Friday, November 15, 2013

BEGINNERS GUIDE TO TANTRIK SADHANA

I've been fortunate to be born in family where Pure Tantra was taught to me from childhood.
In my association with Guruji, I also met different types of people who come to Guruji for personal and spiritual guidance. For all there problems or curiosities the only prescriptions would be " sadhana". For newcomers it would appear very confusing and then would turn to me with various questions. Based on all these commonly asked question I ve tried to prepare this FAQs.,.Hope it is helpful to the readers.

Q.) What is Tantra?
 Tantra in one single word means " The Technique"

Q.)What is Sadhana?

Sadhana is a ritualistic meditational practice which may include yogic postures, pranayams, chantings, visualization techniques etc., It is done under the guidance of the Spiritual Master.
The goal of Sadhana is to awaken the dormant spiritual energy which helps us fight all obstacles in material and spiritual path and take us to the path of immortality.

Q.) What is Anusthan?
 Anusthan means chanting mantras for specific no. of times in a specific time period followed by other procedures like fire sacrifice(homam), water offerings tarpanam and cleansing of self by sprinkling water on crown of head known as marjanam.
For most mantras the common anusthan is to chant it 125,000 times., and do the homan for1/10th of the no. chantings and then 1/10th for tarpanam and 1/10th for marjanam
For example:
If we do Anusthan of 125,000 times of chanting then,  
Homam will 12,500 times chanting (125,000 x1/10)
Tarpanam will be 125 times chanting of homam (1250 x 1/10)
Marjanam is 12.5 times of tarpanam                   (125 x 1/10)

Q. ) If we are not able to undertake any anusthan then is there any other way?
Yes, you can hire a priest to do the anusthan for you.
Or, You can contact www.Divyachetna.com. The Ashram has professional expert priests who undertake anusthans on your behalf.

To be continued....





The Manifestation of Ten Mahavidyas : A story from the Devi Purana.



(The following article has been translated from the book ‘Baglamukhi-ek durlabha sadhana paddhati” by Swami Divya Chetnananda.)

The Primordial Divine Energy, who is The Cosmic Mother, known as Adishakti Bhagawati Jagadamba, is present everywhere in the form of ‘Knowledge’ as well as ‘Ignorance’. 

Living beings are bound eternally because of ‘Ignorance’, whereas ‘Knowledge’ becomes their source of Liberation. While Bhagwati Jagadamba manifests herself as ‘Knowledge and Ignorance’, Lord Shiva is reputed to be present as ‘Master of Knowledge’. At other places, these Forms are also known and worshipped as Navadurga, Chaamunda and Vishnu priya.

Why did the Mahavidyas appear and how did they take form? To briefly describe the reason, we have to refer to the incident described in the Devi Purana that explains this topic. 

Long time ago in the Vedic age, Prajapati Daksha, the son of Brahma the Creator, organized a fire sacrifice, or Yagna, and invited all the Gods, Demigods, and Sages to this grand event. Daksha had feeling of animosity towards Lord Shiva, and therefore intentionally, he did not invite to this Yagna, Lord Shiva and  His own daughter who also happenend to be Shiva’s spouse known as Devi Sati.The great sage Devarishi Narada met Devi Sati and told her that all her sisters will be attending the yagna therefore, it would be a good reason for her to attend the yagna too. Devi Sati, even though uninvited in the yagna, thought for a while, and then decided to attend the event against Her husband, Lord Shiva’s wishes.

She tried taking permission from Him to attend the event, but Lord Shiva explained to her that it would not be the right thing to do. Devi Sati became adamant and said that she will definitely go to Daksha’s yagna and will take the offerings that lawfully belonged to Shiva, and if this did not happen, then she will destroy the yagna.

Saying this, Devi Sati’s anger reached its peak, Her eyes became red, Her lips started fluttering, and Her complexion turned blue. Alighted by the fire of anger, She became wrathful and terribly ferocious. Her body emitted light like a red-hot fireball, and the heat of this fire deteriorated Her body to appear like an old woman. Her hair was disheveled and She was ready to fight with her four arms.

Like a fire, which could destroy the world, Devi appeared, wearing a garland of human skulls and her tongue rolling out. A crescent moon bedecked her forehead, and her entire form looked horrifying. She was making a loud roaring sound of “hum hum”. Illuminated by the blazing anger, emitting from her body that made her look scary and violent, the Great Devi laughed loudly and stood in front of Lord Shiva. This horrifying and wrathful form of Devi was unbearable to see, even by Lord Shiva.

Horrified, Lord Shiva lost his composure and not knowing what to do, He started running helter-skelter. Seeing this, Devi said, “ Don’t fear! Don’t fear!” Even this could not stop Shiva. Finally, to stop Her Husband from going into a frenzy, Devi divided herself in to ten different forms and She spread in all the ten directions. Whichever direction Lord Shiva would run, Devi would appear in one of her ten forms, in that direction, and stop Him from running further.

These ten forms of Devi are known as the Ten Mahavidyas. Their names are Kali, Tara, Tripura Sundari, Bhuvaneshwari, Tripura Bhairavi, Chinnamasta, Dhumavati, Baglamukhi, Matangi and Kamala. On seeing them, Lord Shiva desired to know about these newly manifested forms of Devi. Devi then gave the following description:


“The Form of Devi with dark complexion and scary eyes, who is standing is in front of You (Shiva) is Bhagavati Kali,  (literally meaning “The Ignorance Remover”).

The Form of Devi with bluish complexion, who is standing above you, is the direct expansion of ‘Mahakaal’, or The Great Time, and She is known as Mahavidya Tara, (literally meaning “The Giver of Liberation”).

O Most Honorable Shiva! The Form of Devi, standing to your right side, who appears having her head chopped off, is none other than Mahavidya Chinnamasta, (literally meaning “The Slayer of Ego ”).

O Benevolent Sambho! The Form of Devi towards your left side, is known as Bhagavati Bhuvaneshwari, (literally meaning “The Supreme Mistress of the World”).

O Lord of all Gods, Mahadeva! The Form of Devi standing behind You is the slayer of enemies known as Baglamukhi (literally meaning “One who Paralyzes Enemies”).

The Form of Devi who appears like a widow, who is standing in the southeast direction, is known as Dhumavati, (literally meaning “One who presides over Negativity”).

O Mahadeva Shiva! The Form of Devi, who has manifested in the southwest direction, is known as “Tripura Sundari”  (literally meaning  “The Most Beautiful in the three Worlds”).

The Form of Devi, who has appeared in the northwest direction, is the daughter of Sage Matang, and she is known as Matangi. (Literally meaning “The Remover of Inauspiciousness”).

The Form of Devi situated in the northeast direction is known as Maheshwari Kamala, (literally meaning “The Giver of Prosperity”).

And, I am the Most Fearsome Tripura Bhairavi, (literally meaning “The Creator, Sustainer and Destroyer of the Three Worlds”).

O Sambho! Please do not fear. These divine forms of Devi are the most superior forms of The Cosmic Feminine Energy. Those devotees who regularly worship these Devis with faith and devotion, will get there desires fulfilled and above all, these Devis also fulfill the four goals of human life called ‘Purusha artha’, namely, Righteousness, Desires, Wealth and Liberation. “



Friday, August 2, 2013

UNDERSTANDING THE ELEMENTARY NATURE OF BAGALAMUKHI DEVI

PUJYA GURUDEV SWAMI DIVYA CHETANANDAJI’S DISCOURSE IN FRESNO, CALIFORNIA (August 17th, 2009)

We need to understand the seed letters of the deity whom we are praying to. Because the way you are going to grow a Banyan tree is first you get a seed of that Banyan tree; the seed is very small in the beginning but once it grows, it becomes very big. In the same way, the seed letter belonging to any deity is very small in the beginning, but gradually, it grows. Then that energy slowly develops and expands into the entire Universe. Then it provides a shield to you. That shield protects you. You should have knowledge about Mantras and their essence or their elementary nature. With Bagalamukhi, the seed letter is Hleem. The technique to chant is: you sit in a quiet room, or in any temple or in any isolated place. Of course the place should be very pious. Then put some asana. Your asana should preferably be made of wool. Then on the woolen asana, you can put some silk cloth. And for Bagalamukhi sadhana, everything should be yellow in color: yellow asana, yellow dress, yellow offerings. It would be even better if the color of the room is yellow. This is so, because colors play a lot of importance in human lives. The 9 planets have 9 different colors associated with them. The basic colors are 7 and the basic planets are also 7, because Rahu and Ketu are not independent planets - they are called shadow planets. Also, there are only 7 oceans and so 7 has a lot of importance. So, you should know the colors associated with planets and various deities. Due to this recognition of the importance of colors, saints in India wear saffron or yellow colored clothes. This signifies that yellow has some importance, and this is so, because yellow is the color of Jupiter, and Jupiter is called Guru, or teacher, the divine Teacher.

There are 2 spiritual masters among the 9 planets. One is Jupiter who teaches to the deities, and the other one is Venus, who teaches to the demons. The two groups, deities and demons, represent two types of our personalities and they are always fighting against each other. The human beings need to understand both these forces that are operating in the nature, because there are also some good qualities that one can find in demons. God has not created anything totally bad; God has created everything only good, because out of good, if something comes out, it will only be good. Something may seem bad for us, but the fact is that even poison has its own medicinal properties. So, we should not think of anything to be only bad. As a human being, you should know how these evil forces operate and how their system works, because unless you know all their energies, you cannot fight with them, and you cannot overcome these evil forces in nature.

There is a misconception developed about spirituality and renunciation. Spirituality does not mean just closing your eyes and renunciating everything. First, you have to be materially fit, only then you can be spirituality fit. First, be able to possess a million dollars then give up everything; that is renunciation. It is not renunciation when you are leaving everything before even acquiring it.

Coming back to Bagalamukhi, She is such a force in nature that she transfixes all the enemies, all the worries, all the problems. You know what is the definition of enemy? Anything, any situation, or any condition, which worries you, or removes your inner peace from you, that is called enemy. And the biggest enemy is poverty. Nobody should be poor. In Durga Saptashati, the Divine Mother explains that there are only 3 shortcomings in life: Daaridrya (poverty), dukha (sorrow), and bhaya (fear). If Bagalamukhi is pleased, all these 3 things are fixed in their places. It doesn’t mean that they are removed. They still exist, but are helpless and harmless; they cannot do any harm to you. This is the basic nature or energy of Bagalamukhi. So, you should chant Bagalamukhi mantra, with devotion, with dedication, with her picture, with Guru’s picture. Unless Guru is there, no deity is going to work. And the ruling planet of this deity, Bagalamukhi, is Jupiter. All the deities are associated with some planet. So, Bagalamukhi’s working pattern will be definitely influenced by Jupiter. In this Universe, everything is being organized, and arranged, and influenced by only these 9 planets. Even if Lakshmi wants to give you wealth, but then Saturn is blocking, you can’t get wealth. But, even if Lakshmi is not pleased but Saturn is pleased, then he can give you wealth. It means that planets can block also and they can give also. You should learn more and more techniques to please these planets and deities and get their blessings. We should please them so both these forces are in tune with each other, and instead of obstructing, they are helping you to lead a blessed and fulfilling life.

Currently, you may have any sort of spiritual obstructions in your life: somebody’s malefic effect, or some bad karma or some samskara pending. If that’s the case, then first you should remove this, because the divine force cannot stay in your body or around you, unless this is removed.
I was just talking to some disciples about Hanumanji. When Hanuman ji became aware of his energies, he told his associates Sugriva and Jamvant, “This Lanka seems to be so small to me; and this ocean that you are asking me to cross, it seems so small to me. I can do anything, I have so much energy in me. Tell me what I need to do, because I can pick up this whole Lanka and submerge it into this ocean”. Then, Sugriva and Jamvant tell him not to do anything but just get information about mother Seeta, but when Hanumanji goes to Lanka, he completely destroys Lanka. He wanted to teach a lesson to Ravan that if he can create such a havoc in Lanka, and he’s only a servant to Rama whom he belongs to, what could Rama do? But still Ravan couldn’t understand anything.

Hanuman is fire element, and so is Bagalamukhi. All deities represent some element in nature. In the entire Universe, only 5 elements are working (fire, ether, air, water, earth). So, when this fire element gets awakened in your body, then gradually all malefic effects, all evil forces will have to leave your body and your house. This won’t happen in a moment; it will definitely happen but gradually. So, along with Bagalamukhi sadhana, you should also do Hanuman Sadhana. With Hanuman, the ruling planet is Mars, so use everything red. You should go for a combination of these 2 sadhana, because unless you are very energetic, you can never be one with Bagalamukhi. Bagala needs energy.

Finally, I will tell you something that Lord Shiva told me. He said, there are 2 types of energies. One energy is God’s which is supernatural. The other energy is one’s individual energy. Unless both these energies are working in connection with each other, in tune with each other, nothing is going to get materialized in life. So, both these energies should be one, in order to accomplish something. For that, you have to awaken your own energy. Energies can be awakened only by chanting of mantras. Science says, sound is vibration, energy is vibration. Mantras are vibrations. Chanting of mantras will definitely awaken your energies, and Bagalamukhi mantra will definitely awaken your kundalini energy.

So, you should sit in your asana and chant Bagalamukhi mantra for half an hour every day. If you have more time, do it more. You can chant, “Om Hleem Swaha” or “Om Hleem Bagale Parameshwari Hleem Om Swaha”. Gradually and gradually, you will get lot of power.

Om means “all”. Everything originates and diminishes in Om only. The word Om is the first manifest Brahma. Brahma is of two types: manifest and unmanifest. It manifests and vibrates only through Om. It is the first astral sound. This first astral sound develops in the heart. The heart chakra is called Anahat chakra. Anahat has 2 meanings. An-Aahat means unhurt, or without any collision. The second meaning is with An-Aahad referencing to something which is not heard through ears.

Now, the second part of the mantra “Hleem” represents two elements, first is earth element and second is ether. Ha represents ether, “Hum iti vayu beeja”. La represents earth. So, from earth to space, whatever is there, that should be under my control. This is the meaning of this seed letter Hleem.  Finally, the significance of Swaha is: “the energy that is developed by burning of this fire of tapas inside me, it should expand”. So, Om Hleem Swaha means, from earth to air and air to earth, and within the space that pervades, I want to still (transfix) all my enemies.

So, you should try to do Bagalamukhi sadhana by burning a lamp or candle, with an incense stick, and with yellow flowers if possible, in a pure place with a purified mindframe. Sit down daily, chant Guru mantra for sometime, Om ParamTatvaya Narayanaya Gurubhyo Namaha. Talk mentally to my photograph, “Please Guruji, be with us. Transfer your energy; be with me.” Then chant any Ganapati mantra that you know. If you don’t know any mantra, just say Jai Gurudev Jai Gurudev for some time. Then say, Jai Ganapate Jai Ganapate. It’s not necessary to know all the mantras. Then you can say Jai Bagala Mai Jai Bagala Mai. This is also one of the ways. If you know the proper mantras, it is better of course, but not necessary. Then, chant some Kaal Bhairav mantra, “Kroum Kroum Kaal Bhairavaya Kroum Kroum Swaha”, or just Jai Kaal Bhairav. You should know the significance of Kaal Bhairava. With all the female deities, you need a male deity. With all shakti sadhanas, you always need Bhairav. Without Bhairav, there can be no completion of any shakti sadhana. Bhairav is an incarnation of Lord Shiva who protects you from all fears. Bhaya means fear and Rau means sound. If there is any big sound, you will have some fear. So, Bhairav means one who will remove all these fears from your life.
Then, continue Bagalamukhi sadhana. You will start getting new information: some by dreams, some by thoughts. You will go on receiving information. And one day, you will definitely be complete in life.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

KAMAKHYA MANTRA & AMBUVACHI FESTIVAL


Like in the past years, this year too, Guruji  was at Kamakhyadham, Assam during the Ambu Vachi festival that was held from June 22, 2013 to June 24, 2013 .

Ambu Vachi festival is celebrated every year in the month of June,whereby the doors of the Kamakhya Temple, Guwahati, Assam get closed.  During this time, Devi Kamakhya, the Mother Shakti, goes through her annual cycle of menstruation.  The Main Door of the Temple is closed for three days and these are the very powerful & auspicious days for Divine Mother Kamakhya.  Her temple is in the Northeastern State of India - Assam.  The city is Guwahati.  Kamakhya Temple is the ultimate place in the Spiritual World of Tantra.

Guruji had a divine communication from his Guru, at Kamakhya Dham. 
He said," He himself (Guruji,s guru), entire Siddhashram, all Gurus and Mother Kamakhya and all Devi's were present in their full during these three days . Complete divine energy and all the individual energy was present and blessed every sadhaka and disciples of Guruji .

This entire energy that was present in Kamakhya also manifested in  Bagla-Peeth, Kashi and US Office ."

In Guruji's word,  "Mother Kamakya was present with an object in her hand called Muram in Tamil or  Supa in Hindi, (a device to separate stones, husk, etc. from grains) as carried by Dhumavati. This is used to separate rise and husk by ladies. With this mother was separating and giving golden coins .According to Guruji, Those who are blessed by Mother Kamakhya during these days will never see poverty. Dhumavati represents poverty and Kamakhya was separating coins and giving it."

Further Guruji said that "Only by chanting Kamakhya Mantra during these three days, your wishes would be fulfilled."  
Those who are real Sadhak and are truly interested in uplifting oneself into deep meditation and are interested in taking a huge upliftment in spiritualism  should chant Kamakhya Mantra constantly for these three days & nights.

Kamakhya Mantra:
Kleem Kleem Kaamaakhyaa Kleem Kleem namaH. 

कामाख्या मंत्र
क्लीं क्लीं कामाख्या क्लीं क्लीं नमः
OR
Kamakhya Mantra:
OM Gum Kleem Kaamaakhyaa Kleem Bhootanaathaaya namaH. (Gum is to be pronounced as legume, asume, broom, boom, room, etc.)

कामाख्या मंत्र
ॐ गुं क्लीं कामाख्या क्लीं भूतनाथाय नमः।।
In short, for Spiritualism, these days are very powerful and one must not miss them.  Divine Mother   blesses us by giving us more & more chances every year to do Kamakhya Sadhana and to gain more spirittual strength.  So be prepared to grab this opportunity and never miss these important days of Ambuvachi festival and also chant this mantra all the time.Such a chanting also brings great results and fulfills all desires quickly.


SIGNIFICANCE OF BAGLAPEETHA ASHRAM


Ma Baglamukhi also known as Peetambara is the Mother of entire Cosmos. She appears at different places, at different time in Her different forms. She takes these forms for the welfare of Her devotes and the protection of religion. When Ramakrishna appeared in Calcutta, at the same time, Ma Kali also appeared in Dakshineshwar, Calcutta.

Truly speaking, to fulfill Her own desire to descend on earth, Ma Dakshina Kali first sent Paramahansa Ramakrishna, and further to complete the Mission, Swami Vivekananda was send. The forces of Nature, in unison with God’s command, always make these arrangements beforehand, to assist the purpose of incarnation of Divine Beings, Saints and Religious renaissance. Common people are totally unaware of such matters. It takes years to grasp the true reason behind such events that unfold gradually.

When Lord Krishna was delivering the sermon of Bhagvad Gita to Arjuna in Kurukshetra, Duryodhana thought that Arjuna’s Party was planning to flee. In the war of Mahabharata, thousands of people were standing on the war grounds, but none could gain the knowledge of Bhagvad Gita.
Similarly, Ramakrishna Paramahansa was declared to be a madman by certain people of the society, but now He is being worshipped everywhere in the world.

Ma Bhagawati, The Divine Mother, has descended in her ferocious form, appearing as   Ma Baglamukhi on the grounds of Mira Road, situated in the state of Maharashtra in India. There is no other place or Ashram in the world today, which can even be compared to the Divine Energy presiding in this Shakti Peetha.

Day by day, the Shakti Peetha is becoming more energetic and this energy is gradually spreading everywhere. All the devotees and sadhakas (tantrik practitioners) who frequent this place have experienced this phenomenon. Many people have had the vision of Ma walking in Her Personal Form in the ashram grounds. Many people saw Her in their meditations, while many others see Her in the Sacrificial Fire of the Havan Kund.



On the 11th lunar day of the dark fortnight, or Krishna Ekadashi, in the month of Bhadrapada, the sixth month of the Hindu calendar, Ma appeared to many devotees at Shri Raj Rajeshwari Siddha Shakti Peetha and gave a Divine Promise, saying “I will definitely fulfill the desires of all the devotees who visit this place with a pure mind, but they should follow these instructions."

1.     The Devotees must enclose their wishlist in a yellow cloth and tie it into a ‘Knot’ and put it in a designated place in the ashram.
2.     They should also tie a bell along with the yellow cloth.
3.     They should then perform ceremonial rites, which include fasting and japa for designated time period.
4.     Even though My Energy will be present at all times in the Ashram, but Thursdays will be my special day.
5.     My favorite day will be Full Moon Day.

After the fulfillment of their desires, the devotees should come back on the ashram grounds, and after having My ‘darshan,’ seeing Me in the deity form, they should untie the ‘Knot Of the Yellow Cloth’. Whosoever will surrender unto Me with full faith, remembering Me and fixing their thoughts on Me, offer fire oblations regularly, surely, I will liberate such a devotee.”

Ma Baglamukhi is the Supreme Goddess who pervades in Kaliyuga as a tremendous force that can annihilate all the evil forces, remove all deadly diseases and sins. She provides her devotees with everlasting wealth, provisions, good health, strength, prosperity and unending bliss & happiness.

Lord Shiva has mentioned clearly in the Books of Tantra that Baglamukhi is the “Greatest Force of Kaliyuga”. The time has come when the world will start recognizing this Force. People, who are exhausted and fed up with the never-ending challenges of their lives, should not feel frustrated anymore. All that is needed to make life enjoyable again, is to give up everything and surrender at the Lotus Feet of Divine Mother Baglamukhi. Keep chanting “Trahi maam, Trahi maam”, which means “Help Me, Help Me” and let your appeal reach the ears of Divine Mother.

Ma is already sitting to bless and remove the sufferings of her children, then how can she ignore your appeal. Everything will happen as per your desire, only if you strengthen your ray of hope, faith, trust, patience and devotion towards Divine Mother. All the problems of your life will surely vanish away, peace reestablished, and you will live happily, forever and ever.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

BEING IN TUNE WITH LORD KRISHNA’S TEACHINGS AND HOW TO INCORPORATE SPIRITUAL WISDOM IN YOUR LIFE TO BE VICTORIOUS IN ALL FACETS OF LIFE – QUINTESSENCE OF HINDU PHILOSOPHY


PUJYA GURUDEV SWAMI DIVYA CHETANANDAJI’S DISCOURSE IN FRESNO, CALIFORNIA (August 16th, 2009)
 

Inquiry: What is spirituality?

Everyone faces a question in his/her life: Why do we need spiritual engagement in life? We live in a material plane, so what is the need for spirituality? We are not able to create a balance between these two aspects. And, unless we can align these two aspects and create a balance in between, we cannot be successful. But, what do we mean by success, and how can one become successful? Further, in order to become successful, we also need to understand what God has provided us, and what God has left us bereft of.  And also, if God has given everything to us, have we been able to utilize them to be successful in life? And, if God has given everything, has he selected just a few of us, or have these been given to all of us? The true understanding is that God has provided the tools to become successful to everybody, and thus, there is no need to be worrisome in life. When somebody starts inquiring into this subject matter and these questions, then we can say that the person has entered the realm of spirituality. And, as the person starts entering into these realms of spirituality with the right focus, then slowly and gradually, the person definitely becomes successful in life and becomes a great person. God just doesn’t want people to go to temple, asking for fulfillment of some desire by offering some items. What God really wants is the devotees’ upliftment of consciousness, starting first with proper inquiry, and then accessing/gaining the required tools with the help of Guru in order to become successful in life.

 
The Base of Krishna’sTeachings

Recently, we had the celebration of Krishna JanmaAshtami. I was in Los Angeles and we all went to the ISKCON temple to celebrate. Everybody knows the famous dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna that took place during Mahabharata and became renowned as Bhagwad Gita. In the middle of the battleground, Lord Krishna is teaching Arjuna only one thing, the art of balance and victory. Arjuna is arguing that he doesn’t want to fight, with all kinds of reasoning. And Krishna replies by saying, “Arjuna, your reasonings/logic and your actions don’t match”. We all have the same problem right now. We talk as if we know everything, but our actions show very little perfection. There is a hindi term, called “Jeevan”. We can break the word in two ways: 1) Jee+Vana and 2) Jeeva + Na. The first breakdown conveys that one should live like a sanyasi living in the forest. It doesn’t mean that one should forsake everything and go live in the forest. If it was so, then Lord Krishna wouldn’t say to Arjuna “Become a Yogi”. He doesn’t say “Arjuna, wear a saffron robe, wear this rosary, wear that vermilion, etc”. He only says two things: 1) Become a “Yogi”, Arjuna and 2) Go beyond the three gunas (attributes): satwa guna, rajas guna, and tamas guna. He doesn’t teach to leave anything. He asks Arjuna to develop that higher level of intellect (Buddhi) called “Viveka” or “wisdom” or “Pragya” that can discriminate between good and bad.

 
Goddess Saraswati has 8 forms and Goddess Lakshmi also has 8 forms. Both these aspects are required in one’s life. If Saraswati doesn’t get to work, then Lord Krishna wouldn’t be able to teach Arjuna. On the other side, Duryodhana has been obsessed with Lakshmi energy – “I want kingdom”. For the Pandavas, Lakshmi is also working, they also need kingdom. That’s why Krishna is telling Arjuna, “Either you stay alive, fight in the world and enjoy the material abode of the world, or die and go to heaven”. He doesn’t say whether he will win the fight or lose. So, one has to understand these things. So, the first definition of life, Jeevan, Jee+Vana, means: live like one does in forest, with the right Sangha (company), in the union of God, like a Yogi. “YogaAstha” meaning “in union with”. So, Krishna says, “Arjuna, if you learn to become a yogi and conduct all your karmas (actions), then I’ll liberate you from everything”. “Yoga Kshemam Vahamyaham”. As you start this journey, I will give you Yoga meaning you will always be with me, and I will give you “Kshema” (complete material happiness) as well. You will definitely be a King. Lord Krishna doesn’t instruct Arjuna to become a beggar. In no Hindu scripture it is written that one should become a beggar, ridden with poverty, filled with weakness, and in the mercy of others.

 

Nowadays, there is a popular concept that God will do everything, so leave everything up to Him. But Lord Krishna is making it clear here, that Arjuna, I am not going to do anything for you. Actually, I’m not going to fight at all, I won’t pick up any weapons. It is you who has to fight. You offer your actions and results to me later, not in the beginning. In the beginning, it is You who has to act with the knowledge that I have imparted through saints and scriptures. It is later after you perform your karmas (actions) that you leave the results up to me. What we have started doing is leaving everything up to God in the beginning itself by not doing anything at all. As an instance, the Shiva Linga in Somnath temple was destroyed by Mahmood Gajini despite of 5,000 priests present in the temple. The priests just decided to leave it up to God saying that it is God who does everything. This concept, way of life, has made us weak.

 

But Krishna says, Arjuna, I am definitely going to make you fight. You have to learn to fight in all vicissitudes of lie. Life is a battle (in virtual sense), nothing else than that. Krishna is asking Arjuna to do two things simultaneously. One, to fight, and simultaneously, to do Sadhana, by meditating on his Chakras; and Krishna provides technical guidance such as asanas, dharanas, etc to do correct form of meditation in order to realize Brahma. But, we in the world today refuse to do both of these. We don’t want to fight against the vicissitudes of life, and second, we don’t do the correct form of meditation. Thus we create an imbalance in life. That is the reason that Lord cannot help us.



Spiritual Vision & Its workings - Deities

Today, before I was coming to the temple, I went in trance (Samadhi) and communicated with Ganeshji. He appeared to me. I know people find this intriguing, but it is not impossible. It can definitely be difficult, but not impossible. The saints in the past have done it, and I can do it too, and you can do it too! May be today, or maybe after 10 years. I can communicate with any deity and you can too with proper guidance and practice.

 
Every Mantra has a Rishi associated with it. This Rishi has heard this particular mantra by communicating with the concerned deity, and also seen the visual form associated with the deity. But everybody cannot have this vision right away. When Lord Krishna showed his Virat form to Arjuna, was everybody able to see it? If they could, they would be seeing that they were all going to die and go into the Lord’s mouth. A few could see His grandeur, and even they couldn’t understand what they saw.
 

I’m trying to preach life to you. You can read Gita but it is very tough to fully understand it. Krishna was the incarnation of Lord but could anybody understand Him? The reason is we have been trained to doubt from childhood that everybody is a cheat out there. We have been very miserly in terms of loving others.

 
We have not been trained to know who we are. Some of our existence is matter, some energy, some consciousness. And, more interestingly, energy exists in both matter and consciousness. We don’t know ourselves. Any upcoming event in our life comes in omens through nature. However, one needs to be knowledgeable about it. For example, dreams. At what time did a person dream, what was the level of consciousness of the dreamer during dream, etc needs to be studied. For example, if you find mouse cutting some cloth or grinding onto something in your house, then you should understand this omen as a warning sign for theft or some misfortune. Actually, for every single material attribute in nature, there is an associated governing deity. For e.g. any act of theft and the correction and policing of thieves comes under the deity Kaal Bhairav, a special form of Lord Shiva. Similarly, the deity for wealth is Lakshmi and Kuber. The deity for food, is Annapoorna. Similarly, the deity for marriages is Maatangi, one of the DasaMahavidyas. Since there are so many different aspects of nature, there are 33 crores deities ruling them. Similarly, the deity for water is Varun. The deity who rules death is Rudra. Nobody knows where he/she will die. Nobody has control over the two extreme aspects of life, birth and death. And finally, there is a separate conscious factor that supports the divine force (Shakti) for every single activity/aspect of nature.

 

Diving into the science of spirituality

When you have a desire to do a task, do you know where that desire springs from? You say that you feel like doing something or you are thinking of doing something. But, do you know where your mind is which is supposed to be doing this thinking? Let’s say you feel like eating some cake. But you need Buddhi (intellect) to support your feeling that’s coming from your “mind”. The intellect will then start putting things in order: OK, I need these ingredients, I need to get these vessels, and this is the recipe, etc.  When your intellect unites with your mind, then your work organs and sense organs begin to work in order to make cake. But what is the force that’s behind your mind and intellect? This force is called “Smriti”or memory. This is the base where your taste for anything resides, e.g. food, vision, etc. But, what is that factor that drives this smriti or memory? What ignites these thoughts? We need to understand this. When a person starts burning with these questions, then we say that the person is a student of spiritual science. Anybody who goes to the temple is not necessarily a student of this science in the same way that all the students who go to the University are not scientists. Some study music, some study arts, but spiritual science students are different. These students see everything in analytical perspective; they search for the things that are influencing their life.
 

And when these students start to understand slowly the things that have influence upon their lives, they can learn how to control these influencing factors by either increasing their benefic aspects or decreasing their malefic aspects. By regulating these factors, one can change their destiny. Now, what the founders of this science, our Rishis, saw is that the 9 planets have the strongest influence in our lives. Everybody accepts that astrology is a real science. In the beginning, when people are leading a content life, they don’t believe in astrology, but later, as the vicissitudes of life slowly grasp their influence as a karmic vehicle, then people start running toward astrologers. Now the astrologers study their charts and tell them that they are under the influence of Saturn, the planet ruling the reality of sorrows in life. Now, what do we do? Should we accept the Danda (a staff that stands for punishment) of Saturn, or should we do something to come out of this so we don’t have to face his Danda? If we want to come out of this, we will have to dedicate ourselves into strong sadhana with a strong sankalpa to overcome our problems.

 
How can one change his/her destiny

Yesterday, I was talking to a devotee, and it was a Friday, so being Friday, the ruling planet was Venus. Venus rules Friday, the day of Vaibhav or prosperity. So, I summoned Shukra Dev (Venus), and asked him a couple of questions. Whatever answer I got, I’m conveying the message to you, and that also, without hiding anything. A real Guru is one who doesn’t hide anything. Why should he hide anything? Guru is free-flowing knowledge. He is overflowing with Gyan, that is constantly filling him up. What is he going to do by hiding anything? The river Ganga doesn’t watch who is taking what amount of water from her. She simply keeps flowing, come rock, come anything. The one who hides knowledge is a pakhandi (fake), not a Guru.

 
So, Venus (Shukra Dev) told me, Today is my day since it is Friday. Tomorrow is Saturday and it will be ruled by Saturn. Now, when the dasha of Saturn comes in one’s life, there is definiltey going to be some sorrows. But can you do something about this? What’s happening today is that people are self-convinced that they cannot do anything to change this. Paramhans Yogananda said that when one puts a stamp on his/her own destiny that they cannot change it, then there will be no other force in nature that can help the person. So, one has to have the desire to help oneself.
 

Yesterday another devotee asked me, “Gurudev, isn’t everything written in one’s birth chart/ astrological horoscope (kundali)?” I replied, that’s absolutely true, but isn’t it also written in the scriptures who is the one that writes the destiny? Now, who writes destiny? It is Lord Brahma. But he cannot write directly. Above every God there is one other God by the name of Ganesha. Without his stamp, nothing becomes absolute/final. For any blessing or curse of any deities to come into effect, they all require Lord Ganesha’s authorization. Now, how do people come out of their pain? They need to erase what Brahma has already written for them. So, what do you need to do? You need to talk to Brahma to change your destiny. You need to rise to that level of consciousness where you are able to talk directly to Brahma. Then, it is guaranteed that he will help you. Just like Savitri changed the destiny of her husband, Satyavan who was destined to die at a certain age, similarly, you all can change your destiny. So, never get convinced that whatever is written cannot be changed. Get convinced that whatever is written can be changed. Now, note that this is a Guru’s thought.

 
Brahma, the writer writes on behalf of your karma. If you do something bad, he will write that you’ll have to experience something bad for that karma down the road. But later if you do some very pious deed, then Brahma will have to change the old karma. Brahma’s job is like a clerk, he keeps on writing. You are driving your vehicle, making all sorts of defaults. But the radar is catching all your traffic violations; similarly Brahma is making all these entries. So, in order to catch Brahma and ask him to change your destiny, you need to undertake a very strong sankalpa (determination) to uplift your consciousness. Now, who gives you this powerful sankalpa? It is the planet Mars that offers this attribute. Without the blessings of planet Mars, there is always going to be sorrows in one’s life, sorrow in marriage, sorrow with children, all sorts of sorrows.

The planet Venus whom I was conversing with told me that Saturn’s job is to punish you for your bad karma. He does that through his long dasha period (planetary progression). But Venus says, “I can also do something to help you. I stand for prosperity and wealth and all the luxury. You have to please me through sadhana and I will uplift you from your sorrows”. But, you need an immense amount of sankalpa to please Venus or any planets or deities. So, all these planets co-mingle in your life and rule various facets of nature. You need to please the nine planets and with guarantee, your life becomes smooth and peaceful.

 
Coming to my point earlier, when Ganeshji illuminated my vision, he told me that if one is not hungry at all, will he ever want to eat? Even if you give the person all sorts of delicious meals, will the person feel like eating if he has a full stomach? Similarly, as long as a person is not hungry with spirituality, they will not be interested in coming to temple or learning esoteric science to uplift their consciousness and communicate with deities. Then, Ganeshji went on. He said, if I don’t create obstructions, then people don’t come to me. If a thorn pinches your feet, or if somebody slaps you because you haven’t paid their dues, or if somebody misbehaves with you, you should know that it is good for your conscience. Because, those actions make your entire existence vibrant. They awaken you, then you get ready to take that sankalpa that you will change your destiny. So, Ganesh ji takes you through these pain in order to prepare you to experience divinity and change your sorrowful life. That’s the reason he is the head of the deities. But once he is pleased, then there is no obstruction in your life.


After Ganeshji, Hanumanji appeared in my vision. He said that one needs to diagnose their problems and be able to burn them away, just like he burned the whole city of Lanka (In the story of Ramayan, Lanka was Ram’s problem center, which was ruled by Ravan, the demon king). How many enemies can you have? Maximum: just nine. The nine planets who are giving you the results of your bad karma besides your good karma. If these nine planets are pleased with you, there can be no problem at all in your life, only peace. Further, these planets give you the malefic result through 3 attributes. These 3 attributes are clarified very specifically in Durga-Saptashati. Markendaya Rishi says “Mother, there are 3 things that are bothering humans: 1) Daaridrya (poverty), 2) Dukha (sorrow/no peace), and 3) Bhaya (fear)”.

 
What is Guru & The role of Guru

The scriptures say, the first thing you ask for is Viveka, or wisdom. That’s why, the first mantra is the Gayatri mantra asking the Devi to illuminate our wisdom and take us toward you. Does a child run toward money or toward his mother? Obviously toward mother. So, as children of God, we should first have longing for God. And, the one that helps you most in this journey of spirituality to find God is called Guru. Guru is not a teacher, not an astrologer, not a priest, but in spite of not being all of these, Guru is the sum of all of these, and beyond. Guru is that who is one with God, or a representative of God. So, in any circumstance, you should definitely have faith in Guru’s words.

 
When Hanuman met Sri Ram, what happened? Did he get kingdom? He got a relatively small job, an assignment to go find Sita. However, if in this Brahmanda, if anyone became a great personality, that is Hanuman. No other God is prayed to, as much as Hanuman is prayed.
 

There is another personality, Shirdi’s Sai Baba. He was a fakir, lived by begging all his life. He is a great saint and a soul. I meet him practically every day in my visions. He lived all his life influenced by Saturn. He never celebrated Diwali. Diwali is a trio-festival. First comes Dhanteras, then comes Narak Chaturdashi, then become Diwali. Dhanteras signifies Kuber’s entrance. The day following that, Narak Chaturdashi signifies sorrow. The Devi, a Mahavidya, who rules that day is called Dhoomavati. She represents the void that is empty of family happiness and love. Saturn has 10 wives, each representing some facet of sorrow. Now, the Devi who stays opposite to Dhoomavati is known as Maatangi. Maatangi is full of love. One should know of all these forces that influence your life. Same thing with planets. The nine planets influence different aspects of your life. Some give you sorrow, some cut that sorrow, some make you great, some give you knowledge, etc etc. Sadhana is the practice of understanding all of these forces, and increasing your energy level to the level of these forces, and making your life auspicious and full of happiness and joy. This is the real demand of life, and your resort in life should be to attain completion in all aspects of life. Not to be incomplete in anything. And this is possible by being ego-less. Here comes the second meaning of life (Jeevan) divided into Jeev + Na. Live being egoless.
 

I was doing sadhana of Kaamakhya-Ma. She is the shakti (divine force of Goddess) that is most powerful. The place where Sati’s yoni (Parvati Goddess’s reproductive part) fell down was in Guwahati in Assam, and this place is renowned as Kaamakhya Dham, and is the most powerful place to conduct sadhana in India. Other powerful places are the Himalayas, or Kashi. When mother Kaamakhya gave me vision (darshan), she asked me, “What do you want?” I told her, “Mother, you have made me a Guru. I was a businessman doing business all over India. It was my destined path that I became a Guru. I don’t want to become a mediocre Guru. Wherever I go, I must be able to help people in every way”. Guru is one who gives you so much knowledge in 10 minutes that your life force within you starts to vibrate thinking of his words. He is not the one who will sing you bhajans and put you to sleep. Guru’s job is to awaken you; awaken you from the ignorance that has enveloped your life.
 

3 Statements of Maa Kaamakhya

Coming back to what Mata Kaamakhya said – the first thing she told me was “Try to forgive even your enemies”. This is very tough to do. You can’t even forgive your loved ones. This is not a sign of dharma. You can sit here in front of idols for hours together, but you can’t communicate with them. You don’t have the technique to communicate with them in order to connect your energy with the energy established within the idol’s energy, in order to awaken that divinity of nature. Just like RamaKrishna Paramhansa awakened mother Kali from her idol, you can do it too, but only if you know the right technique. Just like Prahlada awakened Lord Vishnu from within a pillar, similarly you can do it too. However, only a few did it after that, because only a few found a Guru who is capable of teaching the techniques to awaken the divine energy from nature. Not many people inquire about these things, and so, it didn’t happen after that.
 

I found a real Guru capable of teaching these techniques to me, and so I was capable of awakening Maa Kamakhya and I also talked to her. So, the first thing she told me was, “Learn to forgive even your enemies”. It’s going to take a long practice, but mother said, start to learn. If you learn this practice, then definitely the house where you live in, which is full of misery right now will blossom into everlasting peace and happiness, and where there is happiness and peace, that’s where Gods reside. And, in this house, self-realization occurs, and everlasting peace remains. And where there is peace, all the 3 forces, Lakshmi, Kali, and Saraswati reside there with love. And where there is no peace, no divine force is going to stay.
 

The second statement of Maa Kaamakhya: “Always, think only of welfare to others”. Even if you think of others’ welfare only for 5 minutes out of 24 hours, gradually, you will become a great person. This attribute was 100% present in Shirdi’s Sai Baba. Once I went to Udaypur, in Sai Baba’s temple. I saw him there and asked him, “What are you doing here, Baba?” He told me, I am everywhere. You are also a Guru, so establish yourself everywhere. But, make sure you do something like I did. I asked “What?” He then said, “If you can take away even a small bit of darkness out of people’s lives and light small lamps in their hearts, then the Lord will light millions of lamps in your life”.  Then, next time, I went to Shirdi to see Sai Baba’s temple. I then asked, “Baba, where are you?” I was thinking that he was inside the idol/Murthy. But I couldn’t find him there. Then I asked him, “Baba did you disappear”? Then, Baba said, “Why are you seeking me inside the golden idol? What am I going to do inside the Golden idol? Gold never fits me. I am actually scanning through this line in order to find the poor devotees who are sincere.
 

And the third statement of Maa Kaamakhya: “Always be compassionate and ego-less”. When something good happens through you, never have that pride that you did it. Thank God that it happened through Him or Her. Be always compassionate to others.

 
So, these are some of the attributes of a real devotee that you all need to develop within yourselves so one day, you can come out successful in life and solve all your problems. Everybody is facing some form of problem in life at all times, so you should all go for Hanuman sadhana, because Hanuman is SankatMochan, meaning he is the destroyer of all problems. But, you should do the sadhana properly with full faith and awaken his energy. Same thing with Lord Ganesh and all the nine planets.

 
GuruDev’s lineage introduction & Dasa-Mahavidyas

Finally, a little introduction of myself. I belong to Siddhashram. This is the place close to the plane in Himalayas which can’t be seen with human eyes, but exists out there. This is where all the great Gurus such as Ramakrishna Paramhans, Shankaracharya, Gorakhnath, Ram, Krishna, Shiva, Hanuman etc reside and come down to earth in order to light the lamp of Dharma. My part in particular is to re-establish the knowledge of Dasa Mahavidyas (10 Great Knowledge Powerhouse Goddesses). These days, sadhana and tantra is misunderstood. Only bad is being associated to this. I came to earth in order to clear this misunderstanding, and establish the auspiciousness that is associated with sadhana and tantra. Just like Durga has 9 forms, Lakshmi has 8, Saraswati has 8, similarly there are 10 forms of Devi in Dasa-Mahavidya who operate in nature.

 
The first devi is Kali Ma, who got famous in Calcutta. Second is Tara, who also got famous in proximity to Calcutta. Third is Shodashi Tripura Sundari, who got famous in South India as Lalita Devi, also popularized by Shankaracharya. All the Sri Yantras are associated with this Devi. People in South India also recite Lalita Sahasranama (1000 names of Lalita) on Fridays. The fourth Devi is Bhuvaneshwari who also got popular from Bhuvaneshwar to further south in India. The fifth Devi is ChinnaMasta, who practically didn’t get popularized at all, however she is a very high-level powerhouse and a great Devi in tantra. The sixth devi is Tripura Bhairavi and she is also a great Devi and didn’t get popularized. The seventh Devi is Dhoomavati, who people fear. This is the shakti that energizes planet Saturn. The eighth Devi is BagalaMukhi. I have my Ashram in Bombay where I have established BagalaMukhi. She is the force of Lord Vishnu, with the help and protection of which Lord Vishnu remains undefeated in nature. BagalaMukhi is the Devi that gives you the power to remain undefeated and destroy all your enemies, internal and external. The ninth devi is Maatangi and she is the shakti of Lord Krishna. Marital happiness and bliss is under her control. Dance, singing, love, passion, attraction, all fall under the domain of Matangi. With her blessings, all the obstacles that may be present in marriages come to an end. She is also the shakti that gives energy to planet Mars. The tenth Devi is Kamala. She is the Lakshmi with 4 elephants. The Lakshmi that is commonly known has 2 elephants. There is also Lakshmi with one elephant. What is the significance of Lakshmi? She is that divine force in nature, who provides one with everything in order to reach one’s goal (known as Lakshya) in life. She is not just wealth but many other things as well. And what is the goal of life? It is purnata (completeness) and perfection, “Poornamadha Poornamidham…” And how do you attain this? “Poornaat Poorna Va Shishya te” Not by being a Guru, but by being a Shishya (Disciple). So, when one reaches the ultimate goal of life by attaining completion and perfection by properly following discipleship, then one comes close to Maa Kamala, the one with 4 elephants. Meaning, one who is complete in all 4 purusharthas of life, Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha.


Guru’s importance

Now, in Hanuman Chalisa also, there is a line, “Jo Daayaku Phala Chari” meaning the one who gives the 4 fruits, viz. Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha. However, there is a covenant, a requirement that one needs to fulfill before this. “Shree Guru Charana Saroja Raja” meaning TulsiDas remembers not his Guru, not just the feet of his Guru, but the dust that settles in the air from Guru’s feet before he writes the Hanuman Chalisa.
 

So, the summary of all these teachings is thus: Nothing is possible without Guru’s grace. No God will ever work for you unless you have Guru’s blessings. And if you have Guru’s blessings, then all the Gods will be waiting to help you.
 

There are 3 things that come in sadhana: Mantra, Tantra and Yantra.

Mantra are combinations of syllables with the repetition and use of which, divine forces can be awakened. However, you have to create the force within you first and project that force into the divinity and multiply it. That is what Ramakrishna Paramhans did. He started chanting, “Kreem Kreem Kali Kreem Kreem Swaha” until one day, he could awaken the energy within himself and could project onto the deity (Kali) and complete the process. Tantra means a set of techniques used during the process of sadhana, and Yantra means instruments that aid this process.

 
With these 3 things and with the help of Guru, you can establish connection with Divinity. And once you make connection with Divinity, then you are successful in all realms, both materialistic and spiritualistic. Further, you can only be successful in materialistic world after attaining spiritual success. Ram, Krishna, Arjuna all had to do spiritual penance in this world to become successful and you need to, as well.

 
God has given me lot of divine knowledge, and I am willing to transfer that knowledge to you in various means. It’s up to you in order to make contact with me in order to receive this divine knowledge.

THE END OF DISCOURSE