AGAINST YOU.

                                                              👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

               

              

 

FOUR STAGES OF MANTRA

                                                 THE SOUND OF MANTRA

                                                                ❤❤❤❤❤

                     IF YOU HAVE EVER ATTENDED ANY OF MY MEDITATION CAMPS OR DISCOURSES IN PERSON, THEN YOU MUST KNOW THAT I ALWAYS BEGIN THEM WITH A SHORT INVOCATION AND BY OFFERING MY OBEISANCE TO THE DIVINE IN YOU. I THEN QUIETLY  WHISPER, NARAYANI NAMOSTUTE, WHICH MEANS THAT I BOW DOWN TO THAT DIVINE ENERGY. I THOUGHT RATHER THAN OFFERING YOU INFORMATION ON VARIOUS STAGES OF ATTAINMENT BASED ON AGEOLD TEXTS, I MAY AS WELL OFFER YOU MY OWN PERSPECTIVE, IN MY VOICE, BASED ON MY OWN EXPERIENCE IN THE PRESENT AGE.

                   WHEN I SAY THAT I OFFER MY OBEISANCE TO THE DIVINE IN YOU, I ACTUALLY MEAN IT. IT'S NOT OBEISANCE TO THE DIVINE IN YOU, I ACTUALLY MEAN IT, IT'S NOT SIMPLY A MATTER OF MAKING A STATEMENT FOR ME. IT'S A PROFOUND EXPRESSION OF HOW I FEEL ABOUT EACH LIVING ENTITY THAT I ENCOUNTER. WHEN YOU CONTINUALLY MEDITATE THAT I ENCOUNTER. WHEN YOU CONTINUALLY MEDITATE ON DIVINE MOTHER, YOU START TO SEE HER IN EVERYTHING. YOU SEE HER IN EVERYBODY, AND PEOPLE - THEIR FACES,  BODIES, COLORS AND FEATURES- SIMPLY DISAPPEAR. THE FIRST THING THAT COMES IN FRONT OF YOU IS THE FORM OF DEVI.

               THE FIRST LAYER IS DEVI, GODDESS, ENERGY, DIVINITY, WHATEVER NAME YOU WANT TO GIVE, AND THE SECOND LAYER IS LIGHT. I SEE EVERYBODY AS A LIGHT. THEN THE LIGHT DISAPPEAR, AND THE THIRS LAYER THAT I SEE IS THE ACTUAL HUMAN BODY. IT WASN'T LIKE THIS BEFORE, IT'S NOT THAT IT HAS BEEN LIKE THIS SINCE I WAS BORN. THIS EXPERIENCE CAME ABOUT AFTER MY INTENSE SADHANA IN THE HIMALAYAS. AND THE PRESENCE OF THE DIVINE ENERGY OF MOTHER DIVINE IS SO REAL IN MY LIFE THAT I REALLY HOPE BY THE TIME YOU FINISH THIS BOOK, THAT YOU WOULD WALK AWAY WITH ENOUGH INSPIRATION, AS WELL AS LEARNING, TO MANIFEST THE SAME IN YOUR LIFE.

                 WHEN THAT HAPPENS, THE CONFLICT BETWEEN YOU AND OTHERS WILL LESSEN DRASTICALLY. YOU BEGIN TO FLOW GENTLY WITH LIFE. THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU BECOME WEAK - YOU REMAIN STRONG, YOU KNOW WHEN TO BE FIRM AND WHEN TO BE SOFT. BUT YOU NO LONGER USE WORDS TO HURT OTHERS. WHEN YOUR SPEECH BECOMES PURE, WITH A PURE HEART AND PURE MIND, YOU BECOME AN EMBODIMENT OF PURITY. PURITY AND LIGHT ARE SYNONYMS OF ENLIGHTENMENT, OF FREEDOM, WHILE THE IMPURE IS TRAPPED AND CONFINED, THE PURE IS ETERNALLY LIBERATED.

                   ULTIMATELY, THE WHOLE SADHANA OF GAYATHRI IS TO PIRIFY YOURSELF. OTHERWISE, CHANTING HAS LITTLE MEANING AT THE END OF THE DAY. IF WE FAIL TO PURIFY OURSELVES INTERNALLY, THEN NO MANTRA WILL EVER YIELD ANY SIDDHIS OR POWERS. AND SIDDHIS WILL COME TO YOU, SIMPLY IF YOU ARE PURIFIED.

               SOMETIMES, PEOPLE ASK ME, "DO YOU READ MINDS"? OR HOW DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM OR MY PAST, PRESENT OR FUTURE? YOU KNOW IT'S NOT THAT I SAT DOWN AND CHANTED ANY SPECIFIC MANTRA TO INVOKE THAT KIND OF ENERGY IN ME. ALTHOUGH THERE ARE SOME SADHANAS THAT CLAIM TO DO THAT, I NEVER DID THEM. FOR EXAMPLE, THERE IS A SADHANA OF A PISHACHINI CALLED KARNA PISHACHINI. KARNA IS YOUR EAR AND PISHACHINI IS A LOWER FORM OF ENERGY. IT IS SAID THAT DEVI SPEAKS IN YOUR EAR. IT'S A TANTRIC SADHANA OF THE LEFT-HANDED PATH.

              MY GURU, NAGA BABA, WHO WAS A GREAT TANTRIC, ONCE PICKED UP HIS CELLPHONE AND SAID, "BETA, THIS IS KARNA PISHACHINI. YEH KARNA PISHACHINI HAI, SHE IS NEXT TO YOUR EAR AND TELLS YOU EVEYTHING". HE WAS REFERRING TO HIS PHONE. THIS IS THE UBER-CONNECTED LIFESTYLE WE HAVE IN THIS DAY AND AGE. ANYWAY IT'S NOT THAT I DID ANY SADHANA FOR THAT - IT JUST HAPPENED NATURALLY.

          

                   THROUGH PERFORMING THE MANTRA PROPERLY, A GOOD MEDITATOR, A SADHAKA, WILL NATURALLY START TO SEE THROUGH PEOPLE, BECAUSE THE LAYERS OF VARIOUS ENTITIES ARE PEELED AWAY. THEN, YOU ARE NOT LISTENING TO PEOPLE'S WORDS, YOU DONT HAVE TO SEE THEIR INTENTIONS, YOU ARE NOT LOOKING AT THEIR BODIES. INSTEAD, YOU ARE CONNECTED ON A DIFFERENT LEVEL ALTOGETHER AND WHEN YOU ARE CONNECTED, YOU AND THAT OTHER PERSON IS FEELING, YOU SEE WHAT THE OTHER PERSON IS SAYING, AND YOU RECALL WHAT THE OTHER PERSON KNOWS. THIS CONNECTION IS WHAT TRULY DIFFERENTIATES AN ORDINARY PERSON FROM SOMEBODY PURIFIED, SOMEBODY WHO HAS REALLY WALKED THE PATH OF THE LIGHT, OR IN OTHER WORDS, THIS IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ASPIRANT AND ADEPT.

               FOR THIS LEVEL OF SPIRITUAL ATTAINMENT, YOU CAN NEVER IGNORE THE QUALITY OF OUR SADHANAS, IT'S JUST AS IMPORTANT FOR YOUR WELLBEING. WHAT IS THE SENSE IN CHANTING MANTRAS, WHEN YOU FEEL INCREASINGLY RESTLESS IN YOUR MIND, WHEN YOU FEEL AS ANGRY, HURT, JEALOUS AND NEGATIVE AS YOU FELT BEFORE YOU UNDERTOOK ANY SADHANA? NEVER OVERLOOK OR UNDERESTIMATE THE IMPORTANCE OF PURIFYING YOURSELF. OTHERWISE, WE ARE JUST BEING PARROTS WHEN WE CHANT.

           A MAN WENT TO A PET SHOP, WHERE THERE WAS A PARROT IN A CAGE, CONSTANTLY CHANTING, "FREEDOM, FREEDOM, FREEDOM, FREEDOM, FREEDOM"

          THE MAN SAID TO THE SHOPKEEPER, DOES IT ONLY KNOW ONE WORD"?

            "NO", THE SHOPKEEPER REPLIED, "THIS PARROT KNOWS ONE MORE WORD, AND THE PARROT STARTED CHANTING "LIBERATION, LIBERATION,LIBERATION"

            "THAT'S AN ENLIGHTENED PARROT, I'D LIKE BUY". AND SO HE BOUGHT THE PARROT AND TOOK IT HOME.

               ALL DAY, THE PARROT KEPT CHANTING, "FREEDOM, FREEDOM, FREEDOM, FREEDOM", AND THE MAN'S WIFE SAID, "WHY DONT YOU SET THIS POOR BIRD FREE? IT WILL THANK YOU," THE MAN THOUGHT, THIS IS A  KIND GESTURE, I CAN CERTAILY DO THIS MUCH. SO, HE OPENED THE CAGE DOOR, AND SAID, "OKAY BIRDIE, THE DOOR IS OPEN. OFF YOU GO, FLY AWAY, MY FINE- FEATHERED FRIEND", BUT THE PARROT STAYED ON ITS PERCH AND KEPT CHANTING, "FREEDOM, FREEDOM, FREEDOM, FREEDOM, BECAUSE IT NEVER UNDERSTOOD WHAT FREEDOM WAS. 

             CHANTING A MANTRA WITHOUT AWARENESS IS LIKE CHANTING "FOOD, FOOD, FOOD, FOOD, " AND EXCEPTING YOUR HUNGER TO BE SATISFIED - AS IF YOU COULD SAY, " SHAHI PANEER", DOSA, IDLI, OR PASTA, AND NO NEED TO FEED YOURSELF. IF YOU REDUCE A MANTRA TO A VERBAL ACTIVITY, CHANTING RECKLESSLY JUST TO FINISH THE ROUNDS, IT WON'T TAKE YOU ANYWHERE.

            THERE ARE FOUR KINDS OF CHANTING, WHICH LEAD TO FOUR PROGRESSIVE STAGES OF SOUND. THE FIRST KIND OF CHANTING IS CALLED VACHIKA, WHICH MEANS AUDIBLE, VERBAL, SOMETHING YOU SPEAK. IN VACHIKA, GAYATHRI JAPA WOULD BE YOU CHANTING OUT LOUD, OTHERS AROUND YOU CAN HEAR YOU EASILY. IT IS THE MOST BASE LEVEL OF JAPA. IT WILL QUICKLY TIRE YOU, AND CREATE RESTLESSNESS IN THE MIND IF DONE OVER A PROLONGED PERIOD OF TIME.

             THE SECOND TYPE OF JAPA IS CALLED UPANSHU - YOUR LIPS MOVE, AND YOU MAKE ONLY A WHISPERING SOUND. IT IS LIKE TALKING WHEN YOU DON'T WANT TO BE  HEARD. TWO PEOPLE IN LOVE, WHEN CLOSE TO EACH OTHER, OFTEN WHISPER THAN TALK OUT LOUD.

             SOMETIMES, MY MOTHER'S FRIENDS USED TO COME HOME AND TALK LIKE THIS. WE WOULD BE SITTING ALMOST NEXT TO THEM AND NOT KNOW WHAT THEY WERE SAYING. SO IT IS WITH UPANSHU. ONLY SOMEBODY WHO IS NO MORE THAN A FEW FEET AWAY FROM YOU CAN HEAR YOU. UPANSHU JAPA IS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN VACHIKA.

           THE THIRD KIND OF CHANTING IS CALLED MANSIKA WHERE YOU RECALL THE WHOLE MANTRA IN YOUR MIND. THERE IS NO WAY I CAN DEMONSTRATE THAT. USUALLY, THE MIND KEEPS ON TALKING, SO RATHER THAN LETTING THE MIND RAMBLE ON, SAYING WHATEVER IT WANTS, MANSIKA JAPA IS MAKING THE MIND SAY THE PARTICULAR MANTRA YOU ARE CHANTING.

                THE FOURTH JAPA, THE ULTIMATE ONE, IS CALLED AJAPA. IF YOU ADD "A" IN FRONT OF JAPA, IT MEANS THE OPPOSITE OF JAPA. THEREFORE, AJAPA MEANS YOU ARE NOT ACTUALLY CHANTING - THE MANTRA IS CHANTING ITSELF. WITH PRACTICE, YOU WILL GET A GRIP OVER THIS. SOME PEOPLE WILL UNDERSTAND IT IN A MATTER OF HOURS, FOR SOME IT MAY BE DAYS, WHILE FOR OTHERS IT COULD BE WEEKS. BUT IF YOU STAY ON COURSE, YOU'LL UNDERSTAND WHAT I AM TRYING TO SAY HERE.

                WHILE IN THE WOODS, I USED TO SIT FOR VERY LONG HOURS - ONE STRAIGHT STRETCH OF TEN HOURS, AND THEN GET UP AND DO ANOTHER STRETCH OF SIX HOURS, AND SO ON. IT WAS VERY TIRING. I WOULD JUST SIT LIKE THIS AND MENTALLY CHANT (READ RECALL) MY MANTRA. AT THE END OF EVERY SESSION, I WOULD MARK MYSELF. AND IF DURING THE TEN HOURS I TURNED MY HEAD BECAUSE THERE WERE RATS AND OTHER CREATURES THERE DISTRACTING ME, I WOULD IMMEDIATELY DEDUCT FIVE MARKS OUT OF TEN, BECAUSE MY GOAL WAS TO STILL LIKE A ROCK, UNMOVING.

SOMETIMES, WHEN I WOULD CRY OUT FOR DEVI IN DEVOTION, IT WOULD ACTUALLY INTERRUPT MY MEDITATION, BECAUSE TEARS WOULD ROLL DOWN MY CHEEKS. IT WAS ICY COLD, AND WHEN THE TEARS EMERGED THEY WERE WARM, BUT BY THE TIME THEY ROLLED DOWN MY CHEEKS, THEY WERE COLD AND MY BODY CONSCIOUSNESS ROSE.

WHEN YOU SIT STILL FOR LONG HOURS WITH EXTRAORDINARY STILLNESS AND SUPREMEN CONCENTRATION, YOU LOSE AWARENESS OF YOUR BODY FOR A SUSTAINED PERIOD OF TIME. YOU ARE SITTING, YOU ARE MENTALLY AWARE, BUT THE BODY IS NOT THERE ANYMORE. THIS IS NOT SOMETHING I EXPERIENCED ON A DAILY BASIS, BUT THIS WOULD DO A BREATHING TECHNIQUE AND SOMETIMES LOSE CONSCIOUSNESS, I USED TO FALL. THERE WAS A LITTLE WOODEN PLANK ON THE WALL. THE WALL ALSO MADE OF WOODEN PLANKS, AND MY HEAD WOULD HIT AGAINST THE PLANK WHEN I FELL, AND THEN I WOULD COME BACK TO CONCIOUSNESS.

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

 

 

THE POWER OF GAYATRI MANTRA

                                                       GAYATRI MANTRA

             THERE ARE MANY FORMS O GAYATRI, BUT ONE PARTICULAR FORM IS CALLED SAVITUR GAYATRI, WHICH IS DERIVED FROM THE WORD SAVITRI, THE NAME OF MOTHER DIVINE, RADIANT AND EFFULGENT. BEAR IN MIND THAT WHILE MOTHER DIVINE, LIKE OUR SOLAR SYSTEM, ENGENDERS LIGHT, UNTIL WE INVOKE THE LIGHT WITHIN, THE WORLD AROUND US IS DARK. AND THERE IS LITTLE HOPE FOR THE PERSON WHO REMAINS DARK INSIDE.

            THE VEDAS TALK ABOUT FOUR STATES OF MIND, SUSHUPTA, WHEN YOU ARE SLEEPING, JAGRITA, WHEN YOU ARE AWAKE, SWAPANA, WHEN YOU ARE DREAMING, AND TURIYA, WHEN YOU ARE BEYOND. THERE ARE ALSO SEVEN PLANES OF EXISTENCE OF WHICH THREE ARE KEY, BHU, THIS MATERIAL PLANE, BHUVAH, THE PLANE OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND SVAH, OUR TRUE SELF, SOMETHING THAT IS EVEN BEYOND SONSCIOUSNESS. THE EXPERIENCE YOU MIGHT GO THROUGH WHEN YOU ARE CONSCIOUS IS AN EXPERIENCE THAT IS BEYOND CONSCIOUSNESS.

            CONSCIOUSNESS ITSELF IS VITAL FOR MANTRA SADHANA. IT IS ESSENTIAL TO REMEMBER WHILE CHANTING ANY MANTRA, AND CERTAILY THE GAYATHRI MANTRA, THAT IT'S NOT ABOUT BECOMING A PARROT AND KEEP CHANTING WITHOUT ANY FEELING, SOME PEOPLE JUST WANT TO GET THROUGH THE MANTRA AS IF IT'S TASK THEY HAVE TAKEN UPON THEMSELVES: GOOD LORD, DO I WANT TO SIT AND CHANT THIS MANTRA AGAIN? AS I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TO DO IN MY LIFE,  AND I HAVE TAKEN UPON MYSELF ONE MORE THING?".

            IF YOU ARE GOING TO CHANT THE MANTRA WITH THIS SENTIMENT, YOU WILL NOT GET ANY RESULTS FROM IT - YOU MAY UNDERSTAND, BUT NOT BENEFIT FROM THE MANTRA. THIS IS THE MOST  IMPORTANT, QUALITATIVE ASPECT OF MANTRA SCIENCE, AND IT SIMPLY CANNOT BE IGNORED. IN THAT SENSE, IT'S NOT A TRADITIONAL SCEINCE - IT REQUIRES FAITH.

         ANOTHER IMPORTANT ASPECT OF MANTRA SCIENCE IS LEARNING ITS PROPER USE. WHEN YOU CHANT MANTRAS, AND WHEN THE GRACE OF MOTHER DIVINE IS FULLY BESTOWED UPON YOU, YOU WILL REALIZE WHEN AND HOW TO  USE IT. THAT DISCRETION, THAT SENSE OF DISCERNING WISDOM, COMES AFTE A LONG TIME OF MANTRA SADHANA.

          

              INITIALLY WHEN YOU GAIN POWER AND SHARPENIED INTUTION, OR WHEN YOU FELL YOU CAN BLESS SOMEBODY AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO SOMEBODY'S LIFE, YOU WILL BE TEMPTED TO SAY, "YES, GRANTED, OKAY, SO BE IT", BECAUSE YOU WANT TO MAKE OTHERS HAPPY. OR WORSE, YOU MAY SIMPLY WANT TO IMPRESS PEOPLE. BUT LET'S ASSUME YOUR INTENTION IS SIMPLY TO MAKE OTHERS HAPPY. TO SAY. "OH THIS PERSON IS BOTHERED BY THIS, LET ME MAKE HIM HAPPY", OR YOU'LL SAY, "OH GRANTED, YOU'LL WIN A MILLION DOLLARS TOMORROW," AND SO ON. IF YOU DO THAT, YOU WILL LOSE THE POWER VERY QUICKLY INDEED - IN A MATTER OF WEEKS, OR EVEN DAYS, IF YOU'RE NOT LUCKY. THERE IS A SAYING IN HINDI, BANDAR KE HAATH USTRA LAG GAYA HAI. THE MONKEY'S GOT A RAZOR IN HIS HANDS AND IT'S NOW JUST RUNNING IT OVER EVERYTHING IT SEES.

                THAT'S WHY WHEN YOU CHANT A MANTRA, IT TAKES TIME FOR THE ENERGY TO COME TO YOU. NATURE IS PREPARING YOU SO YOU ARE READY TO PROVIDE A REAL BENEFIT TO SOCIETY.

             PEOPLE WILL COME TO YOU, AND ONLY ONE PERCENT OF THEM WILL COME SIMPLY TO SAY," I AM VERY HAPPY, I JUST WANTED TO EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE". NINETY-NINE PERCENT OF PEOPLE WILL COME TO YOU WITH PROBLEMS, ALMOST ALL OF WHOM WOULD BELIEVE THEY ARE NOT THE CAUSE OF THEM. IF SOMEONE BELIEVES HE IS NOT THE CAUSE OF HIS PROBLEM, HOW CAN WE SOLVE IT? IF HE BELIEVES THAT SOMETHING ELSE IS CAUSING THE ISSUE, AND SAYS, "FIX THE PROBLEM, BUT DON'T TELL ME TO DO ANYTHING, BECAUSE I AM NOT THE CAUSE OF IT", YOU MIGHT SAY, "OKAY, YOUR PROBLEMS WILL BE SOLED."

            THERE WAS THIS PERSON IN CANADA - AND I AM TELLING YOU HIS REAL-STORY, WHICH I WITNESSED OVER A PERIOD OF TIME. WHEN I FIRST MET HIM IN INDIA, HE WAS A DEVOUT WORSHIPPER OF THE GAYATRI MANTRA. HE WAS THE FIRST ONE WHOM I SAW WHO ACTUALLY HAD GAYATRI SIDDHI . SIDDHI IS WHEN A MANTRA BECOMES YOUR OWN AND YOU BECOME THE MANTRA, THE ENERGY OF THE MANTRA WORKS THROUGH YOU, LIVES IN YOU, BENEFITTING OTHER PEOPLE. HE BLESSED AND HELPED MANY PEOPLE SAIL THROUGH DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCE IN LIFE.

                                                          FOUR TYPES MANTRA

              

                                1. "OM BHURBHUVAH SVAH," FIRST PAUSE,

                                2. "TATSAVITURVARENYAMA," SECOND PAUSE,

                                3. "BHARGO DEVASYA DHIMAHI", THIRD PAUSE,

                                4. " DHIYO YO NAH, PRACODAYATA," FOURTH PAUSE.

            IN THE BEGINNING, WHEN YOU CHANT THIS MANTRA, YOU FOLLOW A STRICT DISCIPLINE, SO TO SPEAK. YOU MIGHT ONLY SIT DOWN AND THEN CHANT. BUT AS YOU PROGRESS, CHANTING BECOMES A PART OF YOUR LIFE, AND YOU CAN CHANT 24/7.

                                                                    ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤