sadhu

Of a yogi and a tantrik

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These two words have become a fashion statement these days, Every aspirant on a spiritual path calls himself or herself a yogi or a yogini. And a student of the “black magic” calls himself a tantric, because it seems like a cool thing to do! So who is a Yogi and who is a Tantrik? Do you do not have to leave your house or indulge in weird stuff or dress up crazy? No, both these terms in their essence are a way of thinking. Read on.

Our soul carries with it a huge chunk of karmic load which needs to be worked through and balanced out. This is a weight on our soul and prevents us from knowing our real self truly. So we work our way through it slowly but surely in every life we take. The trick is to not create new stuff for us to carry while we are on it.

When we were born all of us decided on how much of this karmic load we are going to deal with in this life. Now there are 2 ways of dealing with this load, either you go through the actual process of repayment or you burn the “I owe you” slips. Eg. If you have hurt a lot of people physically in your past lives, you may have to become a doctor in this life to treat and heal them as patients and balance the energy. But as always, you have a choice, you can do this actually or return their energies by doing deep pujas/ dhyan/ spiritual activities targeted for the greater good. Both these ways are acceptable.

Now a tantrik is the one who does everything, but with awareness, immersing himself in the experience with complete awareness. Seeing everything that can be seen, but all through being very aware of what is the reality of the event, how is the experience affecting him, his mind and his consciousness. And once he has reached the maximum depth of the experience he recognises that he has seen everything that can be shown to him and now it hold no attraction of him. He will never ever be drawn to it again. This is a tremendous intellectual process where intention, awareness, intelligence, analytical ability, and conscience all play a role. Self control is also of the highest degree. The consciousness is so highly aware that it allows the mind to experience but also control the mind so effectively that after the experience is complete it does not allow the mind to again seek that same as a repeat performance. The path of the tantrik is called the left handed path or Vamachara in Sanatan Dharm.

Of a yogi and a tantrik

A yogi follows the right handed path, Dakshinchara. He refuses to even taste of the experiences available, thus avoiding getting caught in the net of temptations. He withdraws from the society, becomes a Sanyasi. He does intense puja, yagnyas, mantra sadhana, ultimately Dhyan. He prefers to burn out the karmic “I owe you’s” with the intense fire of his sadhana/tapa. This path of the yogi is also very difficult path. It is a complete  test of intention, intelligence, Shraddha/faith, awareness and firmness. The yogi has to control his mind and body so intensely that he does not feel even the slightest attracted to the desires of the world. You can see such Yogis often bind themselves with very severe rules. They follow the basic rules of a Sanyasi, but do more, not allow anyone to touch them, cover themselves with the Vibhutis of their yagnyas, wear minimal clothes, matted hair, be very particular about the food they eat, speak very less or remain silent always etc. These rules represent their cut off from the realm of the Mahamaya, the world of desires.

For me, I think I am trying the tantrik way! I got married, had a child and have my professional work, take care of my home and do my work, counsel my clients. Immerse myself in being a wife, daughter, mother, professional everything, experiencing the joy and the hurts completely. But I try, in all this to remain aware of my real purpose that is to experience my true self. These experiences are just stepping stones on that path.

One of my clients was insistent on taking Sanyas. He is from a very rich family and the family was not willing to let him go like this as the life of a Sanyasi is very difficult. When you leave the society like this, it is possible that you may fall in the hands of rouges who might kill you for your organs or fake gurus who may tap you for your spiritual energy. And looking at the young man’s horoscope I wanted to help him but also keep him safe. My client’s brother was married and had a son himself so the next generation had also arrived. My client was thus free. So his parents agreed with my counsel. They added one new storey to their house for him, and built him a completely new home with a dedicated puja room. He now lives there separately and does his sadhana, last I heard he was doing Dhyan for over 4 hours daily. He is on his way to being a Yogi.

A small astrology tidbit. If you have your ascendent in Cancer/ Karka, you have the potential to be great in spirituality or waste your life energies in worldly activities. Ascendent in Karka is one of the most challenging positions as worldly satisfaction is almost non-existent for them. But if by chance, these persons can bring their minds in control of their consciousness, they can achieve greatness in the spiritual realm.

My client, the young man, after going through his struggles and tapa will eventually be a Guru, a Satguru. When I saw his chart for the first time, I felt the pressure of his disciples both born and as yet unborn intensely waiting for him. And I too look forward to seeing him in that form soon. Reading horoscopes sometimes brings very deep joy.

 

Of a yogi and a tantrik

The energy of Kesh or Hair

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The energy of Kesh or Hair

I have always found the cossack hairstyle fascinating, the hair retained are at the same point as the shikha which an Indian brahmin wears. The Cossack pulls the tuft upwards and the Indian ties it at the back of the head. The shikha hairstyle is for boys and is kept from the thread ceremony/yadnyopavit at the age of 6yrs onwards for the entire lifetime. This shikha indicates that the young boy has now entered society and is sort of a half-man. Now after his education, he has 2 options, either he will marry and enter Gruhasta life, life of a house holder. Or he will cut off this remaining hair and completely shave his head and enter Sanyas, renunciate this society and leave as a Sanyasi.

I decided to write a post on “Hair”.  Not on styling it, but on its importance in spiritual matters. Hair is just not something you style, it is your spiritual antenna. Hair is linked to your intuition and emotional memory.

The energy of Kesh or Hair

Women generally keep long hair, and this is linked to their feminity, sixth sense and emotional nature. A woman who keeps long hair is perceived as being more feminine and she actually is. Men with their short cropped hairstyles are perceived as being more direct, decisive and manly. Men who want to show off their artistic sides generally keep long hair.

One of my clients, a young woman, was unable to find a husband, she had had several proposals through matrimonials but nothing ultimately though her horoscope was good. She had her hair in a severe short “boy-cut” and thus exuded a typical male hardness. No wonder prospective young men rejected her. I requested her to grow out her hair and within 6 months of a “short step cut” she had her husband.

The US army had a research when during the Vietnam war they recruited American Indians as jungle trackers but when they were put in uniform in a military style hair cut they strangely lost their tracking skills. American Indian men traditionally keep very long hair. Long hair kept unbound can be used to sense the presence of other energies. Some Indian sadhus too keep long hair. I keep my hair unbound and open when I do my Dhyan and other stuff. Keeping hair unbound and open also helps in better reading of horoscopes and cards. There are people who are mediums for the spirits, they keep their hair unbound during pujas and never cut them, keep them coiled on their heads otherwise.

The energy of Kesh or Hair

One of my clients was suffering from tremendous ill-will from her parents, I checked her horoscope and also with my Thoth tarot before giving her a solution. And she was married so my conscience also was ok with this. On a saturday/tuesday evening, I told her to sit in front of her puja ghar, face east/north, cut one strand of her hair herself and clip one nail, place both on a small piece of paper, burn everything completely and then carefully take the ashes out in a open space and release them in the wind. The intention was that the link of DNA between her and her parents should be sealed and their ill wishing should not reach her anymore. It was a sad thing to do but was essential for both her and her parents welfare.

A baby’s hair are never cut, but complete removal of the hair or tonsure is done before the first birthday or the third birthday. The hair which was present on the head represents the linked karmas from the life dependent on the mother. So these are shaved off completely. This is done for both baby boys and baby girls too. This is the only time in the entire life that a female’s head is shaved off completely.

For males there are 2 more occasions where the head is shaved off completely, during the funeral rites of the father and the mother. For a male the funeral rites are very intense mantras and intentions. The death of a father or a mother represents a very big break for him and now he has to take on the responsibilities of the house. So he needs to get rid of even the emotional memories of the past linked karmas with the dead parent.

So hair is extremely important and cutting hair or shaving the head is not just a styling thing but has a spiritual component too. If you are feeling a sense of negativity in your life or want to forget an incident which had an emotional impact on you, get your hair cut. In fact on the next Amavasya, cut off a few strands with your own hands with the intention that you are cutting off that emotional hurt. Throw those few cut strands in the winds not the trashbin. You will recover remarkably quickly after this small “surgery”. A very easy and effective solution this is.

 

The energy of Kesh or Hair