[Rajarajeshwari_Kalpataru] secrecy in initiation

July 12, 2005

Dear spiritual friend,

I had already broached upon this matter(secrecy in srividya in one earlier posting--message number 146).

Iam cut paste copying it for your perusal. I have covered many of the common doubts people have regrading srividya in many of my postings

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Dear nectar drops of Srividya,

Vidya actually in the original devabhasha(sanskrit is a name given my manavas to mean 'cultured ' language. Noone knows the original name of snaskrit) means "Mantra"

Vidyopetham vidurabudhimanah trayethe ithi mantraha.

That which saves one's mind is mantra. Actaully mantra goes beyond. It destroys the mind. It is said Lord shiva said to godess parvathy 100000 ways to destroy mind and go beyond.

We all live in cages. The first cage is the body and the next cage is the mind. Once you are free from these two cages it becomes very simple. The ball which was supressed in the water for long suddenly bobs up to the surface of the water.

The "I" vanishes and the "HE/SHE" forms. The story of the crucifixtion of Jesus christ symbolises this. The "I' when cut is the cross. cross out the "I" and you become the christ.

"Iam the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of Lord,as said the propeht Isaiah"(John 1:23). I remember attaending to the choir in the St,thomas church in Madras singing this thought in the pslams too.

Secrecy secrecy secrecy forms the path of any spiritual endevour. Even jesus said that one should lock in one's room and pray one's heart out to God.

Srividya worship means the placing of srichakra and mahameru both symbolise the yoni(vagina) of the divine mother. Howmuch more secretive should you be. Wil you show to evryone the private parts of your or your dear one's body? You seek the bliss of life, sat-chit-ananda from that very yoni which gives it free. The menstrual flow is akin to the kumkuma which we put there. The mother bleeds herself to give you. Can you not be a bit secretive about the worship? Unless I write graphically like this people wont understand the gravity.Please excuse me if I have become emotional here.

There were two tibetan monks by name marpa and milerepa. I read their stories and also some references in the book by name "The tibetan book of living and dying".One was the dsicple of other. Now milerepa was given a mantra by his guru, a simple one but still he told milarepa to keep it a secret.Then when Milarepa slept"The guru came in the dream and said give me the mantra" Milarepa replied back in the dream "No , you said not to give the mantra to anyone and anyone means you too so I wont give it to you also" Next day on he never slept. Now his guru was concenrened and came to him and asked why he was not sleeping. Milarepa said" You are playing games with me when i sleep you come in my dreams and ask me the mantras...ok once i could control myself even in the dream but i donot know what i will do in the future..whether i will have the control". His guru said,"you passed the test". Milarepa became enlightened that very monet and became

the greatest master of tibetan buddhism.

I have been fascinated with the oriental traditions in China and tibeta and read many books on Taoism and Budhhism from china and in particular tibetan buddhism, This tory inspired me a lot to the concept of secrecy in spirituality.

Now why secrecy in srividya and spirituality?

When you are secretive. The mantra goes deep inside your very being. The deepest of the deeps are gently shaken. Not that this mantra is not known to the world. No that is no the moot point here. The fact that noone knows you are doing the mantra that is the moot point here.

People say one should not even reveal that one is doing srividya worship. It is so secretive.

Secondly the knowledge of a mantra makes you babble on and on about it to others. This then becomes a gossip. The mind keeps gossiping inside always and so this is brought out by this mantra. This too is not good for spirituality s one loses one's vaak shakthi.

Thirdly when the mantra or vidya is let it it sticks to the outer aura. This has been scietifically proven. The mantra does not penetrate for a strange reason adn wears away faster.

finally only when one is secretive one takes things seriously and the mantra keeps acting in the mind always.

The midas and the donkey ears story proves the point here.

There was one king by name Midas and he had donkey ears! The only person who knew it was his barber! He told his barber o" you have to know that I have donkey ears because you have to cut my hair..but if you tell this to anyone. I will behead you" Now the barber was in a fix he was a loudmouth and for a loudmouthed person this is the greatest punishment. It was too much for him!! HE HAD TO TELL IT SOMEONE else he had to die!!!

So he dug a pit and said in that pit"MIDAS HAS DONKEY EARS" he did that many times and his heart was content. And then someone planted a bamboo sapling there and the bambo sapling grew into a big tree. The tree began to saway in the wind and say"MIDAS HAS DONKEY EARS! MIDAS HAS DONKEY EARS!" and the whole kingdom knew the king had donkey ears!

People who do some sadhana or spiritual practice keep telling they had this experience or that experience. A few now and then is ok to perk oneself up but making it a habit and waiting for dreams daily to come is not so good.

Keep telling inside I HAVE A GREAT SECRET INSIDE ME WHICH WILL TAKE ME TO GOD.

Be simple like a child not obstinate like a mule!

This then is today's posting all about. I promised I would tell about the concept of secrecy in one of my earlier postings and I remembered it and posted it. I will post my gurunatha's story when i have time tommorow. I Also need to do some blogging.

MIDAS HAS DONKEY EARS!

Subodha

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The above was an old posting by me.

I would like to further add that upasana is not merely chanting the mantra. The Guru goes beyond and shares some secrets passed on from his guru parampara and this is said in absolute confidence.

Will you reveal your state of finances to all and sundry?some do not even reveal it to their children) Then why make a big issue of revealing the mantras or the upasana padhatthi? When money is so dear to you why not a mantra which will grant you salvation?

Secrecy in all matters is advisable. ALWAYS SAY LESS THAN NECESSARY. This is the thumb rule when it comes to Srividya. It is like baring open your mother's private parts!! Will you do that? Can anyone even imagine that? It is similar to that. Godess Rajarajeshwaree is your Mother...why seperate her from your physical mother. The mantra is her form. She resides in that verbal form ,the sound energy is Her's.

Do not betray the trust of your Guru parampara. Only She decides who should receive the mantra or not.

Iam not behaving like a snob when I say I do not want to reveal my mantras or path. This is not snobbery but wisdom. Wisdom which seeks not to arrogate oneself to a postion of a Guru for an egoistic kick.

Wisdom which seeks beyond the very parameters of wisdom.

Regarding the question of a non-initiate getting the mantra and doing it.

First Iam sick and tired of 'ekalavya' type of stories. All those work for archery but not for srividya! This is the danger in anologies. Anological thinking should be preceded and tempered with logic and reality.

First:

1. Divine mother will see that he does not get full benefit if he behaves arrogantly and starts chanting from a book.

2. Even if it works for one person it should not be taken as an ideal and followed as that person might have been a great srividya upasaka in his last birth and would have continued where he had left and even in such cases Devi herself comes and gives the mantra and She becomes his/her direct guru.

3. Even Lalitha sahsranama should not be done without getting initiation in panchadasi or the permission of a good srividya adept(this view is of my gurunatha) and I fully agree with it.

Fear evil....many people think fear is very bad. No!! God has given the mechanism of fear to every living being to fear evil.

Ego is the evil here. One wants to succeed in the path without a guru(I mean a true guru and not the money-gurus of the modern age). Please dont be confused reading books like " If you see budha on the road shoot him". Such books though sounding great is at best an exercise in improving your english and flow of language. The author/authoress is not budha in the first place to promulgate such views. Also such books have been written from an experiential perspective and should be cognized and relished like that. Once that perceptional reference frame is over one should come out of it.

Hope I have made clear the stance on secrecy.

Eshwaree Rakshathu!

Yours yogically,

Shreeram Balijepalli

subodhajithank you for the reply regarding initiation by swamiji.is it true that upasana is to be kept a secret?if so why?will therebe an adverse effect if a non initiate is told of it or comes to know of it?