About the Necessity of Niyama, Controll of Senses and Initiation

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About the Necessity of Niyama, Controll of Senses and Initiation

contibuted by Shri Kameshvaran

 

 

 

Shri Kanchi Paramacharyal had this to say on Mantra Upasana, Sri

Chakra Pooja, Saudarya Lahari and Kundalini Yoga ( in Book 6

of "Dheivathin Kural" series, dealing with Saundaraya Lahari in about

more than 700 pages in Tamil ) : A rough translation of the parts

relevant to our discussion topic ( with gaps in between) is given

below.

 

 

 

About the Necessity of Niyama:

 

" The first 41 slokas of Saundarya Lahari are Mantra Shastra. It

contains Mantra Yoga, Kundalini Yoga etc. Only very few people, who

are able to absorb it by following very strict niyamas, will be able

to derive benefit out of it. Even if there are small mistakes in it,

it can give raise to undesirable effects.

 

We may be tempted to think: 'After all, we are performing the Upasna

of our own divine Mother; will she not tolerate our minor mistakes ?'

No, it is not proper to think so. Her leela is diverse. Hence she

has created several paths for her Upasana, some of which are easy and

pleasant, while some others are tough and ugra. Each path has to be

followed with its prescribed rules only. There are a lot of pleasant

and easy ways like visiting temples, recitation of sthothras, singing

Bhajans/Keerthan and listening to Harikatha Upanyasa etc. But if

one chooses to ignore these easy paths and deliberately takes up

Japa, Yoga and Sri Chakra Pooja, but still prefers to perform them

without the prescribed niyama, then Ambaal will surely consider it

an an affront or sacrilege. Those who are incapable of following the

prescribed niyama should understand themselves and also that these

are meant for a very few eligible persons only.

 

 

About Sri Chakra Upasana:

 

'It has been advised by people knowledgeable in Shastras that Sri

Chakra Upasana has to be done with great care and attention. Still

Bhagvan Shri Sankaracharyal has sung ( in Saundarya Lahari ) that

Ambaal is happily united with her consort in the Prana-sthan in

the Pancha Brahma Asanam, with extreme love for all of us, her

children. Hence, why is it necessay for us, her children, to be too

cautious in her Sri Chakra Upasana; is it not sufficient that we

perform the Upasana for my own Mother and Father more easily,

according to what we know, and what is is possible, according to our

mind's dictates ?'

 

It appears to me that Bhagwan Sri Shankaracharya was anxious about

such thinking on our part.

 

Granted, that we can perform Upasana out of love, for our divine

Mother and Father without too much of rigid rules. BUT IN THAT CASE,

YANTRA ( SRI CHAKRA) SHOULD NOT BE USED. Mantras and avaahana should

not be used. What is permitted is to have a picture and perform Puja

with flowers and Nama Parayanam. We can add Bhajan and Keerthan.

 

In such cases, the Sadhaka usually has not reached a stage of

spontaneous gushing of true profound love of God , and is

unwilling to perform Upasana according to rules and niyama, but

still performs the Upasana with an actual superficial love (while

assuming by himslef to be having abudant profound love ). What

happens in such cases is that the Sadhaka does not derive the real

essence of the benefit of the Upasana.

 

If one does not have the required attitude/aptitude to perform

Upasana according to the rules and niyama, Sri Chakra Puja should NOT

be performed. 'na shreyo niyaqmam vina' . ( There is no shreyas

without niyama). Not only that, if the niyama is not correctly

followed, only undersirable effects will occur. Such Yantra Aradhana

should not be taken up by all and sundry. Inadvertently, people

should not take up such Yantra Aradhana.

 

 

 

About the Need for Indriya Nigraham for Ambaal Upasakas:

 

"In one of the last slokas in the Saudarya Lahari, Acharya says to

Ambaal :' Your Pada Pooja Kramam is not easy to know for those with

wavering indriyas. For example, even Devas like Indira ( who are all

enjoying the Swarga Loka) are even ineligible to enter beyond your

outermost compound ( the outermost Nava avarana wall ) which is

several millions of miles away from your central seat'".

 

 

 

About Mantra Shastra:

 

"Some Sthothras like Saundarya Lahari contain Philosophical

allegories ( 'Thathva Roopakam' : I am not sure if this English

translation is appropriate) . These allegories have to be properly

instructed only to those mature enough to understand them; others

(not so mature) might misunderstand them and hence they are

considered to be secret. However there is a more important matter.

That is the Mantra Shastra. Mantras are full of power ( Veerya ).

They are to be protected secretly and are to be provided only to

appropriate adhikaris. It is like the law that only a person who has

the appropriate license can possess a revolver. Similarly, Mantras

and their Aksharas etc belong to the category which needs to

protected carefully as secrets. In Saundarya Lahari such

Mantra /Yantra matters are much more than the allegories.

 

 

 

About our Mistakes:

 

"Nowadays there are two types of mistakes: 1. those who have

practised Mantra Upasana for generations and those who are qualified

for it ( proper adhikaris) have neglected the Mantra Upasana and

have become highly secular ( Loukika) ; 2. Whimsical adoption of any

Mantra Upasana by unqualified persons and that too without adopting

the Shastraic rules : I am not sure which is a greater problem :

whether it is the non-performance of Mantra Upasana by the qualified

or the vice versa ?"

 

 

 

About Kudalini Yoga:

 

"About Kundalini, I want to caution, not once, but many many times.

If an aspirant wants to practise Kundalini Yoga, he should very

carefully try to get a guru , who has the following

qualifications: The Guru should have obtained Kundalini Yoga siddhi

himself; such a guru should never be working for his own personal

benefit; the guru should monitor his students carefully and should be

capable of taking them to higher steps one by one. The aspirant

should be in a position to firmly believe in such a guru. Unless he

gets such a Sadhguru, nobody should either start the practise of

Kundalini Yoga by taking it up by himself or with the current crop of

self-proclaimed " yogis" . I want to warn again and again that this

is a matter which requires utmost caution .

 

Though Mantra Yoga is not as serious as Kundalini Yoga, it is also a

subject where abundant caution is warranted. Mantra Yoga also creates

the same results like Kundalini Yoga, through the vibrations in the

Nadi-s caused by Shabda. Gurumukha Upadesam ( Initiation) for

Mantras is supremely important. It is for these reasons that Mantra

Shastra matters are not discussed in detail in (my) public

discourses. They are to be discussed only with Upasakas or those who

want to become so, with good shraddha (faith).

 

There is absolutely no use of knowing the Mantras without the

prescribed initiation. For example, even if you have high quality

imported bulbs, wiring and switches in the house, will they work

without the electric connection from the Power House ? Similarly,

without the Guru's power -- Athma Shakthi - self-initiated Mantras

are useless.

 

It does not matter if there is no benefit. However, if the Shabda

Veerya is not absorbed properly, undesirable results may ensue. So,

I will slightly modify the above example : Consider the Mantra Shabda

itself as electricity. Can we physically (literally) bring

electricity ? We will only get electric shock. Only if we get the

Mantra through the medium of the Guru (like wire) as Initiation

(like bulb), its power will be controlled and we will get the

benefit (light) . Similarly, as the electricity flows unseen

through the wire, the Mantra also should flow only secretly."

 

 

 

About Saundarya Lahari Parayana:

 

"Saundarya Lahari is not only a Sthothra with Mantra Rahasya-s, it is

also a supreme Bhakti Sthothra. Bhagvan Shankara made it into a

Sthothra not only for ShriVidya Upasakas, but also for ALL, only with

the view that ALL could perform its parayana, as a way to enable them

to keep the mind on Ambaal for sometime while doing so. There is no

mistake in such Bhakti oriented parayana. Such sthothras - pregnant

with Mantra Shastra-serve the purpose of making us understand that

we have such potent shastras. It is sufficient if ALL know as to what

are the Shastras that we do have. However only those who are quite

keen to go deeper into Shastras and to properly learn as to what are

within the Shastras and properly practise them, need to proceed

further to get initiated appropriately. Others should not proceed

further.

 

Such Slokas, do generate the well being of the mankind, by virtue of

the Mantra Shakthi inherent in their Shabda, even if their meaning is

not known or understood. Generally, any Shothra, if recited with

Bhakti, does generate well being. A Sthothra is not mere Shabdas and

words. It captures the "Athmic Power" of its author (Sthothra

Kartha) who has created it with a noble intention that all should get

the benefit out of the Shothras. Hence the "living" Sthothra causes

the well being of those reciting it. Also, the Devata who is praised

in the Sthothra does take care, which indeed creates the ultimate

well being of the devotee. Moreover, the author's "spirit" also does

recommend to the Devata on behalf of the devotee and induces the

Anugraha.

 

When the devotee further regularly practices the recital, and as

he/she accumulates its beneficial effects, he will gradually get an

urge that he/she should properly learn it and get initiated from a

guru and further practise it more vigorously. Then - ONLY THEN - can

the devotee learn from the guru all the secret meanings also."

 

I hope the above views of the Acharya do clarify some of the issues.