moksh

Svarbhanu aka Rahu Ketu and Ksheer Samudra Manthan

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Of all the 580+ posts I have written till now, the most read are the ones on Rahu Ketu. And with good reason. These two are the most fascinating forces in the horoscope. If you can understand them, you understand Life, Living and the Beyond. If you analyse the horoscopes of charismatic individuals, Rahu Ketu will always be very strong. From business tycoons to genuine Gurus, they become this by the combined power of Rahu Ketu ie Svarbhanu.

Rahu Ketu are the two parts of the Asur Svarbhanu. The head is Rahu and the headless body is Ketu. These two were created during the Samudra manthan, ie churning of the infinite Ocean of Eternal Happiness or the Ocean of Mahapran during the time of the Koorma avtar, ie the incarnation of Shri Vishnu as Koorma.

There are no ’stories’ in Santa dharma/ Hinduism. These are all allegories, deep philosophy in easy to understand events which may also have actually occurred at some point of time. All our deepest philosophy is intertwined in various stories so that everyone, from children to the philosophers can read the same text but learn different things from it, palimpsests.

Samudra Manthan is a very important allegory in Sanatan Dharm/ Hinduism as it describes what happens in you when you do Dhyan. Your journey from apparent Duality to the Non Dual Reality.

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Briefly Samudra manthan goes like this. (Ref Ithihas, Mahabharat, Adi Parva)

Shri Vishnu gives his Vaijayanti mala to Rishi Durvas to deliver it to Dev raj Indra. He goes to Amravati, the capital of the Devatas and gives it to Indra. Indra holds it casually and the Mala falls from his hands. His elephant Airavat stamps on it. Rishi Durvas gets angry at this insult to the Mala and curses Indra that all ‘prosperity’ from his universe will vanish. Accordingly all types of prosperity, all wealth, all comforts, all gold, food, animals etc, Moon, Airavat himself and all symbols of Shri including the Devi Shri Laxmi herself, unmanifest ie dissolve back into the Ksheer Samudra. There is horrific turbulence, inauspiciousness everywhere.

Indra rushes to Shri Vishnu, asks for help. The solution is to churn the Ksheer Samudra with the help of his half-brother, Asur Raj Mahabali. The Devatas/Surs and the Danavs/Daityas/Asuras are to cooperate for this task. Thus the Ocean would give up its treasures and Shri ie prosperity would return to the manifested universe. Mandar mountain would be the churning rod and Vasuki Nag the churning rope.

On the chosen day Anant Nag uproots the Mandar mountain, sets it in the Ksheer Samudra. Vasuki Nag is tied 3 and 1/2 times around the mountain. 54 Devata hold on the tail part of Vasuki Nag and / 54 Asur hold his head portion. They start churning the Samudra. There is terrible turbulence, lightning, storms, Vasuki Nag breathes out fire as he is pulled, stretched and in pain, the beings existing on the mountain and in the ocean are destroyed, their essences merge into the ocean. Then the mountain also starts sinking into the Samudra. Shri Vishnu manifests his Koorma avtar and stabilises the mountain so that the churning can continue.

Finally the churning starts yielding results, embodiments of prosperity start manifesting from the ocean. Kamdhenu (given to the Rishis), Ucchaishrava (given to Asur Raj Bali), Airavat (given to Dev Raj Indra), Parijat (planted in Swarg), Varuni (given to Asurs), Moon (fixed in the skies), Apsara (went to Swarg), Panchajanya, Kaustubh Mani (both to Shri Vishnu), Sharanga (bow, weapon of Shri Vishnu), Mahalaxmi appeared with the Vyjanti mala (She is Shri Vishnu’s wife).

The churning continues, a poison Halahal or Kalkut manifests, it has the power to destroy everything so Bhagwan Shankar drinks it all and Devi Parvati with her power holds it at his throat. (Thus Bhagwan Shankar is pure white just like white quartz, Sphatik, but with a blue throat, Neelkanth.)

Finally Bhagwan Dhanvantari (deity of Ayurved) appears with the Amrut kalash in his hands. Thus fourteen ‘gems’ of prosperity manifest from the Ksheer Samudra.

Seeing the pot of Amrut, the Dev and Asur start fighting on who should drink it. Shri Vishnu uses his Maya and appears as a beautiful Mohini before them. He offers to distribute it fairly and they agree. Devatas stand on one side of Mohini and the Daitya-s at the another. Mohini starts with the Devatas first with the understanding that the Asurs would be served after them. Asur Svarbhanu goes and stands between the Sun and Moon so gets the the Amrut out of turn. Sun/Surya and Moon/Chandra object to this. Shri Vishnu gets angry with Svarbhanu’s behaviour and cuts off his head with his weapon the Sudarshan chakra. But Svarbhanu has already drunk the Amrut, he has gone beyond death. So his head continues to exist as Rahu and the headless body as Ketu. After this episode, Shri Vishnu further punishes the Asurs by not giving them their share of the Amrut.

Rahu and Ketu become specific enemies of the Surya and Chandra. They ‘devour’ the Sun and Moon from time to time, causing eclipses.

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All these words are in Sanskrit, ie the Devbhasha Samskrutam so have various meanings. Let’s try to understand the cast of characters in Sanskrit. 

  • Ksheer Samudra – This is the ocean of intelligent milky sparkly pran that surrounds us. We are all sealed inside this. The power of the configuration of the horoscope that you have tied yourself with. The conscious power of the sound, vibrations etc. 
  • Manthan – shaking, churning, creating fire by friction, energy created by movement of inward/ Purak and outward/ Rechak breath when you do your Dhyan.
  • Vaijayanti – a kinetic force created by terrifying acceleration and speed
  • Mala – line, streak, garland, crown etc.
  • Durvas – something that is difficult to be tolerated or stayed with
  • Rishi – ray of light, ascetic, seer
  • Indra – individual soul, king of the devata, post here
  • Mandar – connected to slowness, largeness,  firmness, meter of prosody, tree, mirror, heaven etc. Mandar mountain is considered to be a splintered part of the Meru itself.
  • Vasuki – the energy which converts the energies of the Vasu into solidity, ie the power which dulls or slows down pure energy.
  • Nag – cobra, serpentine, of the mountains, created from solidity, metal, stone, name of a pran, elephant, gigantic, cloud, karmic bindings, etc.
  • Anant – fraction, infinite, sky, number 1, silk cord, unending, eternal
  • Koorma – means a turtle, a serpent, one of the pran in the body, a intricate knot or the energy which holds the Kundalini tied to the Muladhar chakra, or an intricate locking mechanism.
  • Vishnu – stabilising or potential energy of Satva gun
  • Laxmi – kinetic or moving energy of Satva gun. The ‘sign’, ie the created universes.
  • Dev – light, excellent, sword, organ of sense, heavenly etc
  • Asur – absence of light, cloud, spirit, sun etc
  • Mahabali – big gift, immense offering, large tribute, great worship, great strength etc.
  • Shankar – the stabilising or potential consciousness of the Tamogun.  
  • Parvati – the active or kinetic awareness of the Tamogun
  • Mohini – energy of illusion, fascination, perplexity, confusion, delusion, attraction.
  • Sudarshan chakra – the energy of perfectly visible time cycles. The perfectly arranged energy which pulls inwards like a whirlpool. It destroys illusions in the sense it makes the cycle of creation perfectly visible.
  • Halahal – poison, snake, the reaction to actions done
  • Kalakut – false knowledge related to time/space, the concept of duality being an untruth, illusion of existence, foundation of time/space, destructive power of time/space, contained time/space
  • Chandra – Moon, water, shining, best, meter of prosody, beautiful, camphor, connected to the power of the Ajnya chakra etc.
  • Surya – Sun, number 12, auspicious, connected to the power of the Sahasrara chakra

Try to think on these meanings, in fact there are even more meanings, and to think on what these energies can mean in the allegory. We, followers of Sanatan Dharma do not follow anything blindly. We think, ponder, try to find the deeper essence of things. 

The Rahu Ketu axis

The fourteen gems which manifested out of the Samudra manthan are,

  • Sharanga – Chakata bird, peacock, bee, elephant, the bow wielded by Shri Vishnu. The Sushumna of the spiritual aspirant on which he will shoot up the Kundalini like an arrow. The vibrations, energy build up, discernment, purity etc that the aspirants feel in the body/mind as he begins with his intense sadhana.
  • Varuni – liquor, created by the deity Varun, also linked to war elephants or war horses, the power of motion used for destruction. This would be the energy which pacifies or destroys the dissonant energies which get active as the Kundalini gets access to the lower Sushumna. 
  • Apsara – a small creek, outlet into a larger waterbody, small waterbody, nymph, eddies of thoughts. This stage indicates the growth of divinity in the sadhak. Also indicate the turbulence of the mind which occurs during the Dhyan process. As you try to gain the unmani avastha the Manas/ Mind fights back by creating these attractive thought patterns to divert you away from yourself. Apsara is the wave which rises on the smooth surface of the internal ocean. These Apsara are under the control of Indra and reside in Swarg.
  • Kamdhenu – a being/cow that gives the essence of all desires and intentions. It is also considered to be stationed at the Muladhar chakra. Kamdhenu is the Queen of Cows, ie the magnificent power of vowels. The entry to the Sushumna.
  • Ucchaishravas – clearly uttered or heard loud rapid sounds, moving fast upwards, clear flowing precious substance. This is the sound that one hears when the kundalini starts on its journey in the Sushumna. (Shri sukta also describes the rising of the Kundalini). Ucchaishravas is the King of all Horses, ie the most excellent intelligence. Asur Raj Bali rides this as his vehicle.
  • Airavat – lightning, elephant, Devraj Indra rides him, ie control that the individual soul gains over the Muladhar chakra and its intricacies. When the aspirant brings his kundalini to the Swadhishthan chakra.
  • Kaustubh mani – oil, jewel, mudra, jewel which Shri Vishnu wears on his chest. The aspirant as he crosses the Manipur chakra.
  • Panchajanya – The conch used by Shri Vishnu. It means born from the five, condensation of the spread out substance, created using exact measures, crystallization of insubstantial energies, the sound of OM, the Anahata naada, heard when the kundalini crosses the Anahata chakra. 
  • Parijat – connected to the one who has descended, linked to the one who has fully developed, fragrant, of the one who was conceived. This is the fragrance/aura that high level yogis or realised Jivanmukt emanate, ie the power that we sense in their aura. The kundalini has reached the Vishuddhi chakra.
  • Chandra – moon, water, shining, number 1, meter of prosody, gold, etc. It is the radiance that the aspirant sees at the Ajnya chakra. Seeing the Moon at the Ajnya chakra means that the next stage, ie appearance of the Prakruti is going to happen soon. 
  • Vaijayanti mala – The streaks of pure energy seen at the Ajnya chakra as the aspirant starts his way to the Dashangula. Shri Vishnu wears this auspicious garland made of precious flowers.
  • Mahalaxmi – She emerged from the Ksheer Samudra with the Vaijayanti mala got married to Shri Vishnu and went to Vaikunth with her husband. The tremendousness that ‘Laxmi’ really is. ‘Shri’, seated on a lotus indicates the growth of Vivek and Vairagya in the sadhak. Lotus indicates complete control over Time and the cycles of Time. The Laxmi tantra describes what ‘Laxmi’ really is. At this stage the Sadhak has complete understanding of what creation is really all about. She liberates the sadhak from the bindings of the three gun. This is where you are face to face with Devi Prakruti, ie Satvagun too has been crossed. 
  • Dhanvantari, the deity of Ayurved, with Amrut kalash in his hands indicates the aspirant is ‘healed from the taap-traya, ie Aadhyatmik, Aadhidaivik and Aadhibhoutik sources of pain are destroyed. All types of misery caused by his own actions, by the actions of others or the actions of fate/nature are resolved, cured and healed. Dhanvantari is a form of Vishnu, ie Satva gun and is the deity of Ayurved. We are required to do his pujas on Dhantrayodashi, which comes 2 days before Diwali.
  • Amrut – The energy of non-death. The stage of awareness where death, endings, limits, changes, etc do not exist. There is no beginning nor ending, Moksh. It Is.

Thus the 14 gems of prosperity describe the stages of the aspirant during his sadhana till he realises himself, ie Moksh.

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Rahu and Ketu

Asur Svarbhanu was the child of the Asur King Viprachitta and his Queen Simhika. She was one of the daughters of Prajapati Daksha thus a granddaughter of Brahmadev. In Sanskrit, names have meanings and describe the qualities of the persons they are linked to. Names are Titles, not random meaningless ‘proper nouns’. 

These titles in Devbhasha Samskrutam mean the following

Viprachitta विप्रचित्तः – Vipra means a seer, priest, poet, learned, wise, excited, in-motion, holy, inspired, the highest intelligence. Chitta means intention, notice, aim, mind,  appearance, something you long for, memory, thought, wish, knowledge, reason intelligence and also reflection. So Viprachitta is a pure, elevated intelligence in action.

Simhika सिंहिका – is derived from the root word Simha, which means lion, powerful one, hero, musical tone, etc. Simhika is the movement created by an elevated power.

Svarbhanu स्वर्भानुः – The name Svarbhanu is powerful title in itself, it describes the qualities of this Asur who later became Rahu and Ketu.

  • Svar means vowels, a musical note, sound energy, sunshine, bright space , heaven, the air that you breathe through your nose, the number 7, the space between the Sun and the Dhruv Tara (Dhruv is the pole star, he is the top of the celestial Meru).
  • Bhanu means the Sun, master, king, appearance, ray of light, illumination, etc.
  • Thus Svarbhanu would be the conscious intelligence of the very pran/ vital energy you breathe in. The light you see at the top most point of your internal Meru. The radiance of the king.

The intelligence of the time/ space around the Earth where the Sun and Moon apparently travel is called Svah स्वः In astronomy, Rahu and Ketu are the points where the orbit of the Moon around the Earth intersects with the ecliptic ie the apparent path of the Sun around the Earth. The intersection points of the Sun’s and the Moon’s paths of light are Rahu and Ketu. The divine spark ie the Sun is modulated by the Moon and tied to Earth by Rahu and Ketu.

In your sadhana, if you cross the Ajnya chakra and enter the Sahasrar complex you might find Rahu + Ketu in their united form of Svarbhanu lighting your way right till the very top.

You see, we are all beings of light. In my earlier post somewhere, I had asked you to try this simple test. Sit in a pitch black room. Now what do you see? Darkness? Swirls of coloured light? Streaks of light? A network of white light lines? Or a central white dot? What do you see? Do you see anything at all or is it all dark for you? As you do your Dhyan regularly, you stop seeing darkness. You never see anything to be dark. There will be no night to you. ie even in a pitch black room you will see light, even if you keep your eyes open or closed it will always be bright. This brightness depends on the level of your personal evolution, how much Pran you have managed to channelise into yourself. And this brightness is not external, but internal. It is the brightness of your own self. Just that most of us are so blinded by our own karma that we fail to realise it. We grope around in the dark, we are scared of the dark. But you and me, we are indeed beings of light.

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Svarbhanu

Svarbhanu was a royal prince, born to powerful parents. He was powerful, perceptive, highly intelligent, able to see clearly inspite of the highest illusions which hid the reality around him. If you critically go through the Samudra manthan allegory, among all the Sur and the Asur present in the gathering, only Svarbhanu was able to comprehend that the Mohini standing before them was not what she seemed to be. He was not taken in by the illusion woven by the Satvagun. Only he had this clarity, the perception of the reality, despite the enticing allure of the Maya before him. Svarbhanu was able to maintain his senses in the face of Mohini’s illusions and act decisively. He was a risk-taker, not random rash risks but calculated risks where he thought that he could gain. He was going for the highest prize, the Amrut, essence of non-death. He decided to stand between the Sun and the Moon so that their brilliance would mask his aura. This worked and Mohini, ie Shri Vishnu himself, was unable to recognise him as an Asur and he was given the Amrut. But as he started drinking it, the Sun and the Moon realised that he was Svarbhanu and they alerted the assembly, Shri Vishnu then cut off Svarbhanu’s head with his weapon, the Sudarshan chakra (the kinetic energy of time/space used with intention). But Svarbhanu had already drunk Amrut, his awareness was beyond the coils of birth /death. Thus Rahu, the head and Ketu the headless body were created. These two are also beyond death.

Svarbhanu didn’t believe Mohini’s assurance that the Asur-s too would be given the Amrut, (which was perhaps the truth as after his beheading, Shri Vishnu didn’t give them their share of Amrut.) Thus he was the only Asur who drank Amrut and went beyond death.

Rahu is the start of the eclipse and Ketu is the flaming light that one sees at the end of the eclipse. We, the individual souls/ jivatma residing on Earth are always between them, pulled and pushed by them, in our own individual Ksheer Samudra Manthan. Rahu and Ketu are the energies which bind individual soul/ jivatma to karma, ie Earth. 

They are created from the consciousness of the Svah स्वः by the Maya of the Satvagun using the kinetic power of time/ space. (Time is Kaal and Space are the Dasha Mahavidya). 

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Jyotish is used for objective as well as subjective analysis. Personally after so many years (lives) of horoscopes, objective questions like ‘when will I get a job’ are not exciting any more. Any competent astrologer can answer these objective questions using Jyotish as an Apara Vidya. But Jyotish is also a Ved-ang, a tool for self discovery, a Para vidya. As I open my chart, I see that everything which has happened to me, events, feelings, every tiny thing can be seen from the graha as indicators. I realise that I am quite predictable, so is everyone else. This 5-layered body can be easily deciphered using the graha indicators, no mystery here. So who am I really? A puppet, an actor, the director? These sort of questions lead to spirituality and a desire to know Oneself. Every genuine Jyotishi, Tarot card reader, Rune-caster, Aura-reader etc will eventually turn towards the inner self, it is the actual last frontier.

This is then Rahu Ketu or more correctly Svarbhanu at work.

Lok you go to after physical death

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“I recently heard that after a person passes away, he/she enters two lokas – preta and pitra (depending on their karmas and sanskaras). Is this true? Also, could you please share your views whether these lokas are inhabited by living entities? Do these lokas exist? bhu, bhuvas, svar, mahas, janas, tapas, and satya above and atala, vitala, sutala, rasātala, talātala, mahātala, pātāla and naraka”

I got this comment and the answer became too long, thus this post.

Pitarayana. When someone leaves the physical body there are two possible routes, Pitrayana and Devayana. Most people, 99.99% will use the Pitarayana. So the soul with the attached karmic baggage ie the subtle and causal bodies, leaves the physical body behind, uses the Pitrayana route and travels to Pitrulok. Pitru पितृ means ancestors. The physical body which is left behind is called the ‘pret’ and there is no ‘pret-lok’. Pret प्रेत means the remains, discarded, left behind, defunct, dead etc. Once the soul starts on the Pitrayana route, the other souls from his soul group come to escort it on its way. Soul group would be those souls who travel together in time, space and across lives as they have interconnected karma to resolve over lives. People who have had near death experiences report having seen their parents etc coming to meet them. (I have written on what happens at physical death here)

This world in which we live in, is called the Martya-lok. Martya मर्त्य means mortal, of those who will die, human, body, etc.

The soul gets the energy to reach its destination in pitra-lok, when the Anteyshti, cremation by fire is performed correctly. The pret/ body is offered to Agni and the skull must break. The other way is when a soldier dies fighting, Veer-gati, his focus on his fight is so complete that his attachment to his body becomes zero, if he gets killed, he travels the Pitrayana without much trouble.

But if the body is buried after death, then the soul cannot journey to the pitra-lok and in majority of cases haunts the areas around the burial spot or his house or his family. The soul is does not have enough energy to cross into the pitra-lok, so it roams in the Martya-lok and we call it a ghost, spirit, pret-atma, etc. These souls are often in very bad shape as the higher level negative entities also torment them while they are trapped here. (The best way to catch a spirit-slave is near cemeteries where bodies are buried, not that I recommend doing this.)

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I have used a generic word ‘pitru-lok’ but there are two basic options. One is if the soul has performed auspicious deeds and gained beneficial merit. Or has performed inauspicious actions, acted against its own conscience etc so has demerits, negative karma.

Chandra-lok If someone does auspicious activities, lives a dharmic life and gains merit, does his pujas, worships demi-gods/ devata, his soul enters Chandra-lok. Here the soul uses up the merit which it was supposed to enjoy here. It exists with the devata. Its position here is something like a subordinate staff to the demi-gods. If you do pujas of your adored devata, you will, after physical death, go to the Chandra-lok. Here you will serve him, gain his blessings, remain there till your this merit is exhausted. You enjoy your accumulated merit/ punya as a companion to the devata, something like his glorified servants. Maybe something like his pet? This is enjoyable to you as you have worshipped this devata while living in the Martya-lok and the fruit of your this karma is being in his company, so you enjoy it.

This merit is also a part of the sanchit karma. You are constantly working on reducing your karma by enjoying its fruits in the other dimensions also. If this is an auspicious merit you enjoy its fruits in the Chandra-lok (and if is an inauspicious fruit, you endure it in the Yama-lok.) This merit can be visualised as an additional body layer which is created around your soul as you enter the respective other lok. Once your merit here is exhausted, this layer is dissolved. Then you exit that lok and your soul will be reincarnated in the Martya-lok again. Now again some part of your accumulated karma will get active and this will decide your new life and situation here. The quality of this karma will decide your position and place of birth. Thus you are born again with residual karma which has to be worked out in the Martya-lok.

Sapta-Vhyritis Bhuh, Bhuvah, Swahah, Mahah, Janah, Tapah, Satyam are seven higher planes of existence. These are all naturally inhabited by specific beings.

  • Bhu is the bhu-lok, the earth, the martya-lok. We all live here.
  • The lok described by Bhuvah to Tapah are inhabited by devata of successively higher energies and are a part of the Chandra lok. A soul can travel upto only upto a certain level into the Chandra-lok, depending on his merit, punya. This level is indicated by the vhyrutis, bhuvah, svah, mahah, janah, tapah. If you have more punya/ merit you advance higher. There are different devata who exist in different levels of the Chandra-lok.
  • The highest energy Satya-lok is considered to be the same as Brahmalok. This is not a part of the Chandra-lok. Only those souls who gain krama mukti can go there by the Devayan route.

Souls who go to the higher Lok within the Chandra-lok ie Tapah, can also work as the devata/ demi-gods themselves. eg if you do your pujas etc with the desire to work as Indra etc these intentions can also be fulfilled. Deities are designations, like someone is a ‘Head of Marketing’, or ‘CEO’, or ‘Director’ in our corporates. Deities are something like officers.

Karma cannot be balanced at one go, several lives are needed. And karma is not balanced in one Lok either, its fruits are spread over several Lok. ie some of its karma will be settled in Martya-lok, some in Chandra-lok, some in Yama-lok. However new karma can be created only in the Martya-lok, not in any of the others. (So even if some deity wishes to attain Sadyo-mukti he too has to take a birth on the Martya-lok, do his sadhana here and only them can he attain Sadyo-mukti.)

Yama-lok If you have performed inauspicious actions on the Martya-lok and have accumulated demerits, negative karma. Then, after you enter the pitrayana route, you will be directed to the Yama-lok. Here you will suffer the consequences of your negative karma. People think the Garud-puran is a fantasy, it is not. Read it in the original Sanskrit (Devbhasha Samskrutam cannot be translated), you will understand what karmic punishments really are and these actually happen here. Here negative karma is rebalanced. Once you have rebalanced whatever was possible in Yama-lok, your soul again comes to the Martya-lok for its next birth.

There are seven subsidiary Lok connected to Yama-lok. The Raurava, Maharaurava, Vahni, Vaitarni and Kumbhika are the five ‘temporary’ ones. You stay here till the fruits of your negative karma are completed, then you exit from here. And there are two more Lok here, the ‘permanent’ Tamisra and Andhatamisra. If the soul has done such tremendous inauspicious actions, negative things which are beyond rebalancing, it resides here in complete inertia till the Maha-Pralaya, complete dissolution of creation. A soul residing here has no hope of evolution or gaining self-realization. It can be considered as a blindness of the worst kind possible. Inertia is the worst punishment possible as there is no scope of any sort of evolution/ involution.

As per Garud puran there are these Lok connected to the lower human body, Atala is located below the feet, above the feet is Vitala, at the knees is Sutala, Rasatala at the private parts, Talatala at the hips, Patala at the loins and Mahatala at the thighs. These should be similar to the seven Lok which are included in the Yama-lok. Then the seven higher Lok ie from Bhu to Satyam are linked to the 7 chakra in the spine. These are part of the Martya-lok, Chandra-lok and the Brahma-lok. There is no mention of any ‘narak’ in the Brahma-sutra or in the Garud puran. (I go by what Brahma-sutra say always. If there is any contradiction with any other text, for me the Brahma-sutra has the over-riding authority.)

Depending on how deep your spiritual practice Dhyan is, and how you have elevated your conscious focus on your mantra, you can visit these Lok during your Dhyan. But attempt it only if you are confident about yourself.

All this is for the souls who are born as humans. For the animals and plants etc there is a ‘Third’ place, which is neither Chandra-lok nor Yama-lok. I am not very interested, so I have never checked out this ‘third’ place

Lok you go to after physical death

Devayana  If you achieve Krama-mukti, you travel by this route at the moment of physical death and reach the highest possible Lok in this creation. Actually every soul has the Devayana option available to it at its point of exit, but it is so blinded by its karma, so confused, that it cannot see this route. So mostly all exit via Pitarayan and go to Chandra-lok or Yama-lok.

Devayana is also called the route of Archi, Agni, Vayu, Varun, Indra, Prajapati and the Surya (Archiradi-marga अर्चि आदि मार्ग). There are several intermediate stages on this route but the soul does not stop here, his focus on his Sagun Brahma is intense. The deities ruling these stages, escort or guard the soul on his route to the Brahma-lok.

A lot depends on what you focus on at the moment of your physical death. The energies at the moment of exit are tremendous, they grant you whatever you are intently focussing on at this moment. And to retain your single-point focus at this moment requires that you prepare for it throughout your life. If you worship the Eternal in his highest Sa-gun form, ie as Shiv, Vishnu or Brahmadev, with full focus, you will eventually attain the highest Vidya related to these forms. This Vidya will ensure that you retain your focus on this deity at the point of physical death. Thus you will be able to see and actively choose the Devayana route for your exit. You will go to the highest energy Lok available in this creation, called the Brahma-lok. The Brahma-lok is also called the Satya-lok or Kailas or Vaikunth.

Here you will remain as a companion to your adored deity, till the entire creation is dissolved in Maha-pralaya. You have chosen this by your continuous focussed intention, this is the fruit of that worship of the highest deities of this creation. You are satisfied with being with your favourite deity, this is want you had wanted. You got it. You are with the Sagun Brahma or the Karya Brahma. There is no more birth/death for you, your soul has been freed from this ‘krama’, thus it is called krama-mukti. However this is not the highest realisation possible. You do not know your own highest reality. (Do read the post on krama-mukti)

Sagun means with attributes. These forms of deities are under the rule of Prakruti, Devi, Lalita Tripursundari. If you can cross Prakruti also, you enter the realm of pure consciousness, then you can achieve the Nirgun Brahma, the highest realization.

Maha-pralaya, The entire creation with everything in it is dissolved as if it never existed. The Advaita reasserts itself and all forms of duality are destroyed. The illusion breaks for all the souls residing in all the Lok-s at this instant, also all demi-gods, deities, Shiv/ Vishnu/ Brahmadev etc all are annihilated. All souls, all intelligence is merged with the Nirvishesh Brahma. There is no creation, no manifestation, only the Non-dual exists. (After this creation can start again in a new cycle if such a desire is created.)

Sadyo-mukti Advaita, Nirvishesh Brahma the highest realization is possible only if you are devoted to your own reality, if you adore yourself, ie recite the mantra Om, Soham or Hamsa. Here there is no going/ coming, as you attain the Eternal at the moment of your realization. This is Sadyo-mukti, the final and highest realization possible. All genuine aspirants want this experince. A real Sat-Guru will always guide you to focus on yourself, Om Soham or Hamsa so you achieve the Highest Realisation in the life time or at the moment of your exit (post on Jivan-mukt or Videha mukt). Your own naam-mantra, your name, guides you to yourself.

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(This post is based majorly on the Brahma-sutra, some from Garud Puran and some from my experiences)

Soham, Sushumna Yog and the Sat-guru

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‘Soham’, when formally ‘given’ to you by a Jivan-Mukt Sat-Guru is ‘Sushumna Yog.

A Jivan-mukt has understood the real meaning of the Maha-vakya, ‘tat tvam asi’. Maha-vakya महावाक्य means the great saying, assertion, declaration, rule. ‘Tat tvam asi’ loosely means ‘you are that’, but understanding this and experiencing this means you have achieved Sadyo-mukti. ‘Tat tvam asi’ is called the Brahmaakara Vritti, ie the state of the mind which takes you towards the Eternal Intelligence. Only such a Jivan mukt Guru can ‘give’ you Soham in all its grandness. eg your friend calls you by your full name and then your Mom calls you by your full name. When your Mom calls you with your full name, you get all alert and awake, her voice and your name trigger something within you.

Soham is the right of every living being. You keep doing it regularly in some small way with intention and it will slowly reset your energy. (Like that friend calling you by your name.) And then at some point of time, you will meet your Sat-Guru who will formally ‘give’ it to you. (This would be like your Mom calling you). When you hear this mantra from a Jivan-mukt, you hear it from the Nirvishesh Brahma itself. The mantra then goes deep inside and resets your energy in a fast forward mode. This now becomes Sushumna Yog, the route to Moksh. It opens access to the Sushumna nadi and the Brahma-nadi within it.

Soham has the power to take you into Kevala-Kumbhak spontaneously. Kumbhak is commonly considered to be the pause between the act of breathing in-Purak and breathing out-Rechak. But actually ‘Kumbhak’ means a pause in breathing. The breathing stops. Kevala Kumbhak means the stoppage of breath when the mind is silenced, completely motionless. In your Dhyan when you reach a point where the mind is utterly calm, the breathing stops. This stoppage can be in mid-inward breath, in mid-outward breath or between the Rechak/ Purak, anytime. This is called the state of Kevala Kumbhak.

When the breath stops, your pran are in your conscious control, the mind/Manas is still. Soham dissolves the individual ego/ Ahamkara completely. Grants you perfect memory/ Chitta of yourself. Perfect intelligence/ Buddhi dawns on you. You gain the knowledge/ Vijnyan of the Eternal. 

Initially this kumbhak will be for short time, later it can extend to hours as a Samadhi. Kevala Kumbhak is the highest form of Kumbhak. For those who attempt reaching this Kevala Kumbhak by consciously manipulating pran, the entire and very complicated process is given in the Yog-shikha Upanishad. But attempt this only under the guidance of a real Guru who knows what he is doing. Do not experiment here. Else you can burn up your Nadi-s, if this happens you have to discard your current body and take another body/life. (I have heard examples where aspirants burnt their nadi-s and then physically died a few months later.)

For attaining Moksh, both practice and philosophy is necessary. One trains the pran/ vital energy and the other trains the mind. Mind can be controlled by only if you control Pran and the easiest way to control Pran is to focus on your breath. The spiritual path can be very dangerous if you do not follow a Sat-Guru. You are manipulating the energies enveloping your soul, it is risky without the proper guide. All the books in Sanatan Dharma, Brahma-sutra, Bhagvat Gita, Vijnyan Bhairav Tantra, Devi Mahatmya, Ved, Vedang, Upanishad, etc emphasise the supreme importance of the Sat-guru in attaining Sadyo-mukti, Advaitya.

Soham, Sushumna Yog and the Sat-guru

I have seen my own Sat-Guru  in his physical shell as a Jivan-mukt and his full Advaita form after the shell dissolved.

A Jivan-mukt is innocence, untouched by physical/ emotional distress. Every word uttered by him is deepest philosophy. Every sentence when pondered upon, means only the Advaita. He cannot ever talk on any materialistic topic, he has transcended all this dross. He will not do moorti-pujas, pilgrimages, rituals, yadnas, homa or any other outer forms of worship connected to this illusory worlds, nor will he tell his disciples to do so. (My Guru would pointedly say no to all this as this. But he would tell us to increase our Dhyan.) He will give the same final mantra (Om/ Soham/ Hamsa) to all his disciples. To him, each one is the same Parabrahma. He does not discriminate among his disciples. He looks fresh and always welcoming. There are no bindings on how one has to be before coming before him. (Some Yogi-s are particular about women in their 5 days cycle. Or do not allow others to touch, have strict conditions on food etc). A Sat-guru has no requirements, no hang-ups, nothing. I have seen my Sat-guru eating out of silver plates and with the same innocence having simple food in the house of a poor disciple. Not finicky about habits, nothing. And this doesn’t mean that you can take him lightly. His aura is tremendous, you can not do anything but bow before him. All thoughts flee your mind in his presence. (I could never ask him for anything in words. Yet he always answered the questions I used to ask him in my mind). You feel the immenseness of him. Only those few people who have actually seen a Jivan-Mukt can understand what I have written here.

(Eg. Once he stopped his car in front of a Mumbai slum. My Mom was travelling with him. He asked her to go into the slum and call a woman, he told her the name. A elderly beggar woman came out. He asked her if she would like to go and live in his Math in Kolhapur district. She thought it over and said yes. He gave her money to buy some clothes and tickets. She lived in the Math and helped out in the kitchens. After some 25yrs, by his blessings, she left her body sitting in Dhyan. There are numerous such examples with my Guru.)

A Jivan-mukt’s body is linked to the Prarabdha-karma linked to the body at birth. So the body will play out its karmic activities. But the Soul is the pure Advaita. The pain/ pleasure of the body does not exist for the Soul. It has entered the Unmani-avastha, ‘beyond the mind’. The only purpose of the body is to enjoy/ endure karma. The soul has nothing to do with karma. You are not the body, you are the Soul, so its karmic pain/ pleasure has nothing to do with you. If you understand and experience this, you are Mukt.

Now whenever I see him he is in his full Advaita form, just the conscious Nirvishesh Brahma. It is very different and more intense.

So the point is, in this world, there are very rare Jivan-mukt available, maybe one in a hundred million. If you have the all-consuming desire to Know yourself, you will meet one, like the beggar woman whom my Sat-guru picked out of the slums. But until this happens, it is best that you do your Soham-Dhyan. Better trust your own higher self rather than putting your trust in some dubious ‘guru’. There are so many frauds in this world who are more than ready to take advantage of your fire and your energy. A Yogi who is higher up on the route can help you but only a Sat-Guru can really guide you home.

Do your Soham-Dhyan as per your conscience. This will prepare you for the moment when you will meet your Sat-guru. ‘Soham’ is not secret, everyone knows it. But when you hear it from your Sat-guru as a Naam-mantra, ie with the intention that ‘Soham’ is your name, it changes your energies completely. The Advaita itself tells you your name and directs you to focus on this now onwards. I was very young when my Sat-guru ‘gave’ it to me, but I remember every second of that experience.

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There was a question for references on Soham. For me the biggest reference is that my Sat-Guru gave it to me. But you can go through the following if you are so inclined,

  • Brahma vidya upanishad mentions that Soham is the mantra.
  • Yog shikha upanishad mentions that the Ajapa mantra under the guidance of a Sat-guru and for Sushumna yog is ‘Soham’. This is a part of mantra yog. The only route to liberation is the Sushumna yog and the ones who follow this route are the Jivan-mukt. Liberation is possible in one life itself if you slowly, little by little but regularly perform Soham.
  • Shri Nisargadatta Maharaj, my Sat-guru’s Guru-brother writes in his books that if one follows one’s Sat-guru’s direction and Soham-Dhyan, it takes two years to attain Moksh.
  • Isha upanishad mentions that Soham is the illumination, the highest blessing.
  • Brihad aranyak upanishad says that when the Advaita first took the form of the Purush, the first words said by this conscious intelligence were ‘Soham asmi’, ‘I am That’. The Purush is aware that he is the Non-dual, no one but him existed nor exists nor will exist. (For details on what the Purush is you will need to read the Sankhya philosophy.)
  • Hamsa upanishad, says that ‘Soham’ is the ‘kilak’, ie it is the pin, wedge, pillar, bolt, to which the entire ‘Hamsa soham’ mantra is fastened to. If you use this ‘Soham’ as a kilak, ie make it the sharp cutting edge of your spiritual practice you attain Moksh.
  • Vidnyan Bhairav Tantra mentions ‘Soham’ and ‘Hamsa’.
  • In the phalashruti of Vishnu sahastra nama, the highest One says that these 1000 names of Vishnu are equivalent to one Soham mantra.
  • There are several tantra books, philosophy commentaries and stotras which mention Soham.

If you think that ’Soham’ is very simple, try doing it for one hour with your breath as you do your daily commute sitting in the bus or train. See how many times you forgot to keep track of your breath. See how many times your attention was diverted from your breath and your mantra by what you saw/ heard in the train. Keeping track of breath is not so easy! But as you train your mind, direct it again and again to focus on your breathing pattern, you will notice changes in yourself. Your mind will become calmer, recovery from emotional outbursts will be faster, your health indicators will improve, you will look younger, fresher, your aura will become more intense etc. 

Sohams’s greatest power is that everyone can do it. All the time, in all conditions of the body/ mind. There is no binding of any sort on doing it. You can do it on your asan, in the bus, while you are having a bath, while walking in the park, at all times. It is a Manasik Jaap, ie mentally recite ‘So’ as you breathe in and mentally recite ‘Hum’ as you breathe out. Every breath you take should be converted to Soham, in every state. This means that you will be doing 21,600 Soham jaap every day! But then your breathing will also slow down. eg I have observed that when I am just sitting, reading or typing my breathing rate goes to 2-3 per minute and sometimes stops. Slowed breathing increases your body’s life-span and health. The life of a person is measured in breaths, the more you sit in Samadhi or in Dhyan, the slower you breathe, the longer your body will sustain. 

Soham is the gem among the mantras, it gives the highest benefit, Sushumna Yog, and ultimately Moksh, Sadyo-mukti in the most easiest, safest, gentlest and kindest ways and in this one life-time itself.

Karma action fruits of action, Bhagwat Gita style

There were several questions, I have sort of combined them in this post. 

Your conscience and your soul

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Someone asked me, ‘What does the soul contain? Where is the mind in our body? How do I know it is my higher self taking decisions in my day to day life happenings?’. Here are some points which you can think over if they make sense to you. Some of this is from standard books and some from my personal experiences and understanding.

‘What does the soul contain?’

Your Soul is your awareness, a spark of divine energy. There is an energy inside you which is aware, conscious, alert, intelligent. It is because of this awareness that you animate this ‘body’ (your ‘body’ has 5 layers, detailed post here). When the Soul’s aware energy exits the body, the body loses awareness ie dies. Your Soul is constant, unchangeable, eternal, indestructible. The body is obviously destructible. The body exists only for the sake of creating and enjoying/enduring karma and its repercussions. The horoscope can analyse just this 5-layered body. The horoscope cannot be used to analyse the Soul. The enveloping layers of the body are sometimes called ‘Maya’ ie the undefinable or ‘Deha-buddhi’ ie the intellect limited by the enveloping body. This geometric envelope obscures the light of the Soul. Thus your awareness is obscured, lowered and limited to only the body, you cannot perceive or experience your real nature. You are made to forget that you are pure awareness, pure Soul. It is like a fog drawn over your real Awareness. As you forget that you are the Soul, you start believing that you are the body.

Most of your clients will be in this category, they fully believe that they are the 5 layers of the body. Thus they create more karma, the impulses of their past karmas affect them deeply, they deeply laugh/cry and enjoy/endure Maya. You can chart out their life reasonably accurately using their own horoscope’s patterns. Your horoscope shows your Prarabdha karma ie how much karma have you have decided to go through in this life. The body will continue till this target is achieved then dissolve. And the horoscope also shows the possibility of Agami karma, ie how new karma will be created in this life. (Sanchita karma is your total karmic backlog)

Some people who have done practices to increase their ‘awareness’ understand that they are not the body but are the pure Soul. These people know this as a concept but they have not experienced this in the real sense as yet. They are working on it, doing their regular spiritual practice with intention. These people are somewhat immune to the ravages of karma on the body, but they are still influenced by it. You might see this happening to yourself if you are a spiritual aspirant. eg you are committed to your spiritual practice and in one critical transit of Saturn or Rahu/Ketu or Jupiter (slow planets), you lose all your focus. The material beckons you again, you want to go out with your girlfriend/ boyfriend or you suddenly feel that spiritual path is going well so now it is time to enjoy some material comforts. Your Deha-buddhi or Maya tries to assert itself and to pull you away from your pursuit of Awareness. These are testing times, if you lose focus now, you slip very badly.

As you advance deeper into your spiritual practice, as you increase your awareness levels, you get nearer to the pure Soul Experience. As you reach closer to your destination, the karmic impacts lessen but the karmic tests become even more subtle. If you cross all these and Realise the Soul, you are called a Jivan-mukt. At this stage, you are pure Soul, your awareness, consciousness, intelligence has reached the highest possible position, this is called the Advaita state. You experience yourself continually. You are aware of yourself all the time, in every state, in every condition of the body, you remain immersed in Intelligence, you Know you are the Soul. At this state your Soul has removed the envelope Maya, dissolved the Deha-buddhi and Seen itself forever. The fog has cleared and the light shines through. Now the Soul may remain in the body till its prarabdha karma is exhausted, ie till the physical dissolution of the body. But during this period its Awareness is Eternal. During this period from Realisation to the death of the physical body, the Soul is completely dissociated from the karma of the body. Whatever may happen to the body, You are not concerned in any way whatsoever. And you are Pure Awareness now, you do not create any more karma, ie no Agami karma is created and Sanchita karma is burnt the instant you See yourself.

So in short, Soul is Awareness. When you experience yourself as the Pure Awareness, the Nirvishesh Brahma, you attain Nirgun Moksh.

Your conscience and your soul

The soul is located ‘behind’ the Ajnya chakra in a dedicated ‘ashta-padma-dala-chakra, ‘eight-petalled Lotus’ chakra. This is a specialised chakra, ie the Brahmanadi within the Sushumna nadi loops around itself here and creates this specific energy vertex. These loops are in all possible dimensions. The Hamsa Upanishad describes this chakra in detail. The Soul resides here in an energy form called ‘Hamsa‘. (This Hamsa is composed of the energies of Agni, Soma Rudra, Rudrani, Kaal, Om and Bindu.)

The possible eight tendencies of this chakra are – 1. doing virtuous actions, 2. sleep, laziness etc, 3. doing cruel actions, 4. doing inauspicious deeds, 5. sensual gratification, 6. doing movement type of activities, 7. indulging in lust/sexual desires and 8. desire for accumulating material stuff. These eight tendencies are linked to the eight loops of the chakra. ie when Soul/awareness is linked to a particular loop, tendencies linked to it are activated in the body. When awareness exists ‘between’ these loops, there is indifference to material pleasures, an ascetic mindset. The three states of existence, waking state, dreaming state, deep sleep state are linked to the central axis of this ‘lotus’, at the ‘stamen’, ‘basal sepals’ and ‘innermost seed’ of this ‘lotus’. The fourth state, Turiya is possible when the Awareness leaves this chakra. And the final Turiya-teet, the beyond Turiya, ie Moksh is possible when this Awareness merges itself in the Eternal Non-dual. The Upanishad says that 1crore jaap/ repeats of the Hamsa mantra lead to Moksh.

Your conscience and your soul

Where is the mind in our body?

There are 5 layers of the body. Physical body is anna-mai-kosh. Subtle body is the three layers of pran-mai-kosh, mano-mai-kosh and vidnyan-mai-kosh. Causal body is the anand-mai-kosh. Then is the Soul within these multiple layers. This complex is called a Jiv-atma, the individual soul, as it is enveloped in this body/karmic baggage.

Mind is the Mano-mai-kosh, which is concerned with mental processes and emotions. Here emotions are on a relatively low level as the power of discrimination does not exist in this layer. ie all living animals who can understand pain have this layer active in their bodies. This layer is a part of the subtle body, sookshma sharir, controlled by the Moon in your horoscope. When you physically die, the outermost layer, physical body, anna-mai-kosh is discarded. So when you exist in the Pitr-lok, the dimension of the spirits, your soul is enveloped by a 4-layered body. Imprints stored in these 4 layers require several life-times to be rebalanced. This is why you can gauge your past lives from your horoscope especially in the Sudarshan chakra format.

Its between you and your conscience

‘How do I know it is my higher self taking decisions in my day to day life happenings?’

A personal example. Quite a few years ago, I was suffering because of an intense black ritual done by someone to damage me. A very deep damage on all levels. So I was doing healings, taking help from genuinely kind tantriks, ie using ‘white magic’. The pain was very intense, recovery was slow and I was really very scared. Someone I trusted, almost a brother, offered to do a secret ritual to help me, he did not give me the details. I asked my brother for his opinion. He in good faith said to give it a shot. So despite not being very convinced myself, I agreed and that person did the ritual. My conscience was in doubt but in the temptation of hastening my recovery, I agreed to get it done. But this was not the correct way, I actually got scolded badly by a very high level divinity. Then I suffered through these additional karmic repercussions. And it was a burden on my conscience. I had asked my brother for his opinion, the person who did it was genuine, they both wanted the best for me. But the final decision was mine, I had agreed despite the doubt raised by my conscience. Thus I suffered through the karma, I had regrets and felt very ashamed. So whoever might suggest something to you, however tempting it maybe, if your higher self/ Antaratma/ conscience is in doubt, it will come to a bad end. And it is your decision, so you alone are responsible for what happens to you.

The inner light of your Soul is your conscience, the Antar-atma. If you are doing spiritual practice, stilling your mind and emotions, the voice of your conscience is all the more audible.

Suppose you are in a situation and you have to choose between options. Naturally you will have evaluated the material aspects of both the options in depth. You know what will give you your desired material results. Now you put it to your conscience. Take a deep breath and close your eyes. Focus between your eyebrows, look in your third eye. Do some Pranayam. Recite Soham (or any other mantra you prefer) a few times with your breath in your mind, manasik jaap. Still your emotions and your scattered thoughts. Then gently think about the option you propose to take. Do you feel right about it? What kind of visions are triggered by this thought? Do you see a flash of bright happy colors, bright lights or depressed dark colors, blackness? Does your heart feel lighter or heavier. You might have physical signs like hair standing on end or feeling cold or a constriction at your throat or something. Your conscience will find some way and give you a sign that the action you chose is appropriate or not. And it will give you very clear signals. Once you have your answer do not ask your question again and again. And once you are clear about your decision, do not listen to others who might try to sway or convince you to go against your conscience. However tempting it may be do not go against your inner voice. This voice comes from your Soul itself.

I do not advocate using horoscope, runes, cards or any divination tools for these conscience related decisions. These divination tools are more linked to the sub-conscious mind. Sometimes cards show you what you consciously want to see, I have seen this happen several times. Or you choose to see those meanings in them which you desire on the material front. So you deceive yourself, attracted by the temporary gains you think you see.

(Classic example, you get 4 of Cups ‘Luxury’ in the Thoth tarot, for a relationship question. This card can show a potentially emotionally nurturing relationship but there is a very deep imbalance in it. This card indicates that you desire deep emotional fulfilment, but this relationship under question is the wrong way to go about it. This card represents temporary superficial attractiveness with an undercurrent of deep stagnation. You have deep emotional needs but you are aggravating the imbalance by desiring things which you don’t really need! This relationship in question is a dead end and you need to focus on something else which gives you real and deep emotional satisfaction. Now which Tarot reader has read so much into the energies of the cards to give this sort of interpretation? And the name ‘Luxury’ can tempt you to get into the relationship and then into emotional trouble later.)

Your conscience goes deeper than the conscious or the sub-conscious mind. It is your actual Soul showing you its Light. For a brief moment the Light of the Soul pierces through the enveloping fog and shows you the direction most appropriate for you. And finally you are responsible for your decisions, whatever happens to you, happens by your choice.

So Choose well.

Its between you and your conscience

Assurance of Moksh 18-66 Bhagvat Gita Part-2

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This is a continued post from part 1 here.

This shlok is from the 18th chapter of the Bhagvat Gita, the 66th verse. These verses from 63 to 72 are the gist of the entire Gita. The Sanskrit Bhagvat Gita is a sutra. Each line needs a thousand more to make its meaning somewhat clear. (Compare what I have written in my earlier post and translations like these available on-line “abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear”.)

  • सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज |
  • अहं त्वां सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुच: ||
  • Sarva-dharmaan parityajya maam ekam sharanam vraja
  • Aham tvaam sarva-paapebhyo mokṣhayiṣhyaami maa shuchah

(To know what a Sutra means in the philosophical sense, this is a link to a ok English translation of the Adi-Shankaracharya’s Sanskrit commentary of Badarayan’s Brahma Sutra. If it makes sense to you, do buy it, a paper copy is necessary for learning anything well.)

Advaita 18-66 Bhagvat Gita Part-2

I was born in a family which had a Sat-guru by tradition. He taught Dhyan with the Soham mantra, gave discourses and also told us to read books. The Dasbodh (Marathi), The Jyaneshwari (Marathi), Yog-Vashishth (Sanskrit), various Upanishads (Sanskrit), the Mahabharat (Sanskrit), Bhagvat Gita is a part of the Mahabharat, Ramayan (Sanskrit) etc. So the practice of the Pran and the practice of the Mind both was simultaneously on. Both together are essential for progress. Doing just one of the two will not give its full results. (I would recommend these books published by Gita Press as they are very affordable, adequately translated into other languages and easily available.)

A personal incident. Once the Devi told me to perform an Anushthan (a count) of the Nav-avaran mantra. My Sat-guru allowed it for some reason. This I did alongside my Dhyan. Then exactly one year later to the day, while doing Dhyan, I clearly heard the first half of this Bhagvat Gita shlok 18-66 ‘Sarva-dharmaan parityajya maam ekam sharanam vraja’, repeated three times.

I pulled out the commentaries on the Gita, thought deeply on it, dissected the words, pored over its intention. It was a clear cut direction. I had repaid my energy debts to everyone including the Devi. (Will write a post sometime on the real nature of the ‘gods’ and ‘deities’ of Sanatan Dharma). That day I stopped doing all other forms of puja/ mantra jaap and focussed just on ‘Soham’. My Dhyan had expanded, beyond the formal asan, Soham was on at every waking/ sleeping/ dreaming breath. This 18-66 verse which my Sat-guru had specifically pointed out brought everything into perfect focus. I was to get rid of the binding that I had put on my practice. Now it was to progress beyond the 3 times a day Dhyan and go beyond the Asan. Now onwards every breath had to be Soham with awareness, 24 hrs a day as a continuous process.

Advaita 18-66 Bhagvat Gita Part-2

Spiritual practice is like school. You complete one grade, toss out the old text books and learn new ones. From your playschool till your Ph.D. you learn deeper things. Every activity/ mantra can take you upto a certain level. Once you cross this level, it changes its form ie you stop doing that specific activity and do something else more intense. You will get clear signals when you pass the grade, so the transition is quite natural.

If you continue doing the old mantra/ activity out of habit or obstinacy or your failure to understand or your fear to change. Or your obsession with the illusion called creation. If you do not change and adapt to your new energy levels, you will harm yourself.

  • Eg you begin going to a Sat-sang where like-minded people sit together, sing bhajans, listen to discourses, a group activity. You do this once a week or so.
  • Next step, you set up a personal puja-ghar/ altar and do moorthi-puja, put flowers etc and focus on this moorthi. Now your group activities reduce, eventually stop, you enjoy your personal pujas more.
  • Then you start a formal mantra jaap eg Gayatri, Navavarna or any other mantra given to you, generally three times a day in sets of 108 repeats.
  • Or if you are directly given your Dhyan-mantra, the mantra is now Soham. (Some people use OM or Hamsa. I have no personal experience with either of these, my Guru taught me Soham, but these too are said to be powerful).
  • Then you start doing Dhyan, focus on your third eye, start internalising. You sit for 2-3 times a day on your Asan. Your Dhyan-mantra generates more power.
  • When Soham gains power, all the outer pujas, mantras, even Gayatri or the Navavarna mantra-jaap etc eventually stop.
  • And finally Soham is on 24hours in all your waking/ dreaming/ sleeping states.
  • Then the Bhagvat Gita shlok 18-66 starts operating.

Soham-Dhyan might seem insignificant to begin with but it has immense power as it is linked to your very breath, it is an ajapa-mantra. The Ajapa-mantra (Soham or Hamsa) are the only way to realise the Eternal. You want to realise yourself as you naturally are. You desire to experience your basic natural condition. And the most natural thing you do is to breathe, but you are actually unaware of your breath. Your breathing is not natural as it is linked to your emotional states, ie your mind. If you are upset, happy, angry, tense, etc your breathing changes its pattern. Ever wondered how it would be if your mind were plain, calm, still and immersed in its Own Self? The mantra linked to your breath are always on whether you are aware or not, the Ajapa-mantra. And the Breath is nothing but Pran. If you destroy the effect of the Mind on the movement of your Breath/Pran or if you bring your Mind to its perfect pristine state, you can experience your basic natural state. So the Ajapa-mantra, Pran, Mind and Breathing are all interlinked. Focus on one of these, control one of these consciously and you control them all. So it is logical that these Ajapa mantras are the only ones powerful to take you to your essential natural state.

Advaita 18-66 Bhagvat Gita Part-2

The verse 18-66 is in two parts.

‘Sarva-dharmaan parityajya maam ekam sharanam vraja’.

  • This is what the spiritual aspirant is directed to do. “Leave all concepts of your limited self, your limited understanding, duality, illusion of creation, artificial conditions you have imposed on yourself, needless complications arising out of the artificial bindings you have created on yourself. Experience the Eternal within yourself, hold on to this realization that you yourself are the Advaita.”
  • This the spiritual aspirant has to do. And the Gita’s teachings as a Yog-shastra for controlling the Pran and the Tatva-jnyan for taming the Mind will be used.
  • This is an order from the Advaita to the aspirant. If the aspirant succeeds in doing this, only then does the second part of the shlok come into operation.
  • This half verse 18.66 was a clear order from my Sat-guru. “To now search for the Eternal within. To follow only what he had taught ie Soham. To use only the Soham with all my strength, this one single route.

“Aham tvaam sarva-paapebhyo mokṣhayiṣhyaami maa shuchah”.

  • The Nirvishesh Brahma assures you, the spiritual aspirant, that It will bless you with the highest liberation. But you cannot claim Moksh unless you actually do what you have been directed in the first part.
  • If you keep desiring a husband/wife, children, money, etc stuff linked to the material and not intensely focus on your single route on your single Sat-Guru on your single mantra, you will not reach that non-dual Truth. Your very existence should burn with this deepest intention of seeing Yourself. This is the deepest Illumination you are asking for, your very soul wants to light up with the intensity of a million Sun’s! 
  • The instant your intelligence casts away all forms of duality, all connection with the illusion of creation is severed by the conscious awareness. All material desires are extinguished, you see your pristine self, this is Moksh.
  • There is no coming or going anywhere, just the magnificence of Existence.
  • The Advaita gives this blessing but only if you perform your part first.

On the practical side, this means that the pattern of breath in and breath out also changes. ie Kumbhak increases, expands. This stillness in between finally leads to the state of Avaitya. This is the exact thing which Bhairav repeatedly says in his Vignyan Bhairav Tantra. Whichever book you read, they all say the same thing.

This verse also means that ultimately there can be only one Sat-Guru. If you are following 5 different religious leaders/ spiritual teachings, discard all but the one who really inspires your confidence. There can be only one spiritual practice, especially so when you are so near your goal. So if you are observing 10 different types of practices, discard all but the one which gives you the maximum intensity. If at this point you refuse to obey the clear directions coming from your higher self/ Sat-guru, and still continue with your several activities or listen to several Guru-s, you will harm yourself.

If you are at the initial experimental stages of your practice you can definitely try out several systems, or listen to several Guru-s discourses, but when you are in the last 100m lap, this cannot be. You will focus on one mantra, follow one Sat-guru and reach the Advaita. You are now committed to your destination. No desires linked to the material will be entertained by your higher self even if superficial desires pop up once in a while they will be quashed. You will discard the material by its very roots, rid yourself of the very foundations of duality and focus on the Maam Ekam. And the very clear assurance of the Nirvishesh Brahma powers you.

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The point being that to finally Realise, you have to give up every vestige of the manifested creation. You cannot have both at the same time.

Eg A story of Ramkrishna Parmahans. He was a devotee of Devi Kali and she would appear before him in his spiritual practice. His Guru Totapuri, a Naga Sadhu, was a realised Soul. He would get angry when Ramkrishna would talk about the Devi Kali in his visions. He would tell him to take a sword and cut her down only then would he Realise the Self. This Ramkrishna was unable to do. So, Totapuri made Ramkrishna sit in front of him and told him to meditate. As Devi Kali appeared in his vision, Totapuri took a piece of glass and made an actual cut on Ramkrishna’s forehead. This action of the Guru removed Ramkrishna’s last link to the creation ie Devi Kali and triggered his Self-realisation, at that instant he became a ‘Paramhans’.

Now finally, the real beauty of this shlok. This is the only one in the entire Gita, where the Advaita uses the word ‘mokshayishyaami’. This is a very rare word (I have written about its grammar in the previous post). It is used only once in the entire Gita and in this one shlok. The intention of the Advaita, the assurance! This shlok is the most unique, the most special one in the entire Gita as It is giving you Its blessing! What more does the jiv-atma/ individual soul need?

I could write an entire book on this one shlok, it is so profound, both for the practice part and also the philosophy part. This is the gist of the entire Gita. The highest Intelligence is specifically telling you what to do, there is no ambiguity at all, no baffle with fluff. And if you do it, then It is guaranteeing you that It will grant you the highest illumination! You will realise Your own Self as the Nirvishesh Brahma.

Advaita 18-66 Bhagvat Gita Part-2

(This is my last post on deep spiritual practice. Nothing needs to be said more on this topic after this 18:66 Bhagvat Gita. I will not write more on this unless there is a specific question from my readers)

(The sequence of studying the Bhagwat Gita is this – first read just the Sanskrit shloks, then read the Pranav Gita. Then start your study of the Vedant/Upanishads and then come to the Shankarbhashya. This is written by Adi Shankaracharya, he expounds on the true essence of the Gita as the pure distillation of the Vedant is explained)