Photo of the week – Oct 5 – Oct 11 2007
(Picture taken Sep 2007 at the Devi Mandir)
Check out our new weekly blogs.
Temple of Divine Mother
Photo of the week – Oct 5 – Oct 11 2007
(Picture taken Sep 2007 at the Devi Mandir)
Check out our new weekly blogs.
~~OM~~ Do you remember when Bali was doing the Yagya by which he would defeat the Devas eternally? He was the king of the asuras, and he wanted to perform the Yagya by which the asuras would occupy heaven for all eternity, and the Gods would have no place to live. And the God’s were […]
Photo of the week – Sep 28 – Oct 4 2007
(Picture taken sometime back during world tour)
~~OM~~
Can you please define for us, the activity that constitutes “Sadhana”?
Sadhana is any activity which we perform for the express purpose of demonstrating our devotion to God.
Regularity in sadhana
How important is to do your daily Sadhana program at the same place and time everyday?
The more we perform at the same place and same time, the easier it becomes. It becomes second nature to us. Then it becomes our true nature.
First, when we are out and about, our minds are engaged in various contemplations, so it is all the more difficult to make them sit still. Second, when we have new surroundings and new timings, it is that much more difficult to compose ourselves and get into the bhava of true devotion. When we perform at the same time and place, we go deeper and are less distracted. After some time the mantras remember us, rather than our having to memorize the mantras.
Sadhana Plan
Please recommend the most important texts/classes from your “college of higher learning.” Is there a best order of study?
There are three distinct aspects of our practice:
1. Puja, which includes japa and meditation.
2. Path, which is the recitation of the scriptures.
3. Homa, which is the sacred fire ceremony.
To learn the pujas start with the smaller ones first: Shiva and Durga Beginners. Then work your way to the intermediate pujas like Hanuman. Then go to the advanced like Shiva Advanced and the Cosmic Puja. Add some new material from each book on a regular basis, expanding your worship 15 minutes a month.
To learn the Path, how to recite the scriptures, take a scripture and chant for a specified period every day. There are many of them: Chandi, Bhagavad Gita, Devi Gita, Guru Gita, Lalitha, Sundar Kanda – There are many to choose from. Start with a few chapters and become comfortable with them, and then add more chapters every week. If you take the Chandi, for example, start with the Armor, Bolt, and Pin, and then add the Highest Meaning, the Tantric Devi Shukta, and the Key to Perfection. Then keep adding to it every month. Let your sadhana grow organically.
There is a beginner’s homa in the Hanuman Puja, a more advanced homa in the Shiva Advanced. Also there is a Video CD. Then start reciting the Sahasra Namas: Shiva, Kali, Lakshmi, Vishnu, Annapurna, we are just finishing Gayatri (almost ready for publication).
In the evenings, study the philosophy behind the sadhana: Kashyap Sutras, Before Becoming This, Life of a Saint, Devi Gita. We’re working on a new translation of Ramakrishna’s story. There are many to choose from, and you can integrate the internet classes into the study. Also look at our stories and articles on our web site. You’ll find menus for the pujas, stories, parables, quite a collection.
Learning to recite scriptures
Can one start at the beginning of the text, go as far as possible in one sitting, take a break and come back where they left off? Over a period of a week, for example, until the text is finished?
Yes, as long as we are students, She will certainly forgive us. We are trying to do our best. The prescription to perform the entire recitation in one asana is for those who are striving for the highest goal. The rest of us will perform to the extent of our capacity, and then continually try to increase our capacity. That is the tapasya.
Sankalpa, Sadhana, Tapasya
The use of the terms “sankalpa”, “sadhana”, and “tapasya” often confuses me. I would very much like information on how to differentiate between them. I wonder exactly what each means in relation to the others and it would be helpful to have examples of each.
“Sadhana” means any spiritual practice. This can be Puja, Path, Homa, Singing, Dancing or any action that you perform in a disciplined way with the intention of bringing you closer to the Supreme Divinity.
A “Sankalpa” is a vow to perform any Sadhana for a definite purpose. For example most Sadhus make a “Sankalpa” to perform a specific Sadhana for 9 days, 30 days, 108 day, 1008 days or as long as they feel necessary, usually beginning on an auspicious day in the lunar calendar. Taking a Sankalpa is a great way to create a strong discipline and is a way to direct Sadhus life energy.
Tapasya means, “To create heat” and for our purpose means an expanded intensified Sadhana.
Making our sadhana strong
How do you stay inspired in your resolution/ sadhana?
In the Ramayana there are nine steps of Devotion explained:
1. Associate with saintly people
2. Enjoy stories of divinity and divinely inspired beings
3. Feel the privilege to perform selfless service as an expression of love
4. Sing of divine qualities or characteristics without any selfish motivation
5. Recite mantras with full faith
6. Perform all actions with tranquility, and see every circumstance as an opportunity to manifest perfection
7. See the world as equal to God, and regard the company of saintly beings as a greater opportunity than the perception of God
8. Be satisfied with whatever we receive as the fruit of our actions, and do not contemplate the faults of others
9. Remain with simplicity all the time, renounce conniving for selfish ends, and take delight in faith in God with neither exultation nor unhappiness.
These are the nine steps of devotion.
Try these in order to keep your inspiration alive.
Worship over prayer and meditation
Do you and Maa emphasize worship above the prayer and meditation? Or, is this appearance only, due to time and circumstance, the needs of devotees, etc.?
That is the only part you can see from the outside. When we sit still with our eyes closed, how can someone from the outside determine if we are meditating, worshipping or praying?
Beginner Practice
Swamiji, can you please suggest a daily practice that I could do as a beginner — and as someone new to Hinduism and to Maa?
Beginner’s Shiva Puja.
Reducing Body Consciousness
How does a sadhak reduce body consciousness?
The longer the asana, the more intense the contemplation, the less reflection on body. Expand your asana.
Short intensive or Regular non-intensive Sadhana
Many of us have regular practices – maybe even 5 minutes a day, of puja/japa/meditation that we have done over the years. Then there are the short term intensives that one attends – a spiritual retreat for example or satsang with a saint, or short term sankalpas. Which of these approaches is more conducive to spiritual growth? A series of short term sankalps of varying intensities or one long term sankalpa of moderate intensity?
Both in combination make for real spiritual growth. The short intensive sadhanas inspire us to make our regular practices longer and more meaningful.
Group Sadhana
Is it true that group sadhana is stronger than individual sadhana? If this true, is it preferable to try and chant with others as often as the situation permits? Also are there any scriptural references to the number of people that when chanting in a group makes the chanting more powerful?
There is a time for each type of sadhana. Sometimes it is more appropriate in a group, sometimes individually.
In Devi Bhagavatam there is mention of 3, 9, and 108 participants.
Serving through Sadhana
When we work in the world, we get a pay check and if we give it to somebody, we do not have anything left for ourselves. Is it the same if we dedicate/give the fruits of our sadhana to others? If it is the same, how do I give away the fruits of my practice without leaving myself in the muck? It seems a good thing to dedicate one’s practice to others, but I wish to progress, myself, too. Could you also suggest how best to do it?
Love is such a thing: the more you give it, the more it grows. You never run out. We give our sadhana in different ways: by dedicating it to others, by exemplifying it for others, by teaching its practical aspects, by incorporating it into our lives and living it. It’s a little different from your pay check.
Is there any specific technique you recommend for dedicating our sadhana to others? And are there any issues that need to be considered? I recall you replying to a question about one of the curses, and you said it applied only to those who are doing the practice for another. When does this sort of thing become an issue? Thank you for your time.
If we are selling our services to pray for others, to change others’ karma because of our prayer in exchange for a material benefit, we are clearly in violation of the spirit of the scripture. If we are praying from our sincere desire to help others, with no expectation for ourselves, then this prayer has purity and we can hope to achieve results.
Manifesting our sadhana as love
Shree Maa said, “Spiritual practice feeds our souls”. For me the analogy of food is such a deep one. It seems that the true value of both food and sadhana lies in our ability to convert it to energy for some relevant use, not in the mere accumulation. I wonder if sadhana for the sake of sadhana is also counter productive. Maybe in both instances it may make me “fat”?
Certainly our intention in performing sadhana is of paramount importance.
What is the essential practice/attitude/method for realizing/opening and living from our heart? How do we merge heart and mind and live from there, right now? How do we merge?
SADHANA!
Sadhana and Personality
What is the effect of continuous sadhana on the personality of the sadhak? Can it transform an impatient person to a patient one, an ill-tempered nature to a sweet one etc.? Are there any signs to look for – in terms of improvement of qualities? Thank you for your time.
Yes, yes, yes! You will feel the difference, BUT …The old samskaras could come back at any time without warning. Therefore, we must be ever vigilant.
Who am I?
16. What is your guidance on the usage of the contemplations/inquiry: Naan Yar [Who Am I?]or So Ham [I Am.]? Is there a danger of egoic intrusion in this contemplation? In other words, is devotion fully engaged? Do you recommend this kind of sadhana?
It is one aspect of sadhana. Our focus will constantly evolve. Sometimes we are jnanis, sometimes bhaktas.
Purification
Can you please tell us anything about purification?
“Apavitra pavitra va …
The impure and the pure reside within all. Who remembers the Lotus-eyed Consciousness is conveyed to radiant purity!
Managing illness and pain in the course of sadhana
What is the best way to manage illness, stress, fatigue, various bodily pains, so we are not lost in them, but endure them, even maybe rise above them. Can we minimize such problems as part of our goals and planning?
Yes, that is the function of Sankalpa, a spiritual vow or promise. It says that no matter what the mind may say, no matter what the body may feel, I am going to recite this puja or text of worship. When we complete our vows we understand that the pain was just another thought – not enough to deflect us from the completion of our goals.
Cultivating the will for a sankalpa
What technique would be most efficient for cultivating the will to support the Sankalpa? I am thinking devotion to the Guru, but perhaps also something else to quicken the energy?
Devotion to the Guru is certainly a key element. But in addition let’s subscribe to a new definition of who we are and what are our goals in life! If I can’t trust myself, then who can I trust?
Lengthening Sadhana
On the one hand, we advocate expanding the length of our sadhana and disciplining ourselves to remain in the asan, on the other hand we say that saying the name of Ram once is sufficient. Which is correct? Can you please help me understand?
They are both correct. The sinful King, if he has faith, will sin no more. The sadhu, who wants to do more, should do more!
Sadhana and compassion
If the most advanced Yogi had planned a lengthy sadhana, and while settling himself in to this purpose [he had made a vow to do without fail] a hurt and dependant creature — a human child — fell into his field of influence and required care in order to continue life in her body. Would the yogi regard this as an intrusion or an expression of the Goddess? Would the yogi ignore this being or postpone his sadhana and care for the creature? Or somehow adapt his sadhana?
Adapt the sadhana.
Would he do japa as he is caring for the injured one? Would he see her as the Goddess and serve her as devotional practice? Would he ever succumb to the feeling, “I am not doing real sadhana”? How would he light up his life with God, and use the experience to drive himself farther into the divine nature than his human mind could have imagined?
By continuous japa of the mantra: What a privilege it is to serve God by doing Her work in this way!
Break in Sadhana
Recently i failed to do my sadhana for a day after not missing 1 hour for a year. I sort of internally imploded due to lack of sleep and overwork trying to be several people at once. How does one have the fullness of experience and love for all beings from deep within lacking any fear or resistance like a true saint, or am i only idealizing such a being and such a possibility? Should i ignore this worry or take it as a deeper prompting to advance internally in a way previously unknown to myself? Is it inappropriate or appropriate to contemplate one’s own shortcomings in this manner?
In the Chandi we see the Great Ego, Self Conceit and Self Deprecation sending army after army to attach the Goddess time and time again. Even after the Goddess has held the Ego by Her foot, he keeps changing his form, struggling as at were, to get away from Her. It is not a phase — it is a constant battle to hold the ego in check, to make him surrender to the Divine.
Tapasya and Siddhis
In Vedic Religion, many masters speak and the puranas record the sages and yogis attaining Siddhi or boon via Tapasya. What is the relationship between Tapasya and Siddhi or Boon being granted by specific deities?
It is incumbent upon every deity to grant a boon to those who perform tapasya with pure devotion. That is a law of dharma. It is also true that a deity may test the sincerity of the devotee, and may give the boon of His or Her own choice at the time of His or Her own choice.
Some tapasya seems to be merely torturing the body which is the temple of Divine (like standing 12 years or sleeping on the nails ). Can, in the case we are living in a very cold climate, going out early morning with short sleeve and thin pants and doing martial arts training under 0 degree Centigrade can be considered as Tapasya, thereby accumulating the merits for the boon or Siddhi?
Like every other action, there is tapasya which is sattvic, rajasic, and tamasic. Torturing the body is tamasic, martial arts training is rajasic, and the state of mind which wants to surrender to God and demonstrate the sincerity of your devotion is sattvic.
Sitting still and being with God
I know there are as many ways as there are beings and inclinations. I know there are layers and layers of energetic movement with each mantra and technique. What about just sitting still and being with God? When is this approach appropriate? When is it possible?
All of the worship that we have shared teaches and trains our awareness to come to the stillness, to be in the presence of God. But there is no technique by which to make that quantum shift in consciousness by which we just let go. That is called Grace.
In part it is earned by our actions. All the worship, meditation, prayer makes us worthy of receiving that Grace. But also that Grace “descends from above” and is granted to those She has “chosen,” for reasons only She knows.
You can’t practice being in the stillness. You can practice approaching the stillness. That is why we teach techniques of worship, how to sit, breathe, chant, and be silent — all the things we can do until She grants that Darshan. The rishis called it neti neti – not this, not that; the Buddhists called it Sunya, the absolute silence or Void; we call it Nirvikalpa, beyond any idea. You are calling the it Stillness. I believe they are all the same.
Brahma Muhurta
When is brahmamuhurtha?
Brahmamuhurtha comes before the dawn.
Devas and sages are with us
I have read many stories of devas and sages appearing and helping at times of need (usually potentially fatal accidents), so I see that we are indeed not alone. I have thought that the sages, in the same way that we might hear the activities of our neighbors on adjoining properties, are aware of worship (of whatever kind) when it occurs and are free to join in, help, or simply enjoy. I imagine that some fragment of bhava catches their awareness, and they are drawn in, much like hearing a favorite song on someone else’s radio in the distance. I imagine that they enjoy the activity, the effort, the desire for God, for moksha, much as we enjoy the efforts of children to learn and grow. And of course, they delight in God. So when we turn away from normal activities and enter alone into our sanctum for practice, perhaps we are not alone after all. My question is, is this true, or am I imagining things?
It is true.
Purification through sadhana versus accepting the impurity in us
The pure and impure reside in all objects. Swamiji, this looks more like acceptance of the quality of impurity. Why purify ourselves in sadhana instead of accepting the impurity within us?
Topics covered in this Question and Answer session with Swamiji:
Topics covered in this Question and Answer session with Swamiji:
~~OM~~
What are the benefits of the Cosmic Puja? What are the qualities that are developed, the wisdoms gained, etc.? When is this the appropriate primary puja?
These are from a few slides from our new class on the meaning and performance of the Cosmic Puja. I hope they will answer the question.
Cosmic Altar and Puja: Presentation
The Cosmic Puja is a Universal Prayer for Peace for all the beings of existence. It is a guided meditation, which teaches us to perceive events in life without attachment, to free ourselves from the bonds of karma, and cease to react to every stimulus. Through wisdom and discrimination, we design the circumstances we desire in life, and in this way we act with the greatest efficiency. All actions become perfect actions, and no longer are we required to return again and again to finish our incomplete work. This is the path of liberation. This is the purpose of the Cosmic Puja.
We meditate to surrender Too Much and Too Little, cut down Self Conceit and Self Deprecation, and surrender the Great Ego itself at the feet of the Divine Mother Goddess. Then we will be able to see that all of Existence is Being, Becoming, and Rest; desire, activity and wisdom. All of existence is in constant transformation caused by the Three Divine Couples: Brahma and Saraswati Creating, Vishnu and Laksmi Protecting, Shiva and Durga Transforming.
This is the Cosmic Puja, the worship of the Energies of the Eternal Existence and the Consciousness which perceives them; the three qualities in Constant Motion: coming into manifestation, having a time of play in the circumstances of life, and transforming again into something else. Without Too Much or Too Little, without Self Conceit or Self Deprecation, in the absence of the Great Ego, we can perceive without attachment the Dance of Nature and intuit the presence of God.
All Gods and Goddesses are one Family
I pray primarily to Durga as the Kuladevata, However I also pray to Hanuman, Shiva, Vishnu and the rest of the family. I sometimes feel confused. How can I see them as a whole, please give me guidance?
Please read the Cosmic Puja. All the Gods and Goddesses are members of the one family of divinity. Be free. There is no conflict.
Many deities and one chosen deity
How does the worship of many forms of deity relate to the notion of having a chosen deity, or Ishta Devata? There seems to be two directions along which your altar can evolve. One is toward a cosmic altar that has many forms of deity. The other direction is toward an altar that has only one, chosen deity, one’s ishta devata.
It is called Ekadista or Vyasti as compared with Samasti. Both are ways of worshipping and of setting up the altar. Both are correct. In both ways we still worship all the other forms of divinity, but they are worshipped in the presence of flowers rather than murtis.
Bahya Matrika Nyasa
In the Bahya Matrikaa Nyasa. I am not sure what you mean when you say base, for example:
Om am namah R.1.4 base top of head,
Om pam namah L.1.4 base L.side,
Om bam Namah R.1.4 base belly, etc.
Could you please explain?
On each finger there are three spaces divided by the joints. The base refers to first space on each finger next to the palm of the hand.
Agni Prajvalitam
I would like to know whether you actually do a homa in the section on Agni Prajvalitam?
No, visualize a circle of fire surrounding yourself and the deity. No other vibration can enter the circle. Then make the walls of the fire continually higher.
Krishna
Where does Krishna fit in the cosmic family? And Ram?
They are both incarnations of Vishnu, and included in the Vishnu mantras.
Brahma and Brahman
Brahma is referred to as the Supreme Divinity and also as the Creative Capacity. Sometimes in transliteration the first is written Brahman, but apparently not always. How do I distinguish the two?
From the context.
Bhuta Suddhi
In the Bhuta Suddhi, the bijas for the chakras are lam, vam, ram, yam, ham, and om. My question is are there also deities for the respective chakras? If so, what are they?
Please look at the table on page 97 of Cosmic Puja.
Where to make offerings
Do you offer puja materials on the Chandi Yantra as well as the idol of the deity?
In our tradition we do not break our asana from the time we take the sankalpa. Therefore, all offerings are made on the main flower situated on the yantra so we have no need to stand up.
Bhutasparana
In the Bhutasparana section, we call upon friendly spirits to get rid of the bad ones, then we tell the bad ones to go away, then we tell those that have chosen to remain that Lord Narasinha will deal with them. Should we make material offerings to the good spirits to persuade them to help us, to the bad spirits to get rid off them? What of the really demonic powerful ones? Does Narasinha take care of them, or/and should Hanuman be invoked for protection? Does one do this everyday, or once a week, or only at the start of a retreat or major event like a yagya?
Traditionally we offer rice to the good spirits in the four directions. I personally find it too difficult to clean up so I offer flower petals on the altar. For the bad spirits, traditionally we offer black sesame for the bad spirits. Again I offer flower petals for these mantras too. For the demonic ones, invoke Hanuman or Devi (Chandi, Chapter 12). I perform the Bhutasparana every day as part of the Cosmic Puja.
Prana Pratistha and Nyasas
I would like to know the internal significance of Prana Pratistha and Nyasa. Since one could just as easily invite the deity into our hearts and meditiate on her there, and feel her there, without necessarily going through all the pratisht and nyas mantras, I would like to know what exactly these mantras do, as they are considered vital to all tantric pujas. Do they have the overall effect of enhancing the potency of the Japa Mantra that follows? In other words, one could just do the Japa without Nyasa, but with Nyasa the Japa would be more powerful.
The easiest and most effective puja is to sit silently in contemplation of the Supreme Divinity within ourselves with only one mantra. But the mind is restless. It won’t sit still that easily. It wants to roam from the past to the future, and rarely observes the truth of the present. The rishis designed the pujas to guide the mind into that stillness. The Pratistha and nyasa viddhis allow the establishment of all the vibrations of existence into our being, and then the establishment of the DIvine Mother as the embodiment of all that energy.
Can I do Prana Pratistha myself, as no brahmin is around to perform it. And how would I proceed for murtis of Shiva, Ganesha, Krishna, and Lakshmi? What are the mantras and so on?
Use the mantras from the Prana Pratistha in the Cosmic Puja, and then add the bija mantras for each deity.
How do the different mantras of the Pratistha or Nyasa correspond to the different chakras and nadis(chakra petals)?
I stand by the explanation already published in our books. The correspondence begins at the Muladhara to the Ajna chakra.
Just as receiving initiation into a mantra makes it more potent for the sadhak, does one need therefore initiation into the pratishtha and nyasa mantras as well to enhance their effect?
Everything works better when we have an oral transmission of knowledge, and even better when we can do our sadhana in the presence of a pure example of someone who is practicing that sadhana. There are so many nuances in every action that cannot be explained in an email or even a book. But we must do the best that we can. When circumstances allow, we will come into that relationship which inspires us to actually adjust our life styles so that we can receive the teachings first hand. Until then we must follow the teachings to the best of our abilities, and maintain the sincerity to continue to progress.
Could you also please tell me whether in cosmic puja pran pratishta is mentioned twice is deliberate or should just be done once?
We make prana pratishtha many times during the puja:
On the deity
On the pot.
On the worshipper
On the yantra.
On the fire.
Energy inside and putside the pot
On the one hand, when you were talking about the pot and you said that there is energy outside and energy inside, seems like there is only one energy. And then you said each manifestation is a different energy. Could you explain this?
Puja Naivedhya
In the Cosmic Puja, puja naivedhya is initially addressed to the Goddess. At the end, the text shifts to addressing God. Is there any significance in this shift?
Three levels in the altar
The Introduction (to the Cosmic Puja) talks about three levels in the altar. It also says that as we move up the altar the way we perceive the world changes. Could you give us some examples from your life about how this happened?
Cosmic Puja cover – Puja and Altar (Murtis)
I am mesmerised by the idol of Durga (Chandi) Maa, the one on the front page of the cosmic puja book riding on the lion slaying Mahisasur. Is there an actual murti like that somewhere in a temple in India because I have this strange feeling that I have seen it somewhere.
She, this murti is prepared in different parts of Bengal every year. She is worshipped for the Navaratri and then dissolved again in the Ganga.
Cosmic Altar
The Cosmic Altar has been described in the Vaikritikam Rahasyam (from the Chandi Path) as the best way to worship Her. Does this mean that we should position the deities in our homes in the manner described in the Rahasyam? Would you advise us to model our altars at home based on the Cosmic Altar?
It is an extremely sophisticated form of worship. Certainly we want to move in that direction, but don’t move so fast as to make our worship a burden.
Topics covered in this Question and Answer session with Swamiji:
Topics covered in this Question and Answer session with Swamiji:
~~OM~~ When Sati Devi left her body, Shiva became an ascetic. He just spent all His time in meditation. And at that time a great asura named Tarakasura, the illuminator of duality, did tremendous austerities and Brahma came to him and said, “What do you want?” He said, “I want to be immortal.” Brahma said, […]