Guest guest Posted January 21, 2008 Report Share Posted January 21, 2008 Dear Chris, Thank you for your post! I got the ashta (8) dikpalas (protectors of directions) from the sarvato bhadra mandala stapanam, which is common to both the Cosmic Puja and the Advanced Siva Puja. Soma (Moon): North Isana: North East Indra: East Agni: South East Yama: South Nairrita: South West Varuna: West Vayu: North West The directions Above and Below are not covered in sarvato bhadra mandala stapanam. According to one source on the internet: The Deity for below is Brahma and the deity for above is Ananta (Vishnu). Love srini , " Chris " <sadyojataya wrote: > > Hi Srini! > > Good questions! > > What is that tattva which binds the Devas...well, the obvious answer > is supreme consciousness, but that seems too general an answer... > > I like Henny's answer, devotion, but I want to ask, " Devotion to > what? " because I think the object of devotion is significant. > > To bind something the binding agency must be either stronger than that > which it binds, or must be allowed to bind by that which is bound > (voluntarily bound). > > I wish I understood the Devas better - who and what they are, exactly. > They guard or rule the ten directions, are associated with various > qualities and/or elements (air, water, fire, etc). I have seen them > linked with each of the chakras, in our individual bodies, and of > course, in the Chandi they are responsible for the manifestation of > various qualities in Nature, which, when blocked, or twisted by > selfishness, manifest suffering, and when freed from selfishness, > manifest paradise - freedom from all want. > > I don't understand astrology at all, but the Devas are represented by > each of the planets and collectively and individually they interact > with our karmas and tendencies to produce the circumstances of our > lives in this manifestation. > > I think that if we are protected from something by this armor, we need > to look at it from the level of our karmas, since, to borrow an idea > from a famous physicist, " God does not play dice with the universe. " > (I hope I got that right). > > As I understand, only the grace of God and guru offer complete > protection from our karmas, though apparently some gems can also offer > at least partial protection (another level of complexity that I don't > really understand), and worship of the individual Devas (like with the > navagraha sankalpa) offers some protection as well. > > So, this kavach is recited for the satisfaction of the Respected > Mother of the Universe (Supreme Consciousness) - so we have worship > (devotion toward) of that which is greater than the Devas. Also, the > deity of the kavach is Chamunda, also greater than the Devas. The seed > is " the establishment of the Mother of Unity in the body " , so this > kavach is a kind of nyasa in which the Mother of Unity is worshiped > and established, and though I don't know who, exactly, She is, I > suspect She is a specific aspect, perhaps we can call Her a shakti, of > Chamunda, the deity. We, in effect, immerse ourselves in divinity, > just as we do in the various nyasas, but with the intention of > protection from all negativity. > > I don't know if all of this makes any sense to anyone. I'm not sure I > really understand it myself. I'm really just thinking out loud. > > To the question of knowledge and practice, I think, again, it's a > question of karma. Though I can't quote specific passages (it's been > too long since I've studied it, and I'm too lazy to pull my copy out > and look it up right now), the Yoga Sutras mentions more than once > that an aspirant's karmas can block their ability to achieve various > levels of purity or attainment. So, I think it's about karma. > > I've always found these nine Durgas to be fascinating. There's just so > little mentioned...Why are they listed here, and what are we to get > from their mention here? Are they intended as signposts for our > sadhana? If that is so, then why are the descriptions so terse? Do > they relate to what occurs in the main text? Are they a kind of table > of contents to what happens later? Lots of questions, few answers. I > admit, because of my education I tend to be attracted to " stage > theories " , but for some reason these nine Durgas seem more significant > to me than the space devoted to them suggests. What do you think? > > Also, Srini, you mentioned the devas in the Cosmic Puja associated > with the ten directions. I believe they are the same in the Shiva Puja > (advanced), except, I think, for above and below. Have you compared > them with the Devis given here, beginning with verse 16? > > Jai Maa! > Chris > (Yes, I'm Chr1s K1rner - new mailbox - though I still have the old one) > > > > , " srini_sadhu " <srini_sadhu@> wrote: > > > > Namaste Everyone! > > > > Thank you for your thoughtful discussion. > > > > I had some thoughts and queries for discussion. > > > > First is the Viniyoga. In that, " that which bind the the Gods of all > > the directions " is the principle. These Gods are enumerated in the > > Cosmic Puja: Soma, Ishana, Indra, Agni, Yama, Nairrita, Varuna, Vayu. > > > > What is it that binds the Gods? > > > > In verse 3, " second is the Goddess of Sacred Study and third is the > > Goddess of the delight of Practice " . > > > > The seeker is inspired and meets the Guru. S/he receives the > > knowledge. But invariably the knowledge is not practiced. > > > > What prevents knowledge from being practiced? > > > > I look forward to hearing from all. > > > > Love > > srini > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 21, 2008 Report Share Posted January 21, 2008 Namaste Everyone! Thanks for all your wonderful discussions. I am trying to summarize it and will post the summary soon. I just want to share my 1 1/4 cents on translating knowledge into practice. In the last two years Shree Maa and Swamiji would from time to time drop a few teachings in my ear. Some of these teachings were immediately implementable. Like " treat the wire with respect " , " turn of the light when you leave the room " , " Sadhus keep their water pots shining " . Others were more general. For example, Maa told me at least twice, " if you have any selfishness, you can't realize " . My response is to file that away and reflect on it whenever it pops up. For me, the main reason for not practicing what I hear is " Want of Resolution " . And actually want of resolution takes birth because I have too many desires, Raktabija. By reducing our desires, and focusing on the few, we can defeat Want of Resolution. And only Divine Mother can stop Raktabija. Love srini Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 21, 2008 Report Share Posted January 21, 2008 Dear Kalidas, Pardon my intrusion as this is not addressed to me but in thinking on the first section of your post dealing with the directions, i could not help but recall the verse in the purusa sukta (siva puja) which teaches that the entire universe is the Supreme Being and that the directions were birthed from the ears of that Supreme Being. The Kavach names nine durgas whom we can place in nine directions, I am not sure if this thought is correct but in contemplating earlier on your mail, the thought came to mind that the one who is being inspired but not mentioned in the Kavach (representative of the direction below)is the tenth durga. This is the direction that has forgotten that it is also one of the ears of the Supreme. Thanks for this inspiration. Jai Maa Jai Swamiji , " Thubten Namgyal " <anandabhairav wrote: > > Dear Srini, > > Excuse me for differing but digbandha literally means " to bind the > directions " . I am not certain that it is short for digdevatabandha which > would be " to bind the devas of the ten directions " though of course Sanskrit > avails many interpretations and glosses. My understanding is that you bind > the directions by the recognition of sacred outlook (by calling to mind the > presence of the directional deities). This means that rather than seeing > space in an ordinary way, we see it as the display of consciousness. > > As for whether knowledge is practiced or not-- how would you practice > knowledge? You either recognize your nature, or you miss it. The teacher > conveys methods, habits and energies. These are like seeds that we must > tend against the weeds of our negative habitual tendencies. These seeds > will flower into knowledge over time. I would say that perhaps one is > looking in too short a time frame. The Guru is very patient. Once you have > met the guru, liberation is inevitable after you have worked out your > accumulated tendencies. My guru would say that a siddha guru is like a > crocodile. Once they grab a hold of you, they never let go! > > I think that we have all seen changes in ourselves and our fellow travelers > on the path over the years. As I get older I see that like Shani's > influence, subtle and profound changes occur over time almost unnoticed. > So in a round about way, I am saying that in fact what is transmitted > *always* gets practiced. > > With love, > > Kalidas > > On Jan 17, 2008 4:25 PM, srini_sadhu <srini_sadhu wrote: > > > Namaste Everyone! > > > > Thank you for your thoughtful discussion. > > > > I had some thoughts and queries for discussion. > > > > First is the Viniyoga. In that, " that which bind the the Gods of all > > the directions " is the principle. These Gods are enumerated in the > > Cosmic Puja: Soma, Ishana, Indra, Agni, Yama, Nairrita, Varuna, Vayu. > > > > What is it that binds the Gods? > > > > In verse 3, " second is the Goddess of Sacred Study and third is the > > Goddess of the delight of Practice " . > > > > The seeker is inspired and meets the Guru. S/he receives the > > knowledge. But invariably the knowledge is not practiced. > > > > What prevents knowledge from being practiced? > > > > I look forward to hearing from all. > > > > Love > > srini > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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