sadhana

Mantra pujas the dos and don’ts

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I wrote about practicing the Gayatri mantra daily and there were several questions, thus this generic post.

Everyone above the age of 6yrs should take up one mantra or stotra as a life time thing. ie Recite it every day during your daily puja routine. Choose this as per your convenience and inclination but dedicate yourself to this mantra, your life line for this lifetime. When you do a mantra jaap regularly, you are actually working very hard, focussing your mind, body and soul on this mantra daily for a few mins. This regular practice adds up over your lifetime. Eg exercising daily for 15mins is more sensible and useful than working out once a month for nonstop 24hrs. The mantra is pure Intelligence, it magnifies the work you have done on it and reflects it back at you.

The quantum of energy does not matter as much as your conscious control over your own Mind does. Read this line twice. 

Eg. someone I know, does intense jaap of Navavaran mantra but without the necessary lifestyle to be able to absorb such enormous amounts of energy. This has affected her negatively, her mind has become unstable. Generating power from intense mantras is dangerous if you cannot control it.

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Sadhana is something that genuine aspirants, Sadhaks or people with a genuine ascetic bent of mind do. They will invest time, energy and sacrifice several things in this process. For doing Sadhanas, you need combinations for asceticism in your chart. Intense Sadhana creates Nivrutti in the mind of the aspirant, ie detachment from the material, from the Game of Creation, from the Lila. This intensity is not for everyone. And, in fact, it is not even necessary for everyone.

So when it comes to spiritual practice, do only that much which you can easily do. You should feel happy when you do it. If you ever feel that it is a burden, review and reduce the practices. Rather than trying for ‘high power’ mantra which others recommend, do what you feel is the best for you even if it is for a few minutes, eg do it for 3 repeats if you feel 108 repeats is too much. But do something daily.

Generally gruhast ie householders do not do such Sadhana. What we do is, perform our daily puja and sometimes Anushthans, ie a targeted pujas. Daily puja would be something quite brief, 10mins max, generally lighting a deepak, putting tilak, putting flowers and doing Arti of the family gods. Daily pujas do not have many rules and are simple. Anushthans are more intense and last for a few days. eg I might intend to do a Gayatri Laghu Anushthan, ie 24000 repeats of the mantra in 9 days of the Ashwin Navratri. In these 9 days I will be bound by several restrictions. I will follow these rules to safely channelise the energy I generate with this mantra into my body. As a householder we are used to certain habits which we cannot continue when we take up targeted Anushthans. The rules vary in the different Anushthans but there are common themes. The first restriction will be on food, ie tamasic foods like non-veg, brinjal, heavy pulses like masoor, highly oily food, very spicy food, alcohol and other addictive substances, food cooked by others etc will stop. Eating ghee, milk from desi cows, eat food you cook yourself, keeping to yourself, not speaking much, not touching random people, shaking hands etc or travelling in crowded public transport will not be possible, physical intimacy with your spouse will stop for that time. Sticking to the schedules determined by your Anushthan will be necessary. You have to discipline your body first, this discipline will then more inwards as the mind gets disciplined. Thus you will get the results of the Anushthan.

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Common householders/ gruhast, cannot channelise much power, ie the entire ocean cannot be poured into a small cup. Householders are tiny cups, highly insufficient to hold the power of the mantras in their full-fledged form. So gruhast people are encouraged to slowly increase their capacity with all these festivals we have in the Sanatan Dharma. And we have a festival practically every fortnight. As you do the pujas associated with these festivals throughout the year, every year, you are actually training your mind. In Sanatan Dharma we have a plethora of options. You can choose your favourite deity, source of faith as per your wish. The beauty of Sanatan Dharma is that no one can compel you. You are responsible for your own actions and are required to follow your own Conscience at all times. We have the most beautiful life possible, genuinely happy from the inside. Our festivals are the backbone of our society. We worship pure nature, ie the Samudra Sea on Narali pournima, the Mountains on Govardhan puja, the Sun on Makar sankranti or Ratha saptami, Dawn and Dusk on Chatt puja, the Moon on Kojagiri pournima etc. We worship our Rivers, Sarasvati, Ganga, Yamuna, Narmada etc as our mother, we adore them. We worship animals with equal fervour eg Snakes on Naag Panchami, Bulls on Pola etc and plants eg Banyan tree on Vat Savitri. We worship human like deities ie the embodiments of the three Gun, Satva Vishnu-Laxmi, Raja Brahmadev- Sarasvati, Tama Shankar-Parvati with the rest of the pantheon. We even worship Mathematics with the same devotion, the Shri yantra and the other yantra are complex geometry. We revere sound, light, vibrations, energy. We recognise Divinity embedded in every aspect of creation. We worship Intelligence because we intend to recognise that same Consciousness inside us.

In my blog I have mentioned a few stotra, mantra, sukta which can be taken up as a regular practice. This practice helps still the mind. If the mind is still, you are more Aware, more focussed on the Real. I have written briefly about several including the Amrit sukta, Shri Sukta, Purush Sukta, Mahamrutyunjai mantra, Gayatri mantra, Guru stotra, Teekshna Damshtra Bhairavashtakam, Chakshushi mantra, Navavarna mantra etc. And referred to several books like the Ved, Upanishad, Vijnyan Bhairav Tantra, Ramayan, Mahabharat, Devi Mahatmya etc. All mantra (except the Ajapa mantra and Om) are generally linked to a ray from the Eternal, ie a deity, an Aware Intelligent Consciousness. Eventually all merge into the same Eternal Advaita. It is so elegant.

I have written on Soham, the Ajapa mantra which my Satguru ‘gave’ to all his disciples, the easiest option. It gives control over the Mind, slowly and steadily with every breath you take. You gently train your mind to become aware of the most natural rhythm in the world, the rhythm of your own breath.

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Now for some specific dos and don’ts for women in general life. Two events in life are very stressful for women, the menstrual phase of the monthly cycle and the pregnancy.

I wrote a detailed post here on the restrictions during the menstrual phase of the monthly cycle, do go through it.

Next, during pregnancy, there are mantras and stotras which you can recite or listen for your and your baby’s well being during this time. Here your body is doing enormous amount of work. The astral bodies of the mother and child are highly intertwined.

  • So doing any sort of practice where you channelise mantra with your breath while sitting on the asan is not advisable. ie you can recite the Gayatri 3 times with your daily puja routine but do not sit on your asan and do a 108 jaap of the mantra with the breath. Or you can mentally recite Soham to relax your mind, but do not sit on your Asan for targeted 108 Soham sadhana. 
  • Then eclipses. If there are any eclipses visible in your town when you are pregnant, you must be very alert. Best would be to sit in front of your puja ghar/ altar and read something eg the Bhagvat Gita or recite or listen to mantra and stotra while the eclipse is on.
  • The Sutak time. In case there is a physical death in your close family ie this is the paternal family or after marriage husband’s paternal side of the family for married women, then from the day of the death till the pindadana on the 13th day, the dimensions of the spirits and humans, ie the Pitrulok and Martyalok are interconnected. This affects everyone in the family. If this event occurs in the same house you live in, try to keep away from the Anteyshti related activities as much as possible. A pregnant woman should not go for condolence visits to relatives or friend’s families, her husband can go if it is necessary.
  • The Natak time. Similarly if a new baby is born in your close family, then from the birth to the name ceremony day, again the dimensions are interconnected as the soul gets settled in his new life. This too is an intense time on the energy levels. A pregnant woman can see this new baby born in her family on the day of its Naamkaran sanskar.

Ideally a woman should stick to the daily pujas till the baby is 6 months old at least. Do not attempt Anushthans or other targeted practice during this time. This is the time when the baby is still absorbing your energy, ie breast feeding, and you are also working hard. So first focus on what the baby needs and on rebuilding your strength. After you do the Annaprashan Sanskar for the baby, if you feel up to it you can increase the intensity of your spiritual practice.

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For men, the life is interconnected with the Gayatri, as every boy above the age of 6yrs is entitled to the Yajnopaveet Sanskar. This means wearing the Yajnopaveet sutra for a life time and doing Sandhya Vandanam, ie Gayatri puja three times a day. Ask your father or paternal relatives for any restrictions or dos and don’ts as this often varies from family to family. If your parents have not done the Yajnopaveet Sanskar for you but you really want to do the Gayatri mantra in a formal manner then you can do a simple intention on an auspicious Sunday, consider the rising Sun as your Guru and start. Do this only if you really feel and your conscience agrees with it. Never do anything against the Antaratma, the inner voice. At the very least you can recite this mantra even once a day when you do your daily puja.

Generally for major Anushthans, if there is a Sutak or Natak period in your close family then you will temporarily stop your Anushthans till this period is on.

Then there are several dos and dont’s which vary from family to family. This is mostly linked to the culture and the family deities. eg in my family we never wear black colored clothes, as the family deity does not like it. So you will have to ask the elders in your paternal family or husband’s paternal family for any such typical things.

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The only requirement for a follower of Sanatan Dharma is that you have faith/ Shraddha in something. This can be in an external source, there are so many options. Or if you prefer, you can put your faith in your own Divinity, ie directly focus on the Eternal, the Advaita that you yourself are. Do not compare yourself with other’s. Don’t ever think that someone is doing so much and you are doing so little. This concept does not exist in Sanatan Dharma. Each one of us is an unique individual, but all linked to the same eternal foundation. We, the followers of Sanatan Dharma, adore Pure Intelligence in every way possible. Every route is acceptable, it only depends on the practitioner’s inclination and conscience.

Gratitude and the Sun

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In your journey through life, gratitude is the first auspicious quality you have to recognise within yourself. Krutajnyata कृतज्ञता is the Sanskrit word loosely meaning gratefulness, gratitude. Krutajnya कृतज्ञ is ‘to be grateful’. Gratitude is the fundamental way in which you change yourself. If you cannot feel grateful then you are always going to be unhappy, your spiritual progress will be blocked and auspicious things will not come your way. Feeling gratitude in some way opens up every positive quality within you.

कृतज्ञ is a compound word composed of kruta कृत and ज्ञ jnya. Being grateful कृतज्ञ means you understand that positive work that has been done for you. You recognise that some auspicious activity has been performed for you. You acknowledge that you have been given some help. Something good has been made available to you and you know it. You realise that you have gained a prize by some blessings. You are aware that some vital action has been accomplished for you. You know that  you have received something precious. You experience this magic of receiving and this elevates your soul. This is being कृतज्ञ. If you cannot experience this uplifting emotion then nothing will go right for you and if you are in trouble you will remain there. Gratitude is the basic energy which helps you from the inside out. It is your choice to feel grateful कृतज्ञ, so choose to recognise this emotion.

I am still getting so many comments with personal details. I have already written about the sure-shot remedy to all your material problems in this post here. If you cannot do even this much for 5mins daily then here is a even tinier 30sec daily practice. Do this much at least. You are doing this for your own self. If you do not do it, no one but you yourself are going to suffer. Do this for 21days and it will become a lifetime habit.

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When you wake up in the morning, go to your window, look at the skies. If your window faces the east, you will see the golden disc of the Sun blazing in the sky otherwise you will see his sun-rays lighting up the world. Look at him, his sun-rays and his light with your open eyes. Fold your hands in a Namaskar. Feel his golden power entering your body, mind and soul. Thank him for being there in the sky, giving so freely of his energy. He is so utterly beautiful, pure shimmery gold. Feel his beauty, his strength, his warmth on your face. If you know any Sanskrit mantra you can recite it mentally or express your gratitude in any language you are comfortable in or just keep your mind blank, be in the moment. Relax in the pure energy he is showering over you and the world before you. Do this very simple thing as you wake up and you will change yourself from the inside out. Just for 30 seconds, daily.

There are so many deities you can pray to, use as a focus for your intention, then why the Sun? The Sun is special, he is different. He is the consciousness you can actually see with your own eyes. You cannot see Brahmadev, Vishnu, Sarasvati, Ganapati, etc with your open eyes. The other deities are worshipped in their derived forms, eg in form of Vigraha or Moorti.  They are visualised in the Sa-gun forms. Eg Shankar is visualised with attributes like a beautiful man, brilliant skin color, blue colored throat, Trishul, sitting in Kailas etc. You offer kumkum, turmeric, flowers, Akshata, coconut etc to this Moorti and thus do your daily puja. This is the simple way of worshiping the Parabrahma in the Sa-gun form. More difficult is Sadhana of the Nir-gun form of the Parameshwar. When you do your Soham mantra, you are doing the most subtle Sadhana of the Nir-gun Advaita itself. You are focussing on the pure conscious energy directly. But all this might not make sense to those people who are still struggling on the spiritual route.

So the easiest Sadhana for everyone, irrespective of anything, is to focus on the Sun. Surya is the only ‘pratyaksha devata’. He is the only symbol of the radiant consciousness which is actually visible to everyone always. You just focus on the visible golden sphere of the visible Sun. (later as you go deeper within, he will show you more subtle aspects of himself. Nature of the Sun post here)

  • प्रत्यक्ष pratyaksha – manifested, explicit, visible, direct, can be sensed, can be perceived, self-evident, real, actual, immediate, clear, etc.
  • देवता Devata – image of the Parameshwar, moorti, divinity, radiance etc.

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There are atheists or people who do not follow Sanatan Dharma or ‘modern’ people who do not believe in the Non-dual Consciousness. But even these people have to believe in the Sun visibly shining in the blue skies. If not in the spiritual sense then at least in the material sense? He is responsible for Life on Earth. His power maintains the planet Earth and us on it. All the processes on the Earth from the water cycle, plant life, animal life, everything depends on the Sun. If there were no Sun, there would be no Life.

We understand the concept of Time, Kaal with reference to the Sun. Colors, light, warmth, all concepts that we know are in relation to the Sun. Everything that we understand or do has the Sun as the reference point, either subtly or visibly. Without the Sun in the skies, we are nothing.

Sun, the Surya, is the original Jyotirlinga. He is auspicious, pure, the brightest light that we all see always.

  • Jyoti ज्योतिः is brightness, fire, eye, celestial realms, dawn/Sandhya, lightning, life etc.
  • Linga लिङ्ग is image, token, power of generation, power to cause change, spot, sign, reason, proof, a invariable mark which proves the existence of something, evidence, conclusion, mark, movement etc.

We all believe in the power of the Sun in some way or the other. It is only irrational and illogical people who perhaps don’t. Sun is the visible source of energy in every way possible. So acknowledge this strength, be grateful to him and give him this 30 sec of your undivided attention daily.

I have written a lot on the Sun. He is always available in front of you and his worship is the easiest, ie you offer him Arghya, plain regular water. It takes just 1 min to offer him Arghya. What could be more simpler? But if you feel this to be random superstition, then at least accept that his warmth keeps the Earth and you alive. You are here on the earth and you can see the Sun in the skies. Be grateful for this fact. Acknowledging it is just 30sec of your time daily. This is the beginning of gratitude, कृतज्ञता, your first step towards real understanding.

The tiniest things done with positive intention have tremendous cascading results. In Sanatan Dharma, practice is given prime importance. And no spiritual practice is small or big, all are valid paths. Choose something simple and do it daily. Keep reminding yourself of your pure connection to the Divine. Practice so that you Experience. Experience so that you can Transcend. And know that you are the Advaita yourself.

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Today is a special day for me so thought of sharing this simple practice.

Power of your 5th house and Mantra Siddhi

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I got this question from someone that if the route to the Self is as simple as sitting in one place and mentally reciting Soham 108 times with 108 breaths then why doesn’t everyone immediately gain Moksh?

There are several answers to this question. From karma balance from past lives to regular practice to the final deciding blessings of the Parmeshwar. But as this is an astrology post let’s check out some the astrological combinations which lead to Mantra Siddhi.

Mantra is a Sanskrit word which has several meanings, it is a secret knowledge, secret advise, a consultation, something which trains the mind, cleans the mind, stabilises/anchors the mind, gives you what you desire, etc. I have written about the 6 types of mantra here. Soham also obviously is a Mantra but a class apart as it is an Ajapa Mantra. And when you achieve Siddhi over the Soham Mantra you will gain the Self.

If you do a particular Using the Akshar, Mantra and Sanskrit Sadhana or do its Tapa, you will achieve a particular objective. eg Reciting a mantra again and again produces Taposiddhi. Then each mantra has is own speciality. Eg you cannot use a vidveshana mantra for ucchatan. And every mantra Sadhana has a specific procedure which has to be followed, if you make errors here, you can mess up with your internal energy and suffer. But if done properly you will gain Tapo-Siddhi/ Mantra-siddhi ie your Sadhana or Tapa will give the desired result. Mantra Siddhi means that you have achieved complete control over the mantra and now can use it in the way it was intended consciously. This also means that you can be considered as a ‘Guru’ for that mantra and you can give initiation/ diksha of this mantra to others.

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For a mantra to be successful ie siddh, first you need to have got it/diksha from a Guru who has achieved Siddhi over it and follow his directions, pray to the presiding deity of that mantra and get the blessings. Second, you should have a powerful and auspicious Dharma trikon. And third, the 5th house, its occupants and its lord have to be capable of beneficial results. Only then can you achieve Mantra siddhi in your current life.

The 5th house is the house of the Mantra. Some of these are with you from your past lives. All the hard work you do today on your Soham is going to be always a part of you and will be reflected in the 5th house of your future birth’s charts. Soham Sadhana is also called Sushumna Yog and is never completely destroyed by death. Whatever you have done, till whatever level you had reached before physical death, is carried onwards with you.

This also means that the 5th house is linked to your poorva-janma-punya, the auspicious actions which you had performed in your past lives. That’s the precise reason why the ascendant lord in the 5th house is considered to be a type of Raj-yog. This combination gives the current personality a direct link to the fruits of the sadhanas of the past lives. You can consciously use these assets for your benefit now. The 9th house is slightly different as it is not in your conscious control, you receive your punya as divine blessings or luck in the 9th house.

Wherever the 5th lord is located in your chart is also significant as you can use your poorva-janma-punya to achieve things connected to that house too. But this ability to consciously tap into the 5th house will depend on the power of the 1st house, ie your personality and the 9th house, the divine blessings. So overall a strong Dharma trikon is necessary.

Look for these indicators in the horoscope to know if you can make your Mantra-s siddh. More the patterns seen, more powerful the results. 

  • If the 5th lord is exalted in the birth chart and further aspected by benefics.
  • If the ascendant lord is placed in the 5th house.
  • If the 5th and 9th lord are both powerful and in some auspicious yog with each other.
  • The three owners of the 1st 5th 9th houses are placed in only these three houses.
  • Check the strengths Shad-bala Vimshopaka of the 1st, 5th and 9th lords. They should be strong and capable of auspicious results. .
  • And if you are an advanced student, open the divisional charts/DC. You have to locate the ruler of the 5th house in each of the 10 DC which make up the Dasha varga (post here). Check in how many DC the 5th lord is shifting to a sign he owns or his sign of exaltation or his mool-trikon sign or stays vargottam. The more deep are the roots of his power in the DC, the more power he gets to grant you Mantra siddhi.

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I had mentioned this earlier, once you start your Sadhana in earnest, you should avoid looking directly into other people’s eyes. You might accidentally hypnotise the other person. Best look at his nose or mouth instead. Or if you are angry you can cause him harm in several ways. And then it would be a negative karma for you too. A Sadhak’s anger is always fuelled by his tapo-siddhi.

eg. There is this incident from the Mahabharat. The Pandav-s had lost the game of dice. Of the 5 brothers, 4 were sitting with their eyes lowered. Only Bhim was looking straight at the Kaurav assembly. The other 4 Pandav-s were not scared or humiliated. They had lowered their eyes because if they would look up directly, the anger in their eyes would burn the entire assembly. Bhim was the son of Vayu, ie he was the only one who had his Pran and Nadi network in his full control. So due to this tremendous control on himself, he was able to look at the others without harming them. All the 5-Pandavs and their 100-Kaurav cousins were Sadhak-s of the highest levels and had mastery over several mantras etc. But at that point of time, the rage of the Pandav-s was fuelled by their Tapo-siddhi as well as Dharma was on their side, making their gaze more potent.

Back to the chart. If you are a Sadhak, there is one particular time where you must remain alert. Whenever Saturn in transit, enters the house counted 5th from the birth Moon, your power of judgement will fail. However intelligent you ordinarily may be or however powerful the rest of the chart may be. During this period you will face obstacles to your mantra-sadhana. Also avoid using your siddh-mantras in this transit period as you will invariably commit some error in the process.

The 5th house is again very important as it also indicates your sanchit karma. (The store house of karma that you have with you is called sanchit karma. The small portion from this which you are enduring/enjoying in this life is called prarabdha karma. The karma which you will create in this life and which will be added to your prarabdha or sanchit is called the agaami karma). If your 9th house lord and 5th house lord are in some powerful mutual combination/ yog or connected in some way, then you can do this. You can alter your karma of the 5th house by the divine blessings of the 9th house. Eg if in this life you are unable to get something because of the planetary combinations and if you have this rare 9th and 5th house lord’s connect then you can ‘borrow’ this ability from your sanchit karma if you have it there. Or if you realise that in this life you are going to die a horrible death you can postpone this prarabdha to a future life. This is also a part of mantra-siddhi (5th house item) and requires blessings from the Para-Brahma (9th house item). For the rare few who have this blessing, this event will happen in dasha and antar-dasha periods related to the 1st 5th 9th lords. And the exact timing will be when Jupiter or the Yogkarak planet for the chart just resumes his direct motion after being retrograde.

This is also a reason why I was stressing in an earlier post that this period till 20th Nov is going to give significant opportunities to some of us. Recently Jupiter turned direct. Today Saturn has come out of retrogression. Mars will go direct on 14th Nov. These are very significant times.

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Siddhis occult powers and True Realization

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Perhaps I am writing more on spiritual topics these days. But the influence of the planets is on me too. Sagittarius has his own ruler Jupiter back in it with Ketu. Saturn has come back to his own Capricorn and at present his father, the Sun is also with him. Mystic influences everywhere!

There was a question on occult powers and true realisation. It became too long an answer so posting it as full post and in very simple language.

When you do your spiritual practices, you access your own sub-conscious mind. These influences ‘activate’ your astral body and the inner most causal body. So the extra senses associated with them also become active. So you can do things with your mind and intention. I have written about clairvoyance, bio-energy, aura and stuff earlier. These all are not ‘super-natural powers’. These are very much natural and a part of yourself.

  • Eg suppose someone was blind from birth and with modern medical procedures he was made to see, ie his eyes were activated and now he can use them to see the world. For him, this eye-sight would be very magical, he can see colors and shapes etc. But for us this is not magic or super-natural it is just a regular sensory thing of the physical body. Similarly occult powers, ie ‘siddhi’ are all a natural part of your bodies. They will come naturally as you progress.

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All spiritual aspirants eventually are able to do ’super-natural’ things. (I have written about this in my post on experiences in Dhyan.) And most of them get caught in the wonder of these things that they forget that there is more. This is a very real danger. As you do things with the power of your practice you may also use yourself up. If you act with intention, this can create new karmic knots for yourself ‘higher up’!

  • Eg, you break someone’s leg, this is on the purely physical levels, so the karmic balance will demand that your leg too gets broken. Ok, so it got broken, you went to a doctor who set it back. You wore a plaster and karma is done. Or you got a painful limp but the karma was done in one life.
  • Another example, you astrally attack someone and destroy his Anahata chakra. ie you extinguish the green light in the center of his heart chakra. This person will have heart problems and his ability to ‘give’ will suffer later in this life or the next. He will feel discomfort when he is asked to ‘give’ emotions, things etc. For the heart problems he will go to a doctor (if he has the means) but for the problems at the energy levels he won’t find a solution so easily, it will take a few lifetimes for him to recover. So when this karma comes knocking at your door, you too will face the same problems a few lives down the line. See, in this life you had access to the astral so you hit out, but it is possible that in that life you won’t be able to manipulate the astral. You won’t know what has happened or how to rectify it. This in itself, now can become a focal point for creation of several new karma!

So the ‘higher up’ you create karma, the worse is the entanglement. Spiritual aspirants should be very careful about acting with intention or with emotion as they progress higher. So all spiritual practices insist on taming the erratic mind first and foremost. The seeds of desire in the mind (Mano-vritta-asur) have to be faced by the mind/ individual soul (Indra) itself and annihilated. Else they will pop up in even higher levels in the spiritual route and take even more lives to rebalance.

There are some teachers who teach occult practices and how to develop siddhi. I would advise you to stay away from these teachers. These abilities are not a route to true realisation. They are the side-by, on the way type of things.

  • Eg you are on the way to a beautiful hill station (Moksh). On the route you see scenic views, lakes, etc (Siddhi) all very alluring. But do you abandon your goal of going to the hill-station and stop your journey at the lake? You might get a local guide who will try to entangle you in the beauty of the lake view, try to slow down or stop your journey but would you?

Siddhis occult powers and True Realization

I have written about Jupiter and Venus the Guru-s of the zodiac. Jupiter helps you gather your resources and expand them. Venus consumes these resources to power your jump towards your ‘desire’. This desire can be physical, intellectual/mental or spiritual, ie broadly three categories, depending on the soul’s personal evolution. Material desires require less resources and spiritual desires require the highest amount.

Just remember that the resources are limited by the power of your Jupiter. If you use all your resources to power your material desires, you may not have enough to power your intellectual etc higher desires. Or on the other hand if you hoard the resources till you get a huge amount, then you can use it all in one go to satisfy your higher ‘desires’.

  • Eg. Someone gets into physical affairs with several people. The satisfaction level naturally goes down with each successive encounter. He is using up all the resource in the material level itself. Such people cannot appreciate the higher intellectual/mental or the spiritual aspects of life.
  • Eg. Someone practices the piano the earliest years, rigorously. Denies himself rest or any other pursuits and dedicates himself solely to the piano, he becomes a Mozart! Creates great art!
  • Eg. Someone rejects the material life, becomes a Sanyasi. He hoards the resources to attain Moksh, he becomes a Jivan-mukt.

The ‘desire’ component is determined by Venus, where do you use the resources, how you use them and how far do you ‘jump’. This is the most deadly of the tests, as Venus presides over all sorts of one-one relationships from sexual partner, spouse, business, family, child, art, creative instinct, higher-Self etc. So many ‘desires’ then, which one do you choose? As always if you choose one category then you may not have resources for other categories.

  • Eg. someone is in a marriage and the spouse is unsuitable, perhaps the horoscopes do not match. But once married, esp. in traditional societies you cannot back out so easily. So he uses all his energy resource to sustain the marriage. The resources are used up maintaining the spouse. Nothing left over for other one-one relationships. This spills over into his business/ profession, into his relationships with his family/ friends and also affects his relationship with his children. He does not have the energy to appreciate the mental/ intellectual or spiritual facets of life. (Even if divorce is possible, pain does remain). Ultimately all this will result in self-castigation, regrets affecting his relationship with his own Self. Real tragedy.

So you need to choose the direction of your ‘desires’ very carefully. If you want the material, then do it with the intention that you are completely satisfied. Don’t mix things and expect higher satisfaction in a series of affairs. If you want to create great art, do so, focus, so that you are finally content with what you create. (Most superlative artists die early, as they are internally satisfied, the 2nd and 7th Marak houses show their effect). Great artists are ‘married to their art’, it is not just a phrase it is actually a marriage! If you desire to know your self spiritually do so with all your heart so that you can achieve it. Desires are meant to be satisfied, so go on satisfy your deepest desires.

But once you put yourself in a path, remember turning back or changing tracks may not be so easy. It all depends on the quantum of the resource/ Jupiter and the power of desire/ Venus and their axis in your chart.

And for the higher paths, the mental or spiritual path, you have to show your dedication by choosing that same again and again through several lives, only then do you get your desire very many lives later.

Siddhis occult powers and True Realization

I have written about Nija-Guru and Anya-Guru earlier.

Nija-guru is one single person or energy, you cannot have two or more Nija-guru. He is the Sat-Guru who directs you towards final Moksh in the most direct way possible. And Anya-Guru, who inspire and motivate you, help you gather your resources, but you know at your innermost levels that you cannot reach Moksh on their teachings, ie their teaching though may be very great, is not apt for you personally. So you are still in search for a Sat-Guru.

We should read stories of Guru-s from earlier times, it is instructive. A few examples, some of you might know these Guru-s,

  • Eg – Mata Anandmayi from Hardwar – Her Sat-guru was exclusively on the astral planes. She had no physically visible person as a Sat-Guru.
  • Eg – Shri Jnyaneshwar, author of the Jnyaneshwari a commentary on the Bhagwat Gita. He was a teenager when he wrote it. His younger sister was Mukta-devi, a small girl. One Chang-dev, a very high level siddha-yogi, challenged his authority. But it was Mukta-devi, who answered every question posed by Chang-dev, satisfied his soul. He fell at her feet and she accepted him as her disciple. He attained Moksh by her grace/ Guru-krupa.
  • Eg – Shri Raghunathpriya Maharaj was a high level siddha-yogi who would debate on spiritual matters (Shastra-arth) with others, the others would accept defeat. He challenged Shri Guruling-jangam Maharaj and lost. Then he accepted him as a Sat-guru and then by his Guru-krupa attained Moksh.
  • Eg – My own Sat-Guru was formally adopted at the age of 17yrs by the 25th pontiff of the Siddha-giri Math, Shri Virupaksh Kadsiddheshwar. He was taught all the highest and most secret levels of yog and sadhana and then made the 26th pontiff. But he did not achieve Moksh till the age of 29yrs, till he met his own Sat-guru Shri Siddharameshwar Maharaj. He too had gone to challenge his authority to speak on spiritual topics, but when he went there, he Saw and fell at his Sat-guru’s feet and achieved True realisation, Moksh at that very instant.

So meeting an Anya-Guru is one thing, he is like the Jupiter who will help you build your resources. Worthy of respect. But beyond, unless you get the spark (Venus) that a Sat-guru grants, you cannot attain Moksh. Some have been fortunate to have the most direct Sat-Guru at the very start itself and some have had to struggle to find that energy, eg above.

But the common theme is that your spiritual knowledge or siddhi, or yog, or sadhna or mantra-jaap etc are like firewood, stored and ready for use, the potential. To convert this stored potential into the infinite flames of true realization, you need the grace/guru-krupa of a Sat-Guru, the Nirvishesh Brahma itself.

 

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Kundalini activation?

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In 99.99 % of humans, the kundalini and its interlocking structures are described as being “asleep”. And there is very good reason for this. We are linked to the manifested universe and sense of self identity, this happens because the brahmanadi is closed shut with the interlocking locks of the Kundalini.

Defination of Graha from the Suryasiddhant

The kundalini is a restrictive force put upon your soul so that you remain unaware of your Real Self. Despite all scriptures shouting out that we are all Parabrahma, we still consider ourselves to be Rita, Priya, Amit, Manish etc, this is because of the lock called the Kundalini. When the Kundalini unlocks, energy starts coursing through the Brahmanadi. This then reaches the top of the head at the Dwadashant and dissolves the illusion of the Universe, there is nothing called ‘you’ and ‘me, there is just one single consciousness, called ‘Parabrahma’.

Most of us are into rajasic (energies pulling towards the objects of the manifested universe) and tamasic (dull dampening dense energies) energies and thus shut themselves away from this extraordinary energy within themselves. There is nothing wrong about keeping away from the locks of the kundalini. You are here to enjoy the attractive objects created by Mahamaya for your entertainment. If you become aware of yourself, you will not find anything engaging in the manifested universe. You are enjoying this part of your journey because the kundalini locks the door to the brahmanadi. The Kundalini locking system is of Mahamaya Herself. The brahmanadi is the route to Parabrahma, the long road home!

(You are the Parabrahma the Ultimate, the creative force of Parabrahma is called Mahamaya. Mahamaya designed this Universe as a game in which parts of the Parabrahma called Jivatma manifest for the game/Leela. Mahamaya is like the dancer who performs for the observer, the Parabrahma. Once the performance is over, the observer stops observing and the performer stops performing. The Leela is over!)

The kundalini restricts your sense of personality, thus it is a lock, a fierce deadly serpent guarding the final treasure of self awareness. There are people who engage in regular spiritual practice, dhyan, meditation, breath control, mantra, jaap, homa, energy work, Yog, pious activities, charity from the heart, reading books like Bhagwat gita, Devi Mahatmya etc, following a real Guru’s directions etc. In these people the locks on the kundalini may be accessible or partly open. In some whose faith/Shraddha in the Guru/Parabrahma is so complete that even the kundalini locks may be opened. And in the very few, (maybe 5-10 people in the entire human population) by the krupa/blessings of Devi Mahamaya, the Brahmanadi may be completely active and they might achieve self-realization / Moksh.

When the kundalini lock opens, the force of  the real self-identity which has been suppressed for so long rises in a rush and also with violence. If the mind, body and the personality is not trained to accept this energy, it can easily damage to such an extent that it will take several lives to recover. But generally this force does not erupt unless everything is ready. Doing ill-considered ‘kundalini activation’ practices are not advisable.

Of the Sun and the Moon

Achieving final Moksh requires that in one single lifetime, you first access the outer locks to the Kundalini lock, open them, then access the Kundalini locks, open them, then manipulate the vital energy/pran into these structures, then increase the flow of pran into the Brahmanadi, open each and every one of the 6 locks of the Shatchakras in the spine, clean them out, saturate them with pran, then work on the chakras in the head, clean them out, balance them and saturate them with pran. After all this clean up of the channels using pran, the energy of self-realization (this is different from pran) will move out of the basal point kundalini lock into the brahmnadi, then through these cleaned out 6 chakras, then the chakras of the head and complete its circuit at the Dwadashant. All this in one single life time, in one body. If you die, you will be born again and again start from the first step, and yes progress will be faster till you reach your previously achieved point.

In some individuals the kundalini unlocks and releases the final energy of self realization before the pran is done clearing its way. This happens when they engage in some ill-considered energy practice. This can result in trouble of the worst degree. The force of self-realisation will then stop or get stuck and wherever it is stuck, this load of energy will cause manifold problems in the chakras near it. So best is doing your regular spiritual practice, do your regular actions every day and leave the final outcome to Her.

Now the biggest question. What will you achieve after all this? If you think you can show off to your friends and on social media that you have ‘wakened your kundalini’, you are sadly mistaken. There will be no wow! effect for others, you cannot show off because there will be no others left. There is just You in all your magnificence.

So first understand why? Why would you want to leave this fun fair and its entertainments? Do you think you can endure this experience? No identity, no home, no parents, no husband/wife, no children, no earth, no nothing, no food, no air, nothing at all but still everything! beyond everything? Paradoxes and mind-benders, which cannot be explained just experienced. Btw your mind will also stop working, as mind is an agent of Mahamaya. Being in the moment can be quite scary, no future, no past just one present instant! Time does not exist and neither does space. Is this what you really want? You will Be You.

I have put a picture of 2-D Shri Yantra and its 3-D version Mahameru, these exist within your spine. Now can you visualise this geometry in multiple dimensions? Can you visualise and then experience yourself as a hyper-dimensional geometry? The beauty of your own energy is so utterly perfect, you will not feel like coming out of your Dhyan. But is your mind ready to to see all this? Most of us are in denial over what we cannot sense with our 5 senses and here is the Universe waiting to reveal itself to you within yourself!

We are told over and over again that we are the Ultimate, the Paramtattva, but are you confident that you are this Para? Your confidence and faith/Shraddha will be tested at every instant of your journey.

If you are even micro-attached to even an idea, the locks of the Kundalini / the Chakras will not be opened and there will be blocks. All ideas are Mahamaya’s, even the idea that you have to become the Parabrahma! Now here is a mind-bender, you have to be confident that “you are Parabrahma” not think that “you want to become the Parabrahma”.

Once the Kundalini locks are open you are leaving the realm of the Mahamaya. Kundalini is just the first lock, there are several more locks on the way.  It may take one lifetime or several lifetimes, once you have glimpsed this you cannot stop. This is also equivalent to ‘death’, the final death of illusion. You will lose your worldly identity, for your friends and family you will be incomprehensible. You also will find them to be strangely limited, shallow and unreal, made of paper!. Sometimes you will feel that the ground does not exist or the sky has vanished. It will be strange but normal. If She is generous, the energy of self-realisation will rise in one smooth stream from the base to the top without stopping. It is quite complicated, so there is just no need to think about it and worry yourself. Do you know how your brain works? The exact stuff related to neurons and chemicals? No! Similarly there is no need to think about all these complexities of energy. Just leave it, it will work on its own perfectly. It is conscious Intelligence.

But you know why, really know why you want this, with every atom of your being, then know your route is available, you just have to walk it now. Do your regular Dhyan.

It is a difficult path going back home, but everyone is moving towards it slowly or rapidly. Kundalini is not a prize for doing Sadhana, it is just the first lock in the series of locks which when open allows you to complete your Sadhana and go Home.

 

Shri sukta, first verse

(There was a request in the Contact section for more posts on Kundalini, activation and the myths related to this topic, thus writing these posts. I hope these are useful to you.)