Diksa Mantras

[Guest guest]

Diksa Mantras

 

"Diksa mantras in general retire at the stage of svarupa siddhi,

whereas Krsna nama does not. At this stage mantra-mayi upasana,

meditation on a still picture of the lila, turns to svarasika,

absorption in the continuous flow of the lila."

 

Q & A with Swami B. V. Tripurari

 

Q. During Harinama initiation, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta and Srila

Prabhupada often gave their disciples initiated names that corresponded

to the first letters of their legal names. What is the spiritual

significance of this practice?

 

A. For Hindus, the date and time of day that a child is born suggests a

suitable syllable with which a child's name should begin. This is an

astrological consideration. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta generally chose a

name for spiritual initiation that began with the same syllable as

one's birth name. He himself was an astrologer, and he seems to have

felt that the astrologically appropriate first syllable for a child's

name had some religious value. Most of his followers have followed his

system of choosing a name for initiation that begins with the same

syllable as one's birth name, even when the birth name was not chosen

in consideration of astrological insight. However, this system for

choosing an initiated name is not one that must be followed in all

circumstances. Indeed, we can find many exceptions even within the

mission of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura. Another system

involves choosing a name that will be appropriate for Gaura-lila. Of

course both of these systems can be combined as well.

 

Q. I took diksa from a guru who later rejected his position as guru.

Should I continue the process of bhakti yoga depending on the sastras

and the diksa I already have or should I accept another guru?

 

A. If your guru has given up serving you in the capacity of guru, then

for all intents and purposes you do not have a guru. Furthermore, it is

questionable as to how well situated your guru was in the past to

provide much in the way of comprehensive spiritual guidance to you.

Therefore, I highly recommend that you seek out a qualified guru and

accept initiation.

 

Q. Must the disciple have the same spiritual sentiment (rasa) as the

Guru?

 

A. It is best if one's own ideal is the same as that of one's guru.

Indeed, on a deeper level, this is often why one is attracted to a

particular guru in the first place--because the guru embodies the

spiritual sentiment the disciple is destined to realize. Sri Guru is

saksad 'hari, directly representing Krsna, but more importantly he or

she embodies a particular loving transcendental sentiment for Sri

Krsna, kintu prabhor ya priya eva tasya. However, sometimes we find

that a disciple realizes a different spiritual sentiment than that of

his or her guru, as in the famous case of Syamananda Prabhu. No harm.

Such is God's will.

 

Q. When I die I would like to be reunited with my Guru and render

service to him in the nitya lila (spiritual world). How should I go

about trying to attain this goal? Will I have to cultivate this mood

through bhajan?

 

A. Your attitude should not be to resume your services to your guru in

the nitya lila as much as it should be to continue to serve your guru

here and now. Follow your guru by becoming a saranagata. The drama of

Krsna lila is enacted on the stage of saranagati. Surrender manifests

in sadhana bhakti, and then appropriate longing follows with ruci and

carries one into bhava bhakti. Bhajana is most appropriate in the

higher stages of sadhana bhakti and bhava bhakti.

 

Q. Visvanatha Chakravarti says that one should chant the gayatri mantra

at tri-sandhyam, or the three junctions of the day. However, at work or

school I often can't find a suitable place to meditate and end up

chanting my mantras inattentively in order to fulfill this obligation.

Other Gaudiya sects chant gayatri without holding a sacred thread or

chant their mantras on a mala because they don't wear a thread,

regardless of time of day. So my question is how important is the

instruction of chanting gayatri at tri-sandhyam?

 

A. Visvanatha Cakravarti appeared in a brahmana family, and it seems

from his Gurvastakam that he combined his sandhya-vandanam with his

guru mantra and guru gayatri, etc., as we do. Otherwise, observing

sandhya-vandanam is a brahminical duty and thus pertains to the Brahma

gayatri and not necessarily the other diksa mantras and gayatris.

However, the practice of mantra dhyana at the three sandhyams is an

excellent practice. It requires that three times daily one stop to

meditate, observing the sun's movements and thinking of the sun as a

symbolic representation of God. This mandates a change of lifestyle for

most. The idea is that the sun represents God because without it we

could not survive. The sun speaks loudly to us every day, but we do not

hear its message. Those with very deep experience of life tell us, ayur

harati vai pumsam udyann astam ca yan asau: "With the rising and

setting of the sun, everyone's life is being taken away, except, that

is, for one who is engaged in glorifying Krsna."

 

At any rate, it is hard to change one's lifestyle in a society that

does not lend to it, but still we should try. One does not necessarily

need to chant the diksa mantras on a thread if it is inconvenient, but

one should not chant in a way that is less than meditative if one

expects to derive any benefit from chanting. Therefore, a practical

adjustment of tri-sandhyam could be to chant one's first mantra session

after rising and bathing, and then chant a second time before leaving

for work. Leaving for work, although in the forenoon, takes the sadhaka

into the day, so to speak, following Krsna into the forest. That is the

beginning of what could be construed as one of three major blocks of

time in one's daily routine, the first being early morning, followed by

leaving the house for work, followed by one's return home for the

balance of the day. Using this method one could fulfill the obligation

to chant gayatri at three junctions of the day and not have to do so in

a situation that is not conducive to meditation.

 

Q. Why do some Gaudiya sects teach that there is no need to chant Guru

and Gaura mantras?

 

A. In Gaudiya Vaisnavism, Guru mantra and gayatri, Gaura mantra and

gayatri, Nityananda mantra and gayatri, etc., are not always given by

the guru, but the Gopala mantra and kama gayatri are. These are the

main diksa mantras for Gaudiya Vaisnavas. Other mantras and gayatris

are primarily for seva puja, but we should chant them as instructed by

our Gurudeva, knowing that there are others who may have been

instructed differently. This leads to another discussion concerning the

liberty of the acarya. For example, the guru mantra and gayatri given

by our acarya, Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, are different

from those found in the writings of Gopala Guru Goswami and Dhynacandra

Goswami, who collected them from various scriptures. The bija given by

Srila Saraswati Thakura is different in that it lends to conceiving of

Sri Guru in any of the four primary sentiments of Vraja, as opposed to

only madhurya rasa. It is also a meditation on Sri Guru's absorption in

the Vraja lila (krsnanandaya), as opposed to gaura lila (gaurapriyaya).

Not all Gaudiya Vaisnavas accept Gaura mantra and gayatri as eternal,

nor do all Gaudiyas acknowledge an aprakata nitya lila of Gaura. There

is a lot of disagreement out there. We respectfully disagree--as do the

majority of Gaudiya lineages--with those who say that one should not

chant Guru and Gaura mantras.

 

Q. Is there a time when one should give up chanting Brahma Gayatri?

 

A. Many meanings can be derived from Brahma gayatri. If the mantra is

guru-given, there is no need to discontinuing chanting it unless its

efficacy is reached or the disciple cannot chant it for some particular

reason. Otherwise, diksa mantras in general retire at the stage of

svarupa siddhi, whereas Krsna nama does not. The mantra is a petition

in which the name is couched. At this stage mantra-mayi upasana,

meditation on a still picture of the lila, turns to svarasika,

absorption in the continuous flow of the lila. The realization of the

mantra's import retires the necessity to chant it. However, diksa

mantras are often still chanted even at this advanced stage. This is

discussed in Brihat-bhagavatamrita.

 

Editors note: More information on this subject can be found in the

following Sangas:

 

The Magic of Diksa:

http://www.swami.org/sanga/archives/pages/volume_five/m222.html

 

Diksa Mantra and Nama Prabhu:

http://www.swami.org/sanga/archives/pages/vnn/ET12-4092.html

 

Brahma Gayatri and the Sacred Thread:

http://www.swami.org/sanga/archives/pages/volume_six/m254.html

 

Women Diksa Gurus:

http://www.swami.org/sanga/archives/pages/volume_five/m228.html

 

 

Questions or comments may be submitted at the Q&A Forum:

http://www.swami.org/sanga/ or email sangaeditor (AT) swami (DOT) org.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Moderator: sangaeditor (AT) swami (DOT) org

Monday, November, 28, 2005, Vol. VII, No. 16

Readership: 11,797

Back issue archive: http://www.eScribe.com/religion/sanga

Sanga website: http://www.swami.org/sanga

Audarya Bookstore: http://www.swami.org/merchant.mv

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you need to update your contact address, please drop us a note at

editor (AT) swami (DOT) org. Thank you.