When was the first time you chanted the Chandi?

[Guest guest]

Namaste Sankarji,

Again, thank you for the good information on the early

translations/commentaries of the Durga Saptasati and for keeping the

bhava of Chandi Maa alive this Navaratri.

 

I was wondering if our group members could share about the first

time they chanted the Chandi? What was it like?

 

I chanted this book for the first time in Sept 2002 during the

Autumn Navaratri. I had been going to the Mandir for the last few

months and felt the excitement of everyone there - preparing for

Chandi, and Navaratri and ...of course I wanted a part of the

action. At Maa's suggestion, I had been chanting the Kavacham for a

few weeks by then and had been listening to Maa's singing the Siddha

Kunjika Stotram. And of course , the "ya devi" series was familiar

too...

 

So I sat down in front of my altar at home, full of good intentions.

An hour later and stumbling through the verses, I was SOOOO happy

when I encountered the Kavacham - I felt like I had seen a long lost

friend. And happy too when I came to the Argala stotram where the

refrain is simple and catchy "Give us your form, give us victory,

give us welfare , remove all hostility".

 

Then I plodded on, sad to leave these friendly chapters behind. Two

hours later, I encountered chapter 5, with its "ya devi" song.

 

By then, I must have changed positions any number of times, and

stumbled over the verses - felt like I was walking on rocks without

proper shoes, but my aim was to chant the book no matter what.

 

Another 2 hours later, comfortably leaning back against the wall and

legs stretched out, I finally encountered Siddha Kunjika and Arati

and FINIS ....

 

Whew, it took me more 5 hours and I went back and chanted it the

next day too. It wasnt any easier.

 

So I set it aside for a few months and nibbled on it - one chapter

at a time, just the seedha path, and so many variations of chanting

the book. And now it has become my good friend.

 

Maybe it is the vibrations that you mentioned in your post Sankarji,

but I have been watching myself over the last few months chanting

the Chandi . It has been my primary sadhana, although with a lot of

interruptions. The days that I do chant, I feel ready to cope with

anything. "Bring it on" I feel like saying. The days that I do NOT,

I start blaming God and karma and everything else.

 

So if nothing, chanting the Chandi gives me enormous faith and self

confidence. I see it spilling on my activities in the outer world.

 

I firmly believe in the words of Swamiji as he translates the Kilaka

Stotram in the Chandi. He says, "When the blessing of the Supreme

Sovereign is welfare, health, fulfillment, the destruction of all

enmity, and the ultimate liberation, why will mena not sing Her

praise?"

 

Why indeed?

 

JAI CHANDI MAA. May you give us renewed strength this Navaratri to

sing your praises.

Nanda

[Guest guest]

namaste nanda,

this will be my first

time (and it is a bit daunting).

--

Be Love,

Berijoy

[Guest guest]

Dear Nanda,

I had to laugh at your account, as I suspect most of us will

recognizing our own experience in yours, and our common struggles. For

the past five months I have been struggling with learning the chandi

and must admit I have managed the siddha path only a hand full of times

duriing the last few months. The interesting part was how many of the

chants I did know and had chanted numerous times before but the text.

chapter and verse has always illuleded me. In fact I remember the

unkind thoughts of "she must be crazy chanting the entire siddha path

in 2 hours" after one of your early emails.

However, I keep at it and one day she will be my best of friends for I

do feel compelled to learn the Chandi and very , connected with her.

This morning was my opening Sankalpa, which went fine but I did

struggle a bit during chapter one but not enough to turn on Swamiji to

get me through to the end.

Thank you all...l

And so tomorrow and the rest of the week I will start with the opening

mantras...invite Chandi to my place, continue onto the Devi Sloka and

....

Jai Maa Jai Swamiji

Grace

On 10/04/2005, at 12:33 PM, Nanda wrote:

>

>

> Namaste Sankarji,

> Again, thank you for the good information on the early

> translations/commentaries of the Durga Saptasati and for keeping the

> bhava of Chandi Maa alive this Navaratri.

>

> I was wondering if our group members could share about the first

> time they chanted the Chandi? What was it like?

>

> I chanted this book for the first time in Sept 2002 during the

> Autumn Navaratri. I had been going to the Mandir for the last few

> months and  felt the excitement of everyone there - preparing for

> Chandi, and Navaratri and ...of course I wanted a part of the

> action. At Maa's suggestion, I had been chanting the Kavacham for a

> few weeks by then and had been listening to Maa's singing the Siddha

> Kunjika Stotram. And of course , the "ya devi" series was familiar

> too...

>

> So I sat down in front of my altar at home, full of good intentions.

> An hour later and stumbling through the verses, I was SOOOO happy

> when I encountered the Kavacham - I felt like I had seen a long lost

> friend. And happy too when I came to the Argala stotram where the

> refrain is simple and catchy "Give us your form, give us victory,

> give us welfare , remove all hostility".

>

> Then I plodded on, sad to leave these friendly chapters behind. Two

> hours later, I encountered chapter 5, with its "ya devi" song.

>

> By then, I must have changed positions any number of times, and

> stumbled over the verses - felt like I was walking on rocks without

> proper shoes, but my aim was to chant the book no matter what.

>

> Another 2 hours later, comfortably leaning back against the wall and

> legs stretched out, I finally encountered Siddha Kunjika and Arati

> and FINIS ....

>

> Whew, it took me more 5 hours and I went back and chanted it the

> next day too. It wasnt any easier.

>

> So I set it aside for a few months and nibbled on it - one chapter

> at a time, just the seedha path, and so many variations of chanting

> the book. And now it has become my good friend.

> Maybe it is the vibrations that you mentioned in your post Sankarji,

> but I have been watching myself over the last few months chanting

> the Chandi . It has been my primary sadhana, although with a lot of

> interruptions. The days that I do chant, I feel ready to cope with

> anything. "Bring it on" I feel like saying. The days that I do NOT,

> I start blaming God and karma and everything else.

>

> So if nothing, chanting the Chandi gives me enormous faith and self

> confidence. I see it spilling on my activities in the outer world.

>

> I firmly believe in the words of Swamiji as he translates the Kilaka

> Stotram in the Chandi. He says, "When the blessing of the Supreme

> Sovereign is welfare, health, fulfillment, the destruction of all

> enmity, and the ultimate liberation, why will mena not sing Her

> praise?"

>

> Why indeed?

>

> JAI CHANDI MAA. May you give us renewed strength this Navaratri to

> sing your praises.

> Nanda

>

>

>

>

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[Guest guest]

Jai Maa

Namaste Lathaji,

November 2004 was the first time I chanted the

Chandi.

Bharat Patel

 

J A I M A A

 

 

J A I S W A M I J I

 

With Best Regards

[Guest guest]

, our beloved sister "Nanda"

<chandimaakijai> wrote:

 

 

"I was wondering if our group members could share about the first time

they chanted the Chandi? What was it like?"

 

I had read and studied the text of the Chandi for over a year before

Shree Maa and Swamiji called me to themselves, and I learned of the

great benefits of chanting it. My first time was for Navaratri in the

fall of 2003. I had never seen the introductory materials to the

Chandi before getting Swamiji's translation, so I was surprised and

delighted to see so much additional material. However, I chanted only

the 13 chapters for Navaratri. I fell in love with the book during

that week.

 

In January 2004, I loved the text so much that I wanted to memorize

it, and set out to do so (again, just the actual 13 chapters, with

introductions). After two months of working to memorize, I began to

realize that my focus had shifted from loving devotion to what I call

academic distance, and I did not like being there. So I set aside my

desire to memorize it and began to include parts of it in my morning

Durga Puja. I began to sing and pray the stutis to Maa, and my

devotion returned instantly. The more time I spend just loving and

adoring Maa, the more familiar all the Chandi becomes. I have chanted

through the 13 chapters many times, but this Navaratri will be the

first time I have chanted Swamiji's entire Chandi Path. I am chanting

early in the morning so I am completed by sunrise, then at mid-day I

am listening to Maa and Swamiji chanting it to me from the CD, and in

the evening I am reading aloud the English translation. That way, I

get a double blessing of the Sanskrit, and the understanding of the

meaning just before going to sleep.

 

I wish for all my beloved family the fullest and most beautiful

blessings of this Navaratri, and offer my eternal gratitude to Swamiji

for the text, to Nanda for her wonderful assistance, but most of all

to our Holy Mother Shree Maa who is the Eternal Chandi.

 

Offered in loving devotion,

 

Rick

[Guest guest]

Sometime in the spring of y2k after struggling with the Chandi in

bits and pieces for a number of months I decided to do it all in one

asanna. It took me close to six hours. From that point on I was able

to shave it down quite a bit. Repeated effort allowed me to

eventually get it down to an hour and a half. Later I returned to

the two hour range. Early on my swastika was done of a Japanese

buckwheat filled zafu. Now I sit on just an old black deerskin.

 

, "Nanda" <chandimaakijai>

wrote:

>

>

> Namaste Sankarji,

> Again, thank you for the good information on the early

> translations/commentaries of the Durga Saptasati and for keeping

the

> bhava of Chandi Maa alive this Navaratri.

>

> I was wondering if our group members could share about the first

> time they chanted the Chandi? What was it like?

>

> I chanted this book for the first time in Sept 2002 during the

> Autumn Navaratri. I had been going to the Mandir for the last few

> months and felt the excitement of everyone there - preparing for

> Chandi, and Navaratri and ...of course I wanted a part of the

> action. At Maa's suggestion, I had been chanting the Kavacham for

a

> few weeks by then and had been listening to Maa's singing the

Siddha

> Kunjika Stotram. And of course , the "ya devi" series was familiar

> too...

>

> So I sat down in front of my altar at home, full of good

intentions.

> An hour later and stumbling through the verses, I was SOOOO happy

> when I encountered the Kavacham - I felt like I had seen a long

lost

> friend. And happy too when I came to the Argala stotram where the

> refrain is simple and catchy "Give us your form, give us victory,

> give us welfare , remove all hostility".

>

> Then I plodded on, sad to leave these friendly chapters behind.

Two

> hours later, I encountered chapter 5, with its "ya devi" song.

>

> By then, I must have changed positions any number of times, and

> stumbled over the verses - felt like I was walking on rocks

without

> proper shoes, but my aim was to chant the book no matter what.

>

> Another 2 hours later, comfortably leaning back against the wall

and

> legs stretched out, I finally encountered Siddha Kunjika and Arati

> and FINIS ....

>

> Whew, it took me more 5 hours and I went back and chanted it the

> next day too. It wasnt any easier.

>

> So I set it aside for a few months and nibbled on it - one chapter

> at a time, just the seedha path, and so many variations of

chanting

> the book. And now it has become my good friend.

>

> Maybe it is the vibrations that you mentioned in your post

Sankarji,

> but I have been watching myself over the last few months chanting

> the Chandi . It has been my primary sadhana, although with a lot

of

> interruptions. The days that I do chant, I feel ready to cope with

> anything. "Bring it on" I feel like saying. The days that I do

NOT,

> I start blaming God and karma and everything else.

>

> So if nothing, chanting the Chandi gives me enormous faith and

self

> confidence. I see it spilling on my activities in the outer world.

>

> I firmly believe in the words of Swamiji as he translates the

Kilaka

> Stotram in the Chandi. He says, "When the blessing of the Supreme

> Sovereign is welfare, health, fulfillment, the destruction of all

> enmity, and the ultimate liberation, why will mena not sing Her

> praise?"

>

> Why indeed?

>

> JAI CHANDI MAA. May you give us renewed strength this Navaratri to

> sing your praises.

> Nanda