Richard J. Williams wrote: >>>> Why MMY diverged from the traditional techniques the >>>> Shankaracharya's gave the masses is the great mystery. >>>> >>>> >>> The traditional techniques the Shankaracharya's give >>> out are just like the techniques given out by MMY. >>> According to Shankaracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati, >>> Guru Dev used to give out instruction to meditate on >>> the bija mantra of Ista Devata. >>> >>> > Bhairitu wrote: > >> To the public or the monks? >> >> > To the public, to the monks, and to his clerk. > I doubt it. The public can't take powerful guru mantras. That's why they are given out selectively. > >>> In the case of Guru Dev, the bija mantra to meditate >>> on would be the bija mantra of Sri Saraswati - that's >>> why the Saraswati Dasanamis have the surname Saraswati >>> appended to their name given by their guru at initiation. >>> >>> >> The term "bija mantra" is also used in place of the term >> "guru mantra." My guru often uses 'bija mantra" instead >> of "guru mantra." But you would not give the public the >> guru mantra as a yogic meditation technique. >> >> > According to Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, he taught the whole thing, > the real thing. > > So you interviewed him, right? Or do you channel him? >>> Obviously Guru Dev used to meditate on the bija mantra >>> of Sri Saraswati - that practice is incumbent on every >>> Saraswati Dasanami. That's also the bija mantra that >>> was given to MMY by Guru Dev and the same bija mantra >>> was given to me by MMY. >>> >>> >> Yes, but as the guru mantra. I doubt that MMY gave you >> the guru mantra. >> >> > Osho gave out all the guru mantras a long time ago in his book > entitled 'Book of the Secrets' - there are no secret mantras anymore. > Osho revealed all the so-called secret positions used in ritual > coitus, although he apparently slept with the same partner, Vivek, for > close to twenty years. Obviously Osho read the Kama Sutra. > > Guru mantras can be a published mantra. But you will not know what the guru mantra is. When imparted from someone in the traditions it has magnitudes more power than getting it out of a book.
> In fact, all the bija mantras are listed in many books called Tantras, > if you can read Sanskrit. They're even imprinted on Yantras and > Chakras, some of which are on public display. However, there are no > bija mantras listed in the Rig Veda, the Bhagavad Gita, the Srimad > Bhagwatam, or in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. > > For example, the Sri Yantra at Sringeri, which was installed by the > Adi Shankaracharya, has three TM mantras on it, one of which is the > sacred bija of Saraswati. Shankara composed the Soundaryalahari for > our understanding, and included in it thirteen bija mantras for our > use every day. > > All the Saraswati Acharyas are Tantrics and they all meditate on the > bija of Saraswati and worship the Sri Yantra. There is no higher > knowledge than Sri Vidya. > So you say. > >>> Most Indians have been practicing the tantric technique >>> of bija mantra repetition since they were able to speak >>> as a child - it's ubiquitous in India. There's nothing >>> new or innovative about this practice. In fact, the >>> average Indian devotee can sing and chant hundreds, if >>> not thousands of bhajans in praise of Ista Devata. >>> >>> >> Not in the sense that they are meditating on the actual >> bij aksharas. True that the technique of giving a mantra >> by the Ishta Devata is common among gurus in India it would >> not work so well in the west so you use other techniques. >> >> > They work for me and I'm a dullard - can't read much Sanskrit, and > they worked for Trotaka, who obtained enlightement in a cave at > Jyotirmath using a single bija mantra given to him by Shakaracharya. > > Obviously this bija worked for Maharishi - he meditated on the bija > mantra of Sri Saraswati, the Goddess of Wealth, and now he's a > billionaire. Maharishi's organization makes the Shankara Order in > India look like an ant hill. > And you've meditated on it too and are now a billionaire? > >>> For example, at the Hindu temple I often visit, one of >>> the largest outside India, the devotees, both American >>> and Indian, chant Sanskrit phrases for hours - it's >>> part of the sadhana to Srimati Radharani. I often join >>> in these bhajans, and I'm not much of a Sanskrit reader - >>> you don't have to understand what the Sanskrit words >>> mean to enjoy and reap the benefits of tantric practice. >>> >>> >> Yes bhajans are not uncommon in the temples. They are >> usually very simple and repetitive. >> >> > Some of them are simple, others are not. One of the most popular sets > of mantras was made popular by Chaitanya. It has only seven syllables > but it is very powerful - anyone can use it to chant or to meditate > on. There are no secret mantras in Raganuga Bhakti. > So you say. > >> They are not meditation techniques. >> >> > Meditation means to think things over, so in that sense everyone > meditates. Hardly a person can be found that can't think and almost > everyone pauses once or twice a day to take stock of their own mental > stuff. > > According to Swami Prakashanand Saraswati, one of the few direct > disciples of Guru Dev who are still living, the idea of secret mantras > is just a trick to get into the wallets of gullible people. > > If a bija mantra meditation technique would be the key to the > perfection of man, it would be a crime to conceal it. But in fact, > everyone is already transcending anyway, even without a technique. > It would be a crime to dilute it by publicizing it. > >>> In fact, according to most bhakti yoga teachers, >>> attempting to make an effort at interpreting these >>> bija mantras and bhajans can be a big hindrance to >>> devotional practices. >>> >>> The only thing that I've observed about tantric >>> practices is that some teachers try to make a big >>> secret about some aspects of sadhana - they have >>> what's called "a closed fist" and want you to think >>> they're doing something so special that it can't be >>> revealed to the average layman. >>> >>> >> They lose their power if you reveal them to anyone but >> a disciple. >> >> > Bija mantras have no 'power' and there is no 'force' that enters into > the universe and causes change. Bija mantras are gibberish nonsense > syllables - they have no semantic meaning, that's why they call them > bija mantras. They aren't found in any standard Sanskrit lexicon. > Anything can be used as a mantra to meditate on. Bijas are just tools > to provide the opportunity for transcending. > > There are no secrets - Shakya the Muni blew to bits the notion of > secret words of power. This world is the result of causation - > everything happens for a reason - excrement always flows downstream. > > So you say. >>> One time I was visiting a tantric master and he was >>> performing a puja, but he put a cloth over his left >>> hand so that I wouldn't see the secret mudra that he >>> was performing. I later found out from an informer >>> that the mudra was a simple left-handed finger snap. >>> Go figure. >>> >>> >> That would probably be a mudra for "phat" where you can >> also clap your hands or stomp your foot. Things very >> with different traditions and in mine that would not >> be hidden. In fact there aren't any hidden in the >> pujas we perform. You need to understand there are a >> lot of different tantric traditions in India and just >> because you've seen one you haven't seen them all. >> >> > All the bija mantras are just sounds from nature. The bija phat, for > example, is taken from the crack sound of a two-stroke motor > conveyance - a common sound heard all over Delhi. > A two-stroke motor conveyance is nature? > The left-handed finger snap is just a form of sympathetic magic used > in order to clear the air, used by Shamen since before the Stone Age. > > But in fact, I do know all the mantras in the universe and I can > recite them all in one fell swoop every time I utter the nickname of > Sri Saraswati, the primal sound of Vac, from the Sanskrit root Vacuum, > to be made empty. > > So you say. Perhaps you should do as Kirk and go over to the JyotishList here on Yahoo and spout your great wisdom to the astrologers there. The Indian ones will find you very interesting. They'll probably also kick your ass. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JyotishGroup/
