Guest guest Posted April 23, 2002 Report Share Posted April 23, 2002 Dear Visti, Namaste. I am a belated follower of your Ishtadevata exchange in SJVC. You were saying that the number of akshara in the beeja mantra is determined, based on one's natal chart and it is an important part of remedy prescription. Sanjayji asked me to pray to Goddess MahaLakshmi with "Hreem" beeja mantra. And the benefits I have derived from chanting the same are remarkable. What factors made Guruji arrive at this mantra? Can you tell me? And, are there any particular times of day / night when these are to be chanted? Are the "times" linked in some way to the planets, their horas or when they have strength? Visti, sorry for troubling you because despite my repeated reminders to my regular bookshop, I haven't yet got my copy of the VRA & and I am really curious about the beejakshara specification. I usually repeat 1 mala of "Om hraam hreem hroum sah Brihaspathaye Namah" on Thursday mornings. Is it OK? I also found that Goddesses, like Lalitha, Lakshmi, Durga usually have "hreem" beejakshara associated with them. Then how come the Jupiter mantra also has this "hreem" beeja? Does any of the male deities also have this beeja? Regards, Lakshmi Games - play chess, backgammon, pool and more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 23, 2002 Report Share Posted April 23, 2002 Lakhmiji, namaste. sorry to jump in. thaught that i might contribute something. each and every diety has been assigned one beejamantra. when the beeja is pronounced correctly and repeatedly - the vibration of the sound invokes the particular power of the diety. these are called "ekakshari mantra" or mantra having one letter or beejaskhara. as my knowledge goes "hreem" is shakti / maya beeja. ha- Shiva (the Purusha) ra- Shakti (the Prakriti) ee- Maya m (bindu) - removal of sorrow the meaning of the beeja is "let the united power of purusha and prakriti remove my sorrow". it seems that because of the basic nature of the beeja - it can be combined with other beejas to creat more power to the mantra. like this the beejas for some other dieties are as follows, KREEM - Mahakali SHREEM - Mahalakhsmi HRAUM - Sadashiva DUM - Durga KLEEM - Krishna GAM - Ganapati HUM - Bhairava (destructive power of Shiva) and so on. each and every letter of sanskrit is the beeja of a particular diety. so you see garland of 52 human heads (representing 52 letters of sanskrit) on the body of Mahakali. the same has been taken from the book "Mantra rahasya" by Dr. Narayan Dutta Shrimali (Jodhpur). But these beejas should not be chanted unless given directly by a guru and properly energised. or those may remain ineffective - if not causing harm. regards, jk dasgupta - lakshmi ramesh sjvc Tuesday, April 23, 2002 6:30 PM [sjvc] Ista Devata Mantra -- To Visti Om Gurave Namah Dear Visti, Namaste. I am a belated follower of your Ishtadevata exchange in SJVC. You were saying that the number of akshara in the beeja mantra is determined, based on one's natal chart and it is an important part of remedy prescription. Sanjayji asked me to pray to Goddess MahaLakshmi with "Hreem" beeja mantra. And the benefits I have derived from chanting the same are remarkable. What factors made Guruji arrive at this mantra? Can you tell me? And, are there any particular times of day / night when these are to be chanted? Are the "times" linked in some way to the planets, their horas or when they have strength? Visti, sorry for troubling you because despite my repeated reminders to my regular bookshop, I haven't yet got my copy of the VRA & and I am really curious about the beejakshara specification. I usually repeat 1 mala of "Om hraam hreem hroum sah Brihaspathaye Namah" on Thursday mornings. Is it OK? I also found that Goddesses, like Lalitha, Lakshmi, Durga usually have "hreem" beejakshara associated with them. Then how come the Jupiter mantra also has this "hreem" beeja? Does any of the male deities also have this beeja? Regards, Lakshmi Games - play chess, backgammon, pool and more Your use of is subject to the Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 24, 2002 Report Share Posted April 24, 2002 Namaste Dasgupta ji, Thanks a lot for your lovely reply, and no, I did not mind your "jumping" in..infact, I welcome it! Yesterday, after writing the e-mail, I was furious with myself for still not buying VRA, so I went to some 3-4 bookshops and in the last one I was lucky to get the last copy. I scanned through the book last night and regarding "hreem" beeja, it was written that "ha" is the akasabeeja and "ra" is the agnibeeja and "hreem" is the mayabeeja. I thought that Sanjay guruji had prescribed "hreem" for me because my lagna lord is Jupiter (akasa) and he's in lagna(dhanus-agni tattwa raasi). But why "mayabeeja"? Taken in conjunction with propitiating Mahalakshmi, is it because Venus is in the AL (maaya)? Or is it because Venus is the dispositor of AK? In VRA it is given that "hreem" is a "gopana" mantra and is used to hide something to protect its potency. Now, I am really perplexed because, first of all, why does Guruji want the "maya" to be strengthened instead of "satya" and what is it that the "hreem" beeja is supposed to conceal? I have a firm feeling that my understanding is floundering somewhere... Regards, Lakshmi "j.k. dasgupta" <dga (AT) bom5 (DOT) vsnl.net.in> wrote: Lakhmiji, namaste. sorry to jump in. thaught that i might contribute something. each and every diety has been assigned one beejamantra. when the beeja is pronounced correctly and repeatedly - the vibration of the sound invokes the particular power of the diety. these are called "ekakshari mantra" or mantra having one letter or beejaskhara. as my knowledge goes "hreem" is shakti / maya beeja. ha- Shiva (the Purusha) ra- Shakti (the Prakriti) ee- Maya m (bindu) - removal of sorrow the meaning of the beeja is "let the united power of purusha and prakriti remove my sorrow". it seems that because of the basic nature of the beeja - it can be combined with other beejas to creat more power to the mantra. like this the beejas for some other dieties are as follows, KREEM - Mahakali SHREEM - Mahalakhsmi HRAUM - Sadashiva DUM - Durga KLEEM - Krishna GAM - Ganapati HUM - Bhairava (destructive power of Shiva) and so on. each and every letter of sanskrit is the beeja of a particular diety. so you see garland of 52 human heads (representing 52 letters of sanskrit) on the body of Mahakali. the same has been taken from the book "Mantra rahasya" by Dr. Narayan Dutta Shrimali (Jodhpur). But these beejas should not be chanted unless given directly by a guru and properly energised. or those may remain ineffective - if not causing harm. regards, jk dasgupta Games - play chess, backgammon, pool and more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 24, 2002 Report Share Posted April 24, 2002 lakhsmiji, namaste. i think meaning is the same. akasa (space) is the place where actions manifests. so it is the purusha - the shiva. and agni is the shakti - the prakriti. so the goddes mahakali is dancing on the body of shiva. that is the basic philosophy of all tantras and also of this universe. in this material world only maya manifests. so i think that this beeja is used for fullfilling material desires. i read somewhere that venus rules this beeja and venus (mahalaksmi) gives us material fullfillment. that must be the reason why guruji has given you this beeja. unless material desires are fulfilled completely - satya cannot come. if a begger expresses unattachment to money - it has no meaning. but when a king leaves everything and takes the path of satya-it is realy something worth. and another piece of phylosophy. in present days of kalikala, karmayoga and gyanayoga alongwith bhaktiyoga must go side by side. getting one's material desires throughly fulfilled and enjoying it in an unattached way is the only way for common people like us - to purge our vasanas (worldly desires and accumulated impressions) and subsequently to satya. for this all the three yogas have to be practiced simultaniously. BUT PLEASE DO NOT THINK EVEN FOR A MOMENT THAT I MYSELF PRACTICE IT. talking is much easier than practicing. and i do not know what this beeja is supposed to conceal. only Sanjayji can guide us in this matter. i have not yet come accross any such explanation anywhere. regards, jk dasgupta - lakshmi ramesh sjvc Wednesday, April 24, 2002 3:38 PM Re: [sjvc] Ista Devata Mantra -- To Visti Om Gurave Namah Namaste Dasgupta ji, Thanks a lot for your lovely reply, and no, I did not mind your "jumping" in..infact, I welcome it! Yesterday, after writing the e-mail, I was furious with myself for still not buying VRA, so I went to some 3-4 bookshops and in the last one I was lucky to get the last copy. I scanned through the book last night and regarding "hreem" beeja, it was written that "ha" is the akasabeeja and "ra" is the agnibeeja and "hreem" is the mayabeeja. I thought that Sanjay guruji had prescribed "hreem" for me because my lagna lord is Jupiter (akasa) and he's in lagna(dhanus-agni tattwa raasi). But why "mayabeeja"? Taken in conjunction with propitiating Mahalakshmi, is it because Venus is in the AL (maaya)? Or is it because Venus is the dispositor of AK? In VRA it is given that "hreem" is a "gopana" mantra and is used to hide something to protect its potency. Now, I am really perplexed because, first of all, why does Guruji want the "maya" to be strengthened instead of "satya" and what is it that the "hreem" beeja is supposed to conceal? I have a firm feeling that my understanding is floundering somewhere... Regards, Lakshmi "j.k. dasgupta" <dga (AT) bom5 (DOT) vsnl.net.in> wrote: Lakhmiji, namaste. sorry to jump in. thaught that i might contribute something. each and every diety has been assigned one beejamantra. when the beeja is pronounced correctly and repeatedly - the vibration of the sound invokes the particular power of the diety. these are called "ekakshari mantra" or mantra having one letter or beejaskhara. as my knowledge goes "hreem" is shakti / maya beeja. ha- Shiva (the Purusha) ra- Shakti (the Prakriti) ee- Maya m (bindu) - removal of sorrow the meaning of the beeja is "let the united power of purusha and prakriti remove my sorrow". it seems that because of the basic nature of the beeja - it can be combined with other beejas to creat more power to the mantra. like this the beejas for some other dieties are as follows, KREEM - Mahakali SHREEM - Mahalakhsmi HRAUM - Sadashiva DUM - Durga KLEEM - Krishna GAM - Ganapati HUM - Bhairava (destructive power of Shiva) and so on. each and every letter of sanskrit is the beeja of a particular diety. so you see garland of 52 human heads (representing 52 letters of sanskrit) on the body of Mahakali. the same has been taken from the book "Mantra rahasya" by Dr. Narayan Dutta Shrimali (Jodhpur). But these beejas should not be chanted unless given directly by a guru and properly energised. or those may remain ineffective - if not causing harm. regards, jk dasgupta Games - play chess, backgammon, pool and more Your use of is subject to the Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 24, 2002 Report Share Posted April 24, 2002 Hare Rama Krishna ---------------------------- Dear Lakshmi, Hreem comes from the Hleem Beeja, which symbolizes the union of Radha(Sleem) and Krishna(Kleem). In other words its love. By reciting this beeja, you will get a vision of your Istha devata, and then you can easily choose the correct mantra for worship. >From these 3 beeja, we can add the Agni Beeja; 'Ra'. The final result is the Janak Shadakshari Mantra; "Hare Rama Krishna". For more: http://sanjayrath.tripod.com/Hindu/shadakshara.htm Best wishes, Visti. > >Om Gurave Namah >Namaste Dasgupta ji, >Thanks a lot for your lovely reply, and no, I did not mind your "jumping" >in..infact, I welcome it! Yesterday, after writing the e-mail, I was >furious with myself for still not buying VRA, so I went to some 3-4 >bookshops and in the last one I was lucky to get the last copy. I scanned >through the book last night and regarding "hreem" beeja, it was written >that "ha" is the akasabeeja and "ra" is the agnibeeja and "hreem" is the >mayabeeja. >I thought that Sanjay guruji had prescribed "hreem" for me because my lagna >lord is Jupiter (akasa) and he's in lagna(dhanus-agni tattwa raasi). But >why "mayabeeja"? Taken in conjunction with propitiating Mahalakshmi, is it >because Venus is in the AL (maaya)? Or is it because Venus is the >dispositor of AK? >In VRA it is given that "hreem" is a "gopana" mantra and is used to hide >something to protect its potency. Now, I am really perplexed because, first >of all, why does Guruji want the "maya" to be strengthened instead of >"satya" and what is it that the "hreem" beeja is supposed to conceal? I >have a firm feeling that my understanding is floundering somewhere... >Regards, >Lakshmi > > "j.k. dasgupta" <dga wrote: Lakhmiji, namaste. sorry >to jump in. thaught that i might contribute something. each and every diety >has been assigned one beejamantra. when the beeja is pronounced correctly >and repeatedly - the vibration of the sound invokes the particular power of >the diety. these are called "ekakshari mantra" or mantra having one letter >or beejaskhara. as my knowledge goes "hreem" is shakti / maya beeja. ha- >Shiva (the Purusha)ra- Shakti (the Prakriti)ee- Mayam (bindu) - removal of >sorrow the meaning of the beeja is "let the united power of purusha and >prakriti remove my sorrow". it seems that because of the basic nature of >the beeja - it can be combined with other beejas to creat more power to the >mantra. like this the beejas for some other dieties are as follows, KREEM - >MahakaliSHREEM - MahalakhsmiHRAUM - SadashivaDUM - DurgaKLEEM - KrishnaGAM >- GanapatiHUM - Bhairava (destructive power of Shiva) and so on. each and >every letter of sanskrit is the beeja of a particular diety. so you see >garland of 52 human heads (representing 52 letters of sanskrit) on the body >of Mahakali. the same has been taken from the book "Mantra rahasya" by Dr. >Narayan Dutta Shrimali (Jodhpur). But these beejas should not be chanted >unless given directly by a guru and properly energised. or those may remain >ineffective - if not causing harm. regards, jk dasgupta > > > > > Games - play chess, backgammon, pool and more _______________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 24, 2002 Report Share Posted April 24, 2002 J. K. Dasguptaji, I can't help but jump in; I don't know whether this list permits us to do so or not; but I cannot resist this. May I couch what you said in another way: Kali is the manifest creativity of the unmanifest Mahakal Shiv or the Brahman. If its possible I'd like to talk Kali with you for a little while. Reagrds, Sarbani "j.k. dasgupta" wrote: > Part 1.1 Type: Plain Text (text/plain) > Encoding: quoted-printable Attachment: vcard [not shown] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 24, 2002 Report Share Posted April 24, 2002 Sarbaniji, namaste. yes, kali is the manifestation of unmanifested shiva. shiva is the pure light, which has no colour - so unmanifested. but when the light gets reflected - we become aware of it. that is the manifestation of light. that is my understanding. i am also very much interested in such discussions and increase my own half cooked and incomplete knowledge. regards, jk dasgupta - Sarbani Sarkar sjvc Wednesday, April 24, 2002 5:18 PM Re: [sjvc] Ista Devata Mantra -- To Visti J. K. Dasguptaji,I can't help but jump in; I don't know whether this list permits us todo so or not; but I cannot resist this. May I couch what you said inanother way: Kali is the manifest creativity of the unmanifest MahakalShiv or the Brahman.If its possible I'd like to talk Kali with you for a little while.Reagrds,Sarbani"j.k. dasgupta" wrote:> Part 1.1 Type: Plain Text (text/plain)> Encoding: quoted-printableYour use of is subject to the Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 24, 2002 Report Share Posted April 24, 2002 Namaste Sanjayji, Thanks for correcting me about the guru mantra. I have no intention of chanting "om gram greem..." because what I've always worked for is never tantrik expertise. I also chant "brihaspati atiyadaryo..." on Thursdays, so I can continue with that. And, Guruji, it's wonderful knowing that you'd give me the Brihaspati Gayatri. It's perhaps the best thing I have ever heard in my life and I can hardly wait for that to happen! I always wanted to ask you about initiation, but was afraid of being not ready, of being rebuffed. You have made me one of the most fortunate in the world, by bestowing this unexpected blessing. But then why did you say "adios" in the very next sentence? Surely, you couldn't have meant it! About Vishnu Purana, Sanjayji, the English version of chapter 1 is ready...I find typing Sanskrit slokas in Devanagari script very tough with the usual (English) keyboard, so I placed an order for a bilingual keyboard. As soon as it's delivered I'll try to mail the first chapter. Please bear with me and my many inadequacies with your characteristic patience and kindness. And, I do earnestly promise to improve! Regards,Lakshmi Sanjay Rath <srath (AT) vsnl (DOT) com> wrote: om gurave namah------------------------Dear Lakshmi You got the Brihaspati mantra WRONG. It is Om Graam Greem Graum Sah Gurave Namah. Now,this is a tantrik mantra and is not recommended by me. Why don't you simply try "Brihaspataye Namah" or "Brihaspati atiyadaryo..which is by far the best being from the Rig Veda. Someday you will receive the Brihaspati Gayatri from me. Till then adios.With best wishesSanjay RathWeb: http://sanjayrath.tripod.comServices: http://sanjayrath.tripod.com/zservices.htmJyotish Digest: http://jyotishdigest.com/SJVC: http://www.sjvc.org/ Games - play chess, backgammon, pool and more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 24, 2002 Report Share Posted April 24, 2002 Om Namo Narayanaya Dear Dasgupta, I feel my understanding is wrong or short. Is MahaKali "Shava-aruda" or "Shiva-aruda" ? According to Tapes of Aruda Lagna I think I loosely understood this. Would you kind enough to write some more or some sources to understand this ? thanks, karu namaste. i think meaning is the same. akasa (space) is the place where actions manifests. so it is the purusha - the shiva. and agni is the shakti - the prakriti. so the goddes mahakali is dancing on the body of shiva. that is the basic philosophy of all tantras and also of this universe. in this material world only maya manifests. so i think that this beeja is used for fullfilling material desires. i read somewhere that venus rules this beeja and venus (mahalaksmi) gives us material fullfillment. that must be the reason why guruji has given you this beeja. unless material desires are fulfilled completely - satya cannot come. if a begger expresses unattachment to money - it has no meaning. but when a king leaves everything and takes the path of satya-it is realy something worth. and another piece of phylosophy. in present days of kalikala, karmayoga and gyanayoga alongwith bhaktiyoga must go side by side. getting one's material desires throughly fulfilled and enjoying it in an unattached way is the only way for common people like us - to purge our vasanas (worldly desires and accumulated impressions) and subsequently to satya. for this all the three yogas have to be practiced simultaniously. BUT PLEASE DO NOT THINK EVEN FOR A MOMENT THAT I MYSELF PRACTICE IT. talking is much easier than practicing. and i do not know what this beeja is supposed to conceal. only Sanjayji can guide us in this matter. i have not yet come accross any such explanation anywhere. regards, jk dasgupta - lakshmi ramesh sjvc Wednesday, April 24, 2002 3:38 PM Re: [sjvc] Ista Devata Mantra -- To Visti Om Gurave Namah Namaste Dasgupta ji, Thanks a lot for your lovely reply, and no, I did not mind your "jumping" in..infact, I welcome it! Yesterday, after writing the e-mail, I was furious with myself for still not buying VRA, so I went to some 3-4 bookshops and in the last one I was lucky to get the last copy. I scanned through the book last night and regarding "hreem" beeja, it was written that "ha" is the akasabeeja and "ra" is the agnibeeja and "hreem" is the mayabeeja. I thought that Sanjay guruji had prescribed "hreem" for me because my lagna lord is Jupiter (akasa) and he's in lagna(dhanus-agni tattwa raasi). But why "mayabeeja"? Taken in conjunction with propitiating Mahalakshmi, is it because Venus is in the AL (maaya)? Or is it because Venus is the dispositor of AK? In VRA it is given that "hreem" is a "gopana" mantra and is used to hide something to protect its potency. Now, I am really perplexed because, first of all, why does Guruji want the "maya" to be strengthened instead of "satya" and what is it that the "hreem" beeja is supposed to conceal? I have a firm feeling that my understanding is floundering somewhere... Regards, Lakshmi "j.k. dasgupta" <dga (AT) bom5 (DOT) vsnl.net.in> wrote: Lakhmiji, namaste. sorry to jump in. thaught that i might contribute something. each and every diety has been assigned one beejamantra. when the beeja is pronounced correctly and repeatedly - the vibration of the sound invokes the particular power of the diety. these are called "ekakshari mantra" or mantra having one letter or beejaskhara. as my knowledge goes "hreem" is shakti / maya beeja. ha- Shiva (the Purusha) ra- Shakti (the Prakriti) ee- Maya m (bindu) - removal of sorrow the meaning of the beeja is "let the united power of purusha and prakriti remove my sorrow". it seems that because of the basic nature of the beeja - it can be combined with other beejas to creat more power to the mantra. like this the beejas for some other dieties are as follows, KREEM - Mahakali SHREEM - Mahalakhsmi HRAUM - Sadashiva DUM - Durga KLEEM - Krishna GAM - Ganapati HUM - Bhairava (destructive power of Shiva) and so on. each and every letter of sanskrit is the beeja of a particular diety. so you see garland of 52 human heads (representing 52 letters of sanskrit) on the body of Mahakali. the same has been taken from the book "Mantra rahasya" by Dr. Narayan Dutta Shrimali (Jodhpur). But these beejas should not be chanted unless given directly by a guru and properly energised. or those may remain ineffective - if not causing harm. regards, jk dasgupta Games - play chess, backgammon, pool and more Your use of is subject to the Your use of Groups is subject to the Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 25, 2002 Report Share Posted April 25, 2002 Dear Dasguptaji, Take for example a traditional Dakshinamurty depiction of Kali. You must remember I know very little of all this and I am not a religious person and know very little of gods and goddesses. So you will have to pardon my mistakes and since Solai Kannan has encouraged us all to participate and not feel scared...In the Dakshinamurty, first there is Nirguna Brahman as Sadashiv, the cit, the consciousness. On top of him lies the Saguna Brahman or Mahakal Shiv. On top of him sits Mahakali, the manifest Brahman. Mahakal is unmanifest, inert, inactive, hence he is depicted as a 'shav' or dead. (Karu, therefore he is both Shavaruda and Shivaruda, as Shiv is shav). His creative impulse gets manifest as Kali, that is why she is Mahaprakrti. She is wild, she is active, she is the chaos of creation, because she is the manifest Brahman. That is why she is 'nrityashila' or dancing. (As opposed to Shiv's 'shavness'). The tantriks therefore worship her as Brahmasvarupini. Shiv and Shakti are therefore two sides of the same coin, they depict the unmanifest and manifest aspects of the same Brahman. She is 'gunamayi' (with the 3 gunas) and He is 'gunatita' (beyond the gunas, unmanifest). He is 'achanchal', 'shav', She is 'chanchal', 'nrityashila'. Brahman is therefore sometimes Shiv, and sometimes Shakti, sometimes manifest and sometimes unmanifest - this is the lesson that the highly symbolic image of Kali teaches us at one level. I believe they are also likened to the waning and waxing of the moon. Kali is the waxing moon, from whence shodasakala and the worship of Shodasi. Shiva is the waning moon, or unamnifest. Amavasya is the void of the unmanifest Brahman and Purnima the full manifestation as Kali. Hence Amavasya plays such a crucial role in Kali worship. In images of Kali as standing with a foot on Shiv, it only depicts that kali does not exist without Mahakal, or that Mahakali and Mahakal are inseparable, the one and the same. This interpretation is just one interpretation of many and the one closest to my heart, so I wanted to share it with you. In Samkhya language, Mahakal is purusha whose creative impulse is Prakrti or Kali. Sarbani "j.k. dasgupta" wrote: > Part 1.1 Type: Plain Text (text/plain) > Encoding: quoted-printable Attachment: vcard [not shown] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 25, 2002 Report Share Posted April 25, 2002 sarbaniji, beautifully written. these subject are dear to my heart also. i realy do not know how to co-relate kali with waning or waxing moon. but there must be some logic in relating. some learned member can through some light. there are 2 forms of kaali in general. one is dakhsinamurti (right leg is on the chest of shiva-as the idol in dakhsineswar temple) and vamakaali (whose left leg is on the chest of shiva). dakhsinakalika idol is generally worshipped. the colour is blue (colour of molten gold-as of krishna) while i understand that colour of vamakali is black and generally worshipped by tantrics. i also understand that the power of vamakali idol is more intense and can be immediately felt by sadhaka and common man cannot withstand this power. once i went to tarapeeth-the secret place of devi-tantra sadhana in bengal. there sage vashistha attained siddhi. devi appeared before him in the form of vamakali. the sage understood that common people cannot withstand the intensity of the form. so he requested devi to manifest in a mild form. she appeared in the form of a mother feeding milk to her child. the sage - by his yogic power converted that form in a stone idol. the same idol - it is told, is worshipped in the tarapeeth temple. generally the main idol is covered with mask and cloths. but i was lucky enough to see and touch the main idol (i do not know why-the priest allowed me to touch the idol). at first look nothing can be understood - but on a closer look the form of a lady feeding breast milk to her child is very clear. till now the puja in the temple do not start unless one dead body do not arrive at the samsana for burning and i still remember that day the body came at about evening 6.00 pm and the puja was started after that. in the samsana near tarapeeth, one tantric sadhaka used to live. people told that he was direct disciple of sadhak vamakhsepa. i could meet him and he kindly explained many things about tantra phylosophy, about the secrets of the dogs roaming in the samsana, secrets of dasamahavidya and so many things. i was very young those days (in vii th standard perhaps). that time i could not understand many of his talks but later came accross the same in various book and explanation of tantric phylosophy. the phylosophy of mahakali or the tantric phylosophy is the very basic of our existance. it is totally devoid of any relegious fanatism and the very phylosophy which can transform this troubled world in a heaven - i very strongly convinced. actually, i was amazed to read the relation between tantric phylosophy of creation and the very modern atomic theory - which i have mentioned in the write up i recently posted in the list. people generally co-relate only mahakaali with tantra but many do not know that puri in orissa is one of the main place of tantra practice in india. as i understand the for of radha krishna together - is also depicting the same tantric phylosopy of union of purusha & prkriti, craetion of this universe and its sustainance. i enjoyed writing this mail leaving my regular work. regards, dasgupta - Sarbani Sarkar sjvc Thursday, April 25, 2002 12:03 PM Re: [sjvc] Ista Devata Mantra -- To Visti Dear Dasguptaji,Take for example a traditional Dakshinamurty depiction of Kali. You mustremember I know very little of all this and I am not a religious personand know very little of gods and goddesses. So you will have to pardonmy mistakes and since Solai Kannan has encouraged us all to participateand not feel scared...In the Dakshinamurty, first there is NirgunaBrahman as Sadashiv, the cit, the consciousness. On top of him lies theSaguna Brahman or Mahakal Shiv. On top of him sits Mahakali, themanifest Brahman. Mahakal is unmanifest, inert, inactive, hence he isdepicted as a 'shav' or dead. (Karu, therefore he is both Shavaruda andShivaruda, as Shiv is shav). His creative impulse gets manifest as Kali,that is why she is Mahaprakrti. She is wild, she is active, she is thechaos of creation, because she is the manifest Brahman. That is why sheis 'nrityashila' or dancing. (As opposed to Shiv's 'shavness'). Thetantriks therefore worship her as Brahmasvarupini. Shiv and Shakti aretherefore two sides of the same coin, they depict the unmanifest andmanifest aspects of the same Brahman. She is 'gunamayi' (with the 3gunas) and He is 'gunatita' (beyond the gunas, unmanifest). He is'achanchal', 'shav', She is 'chanchal', 'nrityashila'. Brahman istherefore sometimes Shiv, and sometimes Shakti, sometimes manifest andsometimes unmanifest - this is the lesson that the highly symbolic imageof Kali teaches us at one level. I believe they are also likened to thewaning and waxing of the moon. Kali is the waxing moon, from whenceshodasakala and the worship of Shodasi. Shiva is the waning moon, orunamnifest. Amavasya is the void of the unmanifest Brahman and Purnimathe full manifestation as Kali. Hence Amavasya plays such a crucial rolein Kali worship. In images of Kali as standing with a foot on Shiv, itonly depicts that kali does not exist without Mahakal, or that Mahakaliand Mahakal are inseparable, the one and the same. This interpretationis just one interpretation of many and the one closest to my heart, so Iwanted to share it with you. In Samkhya language, Mahakal is purushawhose creative impulse is Prakrti or Kali.Sarbani"j.k. dasgupta" wrote:> Part 1.1 Type: Plain Text (text/plain)> Encoding: quoted-printableYour use of is subject to the Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 25, 2002 Report Share Posted April 25, 2002 dear karu, perhaps it is the same. sarvaniji has beautifully explained it in her mail. dasgupta - karu sjvc Thursday, April 25, 2002 8:16 AM Re: [sjvc] Ista Devata Mantra -- To Visti Om Namo Narayanaya Dear Dasgupta, I feel my understanding is wrong or short. Is MahaKali "Shava-aruda" or "Shiva-aruda" ? According to Tapes of Aruda Lagna I think I loosely understood this. Would you kind enough to write some more or some sources to understand this ? thanks, karu namaste. i think meaning is the same. akasa (space) is the place where actions manifests. so it is the purusha - the shiva. and agni is the shakti - the prakriti. so the goddes mahakali is dancing on the body of shiva. that is the basic philosophy of all tantras and also of this universe. in this material world only maya manifests. so i think that this beeja is used for fullfilling material desires. i read somewhere that venus rules this beeja and venus (mahalaksmi) gives us material fullfillment. that must be the reason why guruji has given you this beeja. unless material desires are fulfilled completely - satya cannot come. if a begger expresses unattachment to money - it has no meaning. but when a king leaves everything and takes the path of satya-it is realy something worth. and another piece of phylosophy. in present days of kalikala, karmayoga and gyanayoga alongwith bhaktiyoga must go side by side. getting one's material desires throughly fulfilled and enjoying it in an unattached way is the only way for common people like us - to purge our vasanas (worldly desires and accumulated impressions) and subsequently to satya. for this all the three yogas have to be practiced simultaniously. BUT PLEASE DO NOT THINK EVEN FOR A MOMENT THAT I MYSELF PRACTICE IT. talking is much easier than practicing. and i do not know what this beeja is supposed to conceal. only Sanjayji can guide us in this matter. i have not yet come accross any such explanation anywhere. regards, jk dasgupta - lakshmi ramesh sjvc Wednesday, April 24, 2002 3:38 PM Re: [sjvc] Ista Devata Mantra -- To Visti Om Gurave Namah Namaste Dasgupta ji, Thanks a lot for your lovely reply, and no, I did not mind your "jumping" in..infact, I welcome it! Yesterday, after writing the e-mail, I was furious with myself for still not buying VRA, so I went to some 3-4 bookshops and in the last one I was lucky to get the last copy. I scanned through the book last night and regarding "hreem" beeja, it was written that "ha" is the akasabeeja and "ra" is the agnibeeja and "hreem" is the mayabeeja. I thought that Sanjay guruji had prescribed "hreem" for me because my lagna lord is Jupiter (akasa) and he's in lagna(dhanus-agni tattwa raasi). But why "mayabeeja"? Taken in conjunction with propitiating Mahalakshmi, is it because Venus is in the AL (maaya)? Or is it because Venus is the dispositor of AK? In VRA it is given that "hreem" is a "gopana" mantra and is used to hide something to protect its potency. Now, I am really perplexed because, first of all, why does Guruji want the "maya" to be strengthened instead of "satya" and what is it that the "hreem" beeja is supposed to conceal? I have a firm feeling that my understanding is floundering somewhere... Regards, Lakshmi "j.k. dasgupta" <dga (AT) bom5 (DOT) vsnl.net.in> wrote: Lakhmiji, namaste. sorry to jump in. thaught that i might contribute something. each and every diety has been assigned one beejamantra. when the beeja is pronounced correctly and repeatedly - the vibration of the sound invokes the particular power of the diety. these are called "ekakshari mantra" or mantra having one letter or beejaskhara. as my knowledge goes "hreem" is shakti / maya beeja. ha- Shiva (the Purusha) ra- Shakti (the Prakriti) ee- Maya m (bindu) - removal of sorrow the meaning of the beeja is "let the united power of purusha and prakriti remove my sorrow". it seems that because of the basic nature of the beeja - it can be combined with other beejas to creat more power to the mantra. like this the beejas for some other dieties are as follows, KREEM - Mahakali SHREEM - Mahalakhsmi HRAUM - Sadashiva DUM - Durga KLEEM - Krishna GAM - Ganapati HUM - Bhairava (destructive power of Shiva) and so on. each and every letter of sanskrit is the beeja of a particular diety. so you see garland of 52 human heads (representing 52 letters of sanskrit) on the body of Mahakali. the same has been taken from the book "Mantra rahasya" by Dr. Narayan Dutta Shrimali (Jodhpur). But these beejas should not be chanted unless given directly by a guru and properly energised. or those may remain ineffective - if not causing harm. regards, jk dasgupta Games - play chess, backgammon, pool and more Your use of is subject to the Your use of Groups is subject to the Your use of is subject to the Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 26, 2002 Report Share Posted April 26, 2002 Dear Dasguptaji, The debates over bamachar and dakshinachar paths of worshipping Kali has ranged for a long time. Most people, including Shri Ramakrishna, preferred dakshinachar considering it to be more satvic than the bamachar method. Ramakrishna performed shodasi puja to Shri Shri Ma, which is of the dakshinachar path. Briefly, bamachar resorts to panchatattwa shuddhi differently, with madya, mangsa, matsya, mudra and milan, which is objectionable to dakshinacharis. The methods and extremity differ with the dakshinacharis preferring the more satvic and 'pabitra' ways. This is a simplistic explanation, there being more detailed and exhaustive ones, which I have not studied. I believe these two methods are two out of 7 tantra achars. Baam means opposite; it also means adyashakti. Hence Kali is worshipped as Mahamaya Adyashakti. Talking of the moon: A month has amavasya and purnima, each composed of 16 kalas. In the darkness of cosmos Mahakal and Mahakali are united. One side is amavasya, where there is no light. This is the avyakta, nirguna Mahakal Shiv. The other side is resplendent in light where there is purnima. This is vyakta Mahakali. It takes 16 kalas from shukla pratipad to purnima for the moon to become full. This is shodasakala or shodasi. Kali is thus worshipped as Shodasi and there is the special shodasi puja. Shakti is gunamayi. Taking a cue from Chandi, the three deities Mahasaraswati, Mahalakshmi and Mahakali represent the 3 gunas. Kali represents tamas or tama guna. Is that why she is dark? All colours, all matter dissolve in Kali, that is why she is krishnavarna, ghora. There is a profound meaning to the darkness of Kali, which I am aware of but have not studied. She broke Vishnu's yoganidra. That is why She is Vishnumaya. She is the manifestation of Vishnu, while he was in an unmanifested, yoganidric state. She is Mahamaya, as she entices the world but she is at once the Brahman itself. One of the most profound ways to perceive Kali is through varna sadhana. I wish to understand this fully someday. Here Kali is worshipped as vac, the emblem of matrika and varna, i.e., the alphabet, the syllabary and the syllable. In this rahasyamurti, Kali's garland of head is nothing but a garland of syllabary, her extended tongue the symbol of syllable and Kali herself is the manifest aksharrupini alpahabet. The visharga and bindu are Shakti and Shiv respectively. She is scantily dressed as She is omnipresent, hence She cannot be limited by clothes. I think one can go on unfolding deeper and deeper layers of meanings of her image. If you take the earlier Assam, Bengal, Orissa as a unity, it is not surprising that Orissa is ful of tantric remains. Oriya brahmins still perform ceremonial studies of the tantras and there are plenty of temples dedicated to the Matrikas, Chamunda and Mahisasuramardini near Puri, Bubaneswar Khajuraho, Sambalpur, but I don't know anything more about them. I believe the Shakti cult is prevalent in the villages of Orissa and that Buddhism played a role in establishing tantrism there. Whenever I have travelled to Orissa, I have been too preoccupied with Jagannatha to pay attention to anything else. We, in Bengal have been brought up to believe that Jagannath is the be all and end all of everything spiritual in Orissa. So we don't look outside Him. Krishna and Radha are indeed purusha and prakrti but their story I thought teaches us more about the marg of bhakti and love. But yes, Lakshmi is the shakti of Vishnu. Myabe somebody else can illuminate us better on this. Finally, you are lucky...I went to tarapeeth as a small child, and though my mother made me do puja I have only vague memories of that visit. Maybe its time for a second one? Waiting to hear from you, Sarbani "j.k. dasgupta" wrote: > Part 1.1 Type: Plain Text (text/plain) > Encoding: quoted-printable Attachment: vcard [not shown] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 26, 2002 Report Share Posted April 26, 2002 dear sarbaniji, namaste. i just came back to office from a boring meeting and got your mail. sarbaniji, it seems you are very well read on such matters. reagrding actual sadhana. i also do not know anything. only intellectual understanding is nothing. but i believe that at least i have no right nor am capable to judge which one of bamachar or dakshinachar path is more `pabitra'. i belive there is nothing pabitra or apabitra, good or bad, virtue or sin - in the universal law. it is only how we look at it with our impressioned mind. this is the teaching of geeta. but definitely the tantric path is misunderstood by common man as this is kept secret. i read some where that the 5-`m's used in the bamachara method is only symbolic and they have deeper meanings. and this path is a sure shot and shortest way to siddhi-but must be practiced under a very powerfull guru. basic tantric phylosophy is `siddhi through bhoga'. if wrongly practiced - more harm is done. so this is not common people and kept highly secret. in fact this may not be the platform to discuss these in details - nor i am competent. last mail i mentioned about dogs in tarapeeth. i was told that they were all fallen bamachari sadhakas. later i read in one book that vamakhsepa also used to tell the same to his followers. i have myself seen that as soon as puja starts in the temple most of the dogs sit back facing the temple, lift their mouths upwards and start crying together in a peculear tone. an amazing scene. i also know few persons-who tried shava sadhna (sitting on a dead body in shamshana) without proper guidance, could not stand the power and turned half mad. in fact my understanding is that buddhism mainly followed shiva tantra practiced in kashmir side, while the devi cult or shakti cult followed in eastern india is different. i am not very sure about it. alos many people do not know that ramakrishna paramhansa also attained siddhi lastly in bamachar sadhana. a bhairabi perticullarly came to dakhsineswar to give him dikhsa-under whose guidance ramakrishnadev performed shavasadhana etc. and attained highest siddhi there also. your corelation with moon's movement with mahakali is beatifull. does it have any relation with the forms of dasamahavidya? after reading your narration - i think so. in fact dasmahavidya forms are also based on theory of souls evolvement through various phases. it start from mahakali form and ends in mahakali form. most fearsome form of phase of soul's evolvement is the `chhinnamasta' - where we suffer in this world out of material attachment, eat our own blood, think we are enjoying, never ready to understand our deep rooted impressions and not at all ready to come out of the veil of ingorance. can you through some light on this. i had one book on the explanation of dasamahavidya forms and their relation with soul's evolvement through various phases and various births-but i am no getting the book now. i must have misplaced it (due to so many transfers on job). or i could have put those in the list. that was a book written in bengali and published from some ashram in deoghar, bihar (most probably). in fact if you see deeply, every phylosophy is somehow related to each other. hope to hear from you soon, dasgupta - Sarbani Sarkar sjvc Friday, April 26, 2002 2:10 PM Re: [sjvc] Ista Devata Mantra -- To Visti Dear Dasguptaji,The debates over bamachar and dakshinachar paths of worshipping Kali hasranged for a long time. Most people, including Shri Ramakrishna,preferred dakshinachar considering it to be more satvic than thebamachar method. Ramakrishna performed shodasi puja to Shri Shri Ma,which is of the dakshinachar path. Briefly, bamachar resorts topanchatattwa shuddhi differently, with madya, mangsa, matsya, mudra andmilan, which is objectionable to dakshinacharis. The methods andextremity differ with the dakshinacharis preferring the more satvic and'pabitra' ways. This is a simplistic explanation, there being moredetailed and exhaustive ones, which I have not studied. I believe thesetwo methods are two out of 7 tantra achars. Baam means opposite; it alsomeans adyashakti. Hence Kali is worshipped as Mahamaya Adyashakti.Talking of the moon: A month has amavasya and purnima, each composed of16 kalas. In the darkness of cosmos Mahakal and Mahakali are united. Oneside is amavasya, where there is no light. This is the avyakta, nirgunaMahakal Shiv. The other side is resplendent in light where there ispurnima. This is vyakta Mahakali. It takes 16 kalas from shukla pratipadto purnima for the moon to become full. This is shodasakala or shodasi.Kali is thus worshipped as Shodasi and there is the special shodasipuja. Shakti is gunamayi. Taking a cue from Chandi, the three deitiesMahasaraswati, Mahalakshmi and Mahakali represent the 3 gunas. Kalirepresents tamas or tama guna. Is that why she is dark? All colours, allmatter dissolve in Kali, that is why she is krishnavarna, ghora. Thereis a profound meaning to the darkness of Kali, which I am aware of buthave not studied. She broke Vishnu's yoganidra. That is why She isVishnumaya. She is the manifestation of Vishnu, while he was in anunmanifested, yoganidric state. She is Mahamaya, as she entices theworld but she is at once the Brahman itself. One of the most profoundways to perceive Kali is through varna sadhana. I wish to understandthis fully someday. Here Kali is worshipped as vac, the emblem ofmatrika and varna, i.e., the alphabet, the syllabary and the syllable.In this rahasyamurti, Kali's garland of head is nothing but a garland ofsyllabary, her extended tongue the symbol of syllable and Kali herselfis the manifest aksharrupini alpahabet. The visharga and bindu areShakti and Shiv respectively. She is scantily dressed as She isomnipresent, hence She cannot be limited by clothes. I think one can goon unfolding deeper and deeper layers of meanings of her image. If youtake the earlier Assam, Bengal, Orissa as a unity, it is not surprisingthat Orissa is ful of tantric remains. Oriya brahmins still performceremonial studies of the tantras and there are plenty of templesdedicated to the Matrikas, Chamunda and Mahisasuramardini near Puri,Bubaneswar Khajuraho, Sambalpur, but I don't know anything more aboutthem. I believe the Shakti cult is prevalent in the villages of Orissaand that Buddhism played a role in establishing tantrism there. WheneverI have travelled to Orissa, I have been too preoccupied with Jagannathato pay attention to anything else. We, in Bengal have been brought up tobelieve that Jagannath is the be all and end all of everything spiritualin Orissa. So we don't look outside Him. Krishna and Radha are indeedpurusha and prakrti but their story I thought teaches us more about themarg of bhakti and love. But yes, Lakshmi is the shakti of Vishnu. Myabesomebody else can illuminate us better on this. Finally, you arelucky...I went to tarapeeth as a small child, and though my mother mademe do puja I have only vague memories of that visit. Maybe its time fora second one? Waiting to hear from you,Sarbani"j.k. dasgupta" wrote:> Part 1.1 Type: Plain Text (text/plain)> Encoding: quoted-printableYour use of is subject to the Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 26, 2002 Report Share Posted April 26, 2002 Dear Dasguptaji, Yes, I hope we are not stepping beyond the scope of sjvc discussing all this, but maybe our teachers will warn us when we cross the limit. What can I do, Mother is so addictive. She compels us to immerse in her. Please don't get the misguided impression that I am well read on these matters. I am poor with the details of tantrism and its history. What draws me is the Brahmatattwa of tantra, Kali as Brahmasvarupini, Chidanandarupini. Who is she? What is she? What is her mystery? It's not so much an intellectual quest as a compelling pull towards an ocean in which I might drown. I don't know what this magnetic attraction is, I don't try to analyse it. My personal impressions regarding the bamacharis are similar to yours. I have heard similar stories about the bauls of Birbhum who also practice tantra. Swami Pragyanananda of the Ramakrishna Mission writes, that Ramakrishna undertook dakshinachar tantra sadhana by taking Bhairabi Brahmani as his guru. This is what I have also heard/read from the Ramakrishna Mission circle. But you may be right about him having taken a bamachari diksha too. One can always check it up from the Kathamrta or I can enquire from the Sarada Math. I agree with you that eventually it does not matter whether it is bamachar or dakshinachar, it is only a matter of degree, eventually the 'laksha' is the same. And rightly, very few can do the bamachari method correctly, as it is a most difficult sadhana. Both use the 5 m's but the method and application is different. The dakshinacharis use it in a more symbolic manner, hence making it easier. I never thought of the dasamahavidya-shodasi connection till you pointed it out. I believe in Jain tantra there are 16 mahavidyas. Shodasi is one of the dasamahavidyas. Tara is another. In fact, Buddhist tantrism worships Tara and I have seen terrible forms of Tara in a monastery in Paro, Bhutan and some graphic depiction of tantra practice in the tankhas; Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet being strong holds of Buddhist tantrism. Tara is also known as Paramasiddhidayini. Chhinnamasta as you point out is the most terrible of all the mahavidyas. It is said that one who unravels the mystery of her murty or image will achieve moksha and be in a realm beyond life and death. Let me be brazen and try this: kundalini shakti as kamakala, rises from the kundalini base up through the various chakras till it meets the sahasrar chakra where it is united with cit rupi Shiv. This meeting or union is the aim of tantra sadhana and is the ultimate Bliss. The blood which spills from Her neck is the kamakala shakti and the act of drinking it is the union or meeting with Shiv in sahasrar which signifies Eternal Bliss. The kundalini has to flow through the centre nadi, sushumna, in order to attain moksha. If it flows through the nadis on the left and right, ira and pingala, then the person will be unable to escape the cycles of death and re-birth. The two streams of blood spouting from the Chhinnamasta murty are being drunk by two yoginis/women standing on either side of the devi. They are ira and pingala. Only the central spout of blood, which flows through sushumna is being drunk by the devi. This signifies the union of the kundalini with the sahasrar, rather with Paramshiv who resides in the sahasrar. That is why Chhinnamasta is known as Paragyansvarupini, and she is the ultimate symbol of what we should be desiring. Something like this. I hope the learned in the list will come to one's rescue and guide one through it. Or maybe our eyes will be opened when She wills it. I would love to delve more into this evolution of the soul as depicted in the dasamahavidyas rahasya. One other point, dakshina Kali is accessible to both grihasthis and sannayasis while bama kali is accessible to only sannayasis, and basically there are several kinds of Kali, Dakhinakali, Bamakali, Smamshankali, Rakshakali etc. Regards, Sarbani "j.k. dasgupta" wrote: > Part 1.1 Type: Plain Text (text/plain) > Encoding: quoted-printable Attachment: vcard [not shown] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 27, 2002 Report Share Posted April 27, 2002 Dear Sanjayji, Thank you for taking the time and commenting on the post and giving your guidance. I have noted all that you have directed and will try to learn further and follow those leads. Specifically, I would be very interested to learn about the correlation of the dasamahavidyas with the navagrahas and the vimshottari dasha system. This is a part of jyotish which fascinates me and I would like to delve into this direction. I was totally unaware of the correlation between the planets and the gods till I joined the sjvc/va circuit and when I read Visti and Narasimha hold forth on these topics at length. The fact that planets can indicate ishta devatas, was a novel concept for me and I have just bought your VRIA, though of course have not read it yet. I got the hint about the Shodasi and the moon link from one of Swami Pragyanananda's (RKM) books. And it kind of clicked on me. Maybe both the akshara and the moon linkages are true. I will do some home work on it and let you know. Can the dasamahavidyas be linked to the dasavatars be linked to the navagrahas be linked to the kalas of the moon? Krishna ashtami, Ram navami, Narayan as amavasya, the nirguna consciousness and Lakshmi as the full moon? So will both the dasamahavidya and dasavatars teach us about the evolution of the soul (Thank you Dasguptaji) and we can map it on the planets and as they appear on our respective horoscopes, thereby teaching us our own evolution in our karmic path on the way to moksha? At another level will this divine correlation of the planets tell us more about the nature of the Divine. Some years back I had to read the Caraka Samhita for a paper I was writing on medicinal plants and there I came across the linkage of how the human body was a microcosm of the earth and the cosmic elements. Now I found the missing part: how the human being is a microcosm of the cosmos, nay Kalpurusha himself. To your question about the path and the goal, for me moksha is the goal but followed in the correct path. By correct I mean that which is true for me. I can write at length to Dasguptaji about Chhinnamasta (and she is very crucial for our understanding of Brahmagyan), but I can never pray to her. I have never prayed to Kali (only occasionally during visits to peethasthans). But I have always been taught to pray to the devi who is 'sarva mangala', who is saumya never rudra. This is a bit difficult for me to write as I am speaking of something very personal in a public space. Yes, I pray to her as the Bhavani you speak of Sanjayji: na janaami daanang na cha dhyanayogang, na janaami tantrang na cha stotramantram, na janaami pujang na cha nyasayogang, gatisvam gatisvam tvameka bhavani. This is what she means to me. I pray to her as Bhabatarini, Karunamayee, Mangalmayee, Brahmamayee. As mother. I have been taught to abnegate myself at her lotus feet and that She will take care of everything. That is what the Devi means to us. The Kali songs of Bengal are songs of extreme bhakti and love, capable of bringing tears to one's eyes. So this is the rup that we have before us. I think Dasguptaji can vouch for it. She is Siddhidhatri, Jagadishwari, Jagganmata. In my thoughts and consciousness, this is how she appears, this is how she has been handed down through generations of a living tradition. Similarly with Shiv, my ishta devata (I discovered a week ago he is so astrologically too, 12th from karakamsha etc.! Quite amazing). I have been taught that he is sat-cit-ananda and that I should remind myself over and over again 'chidanandarupam shivohang shivoham'. As you rightly say, 'nityaya, shuddhaya', and may I add 'shaswatam', 'shantam', 'nirakaram'. 'Namaste, namaste vibho vishwamurte, namaste namaste chidanandamurte, namaste namaste tapoyogyagamya, namaste namaste shrutigyanagamya' - this is the way I perceive him, pray to him, as he appears before me. It's interesting how shiva tandava stotra never formed a part of my cosmos. Its only now that I foray into all this much more, that I have learnt of Ravana's great stuti. Its not prachalita in Bengal. It may also be that my father's father was a follower of Chaitnaya Mahaprabhu and a ghor Vaishnav (my father's family hails from Nadia) and such influences have seeped into me, though I have never met him. How does one fit all this into the complete picture? With regards, Sarbani Sanjay Rath wrote: > Part 1.1 Type: Plain Text (text/plain) > Encoding: base64 Attachment: vcard [not shown] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 28, 2002 Report Share Posted April 28, 2002 Dear Sanjay, Thanks for your brilliant answer. I have few questions. > So, Sarabani we need to rethink to get the complete picture. > I liked your discussion about the 16 Kala's. I am confused about chandra Kala's. Is this related to Chandra KaLa Naadi, as Shri Narasimha Rao pointed in one of our lists, like naadyaamsa-s are based on the positions in shodasa varga. >If so, then what will be the number of Kalas in the Moon in the >chart of Sri Krishna (Krishna aastami). Regarding Ashtami-s: The traditional gurukula-s still function as PaurNami is like mid-day, amaavaasya is like mid-night. Shuklaastami is like dawn and kr`SNaastami is like dusk. Astami-s are sandhyaa kaala-s in the maasa. Like dawn and dusk, astami sandhyaa kaala-s are time for meditation (sandyaavandanaa) just as Brahma meditates during HIS sandhyaa kaala-s. This is as per my conversation with my friend. It triggers me post these few lines because of the importance of Ashtami-s. >there are two ways of praying - one with the palm facing upward >(Satwik-begging or praying) and the other with the palm facing > downward (tamasik - commanding). How about Rajasik? Is this related to madhya maarga? >Check whether the prayer is with the palm up or down, whether it is >with the right or left hand, whether it is for forgiveness and >salvation or it is for fruits..in this manner draw lines for >checking and make your choise. Salvation is also a FRUIT, is not it? > which is of the dakshinachar path. Briefly, bamachar resorts to > panchatattwa shuddhi differently, with madya, mangsa, matsya, >mudra and milan, which is objectionable to dakshinacharis. we have 7 tantra achars. How to co-relate these 7 types with 7 planets? > Shakti is gunamayi. Taking a cue from Chandi, the three deities >Mahasaraswati, Mahalakshmi and Mahakali represent the 3 gunas. Acharya Harihara pointed in Pras'na Maarga, that Moon in Scorpio indicates Chamundi. How this yoga/combination can lead to Mahasaraswati, Mahalakshmi and Maha Kaali, in terms of aspects from various planets? Best Regards, VR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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