~~OM~~

In the meditation, She is the supremely divided one, who is both male and female continuously without end. S(he) is Ardha-nariswara or Ardha-nari-iswari.

In verse 11, Self-deprecation strikes the Lion, Dharma on its head. This means, every time we say, “I can’t”, “I’m not good enough”, Dharma is injured.

Q&A
1. The mind is very quick. We get a thought and then we can only observe that we that have had a thought. How does sadhana help us be a witness to the thoughts?

Sadhana is to call Mother to take the thought away. Focus on Mother to take the thought away. We are the observer of the thought in relationship to the Mother. That’s the sadhana.

2. Before we are attacked by self-deprecation or during self-deprecation, is the only thing to do to call on Divine Mother?

Yes. Take away my inefficiency. We are saying the words, at least. Make us feel the words. Give us devotion that causes us to focus our attention on you. So that we can perform with optimum efficiency, without self-deprecation or self-conceit, paying attention to You.

Ask for Suddha Pavitra Chirastay Vyakulat Ananya Bhakti – pure, purer, infinite, sincere, infinite Bhakti.

3. Could you tell us the difference between modesty and self-deprecation?

Modesty means, “I don’t want to blow my trumpet. I will try to be humble.”
Self-deprecation is the thought, ‘I am not good enough, my behavior is inadequate, etc.”

4. What does confidence mean?

I know my devotion is sincere. I am going to serve you with greatest sincerity possible.

5. If we make a mistake, what should we do?

First you say, “I appreciate the correction.” Then ask, ‘How do I do it correctly?” Learn from your mistake. Don’t focus on self-deprecation. Pay attention, absorb like a sponge. If you can, write down the answer. Then read it. Then read it again, later. One day you might share this lesson with others.

6. Why do we battle the Lord of Confusion (verse 30) and het worship Mother in the form of confusion in Chapter 5?

In Chapter 9, we say, “I don’t see You (Mother), and that’s why I am fighting the Lord of Confusion. Once self-conceit is defeated and we get out of confusion, I see that everything is You (Mother) in the form of confusion.

7. The asuric qualities described in the Chandi pertain to the conscious mind. How do we defeat the asuric qualities that are unmanifest in the unconscious mind?

We are still working with the conscious mind. Can I speak about the unconscious? No. I am not aware of them. We can only speak of what we are aware of.

There is samskar, an intrinsic nature which follows us from birth. We become aware of it over the course of our lives.

8. Self-deprecation’s shield is inlaid with eight moons. What is the significance of the moons?

Moon symbolizes devotion. We have a lot of devotion to self-deprecation. We become absorbed in self-deprecation even when people come to cheer us up.

9. How to become more aware?

Chant the mantra. Pray to Mother to give more sincerity, capacity, and devotion. How can I do your work in a way that pleases you?

~~OM~~

In Chapter 8, we meet Raktabija, the seed of desire and watch how She slays him.

Rakta means passion, blood, red, desire; bija is seed.

Q&A:

1. What is the significance of the energies adorning the same dresses and features of their male counterparts?

Consciousness is masculine and enery feminine. She acts and looks just as he.

2. Does Raktabija represent both fulfilled and unfulfilled desires?

Only unfulfilled desires.

3. If we have no desires, we would lose the zest for life. Does this chapter suggest that the sadhana will lead to a desireless state?

All desires are not done away with. Desire is inherent in creation. Only selfish desires are taken away by the Goddess. Then we are left only with selfless desires. You still will have the desire to eat, sleep.

4. Is the desire to pronounce better, sit longer in asan, etc. forms of raktabija?

These are Raktabija in a positive form. By pursuing these, we take away our negative desires. As we spend less and less time with the positive, we spend more time in negative.

5. Is blood symbolic or the gross substance that courses through our veins?

It is symbolic and symbolizes the negative passionate desire that draws us into worldliness.

6. What is the significance of water (that Brahmani sprinkles on the thoughts) and how can we use it in our daily lives?

Taking a bath is our first act of purification. When we do achaman in puja (sipping water) we purify our lips.

Water symbolizes equilbrium. It is always at the same level, always seeks its own level.

7. What is benefit of recording our spiritual experiences in a journal?

The only benefit is some years later I can read my journal and say that I do not need these journals any more. Objective is to know the experiencer. Remember the intensity of the experience and not the manifestation of the experience.

8. How do we offer desires to Mother?

Increase time spent with the Guru. Also think how would your Guru respond to a certain situation (where the desire arises).
This would be like in engaging in satsang throughout the day.

9. We have a strong desire to chant the Chandi. But then we have to do karma in the world and that prevents us from chanting. How can we overcome this?

You can say to Mother I love you and so I am going to demonstrate my love by doing karma. Then read whatever you can.

10. Surath and Samadhi abandoned their families and kingdom. This was not their highest ideal. Was it?

Both were driven from their kingdom and families. They had no choice. What they did subsequently was certainly their highest ideal because we remember them even today so many years later.

Also, when they left their family kingdom they had good thoughts about their families and kingdom.

11. What questions to ask or not ask our Guru. How do we decide?

Love them with all your heart. Ask the right question at the right time. Do not interrupt Her when She is talking. Be natural, be free.

~~OM~~

The protaganists on the side of asuras in Chapter 7 are Chanda and Munda, anger and passion.

Chamunda is the slayer of anger and passion. Cha is to move (from chara), Munda is head or all that is knowable or paradigm of reality. She who moves in the paradigm of reality.

Q&A

1. Spiritual experiences are signposts in our journey to God. Yet we do not undertake sadhana to achieve them. How do we reconcile these two positions?

Spiritual experiences are at best mild distractions. We should not get caught up in them. They prejudice the meditator. Talking about them diminishes their value. The goal is Her.

2. What is the symbolism of the red sari in the Dhyanam of this chapter?

Red is passion, love. She loves us strongly. She is taking sway our misdirected passion. When I am in love, I pay attention.

3. What to do with selfish passion, if we do not emote it?

First be vigilant. “He self, watch yourself.” Take a time-out. Take a deep breath and count to 10. Just remember Divine Mother. From that centre think about “what should I achieve from this interaction?”

4. How can we overcome misdirected passion or desires fro the world?

Start with yourself. Then expand your attention to the world.
Memorizing scripture, singing, Puja are positive expressions of your passion. Increase the positive and decrease the negative passions.

5. When does She destroy our thoughts in our sadhana?

All the time.

6. What does it mean that She destroys the thoughts and then eats them?

She take the negativities from us and that becomes the nourishment for Her.

7. How is the path of self-enquiry, “Who am I” related to our tradition?

We are more interested in Who is Mother than in “Who am I?”

Mother it is you who we are watching. You are the experience, I only want to witness you. That is our path.

8. Are the list of asuras in the Chandi an exhaustive list or just a sample of our negative qualities?

The are representative broad categories.

9. How to remember Her when acting in the world?

When you are acting remember Her mantra. When washing the dishes, chant the Mantra and She will wash the dishes through you. If you are doing something intense like brain surgery, chant the mantra whenever you have a moment to withdraw from
the surgery.

10. Is Mother energy or controller of energy?

She is the controller and the controlled.

11. What is difference on the effects of chanting one mantra versus chanting a dramatic scripture?

Chanting one mantra moves us into meditation without form (nirakara).

Chanting a dramatic scripture, we move into the attitude that this is the drama of our lives.

“I am the king, the businessman, the rishi. My negativities are going into her mouth.”

Chandi is a guided meditation where we relinquish our negativities.

12. Did Sri Ramakrishna come to propagate the superiority of bhakti over jnana?

Jnana is not inferior to bhakti. The more you know, the more you feel love, the more you want to learn.

They happen together, they are inseparably connected.

Sri Ramakrishna was a jnani, a bhakta, ana dhyani. He was a child of God.

13. If we want to cultivate good thoughts, why does the Chandi have so many violent images?

The best thought is that all negativities are entering the mouth of God. What better thought than that!

~~OM~~

Recall that Self-conceit was told about the beautiful Goddess by Chanda and Munda. So he sent a messenger to tell the Goddess to come to him and sit with him. “Your honor and glory will be enhanced”, said the messenger. The Goddess said, “Self-Conceit is the master of the three worlds an I’m just a woman. But I have made a promise that only one who can defeat me in battle and surrender his self-conceit can be my
husband. So go back and tell self-conceit this.” On hearing this, the ambassador got angry and said, “you come down or our army will take you by force.” Then he returned to his king and gave a report.

In Chapter 6, the leading character in self-conceit’s army is
Dhoomralochana, Sinful eyes.

Dhoom means smoke. Dhoomralochana has smoke in his eyes. He can’t see clearly, lacks discrimination, sees with selfishness.

The Goddess destroys Dhumralochana by pronouncing the mnatra, Hum.

Everytime we are confronted with sinful eyes in our lives remember the mantra, “Hum.”

In verse 18, the lion caused the bloods of thoughts to flow. This means Dharma takes away the misdirected passion from our thoughts.

Q&A:

1. What is the significance of the King of Snakes in the Dhyanam?

Snakes represent Kundalini Shakti. On the head of a cobra there is a shining jewel. The Goddess is effulgent with a multitude of these jewels. This means She is commanding the radiance of all energy.

In all living beings, kundalini shakti is alive and moving. It sleeps only in a corpse. When we speak of it as sleeping that’s poetry. I am asleep and I forgot about my kundalini shakti is a more accurate description.

Just as the farmers make ruts when they draw their bullock carts to plough the fields, we make ruts by which we become aware of the kundalini shakti.

When we are in our lower chakras (pashu bhava) the ruts are very short. As we move into virya bhava and sadhana becomes
second nature to us, the ruts become longer.

2. In meditation, should we focus on one chakra or move up and down from one chakra to another (like in Bhuta Shuddhi)?

Both are useful. All techniques are used to make us masters of focus. The more techniques you learn, the easier it becomes to decide which is more useful.

3. Can we chant Hum as a mantra alone? What is its significance?

Hum is the astra mantra to combat excesses of impure being. Ha is Rudra, u is circumstance, m is perfection. We see all circumstances in equilibrium of perfection.

4. Why did the Goddess use Hum for Dhoomralochana and not for
Self-conceit and Self-deprecation?

She has other tools for them. We armed Her with those tools in Chapter 2.

5. Does the lion represent determination?

Yes. The determination to live life according to Dharma.

6. How does sinful eyes manifest in our lives?

Every time we have selfishness, sinful ayes has attacked. We think about “me”, and not about “thee.”

7. How do we stay in our higher chakras when we act and interact in the world?

Everyone has experienced the higher chakras at one time or another. When we feel love, we are in the higher chakras. But then we move down when we become or express selfishness.

Sadhana can be done to make it stay up. Bring the love and stay in love. Train it to stay in certain states of consciousness.

8. In Chapter 4, can you explain the significance of “within You are the three qualities of nature”, in verse 7?

Gunas pervade every atom in existence. When a person is seated and engaging in spiritual discourse, focusing on the
still posture that person is tamasic, his passionate discourse makes him rajasic and the fact that is talking about God makes him sattvic.

Divine Mother embodies all th three. But She is not connected with any of the defects of the three.

~~OM~~

In Chapter 5, verses 14-76 contain the refrain:
“Namastasyai Namastasyai Namatasyai Namo Namaha.”

We bow five times (with five organs of knowledge, five organs of action, five elements (tanmatras).

Q&A:

1. The Divine Mother tells us in verse 6 that if we remember Her in times of adversity She will eradicate our every distress. How does she do this? In adverse situations that I encounter, I remember Her yet I am feeling the adversity and distress. Doesn’t the mind need to attain a level purity before the devotee can feel the presence of Mother any
situation, good or adverse?

When you are in distress, You are thinking two thoughts: Mother and distress. If you really remember her in devotion only Mother, the distress dissolves. With sincerity, with intensity, we bow to Mother exclusively.

2. What is the significance of the energy, the pin, the seeds, and the principles in the Viniyoga?

All of these will be explained more clearly when we discuss Murti Rahasya.

3. When we come out of Samadhi after chapter 4, does the ego return in chapter 5?

Swamiji asked the same questions of His Guru. All three battles (related the three episodes) are happening simultaneously. All the asuras are constantly changing and interchanging their forms. Our battle with the ego does not follow the linear sequence of the chapters in the Chandi.

4. In verse 82, what does remember in a physical form mean?

In a murti, in some symbol of divinity, saguna. Remember Mother and focus on one form. Then concentration is acute, more intense so that all thoughts are literally consumed by your concentration. It does not matter what that form is so long as you postulate that the form is my form of divinity

5. What does it mean that the ego took divine qualities?

How can the sun be bright if it is covered by a cloud. Self conceit and self deprecation obscure our wisdom and throw us out of heaven. But we know what to do. Sing before the manifested form of divinity and bow and bow.