Omnipotent Role of Sound in the Universe

The vaidika scriptures on the origin of the universe mention that the absolute existence of the Brahm is expressed and realized in the sublime vibrations of Shabda and Nada. The anahat swar (the evolutionary impulse of cosmic sound) induced by these vibrations is said to be the generator of perpetual energy in the universe. Shabda – the omnipresent eternal origin of sound and Nada – the eternal element of the self-existent cosmic impulse of music, immanent in the subliminal as well as the gross realms of existence and their ever-evolving expressions in infinity are referred in the shastrik literature as Shabda Brahm and Nada Brahm.

Shabdaitavada – the vaidika knowledge of absolute sound, describes the sublime power of the omnipresent sound (Shabda) as an eternal, limitless whole and the sole creator of the universe. Sound is regarded here as the basic source of energy and motion existing in the universe. The existence of the material world is said to have originated from the cosmic impulse, the infinite bang of Shabda. [The big-bang theory of the modern science agrees with this conclusion of the —Rishis -scientists of yore]. The non-existence or absolute end of the world at the ultimate time – the other 'end' of the universal cycle – is also described to be a consequence of similar supersonic explosion. On the subliminal front, the existence of enormous activities of mind is said to have been realized through the eternal medium of sound.

In our day-to-day life, we generally come across with two types of sound – vyakta (audible) and avyakta (non-audible). These are defined as jalp and antarjalp in the Jain scriptures. The spoken words fall under the first category and those expressed silently (e.g. while thinking....) or through the language of mind are examples of the latter. Acoustic theories of modern physics have characterized these categories in terms of frequencies of the involved 'hard sound'. The manifestation of the vyakta and avyakta are relative in the physical world. The ultra and supersonic forms are avyakta to our ears, which can normally sense a sound only in the frequency-range of 20 to 20000 vibrations per sec. Similarly, the loud noise of a busy road would be non-audible to a person who is sitting in a closed house away from the road.... These examples clearly illustrate that the avyakta sound also exists in the same ‘reality’ as the vyakta one.

Our cosmos consists of the sound waves in all frequency ranges –– beyond the grasp of our audio sensors and even beyond the limits of our imagination…. Each impulse of the infinite activities of Nature indwells in the cosmos in the form of subliminal vibrations (of Shabda) before its physical manifestation in space and time. Many animals in this world are well equipped to perceive such subtle sounds in some range. Several varieties of birds and animals are therefore able to sense the future events, especially, many of the natural calamities of tremor etc, that are impossible to be recognized by humans. Often this ‘superhuman’ potential of animals and birds beats the advanced sensors of sophisticated instruments.

The sonic vibrations of each spoken or mentally thought syllable exist in the universe forever. Some frontline researchers of the modern science of sound hope that further advancement of science and technology would one day enable recording the voices (of the sages of yore) in the omnipresent ‘ocean’ of ether.

The vaidika science of mantras – the Mantra Vijgyna, developed by the —Rishis had endowed them with an exceptional faculty of communication across the universe. This power was indeed supernormal as compared to the capabilities of the modern inventions like radio, television and radar...., etc. Mantra Vijgyna is the science of the subliminal as well as the cosmic powers of sound. The specific configuration of the syllables compiled in the mantras makes them important in terms of associated sonic effect. The enunciation of a vedic mantra in a specific composition of accent, pitch, intensity, amplitude and rhythm results in its expansion (at a pace faster than the laser beams) in the endless domain of physical energy waves and consciousness. Because of the unique property of sound to traverse (via the electro-magnetic waves) anywhere in the space, the collective chanting of vaidika mantras can induce cosmic impact.

Significant scientific research on the demonstration and the measurement of sonic energy has been carried out in the modern age of advanced technology. This includes pioneering research in the area of ultrasonic in the USA and Germany. The applications of ultrasonic and infrasonic technology range from strategic weapons to biomedical instruments, from brainwashing to sound therapy and from telecommunications to remote control of the spacecrafts….

Having realized that the energy generated by the decomposition – through japa of a mantra – of the cosmic sound (shabda) would be of exponential magnitude as compared to that of the atomic energy, some pioneering scientists have also begun an in-depth study of the mantra vigyan… However, the researchers of this field must note that, it is the sublime effect of the mantras on the consciousness, which is more important than the gross (physical) sonic effects. Studies in this direction should therefore pay greater attention on the possibilities of spiritual enlightenment of all conscious beings with the help of mantra vigyna.

The treasure of knowledge in the Vedas is encoded in the form of mantras and chandas (hymns). Every mantra and chanda has its significant importance. The Gayatri Mantra is honored as preeminent in the science of spirituality and the mantra vigyna. This aadi (absolute origin) mantra is a compilation of nine special words (in ancient Sanskrit) formed by twenty four syllables. The japa of this mantra creates rhythmic pressure on the nerves and also titillates the extrasensory energy center (the six chakras) and subtle nerve-bundles (upatyikas) that generate soothing effects in the sadhaka’s body and mind and also affect his deep inner self. This absolute mantra is said to have been realized through the cosmic vibrations of the eternal, sublime force of the omnipresent supreme consciousness (Brahma). This mahamantra is referred as the divine mother of all the Vedas and hence of all branches of knowledge. It is also recognized as the smallest of all religious scriptures and volumes of ultimate knowledge.... Because of its unique potential of inspiring the individual consciousness to link with the supreme consciousness, the Gayatri Mahamantra is indeed the most powerful and astonishing creation of shabda.

The symbolic depiction in the shastrik literature about.... “the seven horses of lord Sun gaining energy from the vibrations in mahadakaï (the cosmic dimensions)....” –– implies the generation of seven natural notes of music by the ‘explosion’ (from quintessential to perceivable state of existence) of the anahat nada. This cosmic expression of Shabda Brahm-Nada Brahm is described as the origin of the evolutionary impulse that resulted in the gross (perceivable) and subliminal existence of the ever-evolving Nature and the ever-expanding Universe…. This evolutionary afflatus is also described in the rhetoric presentation of the scriptures as – the cosmic force generated by the commingling of the Prakriti and Purusha .

The sublime vibration of the eternal sound of the self-existent absolute syllable “-” (Oam) indwells everywhere in the cosmic expansion. The self-generation of its rhythmic impulse (Omkar) – the ‘big bang’, had generated the infinite spectrum of the sublime and the gross reflections of Shabda and consequently effectuated the existence and manifestation of the electromagnetic waves and the basic physical energies of sound, heat and light.

The spiritual sadhanas of the Nada-Yoga lead to the realization of Omkar and hence to the unfolding of the secrets of Nature and deciphering of the hidden movements of time (past and future events)….

During the initial stages of Nada-Yoga one has to meditate upon the internal ‘sounds’ perceived through closed ears while sitting in an externally silent surrounding. Long term dedicated practices of this method results in the experience of a variety of ‘otherwise’ non-existent sounds ranging for instance, from that of a whistle or flute to a buzzer or a big-gong; tinkling of a beetle, peeling of bells, to the noise of the thunder bolts.... An unperturbed subliminal humming sound (of "Omkar") is experienced in the depths of the inner self in the completion phase of this yoga sadhana. The attainment of this ultimate state of deep trance in Nada-Yoga corresponds to absolute harmony and engrossment of the mind and the soul with the cosmic echo of Oam….

Realization and arousal of the sublime power of Shabda Brahm - Nada Brahm immanent in the human body, mind and the inner core of the soul are aimed in some higher levels of spiritual sadhanas.

All the branches of Mantra- Vigyan and related fields of yoga deal with the study and practice of rhythmic enunciation of mantras and deep meditation upon the transcendental powers of Shabda and Nada hidden in the former. These areas of research in the science of spirituality and yoga deal with the knowledge of Shabda Brahm - Nada Brahm. The inclusion of the perennial syllable (Oam) and its phoneme Omkar is compatible as well as essential with respect to the compilation of a mantra. Therefore, the science and philosophy of Omkar also fall within the vast domain of knowledge pertaining to Shabda Brahm - Nada Brahm.

The Indian scriptures on yoga and spirituality mention a great deal on Shabda Brahm – as the basis of all branches of Mantra Vigyan and the science of the eternal syllables ' - ' (Oam), and Nada Brahm – as the source of knowledge and realization of the seven eternal notes and the science of Omkar and music.

The elementary practices of Shabda Yoga deal with training, control and refinement of voice and speech. Consistent attempt for observance of purity, truth, precision and softness of spoken (vocally or in mental conversation via thoughts) words in day-to-day conduct are prerequisites before one could initiate Shabda Yoga. Gaining knowledge through sacred means like good literature, interaction and learning from enlightened personalities who possess truth and piety of character, and transmitting it to the deserving persons via equally noble mode is also necessary as a preliminary exercise of Shabda Yoga. A disciple (sadhaka) of this spiritual sadhana should realize the spoken and written words as live carriers of thoughts, sentiments and inspirations.

The Nada Yoga principle focuses upon the sadhanas of realizing the spiritual dignity and divine bliss of music through sincere training of the shastriya samgita (Indian classical music).

Higher level endeavors of Shabda Yoga and Nada Yoga result in the attainment of extrasensory potentials of communication in the subliminal horizons of supramental intellect and super consciousness. An accomplished yogi of the Shabda Yoga, can transmit his thoughts and inspirations to educe and control the minds of others at will. Similar state of success in Nada Yoga enables one to receive cosmic signals, divine voice and the messages of great souls and yogis from higher realms of spirituality.
 


 

Structure and Implications of Mantras

Swami Ramatirtha had once stated that – ‘One may become a God but one can never see or show thee...’. The same is true of the subtle elements, they can be experienced or felt-in but can’t be seen or shown in a laboratory. Flow of radio waves through the ether is well known though no instrument has been able to measure or demonstrate the ‘appearance’ or ‘existence’ of ether. We do feel the effects of chill, heat, happiness, sorrow... etc. in our day-to-day life but we can never see or show these effects in visible or otherwise perceivable forms.

Recitation of the mantras is only a means for arousing the omnipresent subtle power of shabda. When we awake somebody by pushing him by our hand, the hand simply plays the role of a tool, it is not a part of the process of awakening. Similarly, the specific configuration of syllables and the sound (including the sublime sound) produced by the japa of a mantra is only a means for activating specific field of the cosmic energy of shabda. Which mantra is suitable for awakening what kind of subliminal energy center – is described in the viniyoga (structural classification) of that mantra. All of the Vaidika and the T³ntrika Mantras have distinct viniyogas. The ancient scriptures of Âgama and Nigama describe the viniyoga part along with the details on the methods (and sadhanas) of the japa of the mantras. Before reciting a mantra one must read and understand its viniyoga.

The viniyoga of each mantra has five components – (i) Rishi, (ii) Chanda, (iii) Devata, (iv) Bija and (v) Tatva. The first component contains the names of the —Rishi(s) or the spiritual saints who had discovered, compiled and/or completely mastered that particular mantra and who therefore are regarded authorities on all the knowledge associated with the spiritual practice of that mantra. Such spiritual saints are the ideal gurus (guides) for the disciples who endeavor a sadhana of that mantra. Recalling this first component of the – viniyoga of a mantra also implies that revered devotion for those —Rishis and adept guidance of a noble guru is essential for practicing (the japa of) that mantra.

The chanda indicates the rhythmic composition for the enunciation or chanting of the mantra. As described earlier, each mantra can be practiced with different combinations of swaras (musical accents) and gati (amplitudes). Manasika, Vachika, Upanshu, Udatta-Anudatta, Swarita...., etc are some of the many modes of japa that are also described in the chanda for a mantra. The specific pattern of sonic waveforms generated by the mantra–japa depends upon the syllables of the mantra and the type of chanda used. The assignment of appropriate chanda for the spiritual sadhana processes of practicing a mantra is called – yati. The selection of a yati and hence of a chanda for a given mantra is decided with respect to the purpose of the sadhana, the configuration of the mantra-syllables and the mental and spiritual level of the sadhaka.

The third component, the devata represents the specific cosmic field (– of the subliminal energy of shabda) in the limitless expression of the supreme thy consciousness – that is aimed to be reached (realized) by the japa-sadhana of the associated mantra. We all know that out of the different programmes being broadcast via the radio waves, a radio set can catch (receive) only the ones whose frequencies it is tuned for. Similarly, from the different streams of the conscious power of shabda present in the universe, a mantra can be used to link the individual consciousness with the devata of that mantra.

As the practice of the mantra involves devoted meditation upon the devata along with the specified (according to the chanda) rhythmic enunciation or chanting, the —rashes had assigned visible forms to different devatas – representing different manifestations and subliminal expressions of the One, Eternal, Thy Consciousness…. Some of the —rishis also recommended worshiping the idols – of these forms of the devatas – in sacred atmosphere before commencing the japa of the mantras.

Worshiping an idol of God often facilitates proper meditation and creation of the internal emotions to strike the intrinsic core of absolute faith that is necessary for confluence of the individual consciousness with the cosmic flow of divinity. This type of rituals (called sakara upasana) do help conditioning the minds of the disciples who find it difficult to meditate upon the subliminal forms of shabda in the shunya – the absolute void, the ultimate, the ‘non-existent’ but eternal realms of thy conception.

The bija represents the origin of the mantra. It may be understood as a group of those syllables that contain, in compact coded form, the gist (tatva) of the mantra and thereby imply the latent existence of the specific power of shabda in that mantra. The japa of the bija generates the ‘energy’ essential for initiating the activation of the ‘power’ of the associated mantra.

The understanding and expertise of the science of mantras had illuminated the minds of the —rishis with supernormal sagacity. They could therefore grasp the knowledge of the limitless expansion of the universe and completely ‘visualize’ the structure and function of the tiniest part of the over 72000 nerves and glands mysteriously folded inside the human body and could also accomplish remarkable spiritual realizations. They also presented different streams of their intrinsic knowledge in the ancient Indian scriptures via prose consisting of the hymns of mantras.

The scientific significance of the sound produced by specific syllables has attracted many researchers to study the special features of the sonic waveforms generated by the recitation of the mantras. The ultrasonometer developed by Dr. Fristlov is used for triggering different chemical reactions via the effect of ultrasound. The stirrer used in this device can be made to stir (by the obvious effect of ultrasound!) so fast that in no time it can make the steady water – contained around it – churn violently like that during boiling at maximum pace. As far as the sonic effects are concerned, the subtle power of a mantra, if focused, can be more ‘explosive’ than the nuclear power.

The yogis often use the vital power of the air-element (vayu-tatva) and gain supernatural physical powers. A mantrika works at the highest level (akasha ) – in the hierarchy of the five basic elements and he can therefore be more powerful than other yogis.

Apart from the physical power of shabda, the mantras are also endowed with the ‘magnetic’ power of the conscious energy of Ïabda. The emotional linkage – through absolute intrinsic faith (shraddha) – with the devata of the mantra attracts the subliminal energy of shabda. The devotion and prayers of the devata of the mantra are performed to initiate this linkage. The rhythmic enunciation or chanting of mantras gives rise to two types of subtle fields of influence – one, the ‘sphere’ of sonic effects, and the other, of emotional (conscious) effects. The expansion and the power of attraction of these fields intensify with continuous (cyclic) japa of the mantras in specific rhythm in a consistent manner. So powerful their force of attraction could be that, any kind of material or conscious form entering into their peripheries could be transformed according to the influence of the mantra. The use of mantras for enlightening the mental and sentimental domains of all the human beings may therefore be regarded as a scientific possibility, a spiritual endeavor, rather than a myth or a daydreaming.
 


 

Scientific Roots of the Divine Impact of Mantra Sadhana

That sound can be recorded (e.g., by tape-recorders), amplified (e.g., by loudspeakers), propagated (e.g., by radio and TV signals), recognized (e.g., by the radar), measured and analyzed (e.g., by spectrographs or voice-printers) – in physical terms, proves its existence in matter.... A large number of examples of the destructive and creative effects of sound on matter can also be found in day-to-day life (c.f. previous sections).

Mantra Vidya is based on making perfect use of the gross viz., the sound of the vani of the sadhaka as well as the sublime viz., the consciousness –– the voice of the inner self, expressed in thoughts, emotions and intrinsic strength of the sadhaka, powers of shabda. The study of the higher level impact of mantras vis-à-vis that of the physical sound – in the gross domains of Nature, seems feasible in the modern times of scientific advancement.

The mechanical devices of radar send sound signals – via radio waves – far away in the space and receive the echoed sound back in few micro (10-6) seconds. The radio waves travel at a speed of about 295000 kilometers per second. Whenever their collision takes place with any object on their way, these waves are reflected back (to the radar that is set ‘tuned’ to receive them) at equally fast speed. The vibrations of these reflected signals contain the ‘information’ about the position, size and some other properties of the object. (This is how sound waves help in the recognition – through the radar, of an enemy’s airplane during the war times....).

The human body could also be regarded as a ‘radar’ with respect to the gross sonic effects of the mantras. The extrasensory inner components (like the sat chakras or the granthis.... etc) of this biological radar send supernormal radio signals in the ‘etheric whole’ via the vibrations of mantras being enunciated in specific rhythms.... This wonderful radar receives back the quintessential signals of shabda as an ‘echo’ from the cosmic nucleus of the mantra.

The latent power of shabda – linked with the spiritual enlightenment and hence with the awakened power of the eternal consciousness of the soul of the sadhaka effectuates the impact of mantras on the ‘radar’ of the sadhaka’s physical, subtle and astral bodies. And thus empowers the sadhaka with the supernatural potentials and afflatus upon successful completion of a mantra-sadhana.............

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Mantras


Have you heard yourself often say things such as "I'm feeling terrible" or "I'm on the top of the world today"? And noticed that you ended up actually feeling the same? Often, simply repeating phrases seem to have a subconscious effect on your mind. Hindus believe that words have power; not only for their meaning but also because of the sound they produce. It is only in India that the use of sound to achieve a desired end reached its peak, in the form of mantras.

The use of mantras originated in the Vedic period of India, and spread to countries such as China and Japan. A few other religions, including Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism also make use of mantras.


What is a Mantra?

Mantra refers to a simple word, phrase or sound that is chanted repeatedly to achieve desired material and spiritual goals. The word "mantra" originates from the Sanskrit "man" or mind and "tra" or instrument. Hence, the word mantra refers to "instrument of thought" though another interpretation is that it means "free of the mind".

Mantras are typically taken from sacred texts such as the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagwad Gita, etc. Another common form of mantra uses a deity name after the phrase "Om Namah", as in Om Namah Shivaya.


Why are Mantras Used?

Mantras are believed to produce subtle vibrations that, with sufficient repetition and concentration, grow in strength. These powerful vibrations can help to influence the mind and aid the process of self-realisation.

The purposes of mantras may include:


What do they mean?

Not all mantras have a literal meaning, and some are simply basic sounds that produce a resonant effect when repeated. For example, certain sounds such as "shreem" and "hreem" are said to have great potential. Purportedly, energy can literally be "grown" from such sounds, and hence they are known as seed mantras (bija).


How do they work?

What is sound, but vibration in a medium such as air and water? In fact, modern physicists state that all matter in the entire universe may be observed as vibrations of energy. This theory is in congruence with the ancient Hindu assertion that the universe is vibratory in nature with sound being the very basis of all creation. Hence, it can be inferred that one form of vibration (sound) can affect another form (matter).


How can I use mantras?

Mantras form an essential aspect of puja, or a form of ritual worship in Hinduism. They can also be used in meditation, yantras, homas and other practices seen in Hinduism.

Some important aspects of using mantras include:

Several esoteric cults in India guarded their mantras from the uninformed aspirant, and hence reciting them mentally was preferred. However, many mantras can be read aloud, and their soothing effect may be enhanced when they are chanted in groups.


Some Famous Mantras

 

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Spiritual Training


The Spiritual Training & Adoration of Life Deity - Pt. Shri Ram Sharma Acharya



 

Spiritual training of life - Secret of spiritual knowledge

It is human nature to ignore things which are too close or at a great distance. This applies to every aspect of life. We live every moment of life but do not understand its glory. we are unaware of super neutral divine powers which can be attained by proper use of life. Man takes birth, fulfils his natural instincts of food, sex- indulgence, earning livelihood and ultimately posses away. There are rarely moments when it is pondered that human life is the greatest gift of god's treasure. One who has been gifted so kindly with human life is expected to make its best use, fulfil his imperfections and become great. He is expected like an efficient gardener to maintain and beautify this garden of universe and prove that he has appropriate knowledge of what is selfishness and what is universal good. Our interest lies in getting rid of unwholesomeness of sensuality and imbibing righteousness in adequate proportion. Those who succeed in utilizing trust get admission in the class of divine man. They not only safeguard their own welfare but help countless people in crossing over difficulties. Only such persons are great, praise- worthy and imitable. They get triple pleasures of fulfillment, satisfaction and peace.

Human life is a precious gift of god. When it is entrusted, it is believed that the person concerned is deserving. Other living-beings think and act only in relation to their physical body but man has to discharge several duties and responsibilities as he is the successor prince of Almighty God. He has to maintain his significance and dignity. He will be regarded as a beast if he confines himself to greediness and illusion and remains engrossed in eating and procreating children. It becomes all the more worse if along with greed and infatuation ego also overtakes him. Emergence of vanity to fulfil ambitiousness plunges man deep into the ditch of downfall and degeneration. Such a person becomes licentious, aggressive and dangerous and indulges in devilish activities. Eventually his life which was symbol of great fortune becomes distressed and miserable. Thus boon be comes a curse. Both these alternatives are available to every one. Man has to choose as he is maker of his own destiny.

There are different types of devotees. They have their own favourite deities from whom they seek favour and kindness and expect fulfillment of their aspirations. Nothing can be said who succeeds because in a state of dependence everything rests on the will of the master. The servant can only pray and entreat. This however, does not apply in the case of jiwan devta (God in the form of one's enlightened life).

If life is trained in an appropriate manner everything which cannot be found elsewhere can be obtained below this "Kalpa-Vriksha" (a mythological tree which is supposed to grant all desires of a person who sits below it).

Atom is the smallest form of this universe. Scientists have unanimously accepted that whatever is found in this universe is present in the smallest ingredient of matte. The other aspect of this theory is that individual soul is small but entire symbol of the great power, universal consciousness. According to vedant philosophy, refined soul is God. All divine power according to the Indian philosophy reside in this physical body. All the grandeur and magnificence of divine potentialities of the Almightly are present in its entirety in dormant centres of human soul. If they could be awakened, and known super sensuous, unknown divine powers can be aroused and activated. Ascetics, Yogi, great thinkers and saints are gifted with such potentialities. Truth is eternal and perpetual. What has happened in the past can happen even now. Great spiritual powers can be acquired by training one's own life in the form, of God. The saying about musk-deer is well-known. If one blunders upon to find by fluke and searches outside, he will get nothing but exhaustion and irritation. Peace is attained when it is discovered that the center of fragrance is in one's own navel. It is futile to search God elsewhere. God is beyond the limits of time and space. He is beyond the limits of time and space. He is formless. He can be seen only in one's own inner- self. Our entire life is God's direct manifestation.

Geeta says that God is merged, incorporated in human faith. Man is moulded according to his own belief. A person who incorporates greatness within him is bound to become great.

God is powerful enough to accomplish everything. He is majestic and magnificent. Man, his symbolic representative successor prince is also accomplished with all his attributes. The difficulty, however, is that intensity of self-oblivion and darkness of ignorance covers the reality. Man stumbles at every step, when in darkness bush appears to him to be a ghost and rope, a snake. But when there is light, everything appears, as it is. Self knowledge (atmabodh) is advent of that light in which man gets a glimpse of his real form. No time is then taken in searching the path.

The story of a young cub of a lion having been brought up in a flock of sheep is well-known. The atmosphere and prevalence around us drags us, but when self-knowledge dawns it is fully realised that one's own inner-self is pure, enlightened and transcendental. The saying that "man is God who has lost his way and gone astray", hardly needs analysis. All problems are solved if this bewilderment is brought to an end and then there is deliverance from all worldly bonds. Liberation is nothing else but getting rid of inappropriate thinking about one's own self. A spider weaves web, gets entangled in it and becomes restless, but when it determines, it winds up the web and swallows it itself. Worthless, insignificant life is man's own creation. What we want and think gets materialised in due course. If we want to change our circumstances, we have to change our convicts inferior-most can be made superior-most. A petty man can become great.

The principle of attaining super-natural divine powers (siddhis) by spiritual training (sadhna) is well-known. The question is who should be worshipped. Nothing can be said about the form and nature of different divine powers. The organization of this universe is well planned. The sun, moon, air are universal. God, too, is omnipotent and universal. How can he then have different forms, nature and qualities? How can then one arrive at the truth? The real answer to the question is that life itself should be regarded as living awakened God. Filth and impurities which have covered life should bee removed. When live coal is covered with layer of ash it appears black. When this layer is removed, hidden bright fire becomes clearly visible. The object of spiritual training is simply to remove this covering. This amounts to converting dormancy into awakening.

Spiritualists have indicated several ways of spiritual training. If they are seriously analysed it would appear that all symbolic worships worships are nothing but elementary exposition of self-refinement. The object behind all 'Yoga' and 'tap' (asceticism) is to enhance one's own worthiness and sharpness. Worthiness is a magnet which easily attracts useful elements and power. The magnet of developed divinity in man attracts useful elements and powers towards him. Reservoirs are always deep as water from all surrounding areas collect in them. The snow deposits on high hill-tops melt on accounts of heat and the resultant water reaches the sea through rivers. This is known as worthiness or capability. The basic purpose of spiritual training is enhancement of one's own worthiness. God does not need persuasion or appeasement. He is not pleased by insignificant gifts, worship, praises and exaltations. Only Mean persons have such a nature. God is just and prudent. He is pleased and showers blessings on the basis of glory which emerges as a result of permeation of idealism in man's personality. The childish game of trying to allure him results in dis-appointment.

The ascetic asks, " for whom should we worship (kasmai devaya havisha vidhema". The emphatic answer is, we should worship for the God within us (Atma-Dev). The real criterion of cent percent perfection of a person can be judged only on the basis of genuineness of his thoughts, character and behaviour. Fruits, flowers do not fall on the tree from the sky. Trees grow and bear fruits and flowers when their roots suck juice from the earth. Roots are within us which influence the entire personality. It ultimately leads to magnificence and attainment of super-natural powers on the basis of which dual advantage of spiritual greatness and material advancement can be attained. This is the coordinated from of upasana (worship) sadhana (spiritual training) and aradhana (adoration). This spiritual training essentially leads to success. One gets nothing by begging and entreating. God helps those who help themselves. Spiritual training of life is nothing but practicing self-refinement and self-purification. This is the greatest and ultimate object of human pursuit. Those who have understood this ultimate truth have realised the secret behind spiritual knowledge.



Adoration (aradhana) and Dissemination of real knowledge (Gyan Yagya)

There are three signs of physical health, (1) good appetite, (2) sound sleep, and (3) smartness or freshness for doing work. There are three signs of spiritual strength too. They are (1) excellent thinking, (2) faith in character, and (3) abundance of benevolence, generosity and helpfulness in behaviour. These are called worship (upasana), spiritual training (sadhana) and adoration (aradhana). The symptom of spiritual progress is growth of divinity in man. Devta (divine man) is one who gives. In other words, he may be called a man with religious bent of mind having a keen desire for self-less service (seva). If there is emergence of politeness in personality there is bound to be craving for rendering human service. There is growth of magnanimity in qualities, actions and nature of a person who renders self-less service. Devtas (divine persons), who live on earth in the form of men are known as bhoosur. This word is used for people who belong to the saint and brahman class. A brahman renders service in a limited area. Saints are parivrajaks (wandering mendicants who reach from place to place to promote growth of righteousness). They infuse life like air wherever they go. They rain like clouds and flourish greenery. Whether or not a person has been benefited by spiritual progress can be judged only by the tests whether eminence in accordance with human dignity is visible in his thinking, behaviour and character and whether the devotee has a craving for service and doing universal good.

Broadly speaking, alms and donations are known as sacred summum bonum or universal good. But it should have deep tinge of farsightedness. People afflicted by accidents or sudden calamity need immediate help. Similarly, crippled, physically handicapped should also get maintenance. Poor and backward people should get indirect help so that they may become self-dependent. Gandhiji gave importance to khadi so that unemployed persons may get work. Other cottage industries also fall in this category. Provision should be made for creating resources which may help in eliminating unemployment. It is sound method of giving help to the poor. It is no charity to give alms to parasitic persons who live on other's earnings. This encourages indolence, laziness, carelessness, addictions. One who receives such alms suffers from inferiority complex while the giver suffers from egotism. These tendencies are harmful for both. Appropriateness and the ultimate result should, therefore, always be kept in view while giving donations so that there may not be misuse in the name of charity.

Imparting knowledge is best kind of charity. This is known as Braham yagya. Efforts which promote goodwill and righteousness are acts of doing universal good. For want of proper thinking people adopt several vices and invite down fall. Leaving aside physical handicapped and incapable persons the rest are fully competent to solve all their problems themselves, if they are shown correct path of proper thinking. Therefore, for spiritual development everyone should try his best according to his efficiency and circumstances to refine public mind and promote righteousness.

There is always the problem of time and solutions have to be found out in accordance with one's own circumstances. Ancient religious narratives and discourses can hardly be of any use in view of prevailing trend and atmosphere. For this one should take resort to Yug-chetna (prevailing collective spiritual consciousness). Attention has to be paid on expositions of Yug-manishis. (exponents of spiritual wisdom). This can only be the correct way of promoting real knowledge. Like literacy, growth of true knowledge is the need of the hour to solve problems of individual and the society. For spiritual development of self, refinement of public mind and promotion of righteousness one has to get engaged in self-less service, so that the religion of present era (Yug-dharma) may be established in intellectual, moral and social spheres.

All far-sighed prudent persons should get engaged in the task of dissemination of knowledge and revolution of thoughts. Pen, speech, visual and audio - visual and all similar devices should be used so that people at large may be inspired to know and materialise religion of the present era. The highest form of universal good and benevolence in present circumstances is dissemination of knowledge (gyan yagya). Neglecting this, no purpose will be served by speeches, writings, giving donations for gaining cheap popularity.

"Yug-nirman" literature is the primary need for making this consciousness sharp and brilliant. Educated persons should be taught this literature. To illiterate one's it should be read over. Devotees of Pragya-Yog should spend their money and time in running bag libraries. It is difficult for everyone to purchase this literature, especially in these days when nothing occurs to one's mind except materialistic self-seeking. Nobody is interested in listening to anything idealistic. Devotees should, therefore, visit literate persons house to house, give them books of their choice for reading and collect them back. The important purpose of spreading spiritual knowledge will thus be served. Such books should be read over to uneducated persons.

Thought provoking meetings, seminars, conferences, narratives, discourses have their on importance. These are known as sat-sang. These activities can be performed anywhere in some form or the other with the help of pen or speech. It is more effective to set one's own example. People think that ideals are meant only to be talked about. They cannot be materialised in practical life. This illusion can be dispelled if those who propound revolution in thoughts themselves act in the manner in which they expect others to do. Those who want to devote to benevolent activities of adoration (aradhana) and work selflessly for public good should display uniformity in their profession and practice.

These are all essential for ideal training of the people. Still, it is not necessary that till a person attains perfection, he should sit idly. A student of sixth class can render at least some help to a fifth class student. Any one can successfully guide those who are less qualified.

These days, equipments can help a lot. In ancient times books were hand-written but now they are printed. Audio and video facilities are easily available these days. They can be used for expansion and publicity of knowledge, Equipments like tape-recorders, loud-speakers, slide projectors, video cassettes can be used to fulfill the need of popular entertainment and public awakening.

Writing inspiring sentences on walls is a good method. Its mechanical editions are stickers which can be pasted on furniture, hand bags etc. This can be a good basis for propagating good thoughts and goodwill. Wherever possible, cinema slides can also be displayed to disseminate useful in inspiration to the masses.

Music parties can start publicity programmes in group meetings with the help of loud-speaker and tape-recorder. Celebrations of deep-Yagya (performance of yagya by lighted lamps) on such occasions have proved very easy, cheap and successful. In the after-noon women meetings can be arranged and problems of family reformation can be discussed and explained. Night programmes may include the process of social development and reforms.

In family, narratives and stories should be told in the night. Books like pragya-puran serve this purpose very well. Mutual discussions, debate competitions, poets conferences are useful devices. Everybody cannot be a poet but he can arrange meetings where inspiring poems and songs can be recited. Paintings can also be exhibited wherever possible.

If a man tries to search he can lay hand on several formulas for spreading real knowledge. Much can be done in respect of bringing revolution in thoughts, growth of righteousness and eradication of evil tendencies. When a true devotee can find God, there is no reason why it may not be possible to find out a way by which the process of spreading real knowledge may be pioneered. What is needed is to understand its importance and pay attention to it.

Upasana (worship) is done of God. By sitting near God, divine virtues are imbibed, feelings and emotions are refined and developed. Sadhana (spiritual training) is performed of one's own life. Jiwan sadhana refines personality of a man by eradication of evil tendencies and growth of righteousness. Aradhana (adoration) is of the society by serving God living in all human beings. It is accomplished by magnanimous self-less human service. Best service is one by which pain and sufferings of distressed persons are redressed, their deficiencies fulfilled. Financial help can be rendered by any rich man but only a spiritually enlightened person can render the survive of uplifting down-trodden persons. In fact, this service is rendered not by material but by divine wealth. Divine wealth never diminishes by giving.

Saints, ascetics have been giving prominence to service to the people who are on the verge of degeneration. They, therefore, become adorable in the world. Persons who were served by these saints also became great. This best form of service can be rendered by any one through the medium of dissemination of knowledge (Gyan yagya). Any person can be enriched by this benefit himself and get the reward of rithteous deed by helping innumerable persons.

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Divine Arousal by Enunciation of Gayatri Mantra

The secret of the supernatural impact of Gayatri Mantra in the physical domains of life lies in its unique configuration of the specific syllables – the seeds of Shabda, which is derived from the esoteric depths of the absolute science of Shabda Brahm-Nada Brahm. The cyclic enunciation of this mantra stimulates the subliminal power centers in the subtle body. The rishis of the Vedic Age were endowed with supernormal vision. They had experienced and experimented on the enormous extrasensory energy pools –– the chakras, upchakras, granthis, koshas, mat—akas, upyatikas and nadis, hidden in the subtle cores in the endocrine glands, nerve bundles and ganglions. Activation of these rekindles rare virtuous talents and supernormal potentials.

The pressure on tongue, lips, vocal cord, palate and the connecting regions in the brain generated by continuous enunciation of the twenty-four special syllables (or words) of the Gayatri Mantra vibrates the nerves and the ‘threads’ of the vina of the subtle body. The musical flow thus induced titillates the extrasensory power centres. The latter begin to stimulate and a sublime magnetic force arouses in the sadhaka that attracts the vital currents of Gayatri Shakti immanent in the infinite domains. The power-currents of Gayatri are indwelling in the cosmic expansion like the electromagnetic energy waves in the space. The magnetic charge educed by the continuous japa of Gayatri Mantra ‘attunes’ the sadhaka’s mind to link with these supernatural power-currents.

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On the Structure and Effects of Mantras

Our world is physically constituted by three basic energies viz. Sound, Light and Heat. According to the electromagnetic wave theory, the ever-expanding universe is described as a limitless ocean of energy waves. Discovery and utilization of some of these have given rise to inventions like radio, telephone, television, laser, X-rays, gamma-rays, etc. Enormous combinations or superimposition of compatible waves are supposed to give rise to the energy particles, various subtle particle-states and ultimately to the atomic and molecular forms of matter. The root cause of the existence of different physical forms/states of any kind of material – howsoever subtle or gross it might be – is the ‘collision or superimposition’ of some of these omnipresent, ever vibrating, energy waves.

The eternal forms of sound vibrations are synonymous with respect to their physical existence. This in other words corresponds to the vaidik concept of shabda (eternal sound/cosmic vibrations) as the origin and controller of everything that exists (in gross or subtle form) in this universe. The vaidik and tantrik mantras are meant to be specific configurations of syllables (sonic codes) that could generate specific energy-currents of shabda. In terms of its meaning in Sanskrit, the word "mantra" also implies – ‘a liberator of mind’. This indicates the psychological impact of chanting or japa of a mantra.

Implications of Ancient Theories:

As per the scriptural descriptions, often the vision of the syllables for subtle sounds (Nada) in the etheric ocean had been revealed to the rishis (Indian sages of the vedic times) through an afflatus or intuition in their inner selves or the mantras were just ‘heard’ by them in a state of trance. This is the reason why most of these mantras are known as – shruti (‘heard’) or as – ‘conveyed by the cosmic voice’.... These depictions also signify that mantras are compilations of sound-elements rather than linguistic structures.

In his book "The Garland of Letters" Sir John Woodroffe elucidates some of these aspects as – "The vaidik varnas (letters – sonic patterns - used in mantras) are eternal and represent in themselves and their variations all the possibilities of articulate speech in all languages. These varnas represent both the vowels and the consonants. The vowels are continuous sounds formed by varying the size of the mouth cavity. The consonants are particular interruptions of those sounds. They cannot be sounded without vowels; for this reason, the vowels are referred as shaktis (power streams) of the consonants. The varnas are classified according to the ‘natural sound’ of their pronunciation. The subject matter of varnas occupies an important place in the "Tantra Shastra" in which it is sought to give a practical application to every ancient doctrine concerning Shabda or the Mantra Shastra". Sir Woodroffe further discusses these in detail in the light of foundational works on Sanskrit Grammar.

The scholarly works on these topics also refer to five different forms of natural modes of pronunciation or expression of letters or words. A combination of these together with the mention of the multiplicity of the phonemes associated with the vaidik varnas, indeed makes it interesting to investigate the science of mantras.

The ‘elements’ of ether are highly sensitive subtle ‘particles’, which can vibrate at a frequency up to 34×109 cps. At the absolute high frequencies these oscillatory particles constantly emit a unique light. The radiation of this light can travel with a velocity of 108 meters per second. The vibrations of the etheric elements never stop. They are supposed to stabilize at the outer layer of the earth’s gravitational sphere and continue vibrating there at constant ultra high frequencies. They attract the weaker waves of similar frequencies and get attracted by more powerful ones of the same range of frequencies. In either case, the superimposition of such compatible vibrations gives rise to an extremely powerful field of attraction. The ‘influencing power’ of this force of attraction is also bestowed upon those whose ‘thought waves’ match with these suprasonic waves.

Japa or chanting of the mantras is only a means for creating specific vibrations of the omnipresent subtle power of shabda. When we awaken somebody by pushing him by our hand, the hand simply plays the role of a tool; it is not a part of the process of awakening. Similarly, the specific configuration of syllables and the sound (including the sublime sound) produced by the japa of a mantra is only a means for activating specific field of the cosmic energy of shabda. Which mantra is suitable for awakening what kind of subliminal energy center – is described in the viniyoga (structural classification) of that mantra. All of the Vaidika and the Tantrika Mantras have distinct viniyogas.

The viniyoga of each mantra has five components – (i) Rishi, (ii) Chhanda, (iii) Devata, (iv) Bija and (v) Tatva. The first component contains the names of the rishi(s) or the sages – seers, who had discovered, compiled and/or completely mastered that particular mantra and who therefore are regarded authorities on all the knowledge associated with the spiritual practice of that mantra. Such spiritual masters are the ideal gurus (guides) for the disciples who endeavor a sadhana of that mantra. Recalling this first component of the – viniyoga of a mantra also implies that revered devotion for those rishis and adept guidance of a noble living guru is essential for practising (the japa of) that mantra.

The chhanda indicates the rhythmic composition for the enunciation or chanting of the mantra. As described earlier, each mantra can be practised with different combinations of swaras (musical accents) and gati (speed). Manasika, Vachika, Upanshu, Udatta-Anudatta, Swarita...., etc are some of the many modes of japa that are also described in the chanda for a mantra. The specific pattern of sonic waveforms generated by the mantra–japa depends upon the syllables of the mantra and the type of chanda used. The assignment of appropriate chhanda for the spiritual sadhana processes of practising a mantra is called – yati. The selection of a yati and hence of a chhanda for a given mantra is decided with reference to the purpose of the sadhana, the configuration of the mantra-syllables and the mental and spiritual level of the sadhaka.

The third component, the devata represents the specific cosmic field (– of the subliminal energy of shabda) in the limitless expression of the supreme consciousness – that is aimed to be realized by the japa-sadhana of the associated mantra. We all know that out of the different programmes being broadcast via the radio waves, a radio set can receive only the ones whose frequencies it is tuned for. Similarly, from the different streams of the conscious power of shabda present in the universe, a mantra can be used to link the individual consciousness with the devata of that mantra.

As the practice of the mantra involves devoted meditation upon the devata along with the specified (according to the chhanda) rhythmic enunciation or chanting, the rishis had assigned visible forms to different devatas – representing different manifestations and subliminal expressions of the One, Eternal, Consciousness…. Some of the rishis also recommended worshipping the idols – of these forms of the devata – in sacred environment before commencing the japa of the mantras.

The bija represents the origin of the mantra. It may be understood as a group of those syllables that contain, in compact coded form, the gist (tatva) of the mantra and thereby imply the latent existence of the specific power of shabda in that mantra. The japa of the bija generates the ‘energy’ essential for initiating the activation of the shakti (sonic power) of the associated mantra.

Possibilities of Scientific Studies:

It may not be feasible to verify or analyze the role of the subtle components like ‘devata’ in the structure of a mantra by scientific methods. Nevertheless, scientific investigations – along the lines of that in the field of musical ragas – could begin with the other components, namely the bija and tatva and the chanda, as these directly pertain respectively to the symbolic patterns, sonic configurations and phonological characteristics.

It is a well known scientific principle that continuous movement of any kind ultimately results in a circular motion. The orbits and shapes of all the planets in the universe are almost round (or elliptical closed contours) due to this simple principle. It is by the same principle that continuous (non-stop) japa of a mantra creates a circular domain. The ‘Taila Dharavat Sutra’ describes that – ‘If oil is dropped at constant speed for some time continuously, its flow forms a steady stream. Similarly, the repeated rhythmic enunciation of the same word (or a string of words) forms a continuous (without an end or boundary) segment of words’. A popular story in the Ramayana also gives a simple supportive example here. It describes that rishis Valmiki’s non-stop chanting of the word mara mara... bestowed upon him the sanctifying effect of the japa of the name of the God –– "rama rama"....

The vaidika mantras are usually recited in specific rhythms as per the vaidika swaras. However, during the process of japa, the recitation of all the mantras takes place at constant amplitude without any break or pause. Therefore the speed should be so regular and constant that one can count the number of japas by measuring the time taken for the completion of specific japas in one sitting. It is this consistency and continuity that gives a cyclic motion to the sonic waves generated by the japa, and thus helps in activation and focusing of the related powers of shabda.

That circular motion generates energy – can also be observed in day-to-day life; for instance, the movement of the toy ‘top’, or the functioning of machines by the movement of a flywheel, etc. Continuous japa of a mantra in a consistent manner, for sufficiently long periods of time per day, can generate energy in and around the sadhaka that would keep his physical and subtle bodies creatively active for the rest of the day....

Fast circular motion at a regular pace generates a centrifugal force. Demonstration of this force can be seen in a circus – in the rotating swings or the circular motion of a motorbike rider in the ‘well of death,’ etc. Similar effect helps generation of a supernormal ‘sphere’ of sonic energy by the cyclic japa of a mantra repeatedly while maintaining the consistency of the pace by thorough engrossment of the mind.

That sound can be recorded (e.g., by tape-recorders), amplified (e.g., by loud-speakers), propagated (e.g., by radio and TV signals), recognized (e.g., by the radar), measured and analyzed (e.g., by spectrographs or voice-printers) – in physical terms, proves its existence in matter.... A large number of examples of the destructive and creative effects of sound on matter can also be found in day-to-day life.

The mechanical devices of radar send sound signals – via radio waves – far away in the space and receive the echoed sound back in few micro (10-6) seconds. The radio waves travel at a speed of about 295000 kilometers per second. Whenever their collision takes place with any object on their way, these waves are reflected back (to the radar that is set ‘tuned’ to receive them) at equally fast speed. The vibrations of these reflected signals contain the ‘information’ about the position, size and some other properties of the object. (This is how sound waves help in the recognition, through the radar, of an enemy’s airplane, during war times.)

The human body could also be regarded as ‘radar’ with respect to the gross sonic effects of the mantras. The extrasensory energy nuclei (like the shatchakras or the granthis.... etc described in yoga scriptures) of this biological radar send supernormal radio signals in the ‘etheric whole’ via the vibrations of mantras being enunciated in specific rhythms.... This wonderful radar receives back the quintessential signals of shabda as an ‘echo’ from the cosmic nucleus of the mantra.

Our gross body is a physical system consisting of bio-physicochemical components. The impact of sound on this system results in corresponding vibrations in the molecular, cellular (e.g., an enzyme in a cell or a membrane, or a hormone...) or organ (e.g., the liver, uterus or ears.....) components and generates isolated or cascade effects (positive or negative, depending on the type of sound) on the interconnected subsystems. Several instances of the negative physical effects of the impact of sound on the gross body have been scientifically verified. Examples of the positive physical effects (on the gross bodies of any living being) include – increase in the immunity of human beings under specific therapies based on sound; acceleration of the growth rate of vegetation by special music; increase in the reproduction rates of some varieties of fish and hens under certain music-based treatments.

The interest, to some extent, in the subtle power of sound has been revived in the modern era by the scientific works on ultrasound. The ultrasonic waves were successfully used for the first time in 1914 for recognition of underwater objects (like submarines) during the First World War. There has been a significant progress in the applications of ultrasound in the twentieth century. Today, the medical technology is making tremendous use of advanced ultrasonic devices for noninvasive diagnostic purposes.

Laboratory experiments on ultrasonic effects have shown that the vibrations at a high frequency – of the order of five crores per second – can produce enormous energy that would convert the surrounding material into vapors and ashes almost instantaneously. Then what about the power of the vibrations that are generated at exponentially faster frequencies by a controlled use of bio-electricity, vital energy and the sublime force of the otherwise untapped layers of human-consciousness? Why wouldn’t they induce suprasonic impulses in the etheric whole and create cosmic effects?

The effects of mantra are based on subtler (in terms of the ‘audio’ perceptions) levels of sound than the ultrasound. The body components like the tongue and the palate are supporting tools for augmenting the frequency of the sound of the syllables of a mantra. The inner extrasensory energy-centers of the body (including those in the brain) exponentially amplify – with the help of the vital power of the bioelectricity and the strength of consciousness (of the sadhaka), the frequency of the sound waves of the mantra far beyond the limits of ultrasonic and supersonic vibrations.

Scientific investigations on mantras are important, considering the fact that only a handful of genuine ‘experts’ of this occult field of knowledge are available today. The creative and enchanting impacts of particular forms of sound – Indian musical ragas, in particular – on human-psychology are well accepted today. Interdisciplinary scientific research is emerging to make use of the same against psychological disorders and as a ‘tonic’ for mental health and enthusiasm for those engaged in monotonous and tiring tasks. In addition, research should also begin for understanding the patterns, meanings and complexities of the phonetic symbols used in the vaidika mantras, deciphering the spectrum of accents and rhythmic chanting patterns for these mantras and devising scientific methods to experimentally establish their veracity.

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Mantras as the Science of Sound

How does sound affect us? Try this. Close your eyes and imagine screeching cars, blaring horns and hooting train carriages. What do you feel? Your pulse quickens, heartbeat races and blood seems to be gushing towards the heart. Now change the scene. Imagine the sound of water gushing gently over the pebbles, and a thousand anklets beating against the soft wind, in tune with the flowing stream. At once, a calm, serene feeling takes over, lulling your senses to a soft awareness. This is the magic of sound.

Vedic scholar and author Dr David Frawley in Ayurveda and the Mind argues that there is a background sound pattern to our consciousness. It may be a song we have just heard, or the sound bytes from a painful or pleasurable event. Some movement of sound is always going on inside us. Like rhythm in music, it determines the rhythm of our consciousness. Furthermore sound is the vehicle for emotion, which we can either reinforce or release. We sing with joy, shout in anger, cry in sorrow and groan in pain. Thus each emotion corresponds to a particular kind of sound, and intensified emotions usually demand stronger sounds.

Seed of Matter
Besides sight, no other human sense is as cultivated and evolved as the faculty of sound. In fact, ancient scriptures document the creation of the entire universe as a dance, a symphony with multiple melodies orchestrated in singular harmony. The Bible mentions this as the ‘Word’ principle: "In the beginning was the Word, the Word was God and the Word was with God." Fascinatingly enough, Tantra identifies this ‘Word’ as the Shabda-brahman—the sonic Absolute that is the Ashabda-brahman, soundless Absolute stepped down to the level of shabda—cosmic sound. This Shabda-brahman is the great cosmic wavelength experienced as God.

According to Tantra, in the beginning was Shakti—the unmanifest cosmos that floated like an egg in the silent, motionless Void, and in which was concentrated the seed power of all universe. A primal shudder (Shabda-brahman) disturbed the slumbering equilibrium of Shakti, and aroused the rajas (active principle) to carry out the creation of the manifold universes. Consequently, Shakti split into two aspects of magnetic force—bindu and nada, positive (male) and negative (female) forces respectively. Just like the Shiva-Shakti union that is the groundwork of Tantric philosophy, the bindu and nada are a duality in separation.

The universe then unfolds and expands like a rosebud. The vibrating mass of energy keeps differentiating and expanding as wavelengths. By the fifth differentiation, energy is evolved on the gross plane, with the creation of 50 articulate sounds (varnas), corresponding, according to Tantric texts, to the 50 skulls worn by Kali. These sounds then enter various permutations creating forms. Owing to this reproductive capacity, Tantra identifies these 50 alphabets as ‘matrices’ (matrika), literally ‘little mothers’. These alphabets are further divided into 16 vowels (feminine/Shakti principle) and 34 consonants (male/Shiva principle). Stepping down generations, these primal sounds have suffered fragmentation and disintegration, but mantras remain their closest approximation till date, revealed to the ancient sages in Sanskrit syllables. ‘K’ and ‘Ksh’, the first and the last consonant, correspond to alpha and omega, and together form akshar—the eternal vibration. Similarly, ‘A’ and ‘Ha’, the first and last vowels, with the addition of ‘M’, representing the life force, comprises ‘aham’ (I), the entire divine consciousness.

This ancient sonic wisdom has a scientific explanation in the Quantum Theory that argues that matter is never inert, but in a state of constant motion—continuously dancing and vibrating, much like the tandava (cosmic dance) of Shiva that explains life as a rhythmic interplay of birth and death, creation and destruction. Also, the Shiva-Shakti principle of duality in separation is invoked in the Quantum Theory. The latter expounds that the cosmos cannot be decomposed into independently existing units, rather it’s an intricate web of relations between various parts of a unified whole.

Nature of Mantra
Mantra is explained as a mystical energy encapsulated within a sound structure. Every mantra contains in its vibrations a certain power. Tracing the etymology, one discovers that the word ‘mantra’ is composed of the verbal root ‘man’ (to think) and suffix ‘tra’ (instrumentality). Thus mantra is literally ‘instrument of the mind’. According to another traditional etymology, mantra gets its name from providing protection (trana) for the mind (manas).

Swami Veda Bharati in his book Mantra and Meditation speaks of the mantra as an "extra factor" that cultivates, cultures and purifies the mind, making its perceptions sharp and concentrated. It draws to itself the energy that is ordinarily going into helpless, disorderly personality patterns, and reshapes and returns it to the faculties of the mind in a freshly created order. This is reverse of cosmic evolution where everything proceeds from the unconscious, unmoving and unknowable to the conscious, moving and the knowable.

If you are wondering how a simple sound, syllable or word can exert such potency on the human mind, then you need to remember that mantra is not part of human language; it is not just a simple sound but a concentrated expression of Shakti. Its study is akin to the study of psycholinguistics. Ancient seers identified each syllable with a corresponding mental energy. Swami Nikhilananda, Acharya at the Chinmaya Mission Centre, New Delhi, says, "Human consciousness has the inherent quality of spanda (the infinite cosmic vibration) which can be evoked by awakening the power of the mantra." This is also called ‘mantric consciousness’ (mantra-chaitanya) that goes beyond the audible sound to the psycho-spiritual power itself. It is often argued that a mantra without a ‘consciousness’ is like any other sound.

Tantra describe this power of human consciousness as kundalini-shakti—the super-intelligent force sustaining body and mind through the agency of life energy (prana). Tantric texts beautifully portray the awakening of the kundalini as the rising of the coiled serpent, the divine power that lies dormant in every human being, and is aroused and pulled upward through the chakras, the psychic centers of the body. Georg Feuerstein explains, "When the kundalini leaves the bottom chakra (Muladhara), it gathers the fundamental energies captured in the four letters inscribed in the four petals of the Muladhara lotus. It then proceeds to the second chakra, where it gathers the six letter energies, proceeding to the third chakra, and so on. Finally, the letter energies of the Ajna chakra are dissolved into the transcendental seed point (Om) together with the chakra itself. When all 50 letters of the basic sounds (varnas) are thus dissolved, enlightenment occurs."

According to the Tantric sound model, there are at least three levels at which sound exists: Pashyanti—Word-principle as a pure vibration known only to the intellect, Madhyama—Word-principle as a psychic state, and Vaikhari—Word-principle as the spoken word. Beyond these is the transcendental level of the Para-Vac, which is the Supreme Speech—Shakti in perfect union with Shiva.

Mantra in Action
The intricate workings of mantras on the human psyche can be understood by dealing first with what Tantra calls nada. Swami Veda Bharati explains, "Nada [in Tantra] is the principle of sound that is not differentiated.…It is expressed in Indian music by the presence of a drone instrument such as the tanpura…In the background of this music, there must remain the undifferentiated monotone of a drone like that of an ooooommmmm…From birds chirping, to the cosmic rays racing through space…to supernovae exploding, to ants crawling—if all these sounds were simultaneously recorded, there would be only one single sound: ooooommmmm. The drone of that monotonic cosmic sound is the background against which every instrument of the orchestra of the universe plays…It is that line which runs above all the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, joining them."

Nada is not a part of dhvani (external sound). Dhvani instead arises as a projection of nada. The latter may be called the sound of consciousness from which the consciousness of external sound develops. An ordinary word is dhvani that may be arbitrarily replaced by another sound.

For instance, ‘water’ can be replaced by pani, without changing the implied object. But nada is the internal sound that has no substitutes. Nada is divided into inner sonar vibrations called mantra, which may be produced externally in the manifest sound of dhvani. At this stage, mantra is in the form of syllables and words that appear no different from the ordinary language.

However the true meaning of a mantra resides in the powerful experience of reciting it, which cannot be envisioned in its translation. Says Tantra practitioner Lorain Chopra, "During the japa, the whole body vibrates and all other sensations go numb. It’s a beautiful, sensuous feeling that purifies and elevates your entire being to a higher level."

Sounds similar to a hypnotic musical performance. So the obvious question arises—why mantra? Why not music? Says Swami Veda Bharati, "Listening to music, one is still dependent upon dhvani… whereas in the practice of a mantra one is immediately in tune with the source of music in the inner consciousness.

"Secondly, in listening to music one hears a series of sounds…this cannot be strictly called meditation because there is not one single object on which the mind is concentrating, as in the case with mantra."

Releasing Mantric Energy
The mantra is a powerhouse. Like an atom, it contains within itself cosmic vibrations. Until one attunes to this subtle power, going beyond the realm of language and dualism, one cannot understand the mantra as Shakti-bindu. Concentrating on this bindu blasts open the consciousness, transporting it to a different plane of existence. But how can concentrating on a single point lead to such enormous expansion? I found the answer in Swami Veda Bharati’s Mantra and Meditation. Draw a circle and mark its center as a dot. The movement of energy in this is in both directions: from the central point to the circumference (suggesting expansion), and from the circumference to the center (suggesting contraction). It is this two-way movement that constitutes cosmic movement. The Tantric tradition identifies this center as the bindu that is always motionless, sending forth conserved but radiant energy into the outer rim, causing the rim to move. This is how the energy concentrated in the beej mantra pervades the entire body from which it is withdrawn again into the core of the mind. Only when all the energies are concentrated at a single point of consciousness does the expansion (bhedana) occurs.

Thus the beej mantras are undisputedly the most potent of all mantras. They are combinations of letters that represent the relationship between the kundalini and Supreme Consciousness. The beej mantras belong to language and although they seem meaningless, each one of them has an inner mystical implication. The highest of the beej mantras is Om, referred to as the primordial sound or the Shabda-brahman. Aum, as it is sometimes written covers the threefold human experience: A is the first sound that the vocal apparatus utters, M is the last, and U is the middle range. Together these three encompass all sound, and from these all other sounds emerge.

Tantric texts document a tradition of mantra recitation in which either Shiva or Shakti is predominant—in the former, Shakti asks Shiva to reveal His nature; in the latter, Shiva asks Shakti to reveal Her nature. The revelation of this nature means a comprehension of Tantra—the grid of consciousness in the macro and micro cosmos. Each Tantric mantra has a corresponding energy-control map (called yantra or mandala) that traces the energy waves as they flow in the cosmos. An aspirant meditating on Tantric mantras is also expected to concentrate on its equivalent yantra.

In case of each Tantric mantra, the practitioner needs to know its rishi (seer), devata (deific power), channdas (rhythm), svara (accentuation), prayogya (application), beej (seed power), shakti (a fraction of itself that expresses its power), kavacha (armour), kilaka (recitation of which prevents the mantra’s power from moving away from the practitioner) and nyasa (the process by which various sounds in the mantra are identified with the energy in particular limbs).

Sound Versus Silence
If sound is the basis of all creation, what is silence? Swami Nikhilananda responds, "Silence is zero-sound. It’s like darkness that is zero-light. Human consciousness is constantly thinking, or in sonic terms, is constantly experiencing vibrations at multiple levels. When thoughts subside and the mind comes to rest, silence begins. This is the state of meditation—the state of not thinking, of shifting the awareness from the outside to the self. For a beginner, the process begins with thinking, with concentrating on the external surroundings so as to know what awareness means. As the process continues, one reaches the pinnacle, where sounds cease, and the seeker glimpse silence."

This process can best be explained yet again through music. As the scale tapers upwards, the pitch sharpens till there comes a zero-point when sound ceases and you glimpse the beauty of silence. Thus sound is not antagonistic to silence, but they together form a unity in separation, like the Shiva-Shakti principle. From silence comes sound that again subsides into stillness.

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Introduction

 XE "god"  XE "god" The Principles of Power

 

You have all the power you need to make miracles in your life, but the source of that power is hidden deep, in the core of your being. It is not simple to access that place where the real treasure is hidden. To get closer to the power you seeking you need a special technique. This book introduces you to an ancient method, called the Japa meditation, or mantra repetition.

Mantras are the chants of classic Hindu spiritual tradition that take their roots from Aryans. Chanting helps to condense dispersed energy to the intensity of a laser and focus it on a problem or a situation, which needs to be resolved or enhanced. The invocation can be called “mantra” only if a saint or seer revealed it. Great sages and seers of ancient times were able to hear the word of God in their deep meditation and contemplation, that is, in the “alternative” state of mind. God revealed his many faces through mantras; this is why we have many mantras. Some great saints, like Valmiki, dedicated his life to learning the highest lows of sound and were able to compose mantras to invoke a specific aspect of creative or destructive energy. These were the mantras composed for achieving material gain and practical changes, and are known as mantras of Red Magic.

Mantras contain names of Gods; by saying them, you are able to activate the powers of light in yourself and in the world around you. Contemplation on the divine beings or simply, God connects you to the energy of Absolute source of knowledge, power, and bliss and recharges body and mind with these qualities. This experience is as refreshing as drinking divine nectar, which fills you with beauty and perfection. Gods of the Hindu pantheon also represent aspects of human personality. Mantra of each God connects us directly to a corresponding aspect within, helping to activate and empower it.

 

Scientifically speaking, a chant is a sound vibration with a specific formula that awakes a particular energy in you and the Universe in a form of a god (or a demon, if you recite a mantra of a demon). According to physics, all manifested phenomena, everything you can see or touch, is a field of vibration with different rates of density. Every thing and every one can be affected and changed by a vibration directed towards them. Therefore, mantras can be used not only to empower you, but also gives you ability to change the environment- bringing a “good vibration” into your office or home, to resolve situations, and affect other people.

Being the “power wire” to the pool of energy, mantras possess great healing properties, purifying the body from negative energy, bad thoughts, and on a physical level, from toxins. It is well known that diseases appear as a result of negative thoughts, spiritual impurities and sins that first affect emotions, then mind, and later destroy the body. Keeping your spirit strong and pure from destructive forces in the world--what physicists call the Entropy and religious people call the Devil is a routine housekeeping of every person of power. Mantras are perfect tools to maintain an order in your personal Universe. The principle of the right Universal order, called Rta in Vedas, is a very important principle of Hinduism and other religions.

 

 

The supernatural powers have always been widely used, around the globe and throughout history. Though the magic practice seemed hidden, it was always available to those who sought it, and for many people, it was a profession: Chinese Kung Fu masters and Japanese Ninjas, European witches, Native American medicine men, tyrants and saints from all over the world. The Gods, and the super powers associated with them, have existed, and been called upon, all throughout history. Though they may seem remote from your experience, their ways can be learned like anything else. There is really nothing magical about magic. Becoming a master of power is only a matter of practice. The ancient magic mantras, introduced in this book, worked for thousands of years, and they will work for you.

Red magic is about making your wishes come true in the most ecological manner. Magic helps to aim the power of your desire at the goal and hits it precisely, like a golf ball hits the hole, in one shot- a birdie! You win. Literarily, magic can be used even in a golf game when you direct the ball with not only hands, but also the power of your will. Magic transforms an average person into a superhero, a superstar, and the super self; the word “magic” means transformation.

In order to make good things happen in your life as if by magic, you need two things: strong psychic energy and perfect concentration. The amount of psychic energy matters because the more energy you have, the easier it is to reach the goal. Ability to focus on the goal without interruption is a sign of a magician. The concentration of ordinary people is imperfect, it is scattered and diluted by multitude of things, worries, and fears. Concentration of average person is like a kitchen knife, but concentration of a magician is like a blade of samurai sword. To keep the perfect concentration and high level of energy you need a special technique, and Japa mediation is one of the oldest methods used.

Magic isn’t taken very seriously these days. In our society, from a very young age, we are taught not to believe in it. Yet somehow we can’t seem to stop thinking about it. Magic is in the fairy tales we heard as children and the books we read and the movies we see as adults. It is as if our hearts continually yearn for the magical world: perhaps we should listen to our feelings! And now, after you have learned about the magic of Harry Potter and the strengths and weaknesses of Lord of the Rings, are you ready to use the power yourself? Every person has the spark, the seed of the supreme divine nature inside in the trace amounts, just like animals have trace amounts of intelligence. It’s in our capacity to raise the fire of divine light and become beautiful like Gods.

The spiritual technique of Japa meditation can be used to achieve the realms of the divine and fly a little above ordinary human nature. What distinguishes a great person from an ordinary one is an amount of energy he or she possesses. Some people, who try to perform a spell and never get a positive result complain: “the spell is no good”. The spell works proportionately to the amount of energy the person possesses and can spend to manifest the desire. The more energy you have, the bigger the chance that your wish will come true; the bigger the goal, the more energy it is needed to be manifest. Mantra meditation helps to accumulate the energy that will be needed to accomplish the result.

In magic work, mantras connect you to the realms beyond visible, the heaven and the underworld—depending on which mantra you recite.

Your inner personal microcosm is as complete as the endless and wondrous macrocosm that is out there, and is certainly full of interesting characters. Mantras are the keys to mystery of the Self.

Gods are your highest qualities: love, kindness, sacrifice, mercy, joy, laughter and fulfillment. Mantras of these Gods are your weapons of light. They will help you fight the Demons of hatred, jealousy, greed and anger, rage, longing, regret, that at times, seem to devour you and stop you from getting ahead. The obstacles and problems in your life can also be representation of demonic activity, the perpetual entropy that penetrates the Universe and you, as an important part of it.

This inner war is the esoteric meaning of Jihad, the Holy war of Islam. Mantra pierces through the clouds of doubts and selfishness and brings you to the clear sky of true understanding and vision. It helps to stop the noise of the mind, and the silence, hear the truth of Spirit. You have body and it’s senses. You have mind and its thoughts. You also have sub-consciousness where all your past is recorded, the program that controls your present actions without you being aware of it. Underlying it all, not perceived by conscious mind or even the subconscious lies your true and divine Self, your nucleolus, the God within which Hindus call “Atman”. This God is the same for every religion: be it Christianity, Hinduism or Islam-a different paths to the love and truth within. This part of you is the supreme you, the real and essential Self, who is wise, beautiful, kind and rich. This part of you is the source of amazing grace, wisdom and energy enough to be a person of excellence. The divine realms of perpetual happiness have never stopped to exist-- it is you, who are disconnected from them. Come back and find the bliss you are filled with.

During your journey within, you will meet your brilliantly divine powers as well as raise dark forces from the deepest hell within you. You will witness battles between the Gods and Demons on the field of your own Self, a real Star Wars within your endless personal cosmos. Only now, it’s not a movie any more: saving or destroying worlds is for real and success is entirely up to you. Yes, all fairytales will become very tangible and the world of magic will become one of your ordinary worlds. These trips within are fascinating. But like any adventure, they can also be tricky. To navigate these trips safely and return home successfully, you need a powerful tool. Your tool is the Mantra. To find happiness and emotional balance, to reach light, travel throughout yourself. The things you see and adventures you have on this journey will be amazing. If you are ready, let's go!

 

In this book you will learn twenty-five Gayatri mantras for different purposes. If you want aid in finding out truth, for example, recite Varuna Gayatri mantra, to become a great artist, chant Sarasvati mantra, if you want wealth, worship Lakshmi, if you need protection, chant Durga mantra, for help in love matters recite Kama Gayatri, and so on. But if you don't want anything material, but want to know the God himself, chant Gayatri in its pure form. Becoming enlightened will be just a side effect on your way to success.

Mantras can help you with all kinds of matters. With the help of mantras, you can attract love and money, increase the devotion and passion between you and your lover, improve your health, become wealthy, remove obstacles, succeed in your projects, and gain security, peace and prosperity. Mantras are the pills prescribed by the doctors of the spirit. Mantra meditation is a time to protect the mind from the poisons of the world: anger, hatred, jealousy, attachments, ignorance, pride and greed that like a Devil stand on the way to your happiness and success. In a state of prayer, you awaken kindness, serenity and joy, enter in the state of mental silence and perfect concentration that allow you to avoid mistakes and work much more productively.  Mantras are your power tools-- they help you to become the king and ruler of your world and a master of yourself.

 

About  mantras

 

 

Mantra is energy.

 

 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”

 The Bible, John 1:1-14

 
Mantra is energy, it can be used to create good or evil, depending on the intention of the person using it, but the energy itself is neutral. There is one important principle to remember: when a person recites a mantra for his own sake, it will help only that person, but if a person prays for good of others, the prayer helps both the person reciting and the other party. Similarly, if a person recites a mantra to harm someone, the mantra will harm the person who recites it as well. Be responsible, mantra is a power tool.

 Shri Yantra, the graphic illustration of the sound “AUM”, a vibration that created the Universe.

 

 

 

The physics of mantras

 

A vibration with specific formula

 

              With a spoken word we affect world around us as well as our inner psyche in a very direct and inevitable way. All sensitive people can feel the weight of a word and its various effects on their mood when someone is cursing or reciting a beautiful poem, or better yet, singing it. We sculpt future with our present thoughts and words and anything said is sooner or later manifests itself in a very tangible form, thus, watch what you say. On the other hand, our words affect our own being from within like a self-hypnosis. If you keep repeating to yourself”I am beautiful”, you will feel beautiful, and you will look more beautiful than usual. If you keep repeating you hate someone, the hate it is. However, it is much easier to affect emotions with words than to obtain energy to gain something tangible, like lots of money, house, and car or become famous. It takes much more times to repeat: “I am rich”, ‘I am famous”, to bend the power and nature towards you and actually become rich and famous. It might take you some time of constant concentration alone with work before you reach bigger goals. The great news is that yes, eventually you will have what you really want – given an absolute focus on the goal, sharpened by the use of mantras.

Mantra, or prayer, is a technically correct invocation. The combination of sounds that bring about a specific result is mantra. Each letter of mantra that corresponds to a sound and represents a vibration possesses power to change or affect body or mind. The power of these sounds is rooted in the highest planes of the solar system, and therefore, work on every level, from most subtle to the most dense. The sound-meditation is used in all worlds’ religions and is based on the fact that the manifested Universe is the product of all-inclusive vibration, called nada.

 

A mantra, which is a vibration with specific formula, can represent any force, godly or demonic, positive or negative, creative or destructive. Different mantras have different effect, and knowing what mantra to use in different life situations makes you a skillful manipulator of matter. With help of mantras you can create things that you desire or free yourself from someone of something, be it a person, a bad emotion or a thought, or any other manifestation-- visible or invisible. Anything or anybody in the world can be affected and changed by a vibration, and reciting mantras creates a vibration that affect you and those you target.

Vibration is not only related to forms, but also to a state of consciousness, and by the means of mantra you can make changes in your consciousness, your outlook at things and develop your psychic powers. You will be able to see the essence of the things - and see what exactly you want to change or to keep and cultivate.

So, there is nothing magic about the magic--it is a science that we were not taught in modern schools, but which was a common subject in the schools of other times in the past. For example, Kama Sutra denotes that study of magic should be one of the basic sixty-four liberal arts and sciences, among the arts of cooking and lovemaking, which every civilized person have to master.

In the karmic sense, chanting works according to words of Christ: "as you sow, so shall you reap". Lord Gautama Buddha, and all Buddhist teachings, emphasizes the principle of cause and effect, called karma. Let's take the example of prosperity or wealth. If you constantly think about, pray for, desire and work for wealth, you are planting the seed in your mind for prosperity. Wealth and material prosperity will then eventually come into your life. However, a practitioner Buddhism trains the mind to think in a broader compassionate terms, seeking the welfare of all beings. So, you can use your power for personal gain as well as for prosperity of the entire world – and possibly become reach and holy in the same time.

 

 

 

Feel the vibe

 

As we mentioned before, everything in the Universe is a field of vibration with different rates of density. Every living thing is a field of vibration and therefore can be affected by another vibration. Vibrations can be dense--representing a physical body, or very subtle, however, all of them can be felt intuitively. People call that feeling a “vibe”. A vibe can be good or bad, sexy, dangerous, invigorating or depressing, or whatever you can pick up with your sixths sense. Even food has its vibe-- the same dish made by two different people will taste different and will make you feel different. When cooking, person transfers his energy on the food through his act of creation, and depending on the quality of vibes the cook possesses, the food will feel good or bad. Food and cooking is widely used in traditional magic. It is close to impossible to describe different vibes, or energies, in common words. To know the vibe, you need to feel it. Therefore, you can learn vibes and magic only through practice. Fortunately, life around us is full of all sorts of vibrations, and the only thing you have to do is to tune in and begin analyzing.

A person of power, unlike an average person, knows how to detect vibes and control his own vibes – the invisible antennas of an attuned person are very sensitive. With practice, you can feel things that happen miles away, whether it is something to do with your family or with anything you want to relate to. On the other hand, a magician can create a vibe of his choice and apply it to a charm or a spell in order to give a neutral matter a specific quality, or power. What gives the power to the love potions, charms and spells is the intention of the person who does them. Having the goal in mind, a magician creates a vibe that changes things according to his or her will. This work takes a lot of energy and plus knowledge of how to create the right vibe. Both can be built up on the basis of Japa meditation. This ancient practice lets you to experience different vibes of mantras and learn how they affect the matter.

You might think that magic is an easy miracle. Yes, later on, it is. But in the beginning, like anything else, it is a lot of routine work on subtle levels. Being a magician is only a matter of doing or not doing that work. It’s like learning to play a musical instrument: before you express your own passionate soul through the music, you need to drill simple scales until you do them easy and with perfection.

 

The origins of mantras

 

 

The source of knowledge: Aryans

 

 

 

            The Gayatri mantras came from both Aryan and Dravidian spiritual practices and are dedicated to the Vedic Gods. The Vedic religion is originally of Aryans, later it was mixed with Dravidian spiritual tradition, giving birth to modern Hinduism. The main source of spiritual knowledge comes from the Vedas, the four sacred books of Aryans. The Vedas are believed to be given to people by God: first, God gave the knowledge to the first man, Manu, and from him to all his sons and daughters, called people.

 

 

Aryans were people of European origin, who came from the territory of South Russia and spread on the west as far as Ireland and on the east all the way through Iran and India. There are amazing similarities between old Slavic and Sanskrit languages, especially from the Vedic period. The very word "vedas" has same root with the Russian word "vedat", meaning, "to know". The name of Fire god Agni, sounds just like "agon" in Russian, meaning “fire”. The word "varit" is  "to boil" sound similar to Varuna, the god of water. There are many same roots sheared between Sanskrit and European languages: the word "mother" is "matar" in Sansrit, "mama" in Russian, "mutter" in German, "madar" in Persian, "madre" in Spanish, "moder" in Swedish. So linguists call the modern group of languages that sprouted from Sanskrit “Indo European group”.

Aryans entered India in about 1700 BCE and replaced the dominance of the Indus Valley culture with their own. The early Aryans build no cities and left very little information about them, they were nomadic people. Most of what we know about them comes from the Vedas, a collection of prayers, hymns and religious teachings. The period between 1500 BC and 500 BC is called Vedic Age.

The Indus Valley civilization that was blooming from about 2500 BC for about 1000 years, than "vanished without a trace". Excavations carried from 1920 in the Indus Valley show that the kingdom had very beautiful and carefully planned cities; houses had surprisingly modern plumbing system, with baths, drains and water chutes. Merchants used a uniform system of weights and measures. Cities had huge warehouses to store grain produced in outlying villages. The local people honored the mother goddess and followed the fertility cults, represented by phallic symbol. There a seal was found, bearing image of a horned three-faced male with erect phallus, seated in yogi position, surrounded by a goat, a tiger, an elephant, a bull, a cobra, and a rhinoceros. This is a figure of Shiva Pasupati, the Lord of Beasts, the oldest gods in modern Hindi pantheon. So, Shiva is not one of the Vedic gods and nether is a Mother Goddess. Shiva is equivalent to the Horned God, the father of ancient times. This is the same Horned God who later was mistakenly identified with the pagan Devil by the Cathlolich Curch.

When the culture of the Indus Valley people began to decline, Aryans conquered their land and settled in. They called the local people "Dravidians" or "Dasa" - dark-skinned worshippers of the phallus and the bull, and at first regarded them with derision. Aryans worshiped Indra, the warrior god, and Agni, the god of fire. In Rig Veda about quarter of all hymns dedicated to Indra, who helped Aryans overcome the Dasa people as well as Vritra, the force who holds back the lightning and rain. Another important god is Varuna, the god responsible for the moral order, Rta. Aryan didn't believe in transmigration of the souls and in the life after death, they were concentrating on the present lifetime. Much of the emphasis in the Aryan religion was upon a successful happy life here and now. During the early centuries of their time in India they lived like they used to at home: ate a rich diet including fish, meat, vegetables and milk and enjoyed intoxicating liquors. Their attitude to food was liberal, prompted by a philosophy of having healthy minds and healthy bodies. Later, as a result of the ahimsa, non-injury religions like Buddhism and Janism meat eating became impure. A later Vedic text, called the Taittiriya Upanishad, says that food is equal to Brahman, the Supreme God and that the eating is not an act of only filling the stomach but a religious sacrifice, in which oblations of food are offered to the fire in the stomach--this is why people say grace before meal. The later Vedic texts have a few passages about an afterlife, which considered being an influence of Indus Valley tradition as well.

Despite their racial pride, Aryans mingled with the people they conquered, gave up their nomadic ways and learned farming and crafts. In the society, Aryans divided people by their occupation that gave way to the cast system in India. The three basic groups were Brahmins, the priests, Kshatriyas, the warriors and Vaisyas, the traders and farmers. Although Dravidians had built an advanced civilization, Aryans separated them from the non-Aryans and put them into the fourth group, called Sudras. This group included farm workers, servants and considered to be the lowest class of people. As a result of intermarriages between the local people and Aryans, the interpenetrating of cultures occured and by 500 BC a new Indian civilization had emerged. Although it consisted of many kingdoms, the people shared common culture rooted in both Aryan and Dravidian traditions. By this time, people had developed a written language—Sanskrit. The priests were able to record the sacred texts, which were taught by word of mouth before.

Scholars agreed on the fact that Aryan traditions and beliefs formed a framework for later Indian civilization. Aryan religious beliefs would evolve into the major world religions. Just as the Middle East gave rise to the majour three religions--Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the South Asia was the birthplace of Hinduism and Buddhism. Hinduism has the theory of the reincarnation cycles of the lives of souls, which are sent back to earth until they are judged to be worthy of going up to heaven and becoming immortal, like the gods.

The word 'Hinduism' in itself is a misnomer. In the old days, this religion was called Sanatana Dharma, which means “the way of the Universe”. In Hinduism there is no concept of the original sin or Devil. Every being, created by the preceptor god Brahma, is good. Sometimes, however, out of circumstances beyond his or her control, a being adopts bad ways. But even the evil people and demons of Hundu world pray to God, their father. As a result of their prayers, some of them obtain the power. After attaining that, the ambitious beings, which think that they can excel the gods, start to interfere with the Universal order. In the end, they are always loose the power. And they need to work hard and pray hard to gather themselves, to rid of their curses and become strong again. There is, however, a term for hell in Hindu mythology - Naraka.  Dharma Raja, the king of righteousness who is a God, not a demon, governs that region. The bad souls go to hell only for a temporary phase of purification. The final destination is always heaven. If a soul has done enough good deeds on earth, it goes to heaven–Swarga, or Paradise on Sanskrit. If sins outnumber the merits of a soul, the temporary destination, according to Puranas is Naraka. But the journey doesn't end there. According to the theory of Karma, a human being is born as many times on this Earth as is necessary to shed his or her bad Karma and finally attains Mukti, salvation.

Aryans recognized one God behind many, they called him Brahman, or Isvara. Vedas sing praise to many Gods, but despite the multiplicity of gods, the Rig Veda affirms that: "To what is One, sages give many a title; they call it Agni, Yama, Matarisvan..." The concept of One God repeated in Yajur Veda: " For an awakened soul Indra, Varuna, Yama, Aditya, Chandra all these names represent only one basic power and spiritual entity."

 

 

Comparing Hinduism and Christianity

 

The world’s most ancient religion, Hinduism, stands out for its multiplicity of gods. Because of this diverse variety, Hinduism is regarded as the most confusing religion in the world. Compared to Hinduism, Christianity believes in one God. However, this one God has three aspects: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This divination produces a variety called the Holy Trinity. The first principle is called the Father because he breathes life in all living creatures. The Father produced and sacrificed his own Son to save the world from the darkness of ignorance. The Holy Spirit enlightens and transcends to the realization of spirit and eternal life in the kingdom of God.

Studying Hinduism in depth reveals the fact that this religion, too, believes in one God, called Isvara. Hindus have a saying: "Ekam Sataha Vipraha Bahudha Vadanti," which may be translated: "The truth is One, but different Sages call it by Different Names". This supreme power cannot be understood by the human mind. Isvara reveals himself in the tree aspects that sustain the wheel of existence: Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the sustainer and Siva, the destroyer of the material universe. These three Gods correspond precisely to the divination of one God in Christianity. Brahma is the Father of the world, because he created it. Vishny is the Son, who comes to save the world in many of his avatars, or incarnations. Shiva is the Holy Spirit, who destroys human attachment to the material world and thus, transcends souls to the realm of immortal spirit. Even though both religions seem very different on the surface, they come very close at their essence, revealing the same truth.

An interesting comparison factor is how these two religions deal with the feminine principle, the Goddess. Mother Goddess plays a tremendous role in Hindu religion. She is depicted as the Mother Nature, Prakriti, who is the mother of all physical forms. She is also the mother of all Gods (in this case, people and gods are relatives).

Similarly, Christianity adores the Virgin Mary as the mother of Jesus Christ, the Son aspect of God. The only difference is that Christians regard their Goddess as a virgin, pure and non-sexual, while the Hindu Goddess is not shy to reveal every side of her feminine power. She is wise and artistic as Sarasvati, beautiful and glamorous as Laxmi and wild, sexual and destructive as Kali. Sometimes the Mother Goddess is worshipped as Durga, a worrier goddess, who is independent from any male influence and more powerful than any male god.

This rich representation of the feminine in Hindu culture is very appealing. While the Virgin Mary is left to weep looking at her miserable children who carry their crosses throughout life, Durga fights evil actively with a sword in her hands. This is a difference and yet, another similarity between Christianity and Hinduism. In both religions, the Goddess is the mother of all human kind and every person in particular. She is a compassionate provider, ready to protect her children from misfortune and sufferings.

 

 

The symbolism of Swastika

 

The swastika is an ancient Aryan symbol that represents auspiciousness. The word can be divided into the components swa (one's own) and astika (it is). Thus, it means, "that which is one's own or that which is independent." Since the Divine is the only independent entity in the Universe, the swastika is a symbol of God. Everything else is independent upon the Divine for its existence, maintenance and dissolution.

The sign has been associated with god Ganesha the most, probably because he is the lord of good fortune and this sign depicts the good fortune. Yogis first saw the form of the swastika in their meditations.  When you reach the point of silence, it appears as a blue dot. Than the blue dot, or bindu, begins to move at the commencement of creation, its initial movement forms a line. If one extrapolates that movement into the four cardinal directions, a cross is depicted. If one would like to convey the idea of omnipresence, one may put "flags" on the ends of the arms of the cross and thus a swastika is formed. Sometimes, it is said that the swastika represents the fact that all paths to the divine, whether straight or crooked eventually only lead to the divine center.

In the mind’s eye, it can be conceived of either a stationary or as being in perpetual motion, with its arms whirling like a giant cosmic pinwheel. In a clockwise rotation, its seems to depict the outward dispersion of the Universe, while in a counter-clockwise rotation, it seems to depict the Universe imploding back into its essence.

The swastika was abused by Adolph Hitler, who achieved tremendous influence, but misused the power, and failed. This is why when the power is yours, you need to be responsible.

 

“Whatever regions the pure in heart may see in his mind, whatever desires he may have in his heart, he attains those regions and wins his desires: let one who wishes for success reverence the seers of the Spirit.”1

 

Mundaka Upanishad.

 

About you

 

Introducing your personal Gods and Demons

 You are the Universe

 

            All the Gods and Demons of the Hindu spiritual tradition represent qualities of the human psyche. The most beautiful virtues as love, kindness, sacrifice, mercy personified as Gods and vises like laziness, anger, hatred, jealousy, pride, envy, delusion and conceit personified as Demons. Contemplation on Gods helps you to develop your best qualities and become God-like. Meditation on Gods also gives you power to achieve your goals.

 

 

According to an ancient thought, a human psyche contains the entire Universe within, with all its galaxies, gods and demons. People made of the same star matter as the rest of the Universe and in that sense we truly are star children. The inner world of each person is a microcosm, a compact reflection of the macrocosm-- the infinite and vast world that lies outside. The forces that govern the cosmos on macro level, also govern the individual level of the micro “self”. Every person is born with the same original set of powers; the Hindu religion made a clear classification of them some time ago. Nothing had changed since then—people are fashioned on the exact way now like they were a thousand years ago. The classification of old Hindus has never been hidden ether; anyone was always able to request the immortal technology of self-mastering. The set of powers is the same for each person, the potentials are the same, and the only difference between the ordinary and the extraordinary is how an individual handles inner powers or uses them at all.

Consciously or not, every person is aware of all the powers he or she possesses. These powers are manifested as gods and demons in every culture. Everyone has experienced them in forms of thoughts, emotions, drives, cravings, strengths and weaknesses. These voices can be very loud and demanding, sometimes they can be overpowering, seeming to have the will on their own stronger than the voice of the reason. Some of them can become obsessions and drive a person to an edge. A strong emotion like rage can be very overpowering; obsession with alcohol and drugs is deadly, jealousy drives some people insane.

To keep bad thoughts, emotions and habits at bay, to cultivate inner beauty, peace and harmony—is a skill that must be learned in order to have a healthy, happy and successful life. Becoming familiar with personal Universe and its inhabitants is the first step to personal happiness and even magic. Knowing the character of each God, the every aspect of the self, a person can understand his inner motives and know how to handle them. Meeting your personal Gods and Demons and becoming friends with them is one aspect of this work. Good communication, the key to a good management, is another. Knowledge and communication with your own inner powers gives a person control of your own world, making you the ruler and the master, the God of your Universe, which is the same for everyone.

It takes an effort and work to maintain the light. It takes a lot of concentration to not be consumed by the daily routine or simple laziness. In old days, a person who was seeking truth would become a monk or a nun and isolated themselves from the ordinary life in monasteries. People traveled to remote places to keep in touch with light all the time without being interrupted. Modern people are rarely willing to do such an extreme move. In modern times it is our privilege, but also a great challenge to seek enlightment and truth in the real life.

The purpose of the given practice is not to disconnect a person from the reality, but to make life better and allow using all of person’s potentials. The things of daily life that distract you from being with God, or the inner light in summary are called Devil. This is where the metaphor of constant fight between the Light and the Dark powers came from: Devil is our daily materialistic survival routine, full of temptations, and a life-long test. If you pass the test, you enter the world of the eternal life and light. Every day the tests are given to people, and every day people choose to enter light or darkness. The interesting thing is that to pass the test, you need to be with God to begin with.

 This is why it’s important to find your divine light as soon as possible and mantras can help very much. God is the light within us that we try to cultivate, but have to constantly fight with Devil who distracts us. Devil is our attachments and desires that produce jealousy, anger, and all kind of other vises that result in physical and mental disorders.

The tools, given us by old masters are the mantras of the powers, called diferrent names. Mantras serve to connect to the forces within and direct them with the power of will. Also, with help of mantras it is possible to activate, or awake the forces that are needed the most in different life situations. Some call it magic; to others it is a pure science.

Gods, all known by different names, are different aspects of One God and are also aspects of every person. Find your loving Sita, find your fierce Kali, find your refined Sarasvati - in your world. Find the Brahma by your creative side, find Vishnu in being protective, find Shiva in the times of change and renewal. You have everything, and the only problem you might have is not able to find the connection. Well, here - some ancient tools that were used for thousands of years and came from the most pure and original sources. Whispered by the Gods, heard by ancient seers and sages and delivered to us - so that we find the power that we have and use it when we are ready. The mantras are magic keys to the magic you have locked inside. So, here are the keys for you, welcome to the Universe where wishes come true.

 

 

 

 

Choosing the right mantra.

 

Mantra practice awakes the hidden super power in you that is often asleep. It activates creativity, vision, and the inner soul-fire that gives you an outstanding and magnetic personality. Still, there are many different mantras that will trigger different kinds of power; in most basic category some of them are dedicated to a male God, and some to a Goddess. The male principle in every person, represented by God, stands for qualities like personal strength, capacity for aggression, stamina, vigor, drive. General female qualities activated by chanting a mantra of any Goddess awake ability to nurture, sensuality, creativity, gentle nature and sensitivity. Both men and women have male and female principles, graphic representation of which is a well-known symbol of Yin and Yang. Yin is a female principle, the force of earth, with dark and wet qualities; Yang is a force of Heaven, male principle, light and dry. In a healthy personality these principle are well- balanced, but underdevelopment of one or the other lead to personal problems. Men who are disconnected from their female side lack creativity, imagination, sensuality, ability to be good lovers and have problems understanding and connecting to women on every plane, physical or emotional. Women with poorly developed male qualities have plenty of ideas but unable to manifest them, lacking the driving force, ambition and ability to fight; they are easily controlled, have week will power and “no spine”. So, firstly, you need to determine to yourself what gender mantra you need to choose for yourself.

A God and a Goddess have many faces, or many aspects, as mentioned earlier. Every aspect is represented by a particular deity and has a name.  If you want to develop a specific quality in yourself, contemplate on the God or a Goddess that correspond to that quality. Contemplation on a chosen deity awakes the corresponding aspect of psyche within the internal Universe of yours and develops it, making you complete and potent person. For example, if you are very smart and sensitive, but lack sexual wildness and unable to satisfy your partner in bed, the Shiva mantra or the Kali mantra will be a great aid, providing you with the primordial sexual power. If you have problems falling in love and letting yourself become frivolous and playful, go for Kama Gayatri, he is God of love. Or if you have big muscles, but too rough and not subtle enough, the Goddess Sarasvati mantra will help you to become more sophisticated and artistic. If you need more physical strength and stamina, practice the Hanuman mantra, and if you want to fill yourself with divine beauty and glamour, attract wealth or marry a rich man, recite Goddess Lakshmi mantra.

Usually one person needs to do a combination of few mantras to catch up with what is missing in him or her before becoming perfect. In this book you will find enough mantras to cover every aspect of yourself, head to toe. This is truly a therapy of the future that is however, is tested by generations, being old as humanity and that deals with both the psyche, the soul and the spirit. So, contemplation on Gods helps you to fulfill your wishes and become perfectly fine while a mantra is that kiss which awakes the sleeping beauty in you.

 

 

Change your past or future

 

Mantra meditation elevates thoughts and conciseness to the realm of Spirit; from this illuminating height you are able to see the true reality. When mind become unclogged from the noise of sensless thoughts and fleets above emotions and passions, the person enters a state of complete mental clarity and grace. In this state one realizes the causes and effects of his actions and is able to repair the harm done by a wrong moves made in the past. Yes, you can change the past! You will be able to avoid future mistakes, adjusting the decisions that you have made before--which may lead you to the wrong life direction. Yes, you can change your future, too. Mantra is a great tool to make the right choices.

Chanting a specific mantra brings specific changes in your personality or in the surrounding. Mantras help to direct power towards reaching a specific goal and remove obstacles - that is, bring "good luck". During mantra meditation a person enters higher states of consciousness, temporarily becoming a seer, or a psychic. A person can see a future or analyze the past and present with a vivid clarity.

Chanting mantras brings you to the state of pure joy, and the reality of God can only be apprehended in a consciousness of joy that is beyond ordinary consciousness. Chanting helps you to connect with light, and remove all darkness and impurities from all planes. Expelling dark energy from the physical body removes diseases. Bringing light to the mental plane balances the mind, and clears away bad thoughts, habits, attachments, obsessions, jealousy, fear, hatred, including self-hatred, depressions and anger. Mantras is a great practice for maintaining health, balancing weight, improving relationships, keeping young, beautiful and full of energy, gaining power and the self-control. Contemplation on Gods brings unlimited love and joy into your life. When light finally break through all the dirt, accumulated with years, than you change, becoming close to perfect. This process takes some time and continuous practice, but it worth the effort. The trip is beautiful, full of interesting adventures and self-discovery. You'll see that you have no limits to be or to have anything you ever dared. Than you will become similar to the God or Goddess, and this is the aim of this book: to help people become their absolutely best.

Infusing yourself with love, care, strength and health, you can take charge of your life on a much better and productive way. You will be able to make relationships with other people, including your family, perfectly balanced, since you'll know exactly how to meet and understand other people's motivations and will have enough energy to cope with them. Soaring above the rest of the people, it is so easy to have control. You have been down there before--as a matter of fact; this is where you came from. Now you are looking at the big picture as if from a tall mountain, and in the same time, every detail is magnified in your eyes. You can see more, you can understand better and there are no riddles for you in this life.

I spoke with one of my students, David, who lives in Washington D.C. and who regularly enters the state of clarity and mental stillness during his practice. I asked him to describe how he experienced this state. “It was like my energy went up, all the way to the top of my head, and I felt high, but good high. Then all my thoughts, all my perceptions—the sounds, the colors around me became very clear and magnified. And then I became very hungry. Seems like I begin to use more of my brain, and it needed more energy. I stayed in this state for a few days, doing my regular work, living my regular life that is now was somehow different. Or my perception of it was different. I have changed, I feel like there are more doors is open to me now. I see and understand so much more.” 

 

 

 

Make your wishes come true

 

The entire idea of fulfillment is based on principle of desire. That's right: to make the mantra work for you, you have to have the desire to obtain what you praying for. You need to give yourself to the desire completely, passionately and with no doubts. Desire is your energy and mantra helps to direct it to the right direction, makes it pure and concentrated like a laser. When you ask for anything in the state of prayer, you will obtain the things that you want without question. What is the state of prayer? According to the Upanishads, “Prayer is perfect when he who prays, remembers not that he is praying.”[1]

Yes, magic works when you do it right. However, in the world of ordinary people this phenomenon has its downsides. One of the members of the GoddessHerself Coven said: "I learned only one thing practicing Red magic: anything I wished for were given to me. But how many times I regret my wishes afterwards!" Our wishes might be imperfect like us, who have created them. This is why it is important to connect to the highest in you: a God, and have a pure mind before you make a confirmation for a wish. The better quality person you are, the more perfect your wishes become. Until one day, when you realize all the wished you have made were too small to ask for. They have created more karma, attached you even more to the burden of pleasure and pain, the cross of attachments that every person you carry throughout the life. And then you realize you don't want anything, but eternal light. Then you call Isvara himself, the one who lives in the AUM and the Gayatri mantra and in the heart. This is the highest ambition. Meanwhile, fulfill your desires while you have them. “But the wisehave found immortality, and do not seek the Eternal in things that pass away.”[2]

 

 

 

 

A difference between meditation and contemplation

 

Whenever I say “meditation” in this book, I really mean “contemplation”. There is a difference between meditation and contemplation. According to the Upanishads, “Meditation is a movement of thought limited within a circle, but in contemplation there is a silence of thought. Meditation is the mental activity of the thinker; contemplation is the silence of the poet. Meditation is the means, contemplation is the end: the one is the path, the other is the end of the path.”[3]

Chanting mantras brings you to the state of contemplation, when the mind is still and you able to connect to the infinite source of energy and wisdom, entering the place of all the right answers. “When the five senses and the mind are still, and reason itself rests in silence, then begins the Path supreme”—the Upanishads. There are two ways of contemplation of God: in sound, that is, mantra, and in silence.  The point of silence can be reached through the sound, that is, through a mantra.

Contemplation on God allows you to connect to "the source of unlimited power, wisdom and bliss," as it described in the Upanishads. Every person has this light deep in the heart, but some never see it or experience it only fragmentarily in the moment of inspiration or enligtment.

Instead of waiting for inspiration to come to you, you can come to the state of inspiration. Learning how to contemplate on Gods brings you directly to the Gods, who are your own higher states of consciousness. Making often trips to the land of perfect beauty during your contemplation sessions infuse your life with grace and perfection. Everything and everyone around you changes to the best, touched by the rays of divine light emanating from you. Many times when I walked the streets after contemplating on Lakshmi, the Goddess of beauty, I noticed people stare at me, smiling at me and even complimenting me. I know what draws people’s attention: I feel the radiance that comes from my being in this state of illumination.  My thoughts are pure, my emotions are balanced, the body feels light and waves of pleasant warmth, an incredible energy fill my entire being, my eyes and skin radiate an unearthly beauty. I don’t feel high, I don’t loose my mind, don’t have any weird visions, just feel great and ready to live the next day of my life as perfect and beautiful as it can be. With help of meditation you can unfold this light in you and live enlightened all the time.

 

 

Experiencing yourself as God

 

When you begin to dance, and cannot stop, you become a dancer,

When you begin to sing and cannot stop, you become a singer,

When you begin to write, and cannot stop, you become a writer,

When you begin to bye and sell and cannot stop, you become a businessman,

When you begin to construct and cannot stop, you become a construction worker,

When you begin to compose and cannot stop you become a composer,

When you begin to learn and cannot stop you become a scholar,

When you begin to lie and cannot stop you become a liar,

When you begin to create and cannot stop you become an artist,

When you begin to love and cannot stop, you become God.

And than anything you do is divine, for nothing can withstand the glory of God:

A divine writer, a divine singer, a divine writer, a divine businessman, a divine construction worker, a divine scholar, a divine liar, a divine artist…

 

You can know God, and it is truly the best and the most complete experience you can have. It is like becoming your true self, finding your essence, who is God. This knowledge is more like a very complete and fulfilling sense of self-realization and purpose. It is also a very eye opening experience that helps to evaluate every other thing in life and helps to put it on the right place according to its true value. The first thing you discover in your transcendental meditations will be just a beam of light. As you practice the contemplation longer, the beam will grow bigger and stronger until this brilliant light will fill all of your being--and this is when you will know. Juan Mascaro, a translatour of the Upanishads said: “A single flash of Truth gives us faith far stronger than life.”[4]

 

 

 

The soul and the spirit

 

It’s important to comprehend a defference between an individual soul and all-embracing spirit.   According to the Upanishads, the soul is composed of elements of the body, and is bound by the light or darkness and who rises and falls in its wandering under the impulce of two contrary powers. The spirit is infinite, everlasting truth. “At the end of the worlds, all things sleep: he alone is awake in the Eternity.”[5] “The soul is like the sun in splendour. When it becomes one with the self-couscious, the “I am”, the ego, and its desires, it is a flame the size of a thumb; but when it become one with pure reason and the inner Spirit, it becomes in concentration as the point of a needle.”[6]

Finding God within is a very intimate process. The soul's perception is different from the experiences you have through your senses—this is why it is not easy to describe the spirit with words that are made to describe physical things and sensations. The soul may have such a high experience and understanding, but it will have to soar up through devotion to God. This is how Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu describes his experience with God Krishna: "Devotion to Sri Krishna grows like a creeper growing from a tiny seed. The soul seeking devotion to Krishna is like a gardener who sows the seed of love and splashes that seed with nourishing water, in the form of hearing the Name of Krishna and chanting the Lord's Holy Name. The seed of devotion springs a shoot and grows, piercing through this mundane sphere. The growing creeper goes through the stream of Viraja, the energetic, flowing, unmanifest formless state of existence outside this universe. Then it grows further, and goes through the illuminated plane of Brahma, the white light of Spiritual bliss; until at last the creeper finally attains a home for herself in the soil of the infinite sphere called Paravyoma. This Paravyoma atmosphere is sometimes called the kingdom of God. The creeper continues to grow in that Paravyoma atmosphere and reaches the limits of the higher sphere called Goloka-Vrindaban where she climbs and clings to the Purpose-Tree at the Feet of Sri Krishna."

What you can do with mantras

 

Healing mantras

 

Dissolve your pain with mantra

 

Speaking in terms of energies, a disease occurs in the body when there are too much negative energy is stored in a person in form of hatred, jealousy, self-denial, etc. The negativity causes blocks and tensions; diseases usually occur in the places where you hold your tension and stress. These places are specific for every person: some hold stress in muscles, some in bones, some in different organs. This is why different people suffer from different disorders. When an organ or a tissue is exposed to a constant stress during some time, it finally can't take any more and breaks. As a result, a disorder or a disease occurs. Usually people hold stress in more than one place. A simple massage can relax muscles and bring temporarily relief, however, the massage will not completely relief stress of the heart muscle, for example. A tension of the heart muscle for a period of time almost certainly will result in a stroke. Stress of bones lead to the arteriosclerosis and Immune disorders, stress of a prostate causes a weak erection and the prostate cancer. To prevent the problem you need to find the place where you hold your stress and negative energy, the so-called “your personal demon”, and release it.

Ironically, in order to find the places where you hold a chronic stress, you need to practice conscious relaxation. Do not wait for a massage therapist to relax your bone marrow; it’s not going to happen. You have to do it yourself. You can reach the state of complete body awareness only during the meditation on your own body. Chanting a mantra is the best way to begin that meditation: it will bring you to the right state of mind. Mantra brings your complete attention within and sharpens your concentration. You will be able to “scan” your entire body with your mind’s eye and see where the trouble is hiding. This is a great way to avoid any disease, including cancer.

Connecting with your personal Gods and Demons is a great technique for self-healing. When you connect to God, you dissolve negativity from the part of the body that hurts. Another technique is to make a parallel to the deity that corresponds to the particular part of the body and recite his mantra to activate and empower the weakened organs. For example, recite Vishnu mantra if you have problems with heart, Shiva mantra if you have problems based on Immune system or want to get read of headache, Brahma mantra if your stomach hurts or you have problems with digestion. With help of mantras you can activate a healing power within that allows you to heal yourself and others. For great overall health recite Hanuman Gayatri.

 

 

Mantras for destruction

 

 

Black magic

 

Black magic is the magic of destruction. When you want to harm someone, you might use this practice. Destructive mantras awake your personal demons and attract external dark forces towards you because every spiritual practice works according to the principal “alike comes to alike”. When you accumulate enough of energy through meditation and practice, you can begin to destroy others, but mostly, yourself.

Destructive mantras are not advisory, since they are very tricky: if you recite destructive mantra with just a wrong intonation, like in the case of the demon Vritra, you can kill yourself instead of killing your enemy. To avoid the self-injury, we did not include such mantras in this book. The higher and the more spiritual the purpose of Japa meditation, the simpler the technique is. In other words, it is much less complicated to heal than to kill. Besides, keep in mind that destructive mantras affect you as much as they affect the subject of your deadly concentration.

Someone else can be a cause of your illness, if they, for example, direct their intense anger at you and you don’t fight it back or don’t know how to release it or put a protective shield on. To release the negative energy, sent towards you, turn back with love, understanding and forgiveness. “Love your enemies” is one of the most effective methods of self-defense in terms of the power. Another effective method is to be able to draw out your psychic sword and making sure it is big, heavy and sharp.

 

 

The nature of demons

 

The deepest work is the darkest, and when you will be descending into your abyss, you will meet your inner demons. They are your self-destructive psychic forces that reveal themselves as feelings of hissing anger, burning jealousy, torturous doubt; they are filled with hatred towards everything including yourself. They have a very low opinion of you, saying assaults like: “you are nothing”, “you will never succeed”, “what you do is not important”, “you have no talent”, leaving you frightened and cornered. They slow down the progress of the individual, shot off creativity, wisdom and diminish inner personal freedom and excellency. They attack from the deepest hell of yours-the place where they dwell- when you are the weakest, trying to drag you down, make you depressed and powerless. Why they do it, why they exist, I don’t know, but they are the part of the Universe and this is the fact.

You can fight them, and this is when you especially need the help of your highest qualities, your Gods. The technique of rendering your destructive demons into progressive life force is following: hold on your highest qualities and do not associate the demon of the destructive thought with the true self; become aware of the bad emotion as a separate entity, capture it, bring it to the depth of your subconsciousness where there is no forms, but a pool of pure energy without attributes, dissolve him into that primordial cocktail, and than, shape him into a different, better and useful form: self-destructive anger can become a positive drive and aggression in business, a newborn energy of determination that will help you to move forward and cut through. So, if you know how to deal with your demons, they are not necessarily all that bad; their tremendous strength and vitality can be used for positive purposes, even for healing.

Call upon into to your demonic side when you need to destroy something, when you need to be tricky, to lie well, to still without being caught or for help in any act of debauchery or wilderness. They will love to help you and you’ll see them party! The world of demons is opposite of all high virtues, it’s the world of the upside-down. You cannot treat demons as if they are angels or regular people: you have to communicate with them on their level--only then they will respect you and follow your orders. Be sure that they will not play a trick on you later on, keep your demons under control. You have to show them that you can be trickier and stronger, and they will respect you as a boss, just like in hierarchy of mafia. Demons really know how to have wild fun: you can’t have a good sex orgy without them. They are the key to every carnival; they help you to really let go of all boundaries. You can use the demonic states of mind to achieve something greater, for example, in art or music. When you have the technique of connecting or disconnecting to the world of demons, you easily can switch from being a wild animal to a normal or even prudent person. Some talented rock stars have mastered this technique- they know how to be leashlessly wild on stage, awaking beast in the audience, who rave in respond. In the same time, many of them have normal everyday life, loving wife and bunch of kids.

You can easily recognize people, who are possessed by demons: they are out of hand, and therefore, are dangerous, cause harm and most of them waste most of their lives in jail. These people are not in control of their demons, and so they perpetually live in hell. However, if you learn how to deal with demons in general, it will be easy for you to deal with dangerous people and situations. All you need to do is to get to your bear, panther or a Medusa skin. Thus, after proper preparation, the possessed people or your own demons will never be a threat for you, who are the master of yourself and the ruler of your Universe.

 

Demons Ravana and Lucifer

 

Mantras of demon Ravana can be an example of destructive force practice. Ravana was originally human who through penance and service to Gods won a lot’s of personal power. With this power, he was able to conquer his enemies, accumulate tremendous wealth and attract most beautiful women to be his lovers since he possessed a great sexual potency. Unfortunately, his ego inflamed and he began to misuse his powers. And so he became a demon, the king of demons. Lord Vishnu, in form of prince Rama, had to come to clear the world from Ravana, who was disturbing peace and the Universal order.

Some people, who seek power, still invoke Ravana as an embodiment of material possession and sexual potency. His many heads represent the power of his mind and his many arms, holding various weapons show that he possessed the strength on many men.

The demon, Biblical Lucifer, was originally the most beautiful and powerful angel in the heavens. But he became proud of his brilliancy and regarded himself equal to God. As a result, he decided to over through God and his angels. He went to war in heaven, which he lost due to his imperfect motifs and was cast out from the heavens. “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan...” Revelation Chapter 12 verse 7-8.

So, as we can see, the nature of every demon is a revolting one. Still, demons are a part of the eternal cycle of life, a part of us, and should be regarded with great respect and understanding.

 

 

The theory of the dimentional traveling

 

To become a master of leaping between the worlds, or, to become a qualified dimensional traveler, you need to know more about the worlds you travel from and to. To understand the tree main planes that exist, imagine a Universe made of tree layers: At the top is the Heaven – where gods live. Beneath is the Earth, where people dwell. And beneath the Earth lie magical realm of demons, witches, ghosts, goblins, vampires, mermaids, nymphs and other creatures of underworld.

There are three doors that lead to these three worlds. Each of these doors has its own quality and to open the door, you need the key of the same quality. These three qualities are called Three Gunas[8], the three principles of the material nature. All living things are bound to the material world with these tree Gunas like with ropes. Guna means “rope” in Sanskrit and basically, it is a word for an “attachment.” These ropes bind the immortal soul to the mortal material body in three different ways to the three different planes of existence.

The first plane, or dimension, is called Sattva Guna, the rope of truth. It binds the soul by attachment to wisdom and harmony and brings it to rebirth craving more knowledge and understanding. This quality opens a door to the world of heavenly gods and angels. This is the world of healing White magic that serves to establish truth and harmony, joy and peace. God Brahma rules this world.

The second bond, called Raga Guna, or passion, attaches soul by the bounds of action, the longing of having and doing to the world of desire. This is the key to the world of humans, full of competition, victory and failure. This is the key of Red magic that allows achieving things you desire. God Vishnu is the king of this dimension.

The third world is called Tama Guna and is the underworld that stands out with ignorance, stupidity, crime, dirt and bacchanalias of every sort. This is the world of demons, a strange, dangerous and fascinating place to go to. For some reason, people have magnetic attraction to this world perhaps on the account of dark mystery and desire to penetrate the fear of the unknown. People love to explore this one, especially in the warmth of their own couch, watching horror TV serial. Movie just won’t sell if it doesn’t have sex and violence, the spicy taste of Tama Guna. Few, however, will want to see in person what’s behind this unsafe door. Shiva is the Lord of this world.

Every person is complete with all three qualities, just like the Universe. However, one of the Gunas, is usually dominate and therefore there are different types of people exist: Sattvic, who value truth and knowledge, Rajastic – who value possessions and success and Tamasic – who surround themselves with sex and violence. In the human body, Sattva Guna corresponds to face, Raja - to general body complexion and Tama Guna manifest itself in the buttocks and legs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meditation tools

 

 

           Bija mantras

 

          The word “Bija” means a “seed” and describes a mantra XE "god" , which is usually of one or few syllables. Each seed mantra is the essence of a deity. All together they represent the complete divinity revealed in sound. To add more power to your mantra, you can add one or few biga mantras to it, in the beginning or at the end.

 

 

v      AUM is the most renowned bija mantra. Revealed by God himself, it is the form of creation, maintenance and withdrawal.

v      Shrim is Lakshmi, goddess of beauty and wealth.

v      Hrim is bija of Maya, goddess of illusion who can open your eyes on real reality.

v      Krim is described as Kali, the goddess who dwells in the ancestral or cremation ground, representing purification.

v      Svaha sends your prayer direclty to the Gods.

v      Thah represents the fire sacrifice.

v      Hraim is the light bija mantra that destroys sins.

v      Klrim Svaha is called the bija, which causes things to tremble.

v      Prim is the crow bija, used in works of magic.

v      Hrum (with long letter 'u') is the single syllable mantra of Kalaratri, the great night of time.

 

 


 

Seed mantras of the five elements

            A body of every living creature is made of the five basic elements: ether, air, fire, water and earth. All magic works are based on manipulation of the elements. The pentagram, used in all witchcraft works is a symbol of these five elements in their union. Every elemet has its own bija mantra:

 

 v      Hang – ether

v      Yang – air

v      Rang – fire

v      Vang – water

v      Lung - earth

 

 

Meditation on each element brings out different effect:

 

v      Ether elements brings love of knowledge, spirituality

v      Air helps to achieve desired goal. Unstable air element brings craziness and nervousness.

v      Fire brings passion and excitement. Can be used to harm someone.

v      Water brings love, satisfaction and wisdom

v      Earth brings stability, mental silence and physical comfort.

 

            To be a well-balanced person meaning having the five elements of your body in perfect balance with one another. Watch yourself and see what element can be out of balance when you feel disrupted. Constant imbalance of one or more elements brings chronic diseases.

 

 

Yantras

 

            The suffix 'tra' in Sanskrit means an “instrument”. Yantra is the geometrical form of a divinity, a graphic symbol of God. Mantra is a vibration that corresponds to the essence of a God or a Goddess. Yantra is the centering device, which does not work without a mantra. Invoking of prana (life force) of the deity by reciting the mantra is necessary when you work with yantras. Mantra is the deity itself, and Yantra is the body of the deity with colors and lines that correspond to that particular deity. Instead of Yantras, the picture or a statue of the deity can be used for meditation if you need any visual stimuli at all. Images and sculptures of the deity, called murtis, are more gross representations, while Yantras are more subtle forms.

Yantras can be drawn, engraved or painted on a variety of substances. The classical eight Tantric surfaces are gold, silver, copper, crystal, birch, bone, hide (which can include any type of paper), and Vishnu stone (shalagrama). The simplest yantras are called chakras. These are usually geometric drawings, which are inscribed on the ground.

So, for a more effective work with mantras, use yantras to meditate and connect with the deity. Yantras of some deities are included in this book.

Mala: choose your chanting beads

Japa meditation, or chanting, is done with help of a mala, the chanting beads. Mala (ma-la) means "Rose" or "Garland" in Sanskrit.  A more direct translation is the "garland from above," or "heavenly garland." In the Hindu and, sometimes certain Buddhist traditions, it is also called a "japamala." In the Mahayana Zen traditions it is called fozhu and ojuzu, which in other languages expresses roughly the same meaning. Mala is a sacred spiritual tool, and it is also called the "power beads".

 

Usually chanting meditation is done with help of a mala, or praying beads. The purpose of using praying beads during Japa mediation is to count how many times you have recited the mantra. There is a magic number for repeating a mantra: 108 times. A typical string of praying beads contains 108 bids. This number symbolizes the magic triangle of creation: in the beginning there was the One; The One divided into the two, and from the union of the two the tree, the material Universe was born. By a simple calculation of 1x2x2x3x3x3=108, a number of complete existence that contains One and All, was discovered.

A small sized mala can contain twenty-seven beads, this way you have to turn it around four times while reciting a mantra, because 24X4 is 108. A mala that contains fifty-four beads must be done twice. Each mantra can be repeated a number of times for the greater effect: 1.000 times, or 10.000 times, or 12.500 times or 125.000 times, but that's monk’s practice. For regular people it is enough to repeat mantra for one turn of a mala, that is, 108 times.

Hold mala with your right hand, resting beads on your middle finger. The count begins from the first bead that is next to the big dividing bead. The divining bid should never get passed. As you chant, rotate beads between middle finger and a thumb. Go from one bead to the next as you repeat the mantra, a bead per mantra. If you did one circle of 108 bids, it means you said the mantra 108 times. Turn the mala around and begin from the bead you have just finished with. Do not use dividing bid for chanting.

 

 

Types of mala

 

v      Mala can be made of different materials, depending on the type of mantra you use and type of result you want to have.

v      Mala made of tulsi wood is good for praying to lord Krishna, Vishnu, Ram, Hanuman. For piece and prosperity.

v      Mala made of rudraksha seeds are for worshipping Shiva and Shakti. For sexual rapture and security.

v      Pearl mala is great for piece tasks

v      Coral mala to attain wealth

v      Lotus seed mala used to harm, kill or disturb their mental balance Maran, Uchchatan and Vidweshan Karmas.

v      Silver mala to connect to your subconsciousness and develop inner vision

v      Gold mala to attain success become noticed

v      Ruby and garnet mala to increase sexual passion

v      Emerald mala to increase love

v      Diamond mala to obtain purity of spirit

v      Sandalwood mala is good for all purposes


 

The ritual

 

The right chanting attitude

 

“What better way to respond to a miracle than to fall in love with it?”

-Jose Rivera, Cloud Tectonics

 

“The winds of God’s grace are always blowing, it is for us to raise our sails.”

-Ramakrishna

 

The first thing you need to understand before at the beginning of spiritual journey is the right attitude towards God. To approach Gods successfully, you need to understand that they are not your servants, they don't owe you anything, and they don't have to give you things you asking for. They provide help out of their eternal and unconditional love. Come to them from the point of reverence and they will fill you with their divine beauty, perfection and power.

Pray passionately and from your heart, surrender in your prayer. If you decide to offer a gift to a deity, do </div><div id="Layer2" style="position:absolute; left:49px; top:69px; width:294px; height:134px; z-index:2">it with complete sincerity and single-minded love. It does not matter what you offer, as long as you offer it with devotion.

When you are asking for favors, do not try to make any mental pressure on a god or a goddess. They withdraw from pressure; besides, you are not powerful enough to put pressure even on the smallest God. By putting mental pressure on the deity, you are putting the pressure on yourself--as Gods are the parts of you--and creating stress. Instead, gently bow, connect, send your love and admiration and ask sincerely for help. This is how you treat the divine in you. After an approach like this, you will feel like a god or a goddess yourself.

 

To be able to know God is the God’s grace, and is not your personal achievement. When Goddess smiles at you, it is Her blessing upon you. Never take pride of “knowing God” because you can never completely know the infinite. And again, do not get confused by variety of the Hindu pantheon. Remember that all demi gods are rays of light that come from the same spiritual Sun, the great Brahman, or one and absolute God. Demi Gods are easier to relate to, since each represents one attribute of the Absolute. It is close to impossible to perceive the complete Divine all at once. All demi gods lead to the One, who lives in your heart, who is essence of your highest Self, the Atman, or God within. 

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Offer a gift and establish connection

 

There is no ready prescription of what to offer to a God or a Goddess. In the beginning of your relationship with a deity, offer something that you think is truly beautiful. Later, when you establish a communication with your divinity, you may ask what your Goddess desires. One time, in case of Gnash, a spoonful of milk was enough.

To find out what to offer, begin with a simple ritual of lighting a candle, offering a fragrant flower and contemplating on the deity. A ritual is like a handshake: when you put your warmth into it, offering a friendship, and you really mean it, the handshake will be answered. If your handshake is weak, cold and formal, it will not help to establish the connection. Flowers, which are not fragrant, must not be offered in worship--this is a siddha rule. Flowers are the most beautiful gift you can offer to anyone, be it a human or a God. A cantata "At the offering" from "Rejoice in the Lamb", dedicated to Jesus, refer and explain the flower ritual as following: "For the flowers are great blessing. For the flowers have their angels even the words of God's Creation. For the flowers glorifies God and the root parries the adversary. For there is a language of flowers. For flowers are peculiarly the poetry of Christ".

 

It is generally known from the experience of priests that different deities like: Ganesa likes sweets and milk, Agni likes wood and water, put gold for Laxmi, red flower and honey for Kama, hard liqueur for Shiva, pure water for Brahma, or offer any gift you want to give. Main thing, offer it sincerely, with an open heart. If you offer food, you can receive it back after the ritual as "prasad", or holy food. This food becomes holy, now, because it was touched by the God. It's good to share this food with others. Besides offerings always lit a candle, because Agni, the fire, is the messenger to gods who delivers your oblations and prayers. Burn incense, watch fragrant smoke go up and away, making air fragrant and ready for beauty to appear.

In Indian temples, classically, various ritual accessories (upachara) are used in the daily ceremony, with the 16 principal items being asana (seat), svagata (welcome), padya (water for washing feet), arghya (rice, flowers, sandal paste , achamana (sipping water), madhuparka (honey, ghee, milk, curd), snana (bathing), vasana (clothes), abharana (gems), gandha (perfume and sandal), pushpa (flowers), dhupa (incense stick), dipa (flame), naivedya (food) and namaskar (prayer). These may be multiplied up, depending on the devata. However, despite differences, all daily pujas follow a very similar pattern. Also, according to the Hindy tradition Lord Ganesha is supposed to be worshipped first, before all Gods. Do what you think is best, but you don’t need follow the tradition very closely, since we live in a very different society. Simple offering and inner worship is the most valuable kind.

Still, the highest offering that brings perpetual state of transcendental freedom and happiness is offering of life’s actions. Whatever you do, do it as an offewring to God. Offering your work to God brings an amazing amount of satisfaction and no fear of failure, because winning or failing does not meter anymore. According to Bhagavat Gita, this approach frees one from karma, the law of action and reaction.

 

 

 

 

Mantras and prayers

 

Chanting mantras is very much like repeating a prayer. Some Christian prayers can be chanted, like the Jesus prayer: “Jesus Christ, Son of the God, have mercy on me, sinner,” while “Our father” is not for chanting. However, sometimes there is a difference between some mantras and prayers: a mantra is a saying composed from combination of sounds that has a specific, almost mechanic effect on the subtle levels of existence, bringing forth a change. Prayer is an emotional act; it is the act of faith that sends your love and devotion to God. It’s when you scream for help and that call comes directly from the heart. When both, praying or chanting, do not think of your problems or yourself, do not think at all: you mind must be empty. Than you connect to God and posess his allmighty presence in yourself.

Gayatri is a mantra that has all qualities of a prayer, when we ask God to fill our hearts with pure light. So, it has the power of both emotion and science. This is one of the most powerful and beloved mantras in India and even little children recite it before going to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

To ask God for a date you need an Altar

 

             To create an altar, you need to make a little secret place, a sanctuary, where you will meet your God. Yes, I know that it is your heart, but I am talking about the temple. You can turn your room or even a closet into a temple, all you have to do is to set up an Altar, where you can place the a candle, burn incense and leave gifts and flowers. You can put any other things that are sacred or precious to you on your altar, it' a special place. It is a good idea to have the picture, statue or the Yantra of the deity you want to work with on your altar - it will provide a good visual connection. The pictures and some yantras are provided in this book or you canmake or draw your own image- your vision of the God.

Place your offerings in front of deity and ask him/her to accept them.

Contemplate on what you really want to accomplish by the prayer. If it's a wish or a problem, concentrate on it. Don't think about the problem, just be aware of it. Now recite the chosen Gayatri as long as you feel will be enough, but one mala is appropriate. Repeat this meditation for as long as you need to see results. It usually takes between few days and few weeks. The resolution occurs like a sunrise: slowly and gloriously, embracing you with golden glow or like a storm, bringing a change and renewal strong and without warning—all depending on your character and the kind of connection you have with the deity. At any rate, be ready for your prayers to be answered.

When you establish an intimate relationship to a God or a Goddess, you in the same time are connecting to the part of the Self that corresponds to this Divinity. It's a deep healing process. Talk to the God; chant his mantra that calls his or her name. After the deity appears, introduce yourself and begin the conversation. This conversation is more intimate than a sweet talk between two closest friends or between two lovers. It is extremely open and honest, you cannot possibly hide anything because the personality you are talking to is not a regular person.  A slightest lie or insincerity shows immediately, for you cannot lie to yourself, especially, to your higher self. You are talking to God who came to you out of his or her grace in order to help you. During your conversation, among other questions, ask the divinity what offering would please her the most. After a conversation with Aphrodite, for example, I built a virtual temple on the Internet and called it www.goddessherself.com.

 

 

Chacra pooja rituals

 

In India ritual is called pooja. To perform poojas, large symbols, called chakras, are drawn on the ground and various decorations are placed on top of them. The measurements for the geometric symbols must be as precise as possible. Each symbol represents a different element of nature as shown below. It is very important to include nature in worship because the Goddess expresses herself through nature. When done correctly these drawings reveal the heartbeat of the divine in a manner similar to the way an electrocardiogram reveals ours. You can feel the beat and become one with it, experiencing God.

 

The chacra symbols are following:

 

v      Square represents Earth

v      Triangle represents Fire

v      Circle represents Ether/Space

v      Two intercrossed triangles, known as the Star of David represents Air

v      Two intercrossed squares represent eight directions

 

The geometric symbols can also be combined to create more complex symbols. One of the most complex and well known is the Shri Chakra, or Sri Yantra, shown on the picture. It is composed of four triangles pointing up and five triangles pointing down. These triangles represent Shiva and Shakti. Each of the triangles formed by the intersection of these triangles is the dwelling place of a deity. The central point represents Supreme Goddess Herself.

These ceremonies harness the same Goddess Power used in Tantra, not for enlightenment of the individual but for the entire world. Because all living things are part of the same whole, the progression of mankind toward enlightenment leads not only to peace among man but harmony with nature. Thus, performing these ceremonies brings material benefits to those performing the ceremony, the place where the ceremony is performed, and even people far removed from it. Ceremonies can be performed for the home, temple, city, country and entire world. It’s a well-known fact, that, when you pray for yourself, you’ll get what you asking for, but when you pray for wellbeing of others, you will be rewarded hundred times more. In other words, praying for others and for the world’s salvation is a hundred times more powerful compare to when you pray for yourself along. A holy man is under protection of Supreme power.

By using many symbols arranged in a specific way along with mantras it is possible to draw upon large amounts of spiritual energy and use this energy to help mankind and the world. However, if it is not done properly it can cause harm to those performing the worship. This is because the ritual may attract other forms of energy and some of it can cause harm if you allow it to happen. Even the desired spiritual energy itself will cause harm if not properly channeled. This is because we are normally so removed from this kind of power that we are not prepared to cope with it on our own. This is why such rituals are rarely performed anymore. Most people do not have the time, patience and expertise to risk such things.

When a person, however, realizes his or her oneness with the God, there is no need for external ritual or pooja, which is just a method of realizing that oneness.

 

 Inner Worship (antaryaga)

 

As with so many other aspects of the Tantric tradition, there is a physical, a subtle and a supreme aspect to worship. Physical worship is done in form of external pooja, or even hevier form of ritual - like sex orgy, performed in Left Handed Tantra. Either an image of divinity or another object such as a yantra, a lingam (symbol of male sexual power), a yoni (symbol of vigina) or both together, representing the unity of male and femaile aspects of Univerce and creation, cab be used. Pooja ritual leads the person to the recognition that there is no difference between worshipper and the worshipped.

After a certain stage, outer worship may no longer be necessary, or may be further complemented with inner worship. Offerings to the favoured god or goddess (the isthadevata), may be performed in the form of offering the senses, your work, your art, etc. This can also be combined with meditation and contemplation of the essential oneness of worshipper and worshipped, and may include other elements of the outer worship including recitation of the mantra (japa). In fact, the external puja points to the internal worship. The different mudras (hand gestures that represent Gods and energies) mantras and hatha yoga positions are intended to produce that feeling of oneness with Supreme, the unity of macrocosm with microcosm.

According to the Tantrarajatantra, supreme worship is when the mind, which both accepts and rejects dissolves into the still, deep source called the point of Silence. From that silence will emerge the selestrial music and the voice of God, who is your highest self.

 

Gayatri Mantras

 Goddess Gayatri Mantra - for every purpose

 

To be complete on every way, meet Gayatri

 

Goddess Gayatri symbolizes the immortal soul of every human being. She is called a goddess of the Sun, who is born and dies every day, reminding unchanged throughout this cycle -- just like the immortal spirit. Gayatri is female aspect of one and absolute God, who is called Ishvara, Brahman, Allah. All Gods of Hindu pantheon comes from this absolute god/goddess Gayatri like rays of light come from the Sun, each carrying a specific quality, like the light, ran through a prism is separated into multitude of colors- so the Absolute God is dispersed via pantheon of the Hindu Gods, each embracing the quality of the complete. Therefore, Gayatri mantra is the embodiment of all twenty four mantras in this book. Gayatri mantra can be used for any positive purpose: to heal, to clear mind, to attract wealth, to bring love and joy into you being. But above all, this mantra allows you to taste the nectar of life, connecting to the very source of your eternal power: the God in his absolute form and. Gayatri is the doorway to the light that fills every part of your being with truth, love and bliss, banishing all evil and illness. This is why this mantra has a tremendous healing effect. Connect to the very core of your being: Spirit and become enlightened:  Who knows God, becomes God.

 Ritual:  Lit yellow candle, offer oranges and flowers or any other precious things you’d like to offer. Fill yourself embraced by the Goddess of light, become all light and love and chant Gayatri Mantra. Recite Gayatri mantra facing East, meditating on the subject of your spell. If you are healer, recite one mala of Gayatri mantra before touching your patient and you will bring him the power to heal fast.

  OM BHUR BHUVAH SWAHA

TAT SAVITUR VARENIYAM

BHARGO DEVASYA DHI MAHI

DHIYO YO NA PRACHODAYAT

 

Translation: Om. Let us contemplate on the all divine on the earth, the sky and heaven. We meditate upon the divine light of the Sun and Spirit. May God illuminate our minds.

  

Symbolism of Gayatri

 

Gayatri mantra is mantra of Sun, who personified as a Goddess. She is shown as having five heads and is usually seated within a lotus. The five heads of Gayatri represent the four Vedas of ancient Aryans and the remaining one represents the Almighty Lord himself. In her ten hands she holds all the symbols of Lord Vishnu including mace, lotus, axe, conch, sudarshan, lotus, etc. One of the sacred texts explicitly reads, 'The Gayatri is Brahma, the Gayatri is Vishnu, the Gayatri is Shiva, the Gayatri is Vedas". Gayatri, the prototype of all Vedic mantras, is also called Vedmata, the “Mother of Vedas”. Note the Russian word "vedma" that means “witch”, or a wise woman.

All sects of Hindus accept the importance of this hymn. Even the Arya Samajists, who do not believe in the worship of images and idols, proclaim this hymn as the most sacred one and in every prayer of theirs repeat the holy mantra to achieve success as well as salvation. Gayatri, or Sun, symbolizes one and absolute God, since the sun is the only star that keeps life on Earth. This One God, the creator of the world is the center of worship in every religion: be it Islam, Christianity or Hinduism. It is the same God that people of all faiths are worshipping. This is why Gayatri mantra is a universal prayer. The different forms of Gayatri mantra, Different types of Gayatri mantra, dedicated to different gods, are like the rays that emanate from the same sun and represent different aspects of the same divine principle. 

 

 

 

The structure of Gayatri mantra

 

Gayatri mantra is composed of 25 syllables. The first syllable is the eternal Om (AUM), the embodiment of all sound syllables, just like the Gayatri mantra is the embodiment of all the Gods. The mantra Om is God himself. This complete vibration of creation moves through seven stages, or chacras, in the human body infusing your entire being with godlike perfection. In following syllables, Bhuh is existence, Bhuva is the elements, Svah is the atma of everything, Maha is greatness and light, Tat is Brahman (the absolute), Tapah is all knowledge, Satyam is supremacy and internal wisdom. This mantra connects the three letters of Om (A+U+M) to the seven worlds. Tat is the first cause of all substance, as fire in the circle of the sun and is supreme Brahman. Saviturh is the source of all living beings. Varenyam is the excellent one who receives adoration. Bharga destroys sin, Devasya means it is full of light, while Dhimahi refers to knowledge being golden and always within the sun. Dhiyo means Buddhi, Yo stands for energy.

 

Connecting to the absolute knowledge

 

Each sound syllable besides AUM in the Gayatri mantra corresponds to a specific god or goddess of Hindu pantheon. Therefore, Gayatri mantra is complete personification and invocation of one God and has supreme power of all twenty-four mantras combined. However, when you are looking for a specific effect, the chosen mantras of various deities can be very effective since they help to focus the energy and enhance a specific part of your personality. Different kind of energy serves a different purpose and meditation on a particular energy helps to obtain the power or quality you looking for. In the Tantric tradition, each aspect of a God or a Goddess has his or her own form of the Gayatri.

Gayatri is the key to the complete realization of the self; it connects you to the very core of truth within you. All books, including Vedas, are fragmentary and cannot possibly describe the complete truth due to limitations of language and paper supply. In other words, you cannot learn the perfect truth brom books, written by imperfect mortals. The true knowledge comes from God and Gayatri helps you to connect to this ultimate source of knowledge. It helps you to unfold consciousness to the Absolute Truth, that is God, and only than you really can “see” and “know”. The Book of Ashes, Dadaji, says: "The soul is perfect; what can you improve? You have everything; what is there to gratify? Aum will seek out the man of contemplation; Reveal to him the wonder of great secrets."

All 24 Gayatri mantras included in this book direct you to contemplate and connect to power sources that are hidden not somewhere in the space, but within you.

 

How Gayatri married Brahma

 

Gayatri is another consort of Lord Brahma along with goddess Sarasvati. According to the myth, one day Saraswati was late to arrive at the time when Brahma was to perform his sacrifices to gods. Brahma became very angry because his consort's presence was indispensable to complete the ceremonies. Brahma asked the priest to fetch him any woman and wed him to her at the spot. Just in the neighborhood was found a very lovely shepherdess. In reality she was no other person than this Vedic hymn of Gayatri incarnated in the shape of that beautiful girl. Brahma immediately married that girl and kept her as his other wife together with Saraswati.

Brahma and Gayatri indeed belong to each other; Brahma is the god of Universal knowledge and Gayatri is the key to this knowledge.

Ganesha Gayatri Mantra - for good luck and to remove obstacles

 

Become the king of your obstacles to remove them

Ganesha is a king of obstacles and guardian of all existing beings. If you want your obstacles being removed, Ganesa is the right supervisor to talk to. If you make friends with Ganesha, the obstacles not only will be removed, but will not occur in the first place. He is tough with his enemies, he smash them with the all power of a real elephant, but gives sweetness and joy to the one who honor him. What ever you do with joy (or with Ganesha, who is the joy of life), goes smooth and effortless like caramel melting in your mouth. Do not hesitate once you made a decision, move forward as sure as if you are riding an elephant and luck will accompany you. Recite his mantra to clear your path from bad luck and fill it with good fortune, before any new project to insure success and balance. Recite it when you feel stuck and need help to find your purpose. By ancient tradition, the elephant-headed god, Ganesha is always worshipped first in every ritual or festival.

 

Ritual: Ganesha likes sweets and milk, so it's a good idea to offer him candy, yogurt, cakes, ice cream, any good desert will do. Offer your gifts sincerely, with an open heart and without anxety to receive the sweet stuff back as Prasad. The food becomes holy after you offered it to the deity, because it was touched by God, and is called "prasad". You can eat the desert you offered to the God after you finish your prayers. Contemplate on what you really want in your life, but for some reason never can reach it. Now recite Ganesa Gayatri as long as you feel will be enough. Repeat this meditation for few days, or few weeks and you'll notice how that "something" that was on your way to your goal vanishes like a fog under the rays of rising sun. Your path is clear, your head is clear, and you have energy to do what your real purpose calls you for. Go for it.

 

Mantra

 

 

AUM EIKDANTAYE VIDMAHE,

VAKRATUNAYE DHI-MAHI

TAN NO BUDDHIH PRACHODAYAT

 

Translation: We meditate on Buddhi, let this power direct us.

 

The obstacles remover, who worshipped first

 

             Ganesha is a god of good luck and remover of obstacles, the one who brings happiness and abundance into your world. Any new project or venture starts with his name as he is the remover of all obstacles and is an extremely benevolent god, fulfilling the wishes of those whom praying to him sincerely. According to tradition, people pray to Ganesa first before starting anything new to ensure success and prevent a venture from failing - be it a new job or school exams. In India, Lord Ganesha is worshipped first on all auspicious occasions, whether it is a marriage or a religious function.

 

People take the pictures or statues of this God as they travel for protection against robbery, accidents and other malicios and destructive things that might occure during trip and being afar from secure home.

Hre is a true story that happened to the ganesha’s father, Lord Shiva, the destroyer of demons:”Once, Lord Shiva set off in his chariot to wage war against a demon. Soon after He set off, one of the wheels broke. Then He released that He had forgotten to pray to Lord Ganesha. So, He went back home, prayed to His own son, and successfully defeated the demon.”

Lord Ganesha also has long been associated with commerce, and merchants still pay homage to him. In households, it's common for small offerings of money, flowers and food to be placed before one of the family's effigies of Lord Ganesha.

It takes some work from your side to find a good connection with this deity. He might unswer your prayers and solve the problem – sometimes on a very unexpected and peculiar manner. The results might seem to be the opposite of what you wanted, but when you look further - he is always right. It seems like he solves the problems in advance, without you even realising there was a danger coming. He helps on his way, the way you might not expect. He has a very strong personality, indeed, sometimes even stubborn, just because he is sure he knows better. You really have to trust him to get him involve in your business, and you will never regret it on the long run: he will ensure the success. If the venture is not a good thing for you, he’ll destroy it with the same sertanity. He minds your wellfare and no one can object his opinion, not even his father, Shiva.

 

He is recognized as a symbol of good luck in China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, Mexico, Turkey, Afghanistan, Nepal and Iran where people built numerous shrines on the name of Ganesha. Each of these countries has adopted him according to the local culture. In India, temples of Ganesha are found in every village and in every home.

 

 

Names of Ganesha

 

Ganesha has few names, he is called: the Destroyer of obstacles - 'Vighna Vinashaka', The binger of happiness and joy - 'Sukha Kartha', The absorber of sorrow and misfortune - 'Dukha Hartha', He, who makes wishes come true - 'Siddhi Vinayaka'

     

 

The origins of Ganesha

 

Ganesha is known as a son of Lord Shiva and his wife, Goddess Parvati. According to some legends, Ganesha wasn't actually born to Shiva and Parvati but was created from the saffron paste. Once upon a time Shiva left home for war against demons, and left his wife Parvati alone. Parvati became very lonely and frightened all by herself. She had some sandalwood paste and she sculptured a handsome and strong boy and than breathed life into him. "You are my very own son, I do not have anyone else to call my very own" said Parvati. Then Parvati gave the boy a staff and asked him to guard the door to her private rooms and said, "Do not to allow any one to enter without my permission."

A little later Shiva arrived and wondered who the boy could be and why was he there. As Shiva approached the door, the boy stopped him. Shiva tried to explain to the boy that he was Parvati’s husband and he had the right to enter without asking any one. The boy said without hesitation, "No one enters these halls without my mother’s permission." When Shiva ignored him, the boy hit him with his staff. Shiva was furious! He tried to fight the young boy and realized that he was no ordinary boy. Shiva asked his attendants to capture the boy but single-handedly, the boy defeated them all. Shiva then sent a messenger around to inquire who the boy was. The boy declared, "I am the son of Parvati. I will give my life to carry out my mother’s orders. No one can enter the palace without my mother’s permission."

The messenger returned to Shiva and humbly informed him what the boy had said. Shiva’s pride was hurt. He was so angry that he sent his entire army to capture the boy. Parvati took this challenge personally and called for her other powers Kali and Durga and asked them to stand beside her son. Shiva’s male army lost the battle to furious women and Shiva’s attendants ran for their lives. Shiva then called Vishnu to join him in defeating the small boy. This was not a fair fight. While the boy was engaged in fighting with Vishnu, Shiva threw his Trident and beheaded the boy.

Shiva realized his mistake when Parvati heard of the unfair fight and decided to destroy the world. Brahma humbly approached Parvati, seeking for mercy to save the world. Parvati agreed on two conditions, "My son must regain his life and he shall be worshipped before any of the other gods." By that time Shiva had calmed down and apologized for his rash behavior. He agreed to bring the boy back to life. He asked Brahma to go north and bring the head of the first creature that crossed his path. Brahma left with his party and soon brought back the head of a strong elephant. The head was then fitted to the body of the boy and Brahma sprinkled water on it. The boy came to life with an elephant’s head on his shoulder. Parvati embraced her son with joy. She then turned to Brahma to fulfill her second condition. Indra and the other gods brought Shiva to Parvati. Shiva apologized for his arrogance and declared "Hence on, this valiant boy will be my son. He will be respected as any other God and will be worshipped before any other God. He will be called Ganesh, the chief of my Ganas or attendants, and also Vigneshwar, the remover of all obstacles."

Hence Ganesa become the Lord of Obstacles, placing barriers for those who forgot to worship him and the Lord of Beginnings, for he also brought success to those who sought his blessings before any undertaking. This then explains Ganesa's mythical creation, omni -presence, popularity and location in all if not most Hindu Temples.

 

 

Symbolism of Ganesha

 

Ganesha is personification of the primordial word Om. His curved elephant's trunk is a representation of the Pranava Mantra, Om, the sound from which the world was created. The Pranava is the Upanisadic symbol for Brahman. This identification declares that Ganapati is a Brahman (God) himself. Further, this identification of Ganesa with Om is immediate and physical, because his curved or twisted trunk reminds one of the Devanagari letters. Similarly, the Tamil Om has the physical appearance of an elephant's head with a dangling trunk.

 

Ganesha has a potbelly, is short and is usually portrayed in a sitting position with one leg folded and the other touching the ground. In his four hands, he carries a noose (human bondage to desires); an axe (destruction of all evil); a modak or sweet (joy) and a lotus (human evolution). He demonstrates that an elephant and a mouse, his companion, can live happily together; that love of good food and profound spiritual knowledge can go together; that a fat person can still be a connoisseur of dance and music. He shows that the world is full of opposites, which coexist peacefully.

The weapon that is usually found in Ganesa's hands, generally the upraised right hand, the goad (ankusa), is said to be his "fierce" weapon. It is used to remove obstacles or difficulties from one's path. If one does not learn the truth by gentle persuasion, then more drastic measures are needed. Just as a mahout uses the goad to control and guide an elephant, Ganesa uses his goad to drive one in the right direction. If an individual will not cut off their attachments to the world on there own initiative, then Ganesa will be forced to use his goad to severe these attachments.

The noose, usually found in his upraised left hand, conveys the idea of bondage. Worldly attachments and desires is the noose, and the pasa, as a weapon, catches or snares the delusion of desire. It is Ganesa's "gentle" weapon, which he employs to capture and then hold onto, obstacles or difficulties, to direct one along the right path much as a rider guides his steed by the use of the bridle and the reins. One should make the mind like a bridle that keeps the horses of the mind from running about wild. By it, Ganapati is able to pull his devotees nearer and nearer to the truth. Eventually, he will tie such a devotee down to the highest truth.

 

 

The God of Joy

 

Modaka Ganesa is extremely fond of wisdom, the sweet of bliss (ananda). For that, he is known also as "modaka priya." The gods were filled with happiness at the birth of Ganesa and Karttikeya and presented Parvati with a sweet that is called "great intelligence" and the "nectar of immortality." Anyone who merely smells it will become immortal. He who eats it will become learned in the scriptures, skillful at weapons, knowledgeable in the Tantras, a writer and painter, one who has both worldly and spiritual knowledge. Ganapati is the lord of wisdom and as such, he is depicted as rotund and gluttonous. His appetite for the bliss of immortality is unceasing. The liberated one sees himself in all beings and all beings in himself. This state reveals itself in eternal bliss.

Such joy is no longer precariously dependent on external stimuli but is irrevocably secured as a result of his inner transformation. It is externally indicated by the gentle smile that uniformly plays on the face of the liberated one. The modaka or laddhu or korukkattai that Ganesa's trunk invariably turns toward, or that he is holding, or that is found in one of his hands is symbolic of wisdom, of that which gives liberation. The word modaka derives from the Sanskrit root mud (joy, delight). The Self is said to be of the nature of existence (sat), consciousness (cit), bliss (ananda). One seeks bliss because one is of the nature of bliss. Nothing else will ultimately satisfy one than to experience that which one truly is. Obtaining what one likes seemingly brings one joy. Thus Ganapati holds out the incentive and enticement of "giving one what one wants, so that ultimately, one will want what he has to give." The modaka is a symbol of ananda (bliss), of the joys of spiritual practice that Ganesa gives to his devotees. A modaka is literally a sweet wheat or rice ball, which is invariably found in Ganapati's trunk, hand and/or a bowl nearby.

 

An interesting legend is connected with this serpent, curled around Ganesha’s belly: Once Ganesa having consumed an enormous amount of sweet cakes was going home on his vehicle. In the way a serpent had frightened a mouse and the god was thrown off causing his overloaded belly to burst. He immediately got hold of the serpent and tied it around his belly. Besides it, he also bears a serpent across his chest in place of a sacred thread. This shows he has such a great health, not even poisonous snakes can affect him.

 

 

Who is the mouse

 

Ganapati's mouse deserves special mention, for it’s a comic figure and an ancient symbol. Many, if not most of those who interpret Ganapati's mouse do so negatively: it symbolizes Tama Guna as well as desire; it stands for the darkness of the bowels of the earth into which he burrows and the depredation of fields at harvest time. Its nervous and chattering nature symbolizes the petty desires of men that nibble away at their personalities and their inner selves; it is the self-annihilating power of desire. The mouse represents the "carrier" of the Divine covered over by darkness hidden in the depths of the earth (divinity hidden within the physical body). Some have called it the external manifestation of the soul that lives inside the body. By day it shuns the sunlight and by night, it roams the world. Even so does the human being shun the light of divinity and roam the world in the darkness of ignorance unless and until he or she has the proximity or presence of the Divine.

Here is a story from Puramas about the origins of Ganesa's mouse: When he was nine years old, a huge mouse appeared in the ashram where Ganesa was staying and began to terrorize everyone. When Ganesa appeared on the scene, the mouse disappeared. Ganesa however made a loop with his rope and threw it down and trapped the mouse. The mouse struggled, but in vain. Then Ganesa subdued it and made it his vehicle. The humbled mouse said that he had been a Ghandharva and once upon a time had trampled upon the sage Vamadeva when he was hurriedly leaving Indra's durbar. The sage cursed him to be a mouse and when he pleaded mercy, the curse was altered so that he would meet Ganesa in Parasara's ashram and would become his steed thus becoming worthy of worship even by the Gods.

 

Another distinctive feature of Ganapati is his huge stomach. It is vast enough to contain the entire universe. It is the cosmic womb wherein may be found all that is. Thus Ganesa can digest all that life can present, he can stomach anything. This makes him not only Stithaprajna (one with great serenity and equanimity) but also one able to swallow all the sorrows of the universe. This is another way of demonstrating his protective powers.

There is a story of Ganesha’s big stomack (Lambodara) that was once used as a weapon against pride: Kubera, the god of wealth and celestial treasurer, was proud of his great riches. He once visited Kailasa and visited with the divine family. In his vanity, he thought he would show off his wealth to Lord Siva and so, he hosted a lavish dinner. Siva and Parvati said they were not coming but that Kubera could take and feed the child, Ganesa. Siva warned him that Ganesa was a voracious eater, but Kubera replied, "I can easily feed this child to his heart's content." The little child caught hold of Kubera's little finger and followed him to his kingdom.

Once there, Ganesa sat down to eat. And as he ate, his appetite grew and he began to eat faster and faster. Kubera's army of servants had a difficult time keeping up with the child. Ganesa grew impatient at the slow pace of serving and began to eat the dishes, the vessels, the furniture, the palace, the trees, and all of Kubera's kingdom. Kubera pleaded with Ganesa to stop but the child merrily said, "If you don't feed me, I will eat you too!"

Kubera rushed to the feet of Lord Siva and implored for help. Siva said, "I warned you." Kubera said, "Lord, please forgive me for my foolishness and vanity. Save me or I will be eaten too." Siva agreed and gave Kubera a handful of puffed rice saying, "This will satisfy his hunger." With humility, Kubera rushed back to the palace and offered the rice with love and humility and immediately Ganesa's hunger was appeased. Thus did Kubera learn that a handful of puffed rice offered with love and humility and eaten with devotion is more important and filling than all the wealth that Kubera possessed. Ganesa's huge belly physically reminds one of siddhas (powerholders) who have large bellies by virtue of retaining their prana.

 


 

 

Historic origin of Lord Ganesha:

 

Traces of Ganesa's first inclusions into Brahmanic religion came from the interaction between the Aryans and non-Aryans even before the Puranic period, in the Vedic period. In the Rg Veda there is an epoch in which there are several references to an elephant demon, Vinayaka (another of Ganesa's many names) who is slain by Siva. Some scholars assert that this is actually a symbolic reference to the actual historic account of the Aryans coming into contact with the aboriginal tribes whose totemic emblem was an elephant. This reference to Siva's slaying of the elephant demon hence, is a symbolic representation of the Aryans' perceived superiority and contempt for the aboriginal tribes. They also theorize that, later in history during the Puranic period, the Aryans wanting to absorb the tribal people into their race but of a lower caste, elevated the tribal elephant god into Lord Ganesa by Siva's adoption, but first symbolizing the tribal people as being defeated, i.e. beheaded and then transformed into a devotee of Lord Siva, reminding the lower castes that "Lord Ganesh's powers are delegated to him by his conquerors". Later, as natives were assimilated into the Arian community, Ganesha were changed from demon to a god.Ganapati is not only the triple-form (Tri-murti) of the Generator/creator (Brahma), the Operator/sustainer (Vishnu) and the Destroyer/dissolver(Siva), i.e. God, but also the embodiment of the four stages of speech (Para, Pasyanti, Madhyama, Vaikhari); he is the mysterious Kundalani sakti (the cosmic energy that lies coiled within the individual); he is the embodiment of everything, both finite and infinite.

 

 

Five Elements of Ganesha

 

            This is geometric representation of Ganesa in the form of the five elements that are basis of the existing world.

The Earthis represented by a rectangle forming the base (seated, with crossed legs).

A circle (his round belly) depicts Water element.

Fire is triangle (his trunk, mouth and upper trunk.

Air is the crescent (his third eye)

Space (ether) is the flame.

This "elemental" stupa is claimed to be both the source of Ganapati iconography and the prototype of the Tantric worship of the Divine is in the form of triangles, hexagons, lines and so forth, with each element represented by design. As such, Ganesa is conceived of as an embodiment of all the five elements and corresponding, five chacras (centers of energy transformation) in the material human body. Further, in Tantric worship, the earth is represented and controlled by Siva, water by Ganesa, fire by Sakti, air by Surya and space by Vishnu. This may also be thought of as the bridge that connects Vedic worship (employing only the natural elements) and Puranic pujas wherein the elements have condensed into solid images (Murtis).

 

 

Ganesha goes public

 

An excerpt from "Hinduism Today": ""The" Supernatural Event of This Century Is Experienced Simultaneously Worldwide It all began on September 21st when an otherwise ordinary man in New Delhi dreamt that Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed God of Wisdom, craved a little milk. Upon awakening, he rushed in the dark before dawn to the nearest temple, where a skeptical priest allowed him to proffer a spoonful of milk to the small stone image. Both watched in astonishment as it disappeared, magically consumed by the God. What followed is unprecedented in modern Hindu history. Within hours news had spread like a brush fire across India that Ganesha was accepting milk offerings.

Tens of millions of people of all ages flocked to the nation's temples. The unworldly happening brought worldly New Delhi to a standstill, and its vast stocks of milk-more than a million liters-sold out within hours. Just as suddenly as it started in India, it stopped in just 24 hours. But it was just beginning elsewhere as Hindus in India called their relatives in other parts of the world. Soon the “Hinduism Today” offices were flooded with reports from around the world.           

Everywhere the story was the same. A teaspoonful of milk offered by touching it to Ganesha's trunk, tusk or mouth would disappear in a few seconds to a few minutes, not always, but with unprecedented frequency. Reuters news service quoted Anila Premji, "I held the spoon out level, and it just disappeared. To me it was just a miracle. It gave me a sense of feeling that there is a God, a sense of Spirit on this Earth." Not only Ganesha, but Siva, Parvati, Nandi and the Naga, Siva's snake, took milk."

The thirty-two forms of Ganesa as listed in the Mudgala Purana.

On picture below: Ganesa Yantra

 

Ganesha Stories

 

Ganesa helped sage Vyasa to write fifth Veda.

 

Sage Vyasa was meditating in the Himalayas. Lord Brahma appeared before him and asked him to write the Mahabharatham for the benefit of all. Sage Vyasa said that he could not compose the verse and write it down too and therefore asked for the help of someone wise, who would write down as he sang. Brahma asked sage Vyasa to pray to Lord Ganesha to help him. Ganesha told Vyasa that he had enormous work to do and hence he would write it down, only if Vyasa was quick in singing it.

In his turn, Sage Vyasa requested that Ganesha should understand the meaning of the verse and only then put it down in writing. Vyasa started singing. Whenever he felt Ganesha was writing too fast for him, he would come with a difficult verse, thus by the time Ganesha could decipher the meaning, he would have composed several more verses in his mind. In this way, Vyasa completed the Bharatham in 60 lakhs granthams. This comprises the Kandapuranam, Ramayanam, Savithri Puranam, Nala Puranam and so on. Lord Ganesha wrote on Mount Meru using his tusk. Of these 60 lakh granthams, 30 lakhs are supposed to be in the Deva Logam, 15 lakhs in Yatcha Logam and 14 lakhs in Asura Logam. Only the remaining 1 lakh granthams is assumed to be on the earth. Sage Vyasa is supposed to have sung 8,800 granthams, which were difficult for Ganesha to decipher. He has himself stated that Ganesha, Sage Vyasa himself and his Sugan are probably the only ones who know the meaning of those 8,800 granthams. The Mahabharatham is considered the fifth Veda.

 

Story of Gajamugasuran

 

There was an asura called Gajamugasuran. He did deep penance and worshipped Lord Siva, who granted him several boons, by which he became extremely powerful. He put the Devas and rishis to great trouble. He forced the Devas to do 1008 Thoeppukaranams in the morning, 1008 in the afternoon and 1008 in the evening. (Thoepukaranam means to sit down and stand up holding one's ears with crossed hands, left ear with right hand & right ear with left hand). The Devas prayed to Lord Siva to rescue them from this evil asura.

Lord Siva sent Lord Vinayaga to overcome Gajamugasuran. Vinayagar went with several weapons such as bow & arrow, sword, axe, etc. However, since Gajamugasuran had been granted the boon that he be destroyed by no weapon, none of these weapons used by Lord Vinayaga were effective. Vinayagar broke off his right tusk and used it to kill Gajamugasuran. Gajamugasuran still rushed at Vinayaga in the form of a mooshikam (small mouse). Vinayagar crushed the ego and vanity of Gajamugasuran and sat on the mooshikam.

The humbled Gajamugasuran bowed before Vinayagar, who accepted the mooshikam as his vahana (vehicle). Lord Vinayaka is the source of everlasting wisdom. He crushed ego and vanity and reduced it to the size of a mooshikam and used it as his vahana.

 

Story of Agasthyar

 

Cauvery During the wedding of Siva with Parvathi in the Mount Kailas, the entire population, Devas and Rishis had gathered & hence the Northern land dipped down, unable to bear the weight. Lord Siva asked Sage Agasthiar to go to the Podhigai ranges in the Southern land in order to balance the weight. (Agasthiar was very short in stature but his might was so great). Agasthiar was sad that he could not stay & witness the Lord's wedding. Siva granted that he would still be able to see the wedding from the South. From within his matted locks, he took river Cauvery & filled it in Agasthiar's kamandalam, bidding Cauvery to flow wherever Agasthiar pointed. Agasthiar reached the south & travelled to various Siva Sthalams. Surapaduman was an asura, who had immense power. Indra had run away in fear from his Indralogam, reached Sirgazhi in the southern regios of India & prayed to Lord Siva. He created a beautiful garden & worshipped Lord Siva with the flowers from his garden. But soon, Lord Varuna in fear of Surapaduman did not shower rains & Indran's garden & in fact the whole land suffered from lack of water.

Sage Narada, told Indran of the river Cauvery that Lord Siva had once filled in Agasthiar's kamandalam. Indran prayed to Lord Ganesha for his help. Ganesha took the form of a crow & sat on Agasthiar's kamandalam & toppled it. Agasthiar lifted his hands to shoo off the crow. River Cauvery, took it as a signal for her & began to flow. The crow took the form of a small boy. Agasthiar started chasing the boy trying to strike him on his head with his knuckles. Ganesha took his original form. Agasthiar was saddened that he had tried to strike Lord Ganesha. He started striking his forehead with his knuckles. Ganesha stopped him & granted that everybody who worshipped him in this manner would be blessed with wisdom.

 

Story of Ravana and Athma Lingam

 

Ravana, the king of Lanka was an asura (demon), but he was an ardent devotee of Lord Siva. He was the one, defited later by Rama, and Ramayana describes the the entire story. Anyway, Ravana reached mount Kailas & prayed to Lord Siva, that his Lanka should never be destroyed. Lord Siva gave him an Aathma Lingam, with the condition that he should go back on foot to Lanka & that he should not put down the Lingam at any point. If he were to put the Lingam down, the Lingam would remain firmly at that spot.

The Devas were worried that the Aathma Lingam would add to the might of Ravana & that he could never be destroyed if he succeeded in taking the Aathma Lingam to Lanka. Click on image to view enlarged version They prayed to Lord Ganesha for help. Lord Ganesha caused Ravana's stomach to be filled with water. Ravana grew desperate to answer nature's call. Ganesha appeared before Ravana as a small boy. Ravana handed over the Aathma Lingam to the boy. Ganesha declared that he could not wait for long & when he grew tired, he would call out Ravana's name thrice & if he did not come & take the Lingam, he would place it on the ground & go away. Ravana agreed.

Soon Ganesha called out Ravana's name thrice, and since Ravana could not come and take the Lingam, he placed it on the ground. The enraged Ravana tried to remove the Lingam from the ground. But, in spite of using his twenty hands, he could not budge the Lingam. Though the Lingam could not be moved, the pressure from Ravana's hands had changed its shape like the ear of a cow & hence the place came to be called Kokarnam (Ko-cow, karnam-ear). The lingam came to be called Mahabaleswarar since it could not even be shifted by the mighty Ravana (maha-great, balam-power, Eswarar-Lord Siva).

Ravana started chasing the boy to hit him on his head. Lord Ganesha showed his true form & blessed him. The Ganesha statue in the temple has a hollow on the head, where Ravana is supposed to have strcuk him (Kuttu - to hit with folded fists). Lord Ganesha can be pleased by doing kuttu (gently tapping both temples with folded fists).

 Ganesha Mandala

 

 


 

 

Vishnu Gayatri Mantra - for safety and welfare

Vishnu is the God of your everyday life, material well-being and family. He provides prosperity together with his loving and devotional wife Lakshmi, Goddess of wealth and beauty. In more esoteric terms, he is Lord of preservation, the keeper of peace, harmony and equilibrium in the Universe. He is the life force, the body of the eternal cycle of life. He appears as a Savior in order to protect the world or a person from destruction when evil overgrows the good like cancer. Chant Vishnu Gayatri whenever you need to clear yourself or somebody else from evil (both within and without), and dissolve the results of evil: misfortune, diseases and poverty. Chant to become successful in the sphere of wordily affairs and to earn comfortable living. Use this mantra to bring welfare and peace to yourself, your family and thus, to the rest of the world.

Ritual: Burn a green candle, offer white and red fragrant flowers. Bow to the God of the wellbeing and get to love him with your entire being. Bring yourself to the state of complete equilibrium, the state of perfect balance, harmony and prosperity by chanting His Mantra. The sit of Vishnu in the human body is Anahata chakra, the heart center, Maha Loka, the plane of balance. He corresponds to the element of air and is rulwr of Prana, the life giving energy. Conrolled breathing, or prana yama, is another practice to connect to Vishnu in you. 

 

Mantra

 

AUM NARAYANAYE VIDMAHE

VASUDEVAYE DHI-MAHI

TAN NO VISHNU PRACHODAYAT

 

Translation: We know Narayana, we meditate on Vasudeva, may Vishnu direct us.

 

Vishnu, the preserver of your world

 

Vishnu, as the preserver of the Universe who pervades every atom of the Univerce like Prana, the vital life force. The word “vishnu” comes from Sanskrit “vish” which means “pervasion”. The Univerce is maintained by his power. When everything is destroyed in the time of dissolution, or pralaya, only Vishnu remains. He is the God who maintains equilibrium between the life giving Brahma and destructive forces of Shiva. Whenever the balance is disturbed between the forces of creation and destruction, Vishnu manifests himself as the Messiah, who comes to save the world and establish balance again.

Under influence of darkness, people tend to forget the high truth and burry themselves in the ashes of vanity, taking games of Great Illusion for real. As soon as it happens, the perfect cosmic order becomes thrown out of balance and is ready to collapce into deepest hell, Vishnu comes to straten things out and to establish the kingdom of God once again. Many times he walked on Earth in the body of a mortal, as the Son of God, in order to bring the message of the highest truth and justice. Many times he had to die a painful death in front of everyone just to remind humankind of lost values.

 

 

Symbolism of Vishnu

 

Lord Vishnu himself is eternal, unchangeable and immutable and also called Narayana, the all-pervading and ever-present, the eternal never changing truth. He is associated with primeval waters and is shows as a divine being, sleeping on the coiled serpent Shesha or Ananta, floating in the cosmic ocean – when undisturbed. He is the embodiment of generosity, most beautiful, peaceful and perfect, has a blue complexion and is dressed in yellow silk robes. He wears a garland of wild flowers (van mala) that represent everchanging illusion, Maya. In his hands he holds a lotus (padma), the symbol of peace and purity; a conch (shankh) that is symbolizes primordial sound and liberation; a golden ring of light (chakra) that represent consciousness and symbolizes the dharma, the natural low. This Chacra is a weapon that often serves for destruction of evil. Gada, the mace or club, represents power of control over evil. His vahana, the vehicle is the celestial bird Garuda, the eagle, king of the birds. Vishnu is also called Keshava, Narayana, Govinda, Madhava.

His wife is Shree or Lakshmi, goddess of wealth and beauty. She is reborn as his wife in every of his numerous incarnations and considered to be the most beautiful woman and most fateful wife. Vishnu and Lakshmi together form an inseparatable union, that is called Lakshminarayan, and are worshipped together as symbol of marital bliss.

 

 

History of Lord Vishny

 

From the beginning of the creation, he came as Matsya, the giant fish who saved the Manu, the first man, from the great flood (just like in the story of Noah). Later he came as Kurma, the huge tortoise, he came to aid Gods and Demons when they was churning the ocean to get the elixir of life. Than he had to come back as Varana, a boar, who destroyed demon Hiranyyaksha. Than another time, he came as Faimous Narasimha, a half-man, half-lion to destroy another demon, Hiranyakashipu, who was thretening to posess earth and haven, and as Vamana he came, who helped to get rid of the demon king Bali. He came as Parashurama, the man of power, Rama the Divine warrior and protector, Krisha the Divine lover and teacher of new order of righteousness, Buddha the Divine sage, and Kalki, who is yet to come - the Savior, also known as Jesus.

Shrimad Bhagavatam says: (17) “Although by His transcendental qualities the greatest He [as the youngest] of all the sons of Aditi [the infinite one] surpassed in this universe all the worlds [as Vâmana] and was therefore called the Lord of Sacrifice: pretending to need only three steps of land he took thus begging all the lands [of Bali Mahârâja] without ever offending the authorities he is never bereft of. So, of the ten universally recognized avatars, nine have already manifested themselves and the tenth, the Kalki, is coming. All the Avatars are earthly forms of the God, when he sacrifices himself as God in flesh, the Jesus, the Son.

Brahma is the complete lust, he needs his lust to create perpetually, Shiva is a complete ascetic, he brings things to the state of transcendental, and destroys desire by power of yoga, but Vishnu is the sustainer, he keeps things in order by means of love and recreation. That's why Kama, God of love, sometimes called to be his son.

 

 

Ten avatars of Vishnu

 

Srimad Bhagavatam describes incarnations of Vishnu as following:

(12) The one alike Manu [called Satyavrata, the truth abiding] at the end of the epoch saw that Lord Matsya [the fish] is the shelter of all living beings up to the earthly ones because of which out of a great fear for the waters, having taken to my mouth, therefrom certainly all the Veda's could be enjoyed.

(13) In the ocean of milk [knowledge] when the leaders of the immortals and their opponents where churning the mountain [called Mandara, big] for gaining the nectar the primeval Lord supported half asleep as a tortoise [called Kurma] it scratching and itching His back.

(14) As Nrsimha [the lion] He appeared as the one that takes away the fear of the god-conscious in rolling His eyebrows and showing the terrifying teeth of His mouth, immediately piercing on His lap with His nails the fallen king of the demons [Hiranyakasipu] who challenged Him with a club in his hands.

(15) The leader of the elephants who within the river at his leg was taken by an exceptionally strong crocodile, holding a lotus in great distress addressed [Him] like this: 'You are the Original Personality and Lord of the Universe and as famous as a place of pilgrimage all good ensues just hearing of Your name so worthy to chant.

(16) The Lord who heard him in his need, as the unlimited powerful one seated on the king of the birds [Garuda], cut the beak of the crocodile in two with His cakra-weapon and delivered him in His causeless mercy by pulling him out by his trunk. “

 

 

Matsya Avatar

 

Matsya, the Fish incarnation, is the first manifestation of Vishnu. Accorging to legend, that is, a very old history, when the Earth was flooded in a deluge Vishnu came to save humanity from the flood in the form of gian fish. This is the whole story: While Brahma was asleep, at the end of the Kalpa Yuga, the asura (demon) Hayagriva intended to take advantage of the situation and steal sacred Vedas from Brahma. But Vishnu so the demon in the act, and to retrieve the Vedas, took the form of a fish. Then Vishnu, in the form of Matsya, directs the rishi (sage) Satyavrata to collect herbs, seeds and animals, to gather together the seven rishis and to wait.

At the beginning of the Pralaya, the great Deluge, the gigantic fish defeated the asura and restored the Vedas to Brahma. During that war the rain poured down relentlessly, the ocean began to swell and the waves start to engulf the land. It seemed that life on Earth is coming to the end - when a boat appeared where saint Satyavrata was waiting. Then all the rishis, with the animals and the seeds steped on the boat and the floating boat was securely fastened to the fin of the fish, who was really Vishnu. Using Vasuki, king of the serpents as their guide through the stormy sea, they sailed through the night to Brahma. Thus Vishnu saved the mankind from dissolution in the very beginning. This reminds of Biblical story of Noah – just because this is the same story.

 

 

Koorma, the Tortoise

 

Koorma, the Tortoise, was used for support to mount Mandara, as a churn dasher, when the devas (Gods) and the asuras (Demons) churned the heavenly ocean of milk (Samudramanthana) to obtain Amrita. Following Pralaya - the Deluge at the beginning of the present Kalpa Yuga, the Gods lost their immortality and were eager to gain it back.

Seeking help they decided to go to Vishnu, who preserves the order of the Universe. Vishnu suggested that they make peace with their enemies asuras (demons) to work together to obtain the Amrita, the nectar of immortality, by churning the ocean of milk in heaven. Then he transformed himself into a tortoise and plunged into that ocean. Devas cast all kinds of plants and herbs into the ocean of milk. Garuda carried mount Mandara on his back and placed it to the center of the ocean of milk to use as a churn. Vasuki, the king of the serpents, was used as rope for turning it. Poor Vasuki, he is always used as a rope for Gods.

The devas pull from one side and on the other the asuras pulled, churning the ocean of milk. The first product of churning was Visha (or Halahala) - the poison. It was a lot’s of poison, and no one knew where to dump it since it would kill everything around. Lord Shiva volunteered to swallow it all, and so he did without blinking an eye. The poison didn’t affect him much besides the fact that his neck turned blue.

At this point churning resumed. Many precious things rose up after this, including Goddess Lakshmi. At the end emerged the jar containing Amrita-Soma (the nectar of immortality). Suddenly the asuras, dishonoring their agreement, took possession of this jar all for themselves. But Vishnu took on the form of Mohini, a celestial courtesan whose beauty and charm of seduction was considered matchless and approaches the asuras. Intoxicated and distracted by her beauty, they forget about the jar of Amrita and surround the beautiful woman. Meanwhile, the Devas managed to take possession of the jar of Amrita and they alone drank the nectar of immortality. Not a drop was left to the asuras as a result of their weaked desires. When you score small, you loose big. When you give up less, you gain more.

 

 

Varaha, the Boar Avatar

 

Varaha, the Boar, is the allegory of the re-establishment of the world after Pralaya, the great Deluge. At the beginning of the Kalpa, Prithvi (the Earth) was lying on the ocean-bed. Vishnu, wishing to lift her up for people to have their land back, took the form of a boar and plunged into the primeval waters. He lifted Bhoomidevi (the Mother Earth) onto his tusks and raised her to the surface. Before doing this, Varaha defeated the evil asura Hiranyaksha who was trying to prevent the Earth to surface.

 

 

Narasimha Avatar

 

Nara means Man; Simha means Lion. Narashima is the fourth incarnation of Vishnu. It was believed that the evil demon king Hiranyakashipu, Hiranyaksha's elder brother, had been blessed with a boon from Brahma. The boon was the promice of potential immortality. The asura could not be killed by either man or beast, during the day or at night, indoors or outdoors, on earth or in the sky. The asura, being aware of his own virtual immortality, conquered heaven and earth, and there were no limits to Hiranyakashipu's impudence and insolence. The things got too far when he subjected his own son Prahlada to a long and cruel persecution because Prahlada was a devout worshipper of Vishnu and revered the God instead of his father. The demon didn’t believe in God, of course. One day, when the demon king was about to prosecute Prahlada, Vishnu emerged from a pillar of the palace in the form of Narasimha to protect his devotee. When Narashima (neither man nor beast) attacked the asura, it was the twilight (neither day nor night), he dragged Hiranyakashipu under the arch of the doorway (neither indoors nor outdoors), where he threw the asura on his own lap (neither on earth nor in the sky) and reaped the demon to pieces.

 

 

Vamana, the Dwarf Avatar

 

During the Tretayuga Vishnu descended upon the earth to grant a boon to Aditi, mother of the Gods, who asked for protection of her sons. The last of the devas had been defeated by asuras, and now King Bali (Prahlada's grandson) who was an asura, ruled over the tree worlds. Vishnu assumed the role of Aditi's son and changed his form to that of Vaamana, a dwarf Brahmin, the holy man. Then he appeared where king Bali was performing a sacrifice.

According to Hindu religion, a king performing any ceremonial sacrifice has to appease the Brahmins that preside and grant them their wishes. When it was Vamana's turn to be granted a wish, he requested Bali to donate to him a strip of land as long as three his strides. Bali, acting in opposition to his guru's advice who realized that Vamana was none other than Vishnu, consented to the dwarf Brahmin's humble demand. After all, how much land would three strides of a dwarf mean?

As Vamana lifted his foot for the first stride, suddenly he grew and with him grew his strides. With the first he covered the entire earth, with the second the heavens, and the third on Bali's head. Thus giving back to the devas ownership of the earth and the heaven. This avatar is also worshipped as Trivikrama, and Ulagalanda-Peruma.

 

 

Parashurama

 

Parashu means Axe Plow in Sanskrit. Parashurama, Rama of the axe plow, is the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Parashurama was born brahmin but had been blessed with extraordinary physical power uncharacteristic of brahmins. Brahmins are the class of priests in India, the spirit of the country and wasn’t made to work physically.

Parashurama was a better fighter than any Kshatriyafrom the Kings and warriors lineage blessed with such physical strength. Outraged by king Arjuna and his son Kritaveeryarjuna, who first stole Kamadhenu. Kamadhenu was the cow of abundance that fulfils all the desires - Surabhi's daughter, Nandi's sister and was a gift to Parashurama's father Jamdaagni from Lord Indra, the ruler of the heavens. Kritaveeryarjuna then killed his father Jamdaagni and Parashurama swore to destroy the whole Kshatriya clan. Vishnu as Parashurama, in the course of a war which lasted 21 years, went on to destroy all the Kshatriyas, thus he accomplished the task for which he had come to the earth. But he was known to have one quality. He never killed Kshatriyas that had wives for he had vowed not to widow any woman and he never killed women. Thus two of the most important Kshatriya dynasties of Hinduism were spared.

These were the dynasties of Raja Dashratha, the Lord Rama's father, the king of Ayodhya and Raja Janaka (Sita's father), the king of Mithila. So great was Parashurama's hatred for the Kshatriya clan that, legend states that he even challenged Lord Rama to a duel! When Raja Janaka organized the "swayamvara", a ceremony where kings and princes were invited to find a suitable match for the kingdom's princess Sita. It is well known that it was Lord Rama who broke the Bow of Shiva given to Janaka. Only the strongest man could have broken that bow and so Sita was dutifully married to Rama.

On their journey returning from Mithila to Ayodhya their cavalcade was interrupted by none other that Parashurama. For he was livid with anger. He had been tutored in the art and skill of archery by Lord Shiva himself, and here was Rama who had broken Shiva's bow and to add to his anger he was a Kshatriya boy! So he challenges Lord Rama to a duel. Both are such good fighters that neither can overpower the other...suddenly their eyes lock and Parashurama realizes that Lord Rama is none other than Vishnu Himself!

It was time for his incarnation to come to an end and so he retires to the deep forest for the rest of his life. Parashurama is considered immortal and is believed to be living in that forest to this day.

 

 

Rama Avatar

 

Lord Rama or Ramachandra, is the most important Avatar. Together with Lord Krishna he represents the peak of the historic incarnations and by him is defined the ideal character of Indian people.

He is known as Maryada Purushottama and is the embodiment of virtue and righteousness. He is Vishnu who descended upon Earth to conquer all the Indian Peninsula, including Sri Lanka, under the Bharatvansha (the dynasty of Bharata) rule.

Lord Rama is one of the most adored and revered gods in India. He was born in the north Indian city of Ayodhya - a city in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, and is popularly depicted holding a bow, Kodanda and arrow indicating his readiness to destroy evil. His story forms the epic Ramayana. He is perfect in every aspect; the perfect man, the perfect brother, the perfect king, and the obedient son. Commonly he is pictured in a family, with his wife Sita, brother Lakshmana and his most ardent devotee Hanuman, the Monkey God. To write about Rama would mean to write out the entire Ramayana, so I’ll stop.

 

 

Krishna Avatar

 

Krishna means “Dark in complexion” in Sanskrit. He was the eighth Avatar of Vishnu, descended upon the earth at the end of the Dwapara Yuga. A portentous baby, playful boy, Gopis (cowherd-girls) beloved, strong leader, and then Divine Charioteer of Arjuna in the "Bhagavadgita". His body and face are blue, the color of the endless ocean and infinite space. He is often depicted holding a flute in his hands as cowherds do and almost always wears a peacock feather in his hair. Lord Krishna is one of the most worshipped deities in the Hindu religious tradition. He is known for his bravery in destroying evil powers. The Lord is usually remembered and worshipped as Radha-Krishna. The couple symbolizes the eternal love between human soul and God. His death marks the beginning of Kaliyuga. He is Vishnu descended upon this Earth for the deliverance of the Gita, to show the path to Hindus and explain the philosophical significance of being a Hindu. And to write about Krishna would mean writing the Mahabharata, another of the epics of Hinduism from which came the Bhagavad Gita.

 

 

Buddha

 

Buddha means “to become aware”. According to the Dashavataara, Buddha, the ninth avatar, was born a Kshyatriya prince. Siddhartha Gautama was the name of this prince born in the kingdom of Lumbini, what is located in Southern Nepal. Deeply disillusioned by the cycle of birth, death and rebirth and all that is human life which inevitably leads to suffering, loss, and pain, Gautama renounced his royal heritage and his life of a prince and traveled to the east.

As he sat under a tree one day, he recognized that all of the world's problems begin with a fundamental ignorance (avidya), that causes beings to misunderstand the true nature of reality. Because of this, they engage in actions that lead to their own suffering and fail to recognize what leads to happiness. Determined to find a way to transcend the suffering that he recognized as being endemic to the world Siddhartha remained in meditation throughout the night, and during this time the veils of ignorance lifted from his perception.

He came to understand how the lives of all beings in the world are constantly influenced by the effects of their own actions (karma), and that seeking happiness within the changing phenomena of the mundane world is a fundamental mistake. He saw everything in the world as impermanent (anitya) and understood that because of the fact of constant change even things that seem to provide happiness such as wealth, fame, power, sex, relationships - are in fact sources of suffering (duhkha).

At dawn the following morning, he had attained enlightenment and all traces of ignorance had disappeared. He had become a "buddha," a term derived from the Sanskrit root word “budh”, meaning to wake up or to regain consciousness. He was now fully awakened from the sleep of ignorance in which most beings spend life after life.

At first he thought to remain under the tree and pass away without revealing what he had understood, since he knew that the teachings of an awakened being are subtle and difficult for ordinary beings to comprehend. As he sat there in blissful contemplation, god Brahma came to him, bowed down, and begged him to teach others. Brahma pointed out that there would be some intelligent people who would derive benefit from his teachings and that many people would find true happiness by following the path that he had discovered. Out of feeling of profound compassion, Buddha agreed to share his wisdom with people, and so embarked on a teaching career that would last for about forty years. It was believed that Buddha was really Vishnu descended upon this Earth to save people from ignorance and suffering.

He traveled around India, teaching all that wished to listen, and many people recognized the truth of his words, becaming his disciples. According to Buddhist tradition, he was an accomplished teacher who was able to perceive the proclivities and mindsets of his listeners and who could skillfully adapt his teachings for each person and group while still retaining the essential message. He had many lay disciples, but he emphasized the centrality of a monastic lifestyle for those who were intent on liberation. According to his biography, he died in a grove of trees near the town of Vaishali at the age of eighty.

 

 

Kalki

 

Kalki is the next Avatar of Vishnu. Sages say, he will appear riding his white horse and wielding a shiny sword at the end of the Kaliyuga, the Dark Age through which we are passing - the age of suffering, darkness and doom. His task will be to end the evil and restore the Dharma, the low and balance. Thus will begin a new cycle of life that again will start the Satyayuga, the Gold Age of truth and righteousness. No one knows when exactly or in what form he will appear, so see the God in your lover, your child, your friend and a stranger, but mainly - in yourself. And when you meet him, you can say: “In the time before, the spiritual truth was devastated in the inundation of the world, but it became completely manifest with you, my friend.” And you smile not because you have to, but out of pure joy.

 Shiva Gayatri Mantra for inner balance, clear mind and tantric sex

 

Become Shiva to know your purpose

Shiva is the god of Yoga, and meditation, who brongs you above the material world. He is God of destruction, fertility and sexuality. Shiva signifies change, the death of old, clearing the path for new, he is the destroyer of ignorance and corruption in the human nature. He is the transcender who brings things to renewal, giving them new life. He awakens you from daily routine into the moment of timeless eternity and complete spiritual awareness. Pray to Shiva to see the essence of the things, for piece of mind and inner balance. He is great healer, the ruler of all poisons, chant his mantra for purification from toxins and protection from all diseases. He is king of underworld and magik and a lord of dance who fills the movement with magnetism. Chant Shiva Gayatri to obtain great sexual power and, in the same time, to have absolute control of your lower passions and instincts. This mantra establishes link between your physical body and the spirit, making your sex divine.

 

Ritual: The offerings to Shiva in India happen in form of offering milk, ghee (clarified butter) and honey to Lingam, or the erected fallos. Lingam is usually made of stone, sitting in triangular platform that represents Shakti, the female aspect of Univerce, who is the Shiva’s perfect wife. She is the Kundalini energy, her sit is base, or, Muladhara chacra. Shiva dwells in the crown charka, called Svadhistana, he is complete spiritual awareness of truth and reality. Contemplate on your inner union of Shiva and Shakti, the infinite dance of your inner God and Goddess and create the love and harmony between them. When you make love to your partner, unite with his/her Shiva or Shakti and create the beautiful harmony with each other. Chant Shiva Gayatri.

 

 

 

AUM PANCAHVAKTRAYE VIDMAHE

MAHADEVAYE DHI- MAHI

TAN NO RUDRA PRACHODAYAT

 

 

Translation: We meditate on Mahadeva, may Rudra deirect us.

Panchavaktra is all embracing form of Shiva, the combination of all the shiva-energies, which work in defferent directions and in the different elements.

 

 

Primordial God of wild beasts

 

Shiva is the oldest God known to mankind, a God with no lineage. Long before Aryans came to the Indus valley, the local people, Dravidians, worshipped a God, whose pictures are found on their archaic seals. He was the very first and only God Dravidians were worshiping. He represented the raw, untamed, supreme power, the essence and the base of their world. This eternal God is the Lord of wild beasts, the pagan horned God, the husband of the Mother Nature, and his erect fallos represents the power of fertilization. He is the one who first represented Spirit.

Rudra is a chief among: Aditi, the mother, Adityas, the dities of light, Agni, god of fire, Aryaman, god of ancestors, Dyaus, god of the sky, and Maruts, god of storm. In the same time, he is the Lord of mercy and compassion. He protects devotees from evil forces such as lust, greed, and anger. He grants boons, bestows grace and awakens wisdom in His devotees. Shiva holds Varda Mudra: the Lord's right hand is shown in a boon- bestowing and blessing pose. Lord Shiva annihilates evil, grants boons, bestows grace, destroys ignorance, and awakens wisdom in His devotees. He offers abhaya, protection, with his lower right hand and indicates salvation with the left. Shive known to be the most kind of all Gods: you don't need to worship him perpetually before he grants your wish.

The nature of Shiva nature is very complex and very deep: he connects us to our subconsciousness, making us understand the nature of fear, death, sex and mystic powers of human psyche. Tantra is known and feared as a practice of black magic by ordinary Hindus, since Shiva is the king of Tama Guna, the underworld. (Refer to chapter about Gunas)

 

 

Shiva and Shakti

 

In the west, Tantra becoming popular as a spiritual sex practice that is also not so wrong since Shiva is the god of sex and procreation. He is worshipped in the form of Lingam, the erected fallos that stands on the basis of Yoni, the vagina, the very essence of his Shakti, the female. Shakti, the Divine Mother, who has many faces, who is manifested in every female in the world, present in every male, and is called the creative power of Nature. By means of the sexual union between God and the Goddess the material world was and is constantly created. As a husband of the Universal mother he is God of procreation and people pray to him: "O, Rudra, let us be born again through our children".

Tantric ritual sex with help of yantras, graphic magic symbols and mantras, the invocations, were used since ancient times to harness Nature's creative power and promote more crops, more money and other goods. This practice is called Red Magic, with color red representing the female power of desire to procreate. Shiva male mantra awakes the Shakti, the female power and brings Her to the state of the sexual desire – the desire to unite with Him in order to procreate. This practice will help you to create a truly divine union between you and your lover, helping to elevate your sex to the realm of pure joy, the dwelling of the immortal spirit. Discovering the Goddess in yourself is the experience you will never forget and worth trying.

Lingam of Shiva, the essence of every male, is worshiped by all women in India: unmarried daughters pray to be blessed with good husband, and married ones to be blessed with good sex and children. Shiva is the creator of the system of marriage, in which both partners accept equal responsibilities, disregarding caste or community. Shiva himself, or one of his incarnations, who was promoting the relashionships based on love, not on the caste system, came from a mixed family and through his marriage to an Aryan princess helped unifying the warring fractions in India at that time.

 

 

Mahayogi, the founder of Yoga

 

In his other aspect, Shiva is also known as Mahayogi, the God of Yoga. The symbolism of the three matted locks on the head of the Lord conveys the idea that integration of the physical, mental and spiritual energies is the ideal of yoga. Yoga is a mental discipline that helps you to detach yourself from material reality: both beauty and brutality. He refuses to be part of the wordly life and expresses this by not distinguishing between what is sacred and what is profane. He wonders in crematoria, makes no attempt to make himself presentable, he smears his beautiful body with ashes, wears garlands of skulls, and let snakes slither around his neck. Snake around the neck symbolize the yogi power of Lord Shiva with which he dissolves and recreates the universe. Like a yogi, a snake hoards nothing, carries nothing, builds nothing, lives on air alone for a long time, and lives in mountains and forests. The venom of a snake, therefore, symbolizes the yogi power. A snake (Vasuki Naga) is shown curled three times around the neck of the Lord and is looking towards his right side. The three coils of the snake symbolize the past, present and future - time in cycles.

 

God of sex and asceticism

 

The Lord wearing the curled snake like an ornament signifies that creation proceeds in cycles and is time dependent, but the Lord Himself transcends time. The right side of the body symbolizes the human activities based upon knowledge, reason and logic. The snake looking towards the right side of the Lord signifies that the Lord's eternal laws of reason and justice preserve natural order in the Universe. The body covered with ashes symbolizes the transcendental aspect of the Lord. Since most things reduce to ashes when burned, ashes symbolize the essence of physical Universe. The ashes on the unclad body of the Lord signify that Shiva is the source of the entire Universe that emanates from Him, but He transcends the physical phenomena and is not affected by it. Complete asceticism has its downsides, since it is a little narrow, as detected by Srimad Bhagavatam: "(7) Great stalwarts [like Lord Shiva] can overcome their being overwhelmed by lust by means of their wrathful vision, but they cannot overcome their own intolerance. To that however with having Him within the lust is afraid to enter. How can it factually recur to the attention with His mind?" This is why Shiva is also a lord of Sex; his symbol is Lingam, the erect fallos. He rules both wild sexuality and pure asceticism, being complete and balanced as God. Being the ruler of both, wildness and purity, he shows us that to be wild without getting crazy you need to practice asceticism and definitely have to be a master of your emotions. You can be completely wild at the times, but have to balance it with highest and purest, and this is yoga.

 

 

The Ruler of the Underworld, king of Magic

 

Emerging in dirt is yet another method – the method of Shiva - to liberate yourself from false, or any, attachments, and to unleash yourself to the world of Spirit. Interesting parallel is to be found in Chinese folklore. In the book of Supernatural tales, by M.D. Kwan, the holy monk resides in the garbage dump, and the honorable lady, seeking his advice, "fighting down waves of nausea" came for a visit. "With every step she sunk deeper into the slime, sweat mixed with tears of desperation and humiliation bathed her cheeks, but, filthy and barefoot, she felt liberated". Of course, she did it all out of love to her husband, who she had to save from evil witch. It is not acidentely the holy Monk gave her special fungi to break the spell, for fungi belong to the underworld, the same place the witch came from. The principles of chemistry work everywhere: alike is dissolved in the alike. Magic mashrooms hold strong magic properties, especially when you deal with bad spells, witches and other creatures from the kingdom of Shiva.

 

 

God of Anarchy

 

In the modern society various punk movements can be identified as practices of the Left handed Tantra, that is, practice of anarchy, non-control. Of cource, most punks don’t understand whom they represent. Finding the spiritual background in Shiva, punk movements would become religious movements. Shiva helps us to go beyond the established borders of the society and ordinary mind, he helps to find transcendental freedom. Of course, in this aspect, he will always be in great denial by authorities and this is why Tantra was always a prohibited practice. It can be dangerous in the hands of people untouched by spirit, bringing chaos and destruction into the world. And again, anything can be made into a spiritual practice when it is done with higher awareness.

Shiva sitting in the cremation ground signifies that He is the controller of death in the physical world. Since birth and death are cyclic, controlling one implies controlling the other. Thus, Lord Shiva is revered as the ultimate controller of birth and death in the phenomenal world. A tiger skin symbolizes potential energy. Lord Shiva, sitting on or wearing a tiger skin, illustrates the idea that He is the source of the creative energy that remains in potential form during the dissolution of the Universe.

The Rig Vedic Shiva was known as Rudra Brahman, the wild god of the hymns who was so much of an outsider that he was not even entitled to a share in the fire sacrifices, yet the Vedic pantheon was in awe of this self sufficient Hunter-God.

 

 

Manesh, the Auspicious One

 

Shiva, or Manesh, means The Auspicious One. He is Pure Consciousness, Chidanandaroopa, the form of joy, and the source of ultimate power. He is also called Mahadeva, the great God, and Bhava, existence. In the human body, the microcosm, that is build exactly like the universe with all its gods and demons, Shiva's region is the Sahasrara chacra, that is situated four fingers breadth above the top of the head and represent pure consciousness.

He is God of true realization. The knowledge of Absolute has 3 levels: intellectual, that correspond to Brahma, intuitive, that correspond to Vishnu and Real, that is the highest kind possible to man, the knowledge of transcendental nature of Isvara or Manesha, that is, Shiva. In his from of Parama-Shiva, he corresponds to that aspect of the ultimate Reality, which is pure consciousness, pure subject, pure I without even the slightest notion of "I am" or "I am this" or "I am here”. Shiva is the seed, or origin of the multidimensional universe, giving rise to all other ontological categories. There is no duality in Shiva because he is still completely immersed in blissful union with Shakti. His consort is the divine Mother herself, in her forms of Parvati, Uma, Kali, Sati, Amba, Durga and her other beautiful, wild and sexy manifestations. Only with Shiva the Mother Goddess is in her complete personality. Only Shiva was able to embrace her when she took the form of rotting corpse to test the Gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva to choose who can be her true husband. Brahma turned away and Vishnu jumped in the water with disgust. So, as her subtler forms she is Sarasvati, the wife of Brahma and Laksmi, the wife of Vishnu. But in her complete form, she is the wife of Shiva. Mortals should definitely relate to this lesson, see who are you manifesting the most and how much more you can be.

 

 

Rudra the Terrible

 

Known as Rudra, the "terrible", in the ancient times, Shiva is a god of storm and thunder, (he is the father of Maruts, the storm deities) the ruler of destructive and healing forces of Nature. Rudra also means "strict or uncompromising" and aksha means "eye." Rudraksha necklace worn by the Lord illustrates that He uses His cosmic laws firmly - without compromise - to maintain law and order in the universe. The necklace has 108 bids which symbolize the elements used in the creation of the world. As Rudra, he was worshipped with a hope to keep his primordial destructive forces away: "Do not cut us from the sight of the sun", say the ancient prayer. Rudra the terrible exists in the cult of Goddess, who is the Mother Nature itself.

And since he is so close to nature, he is a great natural healer, they say: "Rise up our heroes with your healing medicines, I hear that of all the healers you are the best healer" Rig Veda, 2.33.1

“He is the one who sends disaster, but he is the one who has the power to heal, also. The healer can be a killer, the energy is the same, the energy is neutral, it all depends on how you direct it. Rig Veda”, 2.33.5 You can ask for healing of any types of wounds, asking for a merciful hand of Rudra, so healing and cooling, that removes the injury that comes from the gods", as from forces of nature.

 

Neelkanth, the blue throated God of poisons

 

Shiva is also called Neelkanth, the blue throated god who is dressed in a tiger skin, and has a knot of matted hair through which the river Ganga flows. His throat turned blue when he swallowed the poison of life to save mankind and the gods from poison that emerged during the churning of the cosmic ocean - no other God could survive this. It again shows his tremendous healing abilities. Shiva means 'pure'.

 

Nataraja, he is the lord of Cosmic Dance

 

As Nataraja, he is the lord of Cosmic Dance, the constant dance of death and rebirth, the order of eternal cycle of the Universe. He is dancing on the demon of ignorance, and is showing you how to be above and in control of your desires and karma.

 

Symbolism of Shiva

 

He sits in meditative silence in the mount Kailas in the Himalayas, and due to the power of yoga, remains unmoved while world transforms around him. In the human body the mount Kailas is the top of the head, the crown Sahasrara chacra, center of transcendental knowledge. This is where your Shiva sits, come visit him.

v      Damaru (drum) in his hand symbolizes the two utterly dissimilar states of existence, unmanifest and manifest. When a damaru is vibrated, it produces dissimilar sounds which are fused together by resonance to create one sound. The sound thus produced symbolizes Nada, the cosmic sound of AUM, which can be heard during deep meditation. According to Hindu scriptures, Nada is the source of creation. They say, the letters of Sanskrit emanated from that drum.

v      The water pot (Kamandalu) made from a dry pumpkin contains nectar and is shown on the ground next to Shiva. The process of making Kamandalu has deep spiritual significance. A ripe pumpkin is plucked from a plant, its fruit is removed and the shell is cleaned for containing the nectar. In the same way, an individual must break away from attachment to the physical world and clean his inner self of egoistic desires in order to experience the bliss of the Self, symbolized by the nectar in the Kamandalu.

v      Trident (Trisula) in his hand symbolizes His three fundamental powers (shakti) of will (iccha), action (kriya) and knowledge (jnana). The trident also symbolizes the Lord's power to destroy evil and ignorance.

v      The structure in front of him is Lingam, symbolizing erect fallos, symbol of male sexual power. His vehicle is Nandi, the white celestial bull.

v      Crescent moon on his head symbolizes periodicity and time. The waxing and waning phenomenon of the moon symbolizes the time cycle through which creation evolves from the beginning to the end. Since the Lord is the Eternal Reality, He is beyond time.

v      The head of the woman with string of water coming down is river goddess Ganga. Rriver Ganges is associated with Hindu mythology and is the most sacred river of Hindus. According to tradition, one who bathes in Ganga (revered as Mother Ganga) in accordance with traditional rites and ceremonies on religious occasions in combination with certain astrological events, is freed from sin and attains knowledge, purity and peace. Ganga, symbolically represented on the head of the Lord by a female (Mother Ganga) with a jet of water emanating from her mouth and falling on the ground, signifies that the Lord destroys sin, removes ignorance, and bestows knowledge, purity and peace on the devotees. She recides on Shiva's head, because, according to myth, only Shiva could tamper her wildness and preserve land from destruction.

 

 

The story of how Shiva tempers Ganga

 

 The Gods pleaded Bhagiratha's cause to Ganga, but Ganga was adamant. She had no wish nor desire to leave the heavens and, if compelled she would only destroy the earth by flooding it with her angry and indignant waters! The Gods were helpless and advised Bhagiratha to go to Lord Shiva, who, if he wished, could prevent the impending doom. As the matter was of grave consequence, Bhagiratha beseeched Goddess Parvati, Lord Shiva's wife, for her help. Parvati then convinces Shiva to receive the violent and angry currents unleashed by the feisty Ganga upon his head and divide the falling waters into a myriad of harmless streams through the locks of his hair.

This having been accomplished, it became easy to guide the river to the center of the earth, pacify the 60,000 and lead Ganga to the ocean. Filtered through Shiva's hair, the Ganga emerges from the heavens bearing all the reviving powers of the universe. Temple cities dot her meandering course, the most important being Varanasi (considered India's holiest city and also known as Benaras or Kashi). Here, at the break of dawn, hundreds of devout Hindus flock together and await that special eternal moment when Indra, the king of the Gods and source of life, unites with the sacred, purifying, reviving waters of Ganga."

 

Lord Shiva, also called Tryambaka Deva (literally, "three-eyed Lord"), is depicted as having three eyes: the sun is His right eye, the moon the left eye and fire the third eye.

The two eyes on the right and left indicate his activity in the physical world. The third eye in the center of the forehead symbolizes spiritual knowledge and power, and is thus called the eye of wisdom or knowledge. Like fire, the powerful gaze of Shiva's third eye annihilates evil, and thus the evil-doers fear His third eye. When the Lord opens His eyes, a new cycle of creation emerges and when He closes them, the universe dissolves for creation of the next cycle. The half-open eyes convey the idea that creation is going through cyclic process, with no beginning and no end.

The half-open eyes also symbolize His yogi posture.

The two earrings, that he wears are called Alakshya (meaning "which cannot be shown by any sign") and Niranjan (meaning "which cannot be seen by mortal eyes") in the ears of the Lord signify that He is beyond ordinary perception. Since the kundala (earring) in the left ear of the Lord is of the type used by women and the one in His right ear is of the type used by men, these Kundalas also symbolize the Shiva and Shakti - male and female - principles of creation.

The celestial bull, Nadi, is associated with Shiva and is said to be His vehicle. The bull symbolizes both power and ignorance. Lord Shiva's use of the bull as a vehicle conveys the idea that He removes ignorance and bestows power of wisdom on His devotees. The bull is called Vrisha in Sanskrit. Vrisha also means dharma (righteousness). Thus a bull shown next to Shiva also indicates that he is the eternal companion of righteousness.

 

 

Shiva in Buddhist tradition

 

            In Buddhism, Shiva is represented by Mahacala, the 11th face of boddhisattva Avalokiteshvara. He wished to turn himself into a wrathful deity in order to defeat more rapidly and effectively the obstacles to the happiness of others. With this thought the letter HUM in dark blue color came out of his heart. That Hum became Mahakala. It is not without significance that in the mantra 'Om Mani Padme Hum', the syllable Hum invokes energetic powers. The birth of Mahakala was followed by an earthquake and with one voice the Buddhas in the heaven declared that he would have the power to grant all wishes if the wishes were honest and good. Mahakala was the personal tutelary deity for the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan. "His terrifying imagery ultimately derives from the angry form of the Hindu god Shiva, known as Bhairava". The essential nature of Mahakala in the Tibetan pantheon can be gauged from the fact that he is worshipped as the Protector of the tent.

 

Shaivism presents Shiva as endowed with all the attributes of the Supreme Divinity, and therefore He is the Supreme God.


 

 

Brahma Gayatri Mantra - for creativity and a beautiful mind

 

To create your life like God, be Brahma

 

Brahma is the Lord of creation, wisdom and knowledge. Pray to him to activate these qualities in yourself, to know the essence of things or to be a great scholar. This mantra was made to stimulate cerebral activities. Lord Brahma helps to increase productivity at work and in your life, to move forward, creating your life as he created the Universe. As the God of creation, he holds tremendous ability of fertilisation, and the seed is his symbol. He is embodiment of lust that comes from desire to create. So, he is the God of both: high intellegence and lust. See how you manifest yourself as Brahma. He also rules destiny and luck, so connect with him to control your own destiny and luck. Chant to discover, to unfold, new dimensions and new vision of your life. Connect with him to grow, expand, make right decisions, and to create like God

 

Ritual: Lit a blue candle, offer seeds. Visualize yourself growing and expanding into every form the world has. Imagine yourself being All, every thing and every living creature at once. And when you become All, you will know it all: all in you and outside of you, and you will see how this two worlds morrour each other. There nothing unknown to you is left and everything becomes clear like a drop of water, the element of the second chakra called Svadhistana, the sit of Brahma and the senter of sexual drive. Recite Brahma Gayatri and find the answers to your dilemmas and to be master of your lust.

 

Mantra

 

AUM PARAMESHWARAYE VIDMAHE

PARATATTVAYE DHI-MAHI

TAN NO BRAMHA PRACHODAYAT

 

Translation: We know Parameshwara, we meditate on Brahma, let this power direct our mind.

 

 

The grandfather of Manu, the first Man

 

             Brahma is the grandfather of Manu, the first man: he separated himself into two parts, the male and the female after dividing the golden egg. From him sprang Viraja and from him Manu, the first man, the first one of us. Out of the two parts of the golden egg he made sky and earth, with the space in between so that creatures will be able to fit in. He made the space big enough, because he knew from the Beginning it's going to be a lot of us, especially with the Lord Kama, the god of Love, in the neighborhood. And than he also made some unnecessary things, like eight cardinal directions, tree qualities and five sensory powers. And note: out of himself he grew the mind-and-heart, the essence of what is real and unreal, and from that came the sense of "I", the ego, the self. That "Self" which every person on the path to the light and liberation try to get rid of so hard, that "Ego" wall between you and Him, is actually, a part of the whole creation game. He also created the ten Prajapatis, mind-born sons, who completed the work of creation.

 According to Tattriya Upanishad, out of Brahma, which is higher self, came space, the ether; out of space, air; out of air, fire; out of fire, water; out of water, earth- here are our 5 basic elements. Than out of earth came vegetation, out of vegetation- food, out of food, the body of humanity, Brahma was himself created from the vibrations of the cosmic sound AUM which lies at the sacred heart of all being and unites creation in its all encompassing and eternal vibration, and this is the power of mantra.

 

This is how "The Laws of Manu" describes the creation of the world: “Manu, who is the first man, our very first ancestor, born from the divine, and who, therefore, knows things from the first hands says: " Listen! The Lord who is Self-existent, himself unmanifest, caused this Universe to become manifest, putting his energy into great elements and everything else, he became visible and dispelled the darkness". And he, who is beyond the sensory knowledge, subtle, eternal, unimaginable - actually appeared. And than " He thought deeply, for he wished to emit various creatures: first he emitted the waters, and than he emitted his semen into them. That semen became a golden egg. Brahma himself, the grandfather of all people was born in that egg." Than the Lord, who now became Lord Brahma, by thinking only divided the egg into two. This shows the power of thought that Brahma posses, and you can too, since you are his legal descent.

 

 

Foundation of all knowledge

 

Brahma is the foundation of all wisdom; he was the first, before the gods were, the Creator of The Universe.  Brahma gave the knowledge to his first son, Narada, who in succession gave it to other saints and they, in their turn, passed it to people. This is how this was done according to Vedic texts: "Brahma took birth atop a lotus sprouting from the body of Vishnu. Seeing darkness in all directions, not knowing his purpose or identity, Brahma turned his attention inward and entered a state of meditation for 1,000 celestial years. It is then that the sound of a transcendental flute entered his ears. That sound, the original Vedic mantra OM, when expressed through Brahma's mouth becomes the sacred Gayatri--mother of the Vedas. He then reveals this knowledge to his son Narada."

Shrimad Bhagavatam conveys the words Brahma spoke to his son:

(42) “He, the Supreme Lord, will only bestow the mercy of His Unlimited Potential upon those who by all means without any reservation and pretension are as the souls that surrendered to His feet who passed the insurmountable ocean of His material energies and not upon those who hold on to the I and mine of the body that is known [in the end] to be eaten by dogs and jackals." He told him much more beside this, and at the end he said: "This story of the Fortunate One called Shrimad Bhagavatam, was given to me through the enlightenment of pure devotion and constitutes the accumulation of His diverse potencies. Now you from your good self must expound on this science of Godhead yourself."

 

 

Two kinds of knowledge

 

Sages describe two kinds of knowledge that exist, the higher and the lower. The lower knowledge can be found in the four Vedas and other books. But the higher knowledge comes from the eternal; it is the knowledge of the heart. Brahma is the carrier of the absolute knowledge that was later fragmentally recorded in various books. Even “Veritas”, meaning “truth”, recorded on the seal of Harvard University and convying the idea that true knowledge comes from many sources, is not accurate, since books reflect only fragmented knowledge and partial truth. Scholars will never learn the full truth, feeding their minds with more and more information. Many books have been written, are being written and will be written, without any final point. Scholastic education is merely a game of recording Maya, the Great Illusion, and her constant change that has no end; it is merely something to keep us busy. Scholastic understanding comes from the mind. The Mind, the center of “lower” knowledge, is a powerful machine that is given us to survive in this world, to be smart and successful. Everyone beholds the wonders of mental activity. Sometimes, it’s smarter than we are  or, to be precise, it’s smarter than our emotions. The mind controls our emotions, and emotions drive us crazy. To be cool and calm, you need to obtain control of your emotions using your mind by being rational. When your mind is in disarray, when there is noise in your head, it is impossible to control your emotions, and you can become a complete wreck. This is where becoming Brahma will help. According to the Upaninisads, your emotions are like horses, and your mind must be the coachman.

The mind is powerful, however, it’s not absolute. To enter the realm of higher, or absolute, knowledge even the mind has to be stopped. And than, in silence, you’ll be able to touch the untouchable that, as Helen Keller said, ”only can be heard or felt with your heart”. This is the only way to perceive the highest knowledge. I myself understood this in a state of a deep sleep, when my mind was completely shut off. I realized what I really am, though I cannot describe it. The highest knowledge, and the very God Himself is like sex: you have to experience it yourself to know it. It cannot be described verbally.  So, there are two ways to learn: through books, obtaining partial truth, or through the heart, that is, connecting to the Absolute, which is the Absolute knowledge. This connection is established through meditation, mantras and prayers.

Brahma controls both scholastic knowledge and true knowledge. He is the originator and the carrier of both, since he is God. His mental powers are amazing: he divided the world into two, the Earth and the Heavens, using only his power of thought. Like many other forms of God, Brahma doesn’t have any weapons. His only weapon is his mind, but it’s powerful enough to defeat anything. Brahma is definitely the God of all students, professors and Intelligence forces throughout the world. Yet, at the same time, he is famous for his lustfulness and ability to create using not only his brain, but also his genitals, driven, however, by the desire of the brain. He is known as the most lustful God.

There is a difference between sexuality of Shiva, the God of Sex, and Brahma, the most lustful God. Shiva is the one, who brings you state to nirvana, the ecstasy, de destroys ego by the means of sexual fire. Therefore, his sex gives pleasure of which most of people can only dream. His sex is meditation, complete sensual awareness and bliss. His sexual union with Shakti is the state of being; he lasts for hours, days, centuries. That’s why his wife Parvati, the Goddess of wild nature, is the most voluptuous woman, compare to slender build Sarasvati, the wife of Brahma. Brahma has sex just for the purpose of fertilization: the faster he ejaculates, the better. Therefore, man with Brahmic type of sexuality are not exactly the best lovers, in the same time, they are always horny. To be the lover who lasts, you need to develop Shiva in yourself, and leave Brahma for your good mind. There is a difference between lustfulness of Brahma and sexual desire of the Goddess, the woman: her desire to create comes from the body; the male desire of Brahma comes from his mind. And this is a major difference between the male and female sexual drives: first comes from the mind, second emanates from the body. To be a great lover, every man has to learn to tune into the female sensory approach. 

 

 

Brahma and Buddha

 

Besides providing the knowledge, Brahma did many favors for humanity. He was the one who convinced Guatama Buddha (an incarnation of Vishnu) to pass the vision of truth that he received through enlightment sitting under the tree, to people. You see, originally, when Buddha realized the source of all sufferings in the world, he wanted to keep this knowledge to himself, since he knew how hard it is to teach enlightenment to those, drowned in darkness of ignorance. At this moment, Brahma appeared before the Buddha, begging him to stay among mortals and to teach, saving those who will be able to hear. “Who have eyes shell see”. Brahma, as the creator of the Universe, is the Father, so he really cares about humankind. Comparing to the Biblical Trinity, Brahma is the Father, Vishnu, the savior, is the Son and Shiva, the god of transcendental meditation, is the Holy Spirit.

 

 

Brahma, the god of lust

 

Another interesting thing about Brahma is that he is not worshipped like other gods and there are very few temples in his honor. Temples of Shiva or Vishnu sometimes have a niche in the northern wall for Brahma as a parivara devata and his image receives daily worship. Some say that he dwells at Pushkar, in the northern part of India deep in a lake. He is not worshipped very much because he is responsible for distracting the mind away from the soul and towards the cravings of the flesh. This is what happened after dividing the golden egg: As a male, he holds his creation power in the semen, and so he is known as the most lustful god. When the golden egg was divided, and he had all the space, he felt lonely and longed for company. There are rumors, this was provoked by naughty Kama, the god of Love, who wounded Brahma in purpose to set the fire in his sexual desire. So, Brahma, being God who can create, split himself into two and created a gorgeous woman, Shatarupa, the goddess of Samsara. She was ephemeral yet enchanting and magnetic like any decent woman who is in touch with her true nature. Brahma began to lust after her, but she was holding herself as his daughter and refused his proposals. So he decided to take her by force and began to chase after her. Shatarupa tried to escape by taking different forms: she turned into a cow, a mare, a goose, a doe, a butterfly, etc. Brahma kept pursuing her, taking the form of the corresponding male - a bull, a horse, a gander, a buck or a male butterfly. In his obsession, he even sprouted five heads, so that he could see in every direction to make sure Shatarupa will not escape. They ran like this for a while, shapeshifting, untill finally Shiva, as god of transcendental calm and stillness, became disturbed and put this mess to final stop. To restrain Brahma's lust, Shiva, in a form of ferocious Bhairava, wrenched off one of his heads. Sobered by the experience, Brahma stopped his pursue. Meanwhile, all creatures of the world, from the smallest insect to the largest mammal, were created as a result of this chase. This is how all the creatures came in pairs, all containing that spark of sexual desire to unite and procreate, as their originator did. And so every male chase after the female of the corresponding species just like Brahma did. At this point, Brahma became Prajapati, the Lord of progeny.

He was given Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, to be his consort. With her help, he regained control of his mind, drawing it away from the senses towards the bliss of the soul. All knowledge, religious and secular emanate from them, they are the soul of Vedas.

 

 

Symbolism of Brahma

 

On the icons Brahma is seen with four heads (chatur mukha brahma) facing the four directions. They represent the four Vedas (Rig, Yajur, Sama, Atharva), the four yugas (krita, treta, dwapara, kali) (epochs of time), the four varnas (brahmana, kshatriya, vaisya, sudra. There are four arms holding up different objects, akshamala (rosary), kurcha (kusha grass), sruk (ladle), sruva (spoon), kamandala (water pot) and pustaka (book). Their combination and arrangement vary with the image. Akshamala symbolizes time; Kamandala, the waters of all creation. The implement kusha, sruk and sruva, denote the system of sacrifices used by creatures to sustain each other. The book represents religious and secular knowledge. Hand postures (mudras) are abhaya (protector) and varada (giver of boons). He is sitting on a lotus or on a Hamsa (swan). Hamsa stands for wisdom and clear judgement. Brahma is also shown riding a chariot drawn by seven swans, representing the seven worlds. The symbol of Brahma is a golden egg representing creation, The Universe and positive energy.

 

 

Names of Brahma

 

He is Hiranya Garbha (golden embryo), the ball of fire, from which the the Universe develops. He is Prajapati, since all creatures are his progeny. He is Pitamaha (patriarch), Vidhi (ordinator), Lokesha (master of the the Universe), Dhatru (sustainer) and Viswakarma (architect of the world). Mythology describes Brahma as springing from Kamala (lotus), from the nabhi (navel) of Vishnu. Hence, his names Nabhija (navel born), Kanja (water born). The name Narayana (one dwelling in the causal water, the abode of man) was applied to him first and later to Vishnu. The Avataras (incarnations) of fish (matsya) and tortoise (koorma) (later called the avataras of Vishnu), the boar (varaha) to raise the earth from under the waters and created the world, the sages, and prajapatis were all attributed to Brahma originally and shifted to Vishnu later.

 

 

About Creation

 

The Cycle of Creation and Destruction is completed at the end of Kalpa. A Kalpa is 10,000 divine years or 10 million years. The Kalpa is broken up into 4 Yugas. They are Satya Yuga, which lasts for 4 thousand divine years, Treta Yuga, which lasts for 3 thousand years, Dwapara Yuga, which lasts for 2 thousand, and finally Kali Yuga, which lasts for 1 thousand years. The Yugas, or ages, are characterized by their loss of righteousness in the world, i.e., Satya has only truth, Treta loses ¼ of truth, Dwapara loses 1/2 oftruth, and during Kali Yuga people lose 3/4 truth of ruth in their lives, forgetting who they are. Evil and dishonesty fill the The Universe and replace truth in the last three Yugas. We are currently living in Kali Yuga, as you can see. Nowadays it’s especially valuable to be able to see good in people no matter what, understanding that they are bad only because of the age we live in. This Yuga is characterized by unrighteous acts and consists of 1/4 truth and 3/4 evil. At the end of this Yuga, Shiva will destroy the entire The Universe - this is known as the night of Brahma or the end of the World. Yes, it’s coming, they don’t scream for nothing.  But no need to be afraid, death is part of life and happens naturally. This is how it works: Brahma lives and dies in one day of Vishnu, Vishnu is born and dies in a day of Shiva, and than Shiva destroys everything. When this occurs, Brahma will be born again to create the Universe once more, and this is called the Day of Brahma. This is how God himself describes the creation in Bhagavad Gita,[9] ”At the end of a Kalpa – a day of Brahma – a period of creative activity – I withdraw into my nature all things and beings. And, at the beginning of another Kalpa, I emanate all things and beings, and re-perform my creative act. Throughout Nature, which too is mine own, I emanate, again and again, all these things that constitute the Universe, by the power of this Nature, which by itself is without power….I superimpose my power upon Nature and she builds up and tears down – producing the animate and the inanimate; and thus the universal action proceeds and operates.”

 

 

 

Glossary

 

 akasha – void, space

amrita – nectar of immortality

ananda – bliss

asana – posture

asura – demon

 

bhakti – divine love, devotion

bija mantra – seed sound of the essence

bindu – supreme truth, the seed of all menifest fenomena, also male semen

brahmin - priest

bodhisattva – a saint who instead of enjoing haven came back to Earth to help people out of compassion

buddhi – intellect

 

chit – truth

 

damaru – drum

devata – divine form, godlike being

deva – god

devi - goddess

dharma – code of conduct

dhyana – meditation

 

guna – quality of material Universe

 

homa – fire ceremony

hrit – heat

 

japa – repetition

 

kama – enjoyment

kshatriya - the kings and warriors lineage, or cast in India

 

lila – game, play

lingam – male generative organ

loka – plane

 

manas – mind

mantra – sound that enables state of meditation and connection to the divine

mantra japa – mantra repetition

matrikas – letters of the alphabet

maya – the everchanging illusory existance, the great illusion of material world

moksha – liberation

mudra – a finger form that represents specific phenomena or energy and helping to connect to it

 

nada – pure cosmic sound

nada-bindy – theprimordal sound vibrationfrom which Universe unfolded

nadis – carriers of the subtle energy in the body, meridians

nirguna – without attributes

 

ojas – radiance, personal magnetism of energy

prakriti – primordal nature

prana – vital life force

pranayama – conscious breath control

 

rajas, rajasik – passion, activity

rasa – taste

rishi – seer or saint

rupa – form, fire

 

sadhaka – aspirant

sadhana – practice

saguna – with attributes

samadhi – realized non duality, complete harmony with the spirit

sat – truth

sattva – purity, lightness

shakti – energized consciousness, female nature

shastras – scriptures

shuddha vidya – pure knowledge

siddhis –powers, accomplishments

soma – nectar

 

tamas – inert mass, darkness

tantra – expanded consciousness

tapasya – austerity or penance

tattva – element

turiya – forth state of consciousness, nondual, transcendental

 

vahana – vehicle, carrier

vidya - knowledge

 

yantra – shape,  graphic form

yoga – to unite, to join, detachment

yogi – practitioner of yoga

yoni – female generative organ
 

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