Kali_Upasaka

Yes. Anyone can convert to Hinduism. There is a n article about this in Himalayan Acdemy. http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/books/hbh/hbh_ch-5.html

There can never be any adverse effect because of Sudarsana Homa. It brings only beneficial results. Do not worry.

Now where does this leave the Spiritual seekers? Mantra Siddhi has no relevance to Spiritual seekers. There are many Mantras which give only spiritual powers. The Taraka Mantram is that which enables its invokers to cross over the ocean of samsara and attain liberation. Then almost all the other Mantras have also ability to take the Sadhaka towards his/her spiritual goal. The Spirtual seeker has no necessity for Prayogam or application. The Mantra automatically takes you to a higher level. When you chant the name of Krishna or Rama or Devi you are not thinking of Siddhis or powers. You are seeking GOD. Does it mean that spiritual seekers will not get Siddhi? NO. The spiritual seeker also gets Siddhis. The Ashtama Siddhi and its achievement are quite different. Of course there are Siddhis other than Ashtma Siddhi. Things like the body glowing, getting younger, hair growing on bald head and so on. Many of these powers are bestowed without even asking for it. I have heard of a person who had attained a power which ensured that all the flowers he offered the Deity fell on the Deity in the form of a garland. May be years of practice. The other common Siddhis are the power of healing and clairvoyance. Is getting Siddhis an obstacle to Spirtual Progress? Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. There is always a likelihood of a Sadhaka getting Siddhi or Power forgetting his/her spiritual goals. That is how we see many Sadhus and Holy men who have stopped pursuing their spiritual goals after attaining Siddhi/Siddhis. We also see Holy men who have Siddhis and who continue in their Spirtual paths without bothering about the Siddhis. Another feature of Mantra siddhi is that it does have a tendency to make one proud. Pride in achivement. This bloats the EGO. We have all seen many Sadhus and Holymen who are full of SELF IMPORTANCE. This is a big impediment to Spirtual Progress. Then the Power of Healing and Clairvoyance can lead to the seeker forgetting his/her ultimate goals. They become Heelers and Clairvoyants. Because these powers lead to an increase in popularity (Fame) and also could lead to prosperity, the ultimate goal is forgotten. None of these fault of the Siddhi but of the Seeker. It is better for Spiritual Seekers to keep off Mantra Siddhi. Lead us not into temptations, My Lord. Total and absolute surrender is the only way of achieving the lotus feet of GOD. शरणागत दीनार्त परित्र्याण परायणे। सर्वस्यार्तिहरे देवि नारायणि नमोऽस्तु ते। तां ढुर्गां दुर्गमां देवीं दुराचारविघातिनीम् । नमामि भवभीतोऽहं संसारार्णवतारिणीम् । Jai MAA !!!

The main question is if Mantra Siddhi is not defined then why so much of importance is placed on it. 1. For giving Deeksha of a particular Mantra to a disciple or seeker, the Guru should have attained the Mantra Siddhi of that Mantra. That included Purascharana. Mantra Siddhi is what qualifies one to be a Mantra Guru. If the guru does not have this qualification the mantra will not fructify. 2. Mantras give power. The use of this power is called Prayoga. Prayoga or application is a subject which is rarely dealt with in the open. The application or Prayoga has a number of rituals which are kept secret and passed on from Guru to Shishya. The common prayogas are Snake Bite cure, Curing of other diseases like Jaundice, Dhana Prapthi and Parihara Pujas. The Abhichara Prayogas are Vasikarna, Sthambana, Spodana, Ucchadana and Marana. Before performing Prayogas the Mantrik has to attain Mantra Siddhi after fulfilling all the requirements of Purascharana. Some of the Mantras do not require the performance of Purascharana. Mantra Siddhi is thus the prerequisite for becoming a Mantrik. It is the basic qualification. There were times when Mantriks were powerful. Some of the communities in India have controlled wealth and were more powerful than even the Kings because of their knowledge of Mantras and their uses. Fortunately those days are long past and no one has any use for Mantriks now. Except for for some love sick youngsters who seek Vasikarana. And there is no money in it. Most of the procedures have been forgotten and the manuscripts have turned to dust. Of course we do see some Sadhus and Religious teachers performing elaborate rituals for Mantra Siddhi. They need this to become Tantriks, Astrologers, and Gurus.

Thank you, Bija. I was expecting a number of replies since there are many posts in this forum which talks about attaining Siddhi. The Purascharana I was talking about is strenuous, time consuming and expensive. Assuming that it takes 5 to 10 seconds for performing the Ahudhi. That is taking the Ghee reciting the mantra and offering it in the fire. Assuming the short time of 5 seconds it would take 125 hours to perform the Homa. If you do it for 5 hours daily it would take 25 days. I have taken 5 hours daily because sitting in front of a Fire for more than 5 hours is a problem. Even 5 hours is a tremendous strain. You move your hand from the ghee pot to the fire 3600 times. You can manage 2000 times daily. That would take longer to complete in 45 days. Of course the time for doing Tharpan. Imagine the physical strain. Again there is the job of keeping the fire going for days together. And the cost of the Ghee and Firewood. Add to this the cost of feeding the Brahmins. Thus Purascharana is very strenuous, time consuming and very expensive. I know. I have been there. Still people do Purascharana, though not many. Why? What is so great about Mantra Siddhi that one is willing to devote so much time, effort and money on that? Or are we chasing a Mirage?

I have opened this discussion in Spiritual Discussions because it does not really fit the category of Mantra/Tantra which is full of attaining only Karya Siddhi. That is in plain English, achievement of a particular material objective. According to the Tantric texts, to attain Mantra Siddhi you have to 1. Repeat the Mantra a specified number of times. Normally the number of letters in the Mantra multiplied by lakhs. For example for Navakshari (Navarna) Mantra it is 9,00,000 times. 2. Perform a Purascharana homa. The number of Ahudhis should be 1/10th of the repetitions. For Navakshari it is 90,000. 3. Tharpana of 1/10th of Ahudhis. Thus for Navakshari it is 9,000. 4. Feed number of Brahmins 1/10th of Tharpana. For Navakshari it is 900. If you have done all this you will get the Mantra Siddhi. Mantra Siddhi is important in the case of Krama Deekshas where you have to get the Mantra Siddhi of one Mantra before proceeding to the higher one. But then let me raise a question which may seem basic, but which is not answered. There is no book which defines Mantra Siddhi. 1. What do you think is Mantra Siddhi? 2. What do expect when you get Mantra Siddhi? Fly through Air? Attain Ashtama Siddhi? Have Dharshan of the Mantra Devata? Some might talk about Kundalini reaching the Sahasrara or the Crown Chakra. Then what happens? Are we aiming for something about which we know nothing? Is Mantra Siddhi necessary for spiritual advancement? Jai MAA KAALI !!! Note: Some of you may have seen my postings under the name sankarrukku.

This is the most powerful and popular Mantra. The combination of the three Bijas means it is addressed to the Supreme Deity Chandi as enunciated in Devi Mahatmya. This is also known as Chandi Navakshari. The difference between "Om Aim Hrim Klim Chamundaye Vichche" and "OM AING HREENG KLEEN CHAMUNDAYE VICHCHE" is because of the way the Bija mantras are pronounced in South India and North India. Everyone swears that his pronunciation is correct. This is an ideal mantra for reaching GOD. If you are using it for spiritual advancement, you do not have to bother about pronunciation. MAA is Dayamoyi and Karunamoyi. It is ridiculous to think that MAA will punish you if you mispronounce the Mantra or do not have concentration. This canard has been spread by Pundits who wanted a monopoly of the Mantra Yoga and did not want others to reach GOD. They are/were interested in ensuring that anyone who wants to approach GOD does it only through them after paying a hefty commission. Death is a punishment in the Abrahmic religion. Death is deliverance in Hinduism. About the use of this Mantra for other purposes, all mantras can be used for various purposes. It is not the fault of the Mantra. Nor is it designed for that. For example a hand Gun can be used to protect yourself from harm. It can be also used for murder. It is not the fault of the Gun.

Glad to see the forum back in action. I saw it only today when I was searching in Google. Then where were we? Jai MAA KAALI !!!

Absolutely no need. I do understand. I have gone through this stage earlier in my life. Silence is Golden in many cases. Even then I have also been guilty of these provocations. Not good for a man waiting to die. Jai MAA !!!

That is not sufficient evidence. Puranas are well known for exaggeration. The Vedas were preserved by the oral tradition. They created different Patas like Jada pata, Ghana pata and others to ensure the correctness of the text. That is the reason that the Vedas recited in Banares and Kanyakumari are the same. This is in stark contrast to Itihasas and Puranas which have many regional variations. The Puranas were written thousands of years after the Vedas. Vedas, their evolution and thoughts are taught in Indian universities.

I have been a member here only for the last 3 months. However I have been using this as a source of information on Hinduism for a long time. The closure of this forum is a loss to Hinduism. Unfortunately we do not have any Hindu public trust doing this kind of service. This forum will be missed. I am grateful to Jahnava Nitai Das for this yeomen service to Hinduism. Thank you and GOD Bless You.

This is not true. Neither the researches in the Vedas done by foreign and Indian scholars nor the traditional Vedic scholars support this view. Vedas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia In the traditional oral tradition a number of Sakhas have become extinct. But the Sakhas did not add any original material to the Vedas. Ancient Indian Education ... - Google Books

It happens that some times when you want to visit a temple, you feel a sort of reluctance to do it. It does happen to all the people. I have felt it. I have seen my friends and family members feel it. Does not happen all the time. But it does happen occasionally. May be you could call it the play of Asuric forces which try to prevent you from reaching to GOD. What are these forces? Ego and Pride among others. So Mike what you are undergoing is only a normal reaction. We always try to justify this with many reasons. Stop thinking about it and start visiting the temples. GOD Bless You.

Mariamman is from the Puranas. But there is no story associated with her. Later on she became the goddess who protects people from Small Pox, Chicken Pox and Measles. These eruptions were considered as an indication of the anger of the Goddess. In the east and north it is Sithal Devi. In Bengal it is Olai Chandi. These Goddesses have been classified by western scholars as Village Goddesses. They portrayed these deities as outside the Brahminical Hinduism. Though we do have similar Goddesses in Bengal they are called folk deities. In Bengal they gave a puranic background to all these deities in their Kavyas. These were written between 13th and 19th century. A similar attempt was made in Kerala where Ayyappan became a God in the 13th century by the writing in Aithika Mala. Santhoshi Maa is a recent goddess. Her popularity is due to the movie. Even Ayyappan became popular only after the release of the Malayalam movie of the name. Take along a Tamil friend and get the instructions from the priest. But I do not think we have specific prayers to Mariamman in any other language than Tamil. But any prayer to Kaali/Durga should be sufficient as Mariamman is one of the forms of Devi.

Since practices differ from place to place and temple to temple, the right person who can guide you would be the priest of the local Mariamman temple. BTW Mariamman is a Puranic Goddess. She is mentioned in the Devi Mahatmyam where Devi says that she will appear as Maha Mari. MahaMari Swarupayaya. This fact is not known to many.