Nyaaasa ( A repost )

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adi_shakthi16

 

"Nyaasa" is derived from the verb "nyas (ni-as)" --to place or apply,

put down or insert, etc.". In Tántra, "nyaasa" means "to place one's

own attention on something". There are many kinds of Nyaasa-s, but

you will use only Anganyaasa this time. "Ánga" means "body or limb".

Thus, "Anganyaasa" is "to place one's own attention on different

parts of the physical body". You may perform this in three ways: (1)

Mentally: You pay attention to this part and then to that one, and so

on; (2) With the help of a flower: You place a flower on the

particular part of your body whichyou wish to pay attention to; and

(3)

 

With the help of your hand: You join the thumb and the middle finger

and place them over the area of you body which you want to become

conscious of. Some say that you should actually touch your body with

the fingers, while others affirm that the fingers should not touch

the skin but they should be placed over the zone without touching it

at all. The first type of Anganyaasa, that is, "the mental one", is

generally used when you practice Nyaasa over the Cakrá-s. Since you

cannot touch the Cakrá-s with your physical hands, mental Nyaasa must

obligatorily be practiced in this case. The second type, as well as

the third one, is practiced directly over the various parts

constituting the gross body.

 

You will perform the third kind of Anganyaasa in this ritual. Fifty-

one regions of the body will be touched. Each of those regions is

associated with a particular sound. For instance, the sound A~ (a~) --

it sounds like "ang"-- is associated with the hair. Therefore, you

join the thumb and the middle finger together and place them over

your own hair. At the same time, you repeat the aforesaid sound, that

is to say, A~ (a~).

 

The sounds are approximate representatives of those emitted by the

vibrations circulating through a particular area. Every part of your

body produces a certain sound pattern. By means of the Sanskrit

sounds, you tune in the region over which I perform Nyaasa. This

natural and spontaneous tuning is really a subtle and profound

awareness harmonizing all parts of your body. Anganyaasa makes you

pay attention to your entire physical body, and that simple act

places purity there wherein there was apparently impurity. Truly,

there is impurity nowhere. The notions of impurities are just

that, "notions". All this is the Pure Self, the Infinite

Consciousness, the Immaculate Reality for ever. The practice of

Nyaasa makes you realize that.

 

Together with the main aforesaid sounds, you also repeat a salutation

to the respective area of your body. For example, at the same time

you touch the tips of the hair with your thumb and middle finger

joined, you pronounce A~ (a~) along with a salutation, this way:

 

 

` A~ nm> kezaNte;u. -- Om a~ namah keshaantesu. --Om a~, salutation

(námah) on the tips (antesu) of the hair (kesha). The sacred Om word

is added to give further support to your salutation. Om is generally

used as an auspicious way of both beginning and/or finishing a

salutation.

 

So, the function of the salutation is concerned with polishing the

original sound associated with a particular part of your body. It

works just as the fine tuner improving the reception of a specific

wave. With this improvement, your consciousness of that bodily area

will increase accordingly. And with the help of that augmented body

awareness, you will be able to attain to higher levels of

consciousness. Got it?.

 

Karanyaasa: Touching the hands with the hands themselves

 

The hands are the "kará" or doer of the ritual. Therefore, it is very

important for you to become conscious of them. Through certain main

sounds (e.g. "Vásat") and specific salutations (námah), you come to

realize that your own hands are the Pure Self. The hands are of the

nature of "going and taking". By means of Karanyaasa, I perceive

their nature and identify it with the Supreme Power of Action

(Kriyaashakti) of the Supreme Reality. This should be your

consciousness as you perform Karanyaasa.

 

Thus, after practicing Nyaasa (both Ánga and Kará) you realize that

your physical body is only a manifestation brought about by the

Creative Delight of Shivá. You also realize that, as a matter of

fact, there is no real impurity in it because even an apparent taint

is a form of Shivá, your own Self.

 

devi_bhakta

 

In an essay on "Mahavidya Iconography: Its Esoteric Meaning,"

Sarbeswar Satpathy cites mudra, a hatha yoga session, a nyaasa

ritual, and pranayama as recommended preludes to mantra japa. That

seems fine if you've got five or six hours to devote to sadhana each

day; but for most people who aren't living in an ashram or monastery,

it seems a bit much other than on special occasions.

 

For householders, isn't the best approach to turn each thought and

routine of one's entire daily routine into sadhana, as Adi Shankara

recommends in the 27th "wave" of his Saundaryalahari?

 

Anyway, Satpathy defines nyaasa as "the placing of the hands of the

worshipper on different parts of the body and at the same time

uttering the appropriate mantras and visualizing that, by this

action, the corresponding parts of the body of the Devi are placed

there in her/his own body. The rite terminates with a movement of the

hands 'spreading' Devi all over the body."

 

He notes there are at least 12 different approaches to nyaasa, all of

which share the goal of reinforcing the individual souls unity with

all-encompassing Devi, and says it is "an important aspect of

worship."

But how important? And how necessary? Isn't it just one more

approach in Tantra/Shaktism's almost bottomless arsenal of

techniques? Or is that an underestimation?

 

Aum Maatangyai Namaha

 

 

sankarrukku

 

Thank you Devi Bhaktha for raising the question. Adi sakthi has given

a very good exposition followed by your clarifications. Yoga 4 you

has given the explanation with reference to Kundalini.

 

You had some further questions. I would like to contribute my mite as

a layman. First by raising a question on Nyasa you have entered the

field of Mantras. Belief in the efficacy of Mantras is commonplace in

the Hindu culture today as in the past. For Hindus, mantras are real,

palpable, mental artifacts to be revered and mastered, to be used or

misused. Mantras play a pivotal role in Hinduism. The possibility of

a successful use of Mantras was, and is, simply a common part of

Hindu mentality. There is nothing similar in other established

religions.

 

I am talking about Mantra, as Nyasa is an essential part of the

Mantra Prayoga. Mantra is the Deity. Nyasa is the recreation of the

worshipper in the Divine image. You had asked what is Prayoga

earlier. To put it in a nutshell it is the use of Mantras. For the

use of mantras there are Prayoga Vidhis or instructions for use.

Tantric texts are similar to User's manual. I agree with you that the

techniques are bottomless. I remember that there was no user's manual

when we bought our first radio in early fifties. But now I got a fat

users manual when I bought my TV. But for switching on the TV and

watching it you do not need to read the entire users manual. But if

you want to set the child lock you have to read the manual. Similarly

for simple recitation of the Mantra you do not need to follow any

rules. That is Parayanam. But if you want to use the Mantra for

achieving certain objectives you have to follow all the rules. Each

Mantra has its own Nyasa or Nyasas. Some books give thirteen Nyasas

for Devi Mahaatmyam.

 

Tough the Nyasa might have started as a Tantric rite it has been

absorbed into the mainstream Hindu religion. While performing

Sandyavandana (a ritual to be performed three times a day by all

Brahmins) Nyasa is required for performing Japa of Gayatri mantra.

For reciting Vishnu Sahashranamam as a Japa, Nyasa is required **.

All Mantra Japas require Nyasa. This is the accepted practice today.

 

Though the Nyasa Mantras may be Tantric or Vaidic the exclamations

(swaha, namah, voushat, phat etc.) are all ones occurring frequently

in Vedic liturgy (Yajur & Atharva Veda)

 

 

 

Sources:

 

1.Understanding mantras- A compilation of 10 articles on Mantra -

Edited

by Harvey. P. Alper - Motilall Banarsidass.

2. Vishnu Sahashranama Sthothram - in Tamil - Little flower Co.

(LIFCO). Madras-

An authoritative text read and used by all orthodox Vaishnavites

and

Smarthas.-One of the first books on religion I bought.

 

 

 

devi_bhakta

 

Thanks sankarrukku for a very useful overview. I especially liked

your comparison of the array of Tantric ritual to a modern television

owner's manual. For the simple on-off function, there's no need to

open the manual; but for fancier functions you've got to dig in and

learn the procedure.

 

So what is the most elementary, on-off function of Mantra? I would

say it's a daily ritual toward the eventual hope of moksha. It's a

function of bhakti, cultivating a intense, pure love for and

surrender to Devi.

 

All right. So what is the "fancier function" of Mantra? As you

state, "if you want to use the Mantra for achieving certain

objectives you have to follow all the rules." But what objectives are

we talking about? The siddhis [occult powers] that are the goal of

lower forms of Tantric ritual? Certainly a precise procedure has to

be followed for that, under the close supervision of a guru. The 10

Mahavidyas are said to be especially powerful and dangerous

manifestations of Devi -- when we seek to harness and use their

powers for our own ends.

 

But if our goal is not siddhis, but pure, unselfish, unconditional

love and devotion, they are not dangerous at all. They are Mother.

Even the fearsome Dhoomavati -- the fierce and ruthless "widow

goddess" whom householders with families are cautioned to avoid --

can be an absolute pushover when approached as Mother, with pure love.

 

The Hinduism scholar David Kinsley cites a field experience in which

he discovered a neighborhood where Dhoomavati had become the village

goddess of choice. Women prayed to her for a good marriage or healthy

children, business owners asked her for material success, children

for good luck in their studies, farmers for abundant harvests. All

of these functions are the exact opposite of what Dhoomavati is

supposed to symbolize. But because she was not approached as a nasty

Mahavidya holding coveted magical powers, she became just Devi again,

happy to offer Her children what they need.

 

So, would I be correct to say that Nyaasa, properly and precisely

performed according to the Tantras, is absolutely necessary only for

those seeking something other than Supreme Knowledge? Or have I

misunderstood your reference to the "more complex functions" of

Mantra?

 

Aum Maatangyai Namaha