So, where did the meditation of SBS come from? Meditation is a technique that is common all over India, especially in the sect of the Sri Vidya. In that tradition they meditate on the bija mantra of Saraswati. It's the same bija mantra given out in TM initiation. It's the same technique - it's a meditation using a bija mantra of Saraswati.
Let's review what we know about SBS. Rajaram Mishra, later to become Swami Bramhananda Saraswati, was born on Thursday, 21 December, 1868 in village Gana, which is close to the city of Ayodhya, in North India. Rajaram was enrolled at the Sanskrit Institute at Kashi at the age of eight and later became a student of Swami Krishnananda Saraswati of Utter Kashi. http://www.paulmason.info/gurudev/parampara.html Are we agreed so far? So, we can assume that the SBS learned meditation from SKS who was initiated by his guru. All the gurus in the Saraswati lineage meditate on the bija of Saraswati. Their headquarters is at Sringeri. According to the Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath, the meditation technique used in TM originated with the Vedic sage Naryana. It's the same meditation that is used by all the Shankaracharyas in that lineage. So, the TM bija mantras came from SBS, who was a member of the dasanami order of the Saraswati dandi sannyasins, founded by the Adi Shankara. So, what do we know about the Saraswati Dasanamis? In addition to twice daily meditation on the bija mantra of Saraswati, the dasnamis of the Saraswati Order perform the Saraswati Puja on the 5th day of month of Magha month, known as Basant Panchami. The Dandi sannyasins of the Saraswati Order in the Shankaracharya tradition are termed Gyan Yogis, and they all worship the Goddess of Knowledge and Learning, Sri Saraswati. All of the Saraswati dasanamis are adherents of the Sri Vidya sect and they follow the teachings contained in the Sound Arya Lahari which was composed by the Adi Shankara, containing the fifteen bija mantras. According to Vedanta, Saraswati is considered to be the feminine energy, or Adi Shakti of Brahman. Sri Vidya - Auspicious Knowledge. In Advaita Vedanta, Sri Vidya is considered the symbol of the Transcendental Absolute. Let's now review what we know about Saraswati: Saraswati is enthroned at the Sringeri Matha in Karnataka, South India, founded by the Adi Shankara in the ninth century AD. At Sringeri, Shankara placed the image of Saraswati, which he had brought from Kashmere. She is seated on top of the Sri Yantra in a meditative posture and depicted as having four arms. In each hand respectively she holds the book of Knowledge (Yajur Veda), the mala, symbolising deep meditation, a pot, and a vina. Go figure. "During the same period, the dominant Saiva doctrine in Kashmere was the Saiva Siddhanta, whose particular dualistic of the SvT was countered by later Trika nondualism, in the form of a (later authoritative) commentary on the text by Abhinavagupta's pupil Ksemaraja (fk. A.D. 1000-50). The new nondualism also entered the Srividya's Kaula cult of the goddess Tripurasundari, which became popular in Kashmir during the eleventh century. By the twelth century, this cult has spread to the Tamil country, where it continues to thrive" (178-79)." Work cited: 'The Alchemical Body' Siddha Tradtions in Medieval India By David Gordon White University of Chicago Press, 1996
