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Shiva as Kalyana Sundarar

11/29/2012

LORD SIVA AS KALYANA SUNDARAR:

How was this manifestation of Lord Shiva linked to the Kamasutra? By etymological implication, Kalayanasundrar mean God Of Welfare. This is one of the main manifestations of Lord Siva. In Tamil ‘kalyanam’ means wedding; ‘sundaram’ means bliss. So Kalyanasundaram implies Shiva and Shakti as blissful eternal bride and bridegroom. One of the most important meanings of the name Siva in Shaiva Siddhanta, is ‘welfare’. So ‘Shivanamastu’ and the word ‘Kalyanamastu’ bring the same purport to mean ‘May you be blessed’. Lord Shiva is also referred to as Kalyanasundereshvar.

PANCHA MUKHA:

Kalyanasundaram is the representation of Shiva embodying the true spirit of blessedness. The panchamukhas as Ishana, Tatpurusha, Aghora, Vamadeva and Sadyojata. Lord Shiva is said to serve all life forms with five faces, two on the left as Vama-deva and Kalagni; two on the right as Daksineshvara and Ishana and one in the centre as Kalyanasundaram, the Supreme Controller.

UNION:

Shiva-Shakti yoga is much written about in srutis, smrtis and much more in the Tantric texts. They have been the subject matter in the Kamashastras and Kamasutra also. Kalyanasundra Murthi is a direct reference to the wedding proper. At a metaphysical level, the union signifies the union of Truth-Siva; Wisdom-Shakti and resulting birth of Ananda-Skanda. Thus it is the birth of Bliss and Tantra has a different way of explaining this Bliss. In many Shaivite temples, the Shiva-Shakti wedding depicting spiritual Yoga is celebrated annually and also to celebrate Mother Parvati blessing the universe with the birth of Kumara, the destroyer of demons.

WEDDING FUNCTION:

The highlight of the wedding is the attendance of Lord Mahavishnu himself. Despite all that is written in the Puranas and Upapuranas about the tensions between the Trimurtis, it is also equally true that Mahavishnu had a fair share in prompting the mendicant, meditative Shiva to be householder. The universe was becoming bleak and dark when Lord Shiva goes into his Mahayogi state for centuries on end. At the instance of young Gauri praying to Brahma, Mahavishnu sends Kama to pierce an arrow but Kama is reduced to ashes by Shiva’s third eye. Kama is later brought back to shape as Manmata by Shiva himself. But by then the cupid’s arrow has been struck and the Lord lays eyes on Gauri-Parvati.

Not seeking any glory, Mahavishnu himself descends to view the great wedding event. Intellects, siddhars, rishis and celestial beings were there in the thousand to view this wedlock. It is said that the weight of the audience offsets the balance on earth, so the sage Agastiyar was sent south of India to call it a balance. That actually implies the greatness of Agastiyar as one man opposed to the thousands who attended the wedding. It is said that as the beauty of the divine couple turned everyone breathless with excitement and reverence as the great Lord was to tie the nuptial knot with his beloved. Parvati had earned the tali by her severe austerities and tapas to win over Kalyanasundram.

Another highlight of this wedding is Lord Mahavishnu’s direct role in giving away the bride. The ambiance is charged for it is Lord Mahavishnu Himself who gives Parvati's hand to Lord Shiva who accepts her has his wedded wife. This famous depiction is often reflected in art and temple sculptures. It would be quite improper for Shaivites, knowingly or unknowingly, saying things to the contrary.

The Shiva Purana states that ‘with the conch shells blowing and the drums beating, the universe echoes just one note, the primordial sound of creation. The intensity is high and the great souls themselves have been driven to excitement and high emotion. The sheer brilliance of the moment, the shimmering lights, the shining glow on the faces of these great beings makes this an exalted experience that one cannot forget, for it is not driven by time but its driven by high blissful emotion that renders any great soul who is a part of this pantheon a complete slave to this supreme blissful state’.

Meditative Lord Shiva now, a married man, gets into celebrative mood. So He dances for in front of the assembly. Shiva Tandava of the wedding day was a rare bonanza. The wedding hall was shining the brilliance of a million suns glowing together. It was a day in which everyone got to see Shiva Nataraja in all smiles as his skin glowed and fragrance of flowers spread in the hall.

Nandikeshswara’s mridangam beat and Lord Shiva’s salangai sound and beat reverberated the whole of the universe. Lord Shiva was the natya master of the day. His eyes twinkled as the primordial sound of the Damaru shook the hall vigorously. The Ganges was flowing over with bliss and the whole of Prakriti was in celebration mode. While the audience witnessed Shiva’s serpents dancing with gem studded hoods, the sages below heard all of this as silence. The wedding hall was representative of Prakriti as Parvati set the stage as Shiva’s material energy. Shiva’s grand performance of life, the dance of vigor, the rythms of the movements, the Bliss and Grace was undisputedly the half of Her that the Lord relied on. This was the Ananda Tandava.

HONEYMOON AND KAMASUTRA:

Thereafter the Divine Couple left for Kailash. That is where their permanent abode was to be; at the top of the Himalayas. They alternated between Mount Kailash and another, the Mandara Mountains. The Lord was more prone to roaming the mountains with His new bride, Parvati, the Goddess of Love and Beauty. They scaled the whole of Kailasha where they spent many blissful years in sacred yoga. Parvati had successfully enchanted the Lord to leave behind memories of Sati, His first wife and with the help of Kama enchanted the Lord beyond redemption.

For a great while, Shiva and Shakti spent the honey moon wrapped in divine lovemaking on the top of the world. As the Lord converted their physical union into spiritual union with Parvati, they kept the world turning, fusing cosmic consciousness and matter together, for all life and its continuum.

There are various accounts how the Kamasutra got recorded. One states it to be 300 odd years of spiritual union between Shiva-Shakti that rocked the world. Another states it to be a series of yoga from different times that was recorded. Either way, the basic facts are that, Shiva’s gatekeeper, Lord Nandi, the sacred bull that happened to hear the pillow talks and love-making. Their private episodes, so inspired the sacred bull Nandi that he made an utterance that later got recorded and passed down to mortals for dharmic procreation, well being and to see spiritual union in the physical act of lovemaking.

It is also said that Kamasutra history is linked to Prjapati, the God of Creation who declares the Kamasutra chapters. Lord Shivais later said to have assembled the chapters and these were compressed by Shvetaketu, the sage Uddlaka’s son. Vatsayana is said to have played the role as transcribing Kamasutra in the Sanskrit language in the form of Sutras.

The Kamasutra, as popularly believed does not have a titillating purpose but a spiritual and philosophical one. The sensuous treatise Kama Sutra is an integral part of the larger Kama Shastra which means ‘Discipline of Kama’. It describes achievement of Dharma, Arta, Kama and Mokhsa as four basic goals governing the three stages of human life: childhood, youth and old age.

In Vatsayana’s words, a sensible and righteous man must segregate his lifetime wisely so that there is a balance between religion, wealth and carnal pleasures. There is an admonition that one should not infringe the other and the overall philosophy that unleashing sexual energy is a spiritual expression of life force, ojas, which finds expression in the warmth of human emotions.

Tantra took this in various forms and found new expressions of foreplay and afterplay to represent the creative spiritual relationship of Cosmic foreplay and afterplay of Purusha and Prakriti. Tantra seeks that Shiva-Shakti or Radha-Krishna spiritual union as finding a soulmate for spiritual intimacy. The message is the same, that the physical act of two bodies is all but the Jivatman merging with the Paramatman in absolute Bliss. In Tantra, when there is such union, it is cosmic orgasm and total ecstasy and eternal Bliss.

TEMPLE:

Thirumanancheri is located near Kuttalam in South India. It is one among the popular temples of Lord Shiva, where He is devotedly worshiped as Kalyanasundareswarar and His consort, mother Parvati as Goddess Kokilaambal. In Sanskrit the lord is also called as Uthvaanganathar. In Tamil they are addressed as 'Arul Vallal' and 'Kuyilinmenmozhiammai'. It is a belief that Manmathan worshiped Lord Shivaat this stahalam. The Thrimanacheri shrine is linked to the divine wedding. ‘Thiruman’ means wedding. According to legends, this temple overcomes the obstacles of marriage. The usual offerings are wedding garlands and bhaktas returning for their prasada.

By Yogi Ananda Saraswathi

Baladeva, Balarama, Lord Krishna's brother by Yogi Ananda Saraswathi

11/29/2012

LORD BALARAMA

is also known as Balabhadra, Halahadra or Baladeva. Balarama is the elder brother of Lord Krishna. Indeed Vaishnavites describe Balarama to be the first expansion of Lord Krishna only with a bodily hue difference. While Lord Krishna is regarded as a full manifestation of Lord Vishnu, Lord Balarama is recognized as the seventh avatara of the Lord. Some see this as Krishna being of full divinity while Balarama is only an incarnation. But the Mahabaratha places them on equal footing and most depictions portray non-separateness between them.

DEPICTION:

Balarama is represented as sixteen year old youth of fair complexion and crystal colored. As Nilavastra, he is ‘clad in a dark-blue vest.' His especial weapons are a club-khetaka or saunanda; the ploughshare-hala and the pestle-musala. These form some of his attribute based names; from the plough, he is called Phala and Hala, also Halayudha, plough-armed; Halabhrit, 'plough-bearer;' Langali and Sankarshana, 'ploughman;' and Musali, `pestle-holder.' As he has a palm for a banner, he is called Taladhwaja. Other of his appellations are Guptachara, who goes secretly; 'Kampala and Samvartaka. Lord Balarama is always seen with his plough and club and is known for his great strength. He is usually adorned with forest flowers

TALADHVAJA:

Balarama’s chariot is known as Taladhvaja. ‘Tala’ means rhythm and ‘dhvaja’ means ensignia or distinguishing symbol. All cosmic rhythms are said to have originated from Lord Shiva's cosmic dance. The rhythm created by Balarama's huge moving chariot is said to produce an equally powerful and blissful sound. The four horses that pull Balarama's chariot are Tivra representing strength; Ghora representing constancy; Dirgha representing timelessness, and Srama symbolic of work. Balarama's charioteer, Daruka, is assigned to take care and maintain the chariot.

INCARNATION:

There are various versions of Balarama’s origins. He is worshiped as the Avatara of Adishesha according to the Bhagavata Purana. Then again the Bhagavata Purana also states that Sri Krishna, the original Supreme Personality emanates all other births. There is a version that, apparently Lord Vishnu took two hairs, a white and a black one, and that these became the children of Devaki - Balarama and Krishna.

BIRTH AND FAMILY:

Balarama is born of Vasudeva and Rohini Devi under Shravana nakshatra on Shraavana Purnima. This is also celebrated as Raksha bandhan day. It is said that Yogamaya transferred Balarama from the womb of Devaki to Rohini. So he is called Samkarshan to describe this womb-transfer. At birth astrologers predicted that Balarama would kill Pralambasura with his long arms and together with his younger brother kill many demons.

Balarama was of fair complexion and Krishna the dark one. Balarama and Krishna were named by the sage Gargamuni in a secret function. As soon as Krishna and Balarama were born, they were carried away to Gokula to preserve their life from the tyrant Kansa. He was looking for Devaki’s children. Balarama was nurtured by Nanda Maharaja as a child of Rohini. His first name is Rama and Balarama describes his great strength.

Gokula saw Balarama and Krishna growing up together. They took part in several of Sri Krishna youthful mischief and dalliances. They were full of boyish freaks and adventures. During the formative years, Balarama and Krishna passed as normal cowherd boys. They traversed the Vrindavana pasture, purifying the land with their footprints. They were accompanied by other cowherd boys while Krishna played on His flute to attract young girls. Even at that young age, Balarama went to the Talavan forest to kill the ass demon Dhenuka. Together with Krishna, they shook the Tala forest trees with the power of a maddened elephant. Lord Balarama seized Dhenuka by his hooves, whirled him about with one hand, and threw him into the top of a palm tree. The violent wheeling motion killed the demon.

Kansa pursues his hunt and kills the asura Dhenukasura. Other asuras meet their end as they are killed by Balarama and Krishna. Kansa’s time is up and he is also killed. Thereafter Balarama and Krishna proceed to the sage Sandipani’s ahsrama at Ujjayini for spiritual studies and yoga.

Balarama is born with two other siblings, Krishna and Subhadra. He is said to me married to one wife, Revati, daughter of King Raivata or Kakudmi and was faithful to her. Apparently Revati was born in a yuga previous yuga and found taller than human size. It is said that Lord Balarama took his plow and pushed Ravati down with the flat of it, thus making her short and appropriate. Hopefully no one tries this stunt for getting pulled in for assault!

By Revati, he had two sons, Nisatha and Ulmuka. But there are writings to say that he also took Varuna Devi or Varuni as wife. Varuna sends his daughter Varuni in the form of liquid honey oozing from the Vrindavan trees. The whole forest becomes aromatic and thus Varuni captivates Balarama. The gopis and Balarama become intoxicated when they tested Varuni in the form of beverage.

YAMUNABHID:

While Balarama was in this Varuni intoxication mood, he summoned the Yamuna river to come to him so that he might take a dip. Yamuna does not heed this summons. He therefore plunged his ploughshare to drag the waters as per his wishes. The waters took a human form to beg forgiveness and earned him the name Yamunabhid, dragger of the Yamuna river. Apparently the Yamuna has a lot of streams due to the scratch-marks of Balarama’s plough.

SYAMANTAKA:

As Madhupriya or Priyamadhu, Balarama was as much addicted to wine as his brother Krishna was devoted to passion. Balarama was also irascible in temper, and sometimes quarreled with Krishna. One of this was over the Syamantaka jewel given to Satrajita by the sun god Surya. This jewel was said to be an inexhaustible source of good to the virtuous but deadly to the wicked. To avoid Krishna getting hold of the jewel, Satrajita handed it over to Prasena, his brother. He was killed by Jambavat, a lion but Krishna killed it to recover the jewel. It was restored to Satrajita. Satadhanwan kills Satrajita in his sleep and carried the jewel away. Balarama pursues Sata but he hands it to Akura and now Krishna’s pursues him.

Now Balarama is suspicious that Krishna had secreted it, and consequently he argued with him and parted ways, declaring that he would not be imposed upon by perjuries. The truth is revealed when Akuras subsequently produced the gem. Then the jewel is claimed by Krishna, Balarama and even Satyabama. Things get messier when wives are involved sometimes in such disputes. To find peace, Balarama declares that Akura should keep the jewel so ‘he moved about like the sun wearing a garland of light’ at Balarama’s generosity.

RADHARANI:

Radha was the centre of all activities in the Vrindavan. Her name was chanted more by the gopis as she was Sri Krishna’s extension. Balarama has his fair share of the gopis pleasure and came next to Radha-Krishna. In all ways he helps in the pastimes of Krishna and in all forms Balarama also tastes the transcendental bliss of serving Radha-Krishna. When Sri Krishna left for Mathura, Balarama accompanied him and manfully supported him. It is said that in the pastime of Ratha-yatra the reason that Lord Balarama appears with dilated eyes and shrunken limbs is because he is affected by the mood of separation that Radha and Krishna are feeling for each other. Balarama was genuine about the emotional separation of the couple.

JARASANDHA:

He was a great Shiva bhakta. His father, Brihadratha, was the king of Magadha. He had two wives who shared a boon fruit from Lord Shiva. They produced two half babies with horrifying faces. The demon Jara puts the two halves and nurtures the baby. He was later given to the king and named Jarasandha meaning ‘joined by Jara’. Later in life, his daughters Asti and Prapti were made widows when Krishna killed the Kansa lot. He therefore held the Yadava clan in bitter enmity. Thereafter, Balarama defeated Jarasandha several times, Bheema kills him. Krishna then decided to move His family from the city of Mathura to an unconquerable fortress in the sea, known as Dwarka.

RUKMIN:

At the instance of the King of Kalinga, Balarama challenges Rukmin, brother of Rukmini with whom Krishna eloped. So they played chess for wagers and were made fun of by the smarter Rukmin. Despite all this Balarama wins the third price game. But Rukmin attempted to cheat and provoked Balarama and called another game in which he loses. There was also a divine voice from the sky declaring Balarama to be the winner. Rukmin persisted with his cheating and Balarama summoned his mace, Suananda and hammered Rukmin. It is known that Rukmin conspired with the Kalinga king who started to flee. The king got his teeth smashed and bones broken. He lived with that insult for conspiracy.

SAMBA:

Shortly thereafter Lord Balarama returned home to Dwarka. There he found that his nephew, Krishna’s son, was kidnapped by Duryodhana. King Ugrasena, called for retaliation. Balarama pacified them in order to avoid conflict between the Yadu and Kuru dynasties. But Samba was not returned. Balarama demanded his release, and, being refused, he thrust his ploughshare under the ramparts of the city, and drew them towards him, thus compelling the Kauravas to surrender Samba. Balarama decided to punish them all. He took His plow, intending to rid the earth of all the Kurus, and began dragging their city of Hastinapura toward the Ganges. But they were all forgiven after Samba was retrieved.

DWIVIDA:

Lastly, he killed the great gorilla Dwivida, who had stolen his weapons and derided him. Dwivida was as strong as 10,000 elephants. He sought to harm Krishna and those close to him. One day while he was insulting Krishna, he ran into Balarama. They engaged in combat and Balarama kills him with his bare hands.

SUBHADRA:

Arjuna wanted to marry Krishna’s sister Subhadra. Krishna advises him to disguise as a sage. Now innocently Balarama presented Subhadra to render him service. Consequently cupids arrow strikes she falls in love and finally left with Arjuna in disguise. Taking this to be a kidnap, Balarama went in pursuit of the old sage to punish him. Sri Krishna intervenes to explain how he got the pair to meet and fall in love. But it took much flowery words to pacify Balarama.

IMPARTIALITY:

Balarama enjoyed a reputation of being impartial. In the Mahabaratha his human qualities outshone many. He is said to have taught Duryodhana and Bhima the art of using the mace. Though Sri Krishna was inclined to the Pandavas, he did not take sides. He witnessed the combats between Duryodhana and Bhima. He went on pilgrimage in not wanting to witness the two arguing factions of the Kuru dynasty.

ROMAHARSANA:

During his pilgrimage he comes up to one place there was a large yagna being performed. Upon seeing Lord Balarama, all rose and offered Him all due respects. He was also offered a respectable seat and thus worshiped as the Supreme. But Romaharsana remained seated and was struck down with a single blade of kusa straw and killed him. This distressed the sages as they had just bestowed the great boon of long life upon Romaharsana and that the Lord had caused their benediction to become false. They pleaded for Romaharsana’s life but the death could not be undone. Balarama replied that the benediction of the father, Romaharsana, should be passed on to the son, and the Lord also agreed that He would do whatever the sages suggested that he do in order to atone for the sin.

The sages told him of the demon Balvala, who was a great source of anguish for the sages. After slaying Balvava, his pilgrimage was to continue for twelve months. Thereafter he pursued the demon, called for his club and his plow. Although the demon was flying here and there in the air, the Lord swiftly snagged the demon with his plow and pulling him down He smashed his head with His club.

ABHIMANYU:

He was the son of Arjuna, killed on the thirteenth day in the Krukshetra battle. He was tricked and finally killed by Dushasana. The funereal ceremony was performed by Balarama, as he was the maternal uncle. Abhimanyu was married to Uttara who gives birth to Parikshit who became the sole heir to Pandavas.

DEATH:

Balarama witnessed the curse against the Yadu dynasty and saw its destruction, 36 years after the end of the battle. He also witnessed Krishna departing from earth. Balarama then sat down in a meditative state and departed from this world by producing a great white snake from His mouth. Thus he was carried to heaven by Sesanaga in the shape of a serpent.

Yogi Ananda Saraswathi

Vasanas by Swami Sivananda..

11/25/2012

Subtle Desires
by Swami Sivananda

The summum bonum of existence is the attainment of knowledge of the self, the realisation of the one homogeneous self. The knowledge of the self can only dawn when there is extinction of all the vasanas. Vasanas are subtle desires; they are gross in nature. Some philosophers define vasanas as tendencies or inclinations. Others say they are blind clinging to sensual objects, through intense longing or craving, without deliberation or thinking.

There are two kinds of vasanas - the pure and the impure. Pure vasanas liberate one from rebirth. Impure vasanas cause the mind to fluctuate, producing agitation in the mind and affinity for objects. If you are led by pure vasanas, you will soon attain the immortal seat of ineffable splendour. The vasanas generated by you in past lives will cling to you in future births. But if pure vasanas cling to you, you will easily attain knowledge of the self, and through this you will attain liberation. If the impure vasanas cling to you, you will experience pain and sorrow; you will get rebirth in this world, again and again.

The tree-mind has two seeds - one is vasana and the other is the fluctuation of prana (life). The seeds produce a big tree and the tree again produces seeds. So also the vibration of prana arises through vasana and the vasana operates through the movement of prana. If either perishes, both soon perish.

Egoism is the first asuric (demoniac) son of avidya (ignorance). Egoism has two asuric daughters - raga and vasana. There is an intimate connection between vasana and raga. Raga is attachment. Mamata (mine-ness) is due to raga. If you want to kill raga and vasana, you must annihilate egoism. If you want to kill egoism you must first kill avidya. Destroy avidya first - raga and vasana will die by themselves.

Mind is the cause for bondage and freedom. A mind filled with impure vasanas leads to bondage, whereas a mind destitute of vasanas tends to freedom. When mind is no-mind (through destruction of vasanas), then you become mindless. When you become mindless, intuition dawns and you are endowed with the eye of wisdom. You will enjoy indescribable peace.

Shukracharya

11/25/2012

LORD SHUKRACHARYA.

Each day of the week has a special significance and is apportioned to one or more Hindu gods or goddesses with folklore surrounding them. Vrats, fasting and observance of religious rituals are dedicated to the a particular god in the Hindu pantheon to appease Him or her. You see, ancient sages used observances such as these to spread the awareness of different gods. They would look into all aspects of life to introduce divinity in some way. Fasting and other rituals pave the path of the divine for the devotees to realize god, which is considered the sole purpose of human existence.

NAVAGRAHAS

represents the nine celestial influencers in Vedic Astrology. The seven days are named after the celestial bodies of our solar system - the Sun, Moon and the planets. Apart from these, mention should be made here of Rahu and Ketu, the two nodes of the Moon - the north and the south, the points of intersection of the paths of the Moon and the Sun. Lunar eclipses occur when the Moon and the Sun are at Rahu or Ketu. So, Navagraha comprises of 1.Surya –Sun; 2.Chandra –Moon; 3. Mangala –Mars; 4.Budha –Murcury; 5. Brihaspati –Jupiter; 6. Shukra –Venus; 7. Shani –Saturn; 8.Rahu and 9.Ketu.

Shukra is charming, has a splendors physique, is excellent or great in disposition, has charming eyes, is a poet, is phlegmatic and windy and has curly hair, says the sage Parasara. ‘Shukra’ means white bright or semen. Shukracharya is pulled by eight flaming horses. His consort is Dwarjaswini.

Shukra is rajasik in nature. He is an embodiment of love and a benefic planet and governs refined attributes, romance, beauty, sensuality, passion, comforts, luxuries, jewelry, wealth, art, music and dance. The spring season and bedroom serenity and sex-life is said to be Shukra’s domain.

Shukra is a karaka or indicator of spouse, love and marriage. When Shukra’s sight is strong, it brings wealth, comfort, attraction to the opposite sex in early part of life. It makes its natives tender, gentle and considerate. They are lovers of jewelry, sour taste, white dresses, decorations, perfumes, tasty foods and fine arts.

MYTHOLOGY:

In Hindu mythology, Venus is known as Shukra. He is the son of the great seer Bhrigu and Usha. Bhrigu was an astrologer and taught Shukran all the spiritual sciences and scriptures. He becomes the teacher of the asuras due to enmity towards Brahaspati-Jupiter. In his position as preceptor of the antigods, Shukra prays to Lord Shiva to learn the art of brining on to life after they are killed in battle. This mantra of immortality is called Sanjivi Vidya.

Asuras are the demonic aspect of the divine and locked in eternal battle with the Devas. The asuras-Shukra alliance gives the asuras an unfair advantage. So Brihaspati, the guru of the Devas, sends his son Kaca to study under Shukra. Kaca means brightness. There must be a love story somewhere for excitement so you have it! Shukra has a beautiful daughter by the name of Devayani. Her name means ‘way to the Gods’. She is attracted to Kaca and it is mutual. The asuras learn of this and kill him. Devayani goes running to the father and Shukra chants the immortality mantra to revive Kaca. The asuras kill him again and Kaca comes back to life. The asuras were undeterred. This time around they kill him, grind the corpse into fine powder and add to Shukra’s wine. He drinks it. With Devayani grieving again, Shukra chants the mantra only to get a stomach ache. Kaca speaks to the would-be father in law from inside him!

The asuras are happy that Kaca has been done for but it was not to be the case. Sukra reveals the mantra of immortality to Kaca internally.Then Kaca tears out from Shukra’s body. He then repeats the mantra to revive Shukra. This is the reason given for wine prohibition ‘which may cause stomach ache.’ But then on the other side Goddess Kali likes wine offering for Her reasons also but that is another matter!

DEVI BHAGAVATA PURANA:

Shukra is said to be the Bhargava rishi of the Atharvan descendent of sage Kavi. He was born on Sraavana Suddha Ashtami when Swati nakshtra is on ascent. He went to study the Vedas under rishi Angirasa but impeded by the guru’s favoritism towards his son Brihaspati. Then Shukra studies under Gautama rishi and performs penance to Lord Shiva for the Sanjivi mantra. He marries Priyavrata’s daughter Urjaswathi. They have four sons, Chanda, Amarka, Tvastr, Dharaatra and daughter Devayani. Brihaspati becomes guru of devas and Sukracharya to the Asuras. In this Purana, Deyanani is rejected by Kaca, Brihaspati’s son and marries Yayati who found the Kuru dynasty. Yayati is a Kuru king and the son of king Nahusha, ancestor of the Pandavas. So, the wine story is missing here!

SUKRAVARAM.

Friday or Shukravar is dedicated to Shakti. Mother Goddess Durga and Kali are worshipped with utmost devotion. Shree Shuktam or Durga Chalisa is recited during the prayers. Prayers are individual and regional so sometimes one has Goddess Lakshmi or Santhoshi Mata Arati also. Santhosi Maa is an incarnation of Shakti. Kali Arati is also common.

Shukravar fasting begins at sunrise and ends with sunset and devotees wear white dress and partakes in the evening meal that consists of white-colored food like 'kheer' or 'payasam' a dessert made of milk and rice. In Bengal and elsewhere in India importance is attached to the 'Solah Shukravar Vrats.' This is fasting for consecutive 16 Fridays dedicating it to Santoshi Mata, where a devotee fasts for 16 consecutive Fridays. Sour food is avoiding in this vrat. Goddess Santoshi Mata grants devotees any wish or desire if she is amply satisfied with the purity of their devotion. Lord Shukra provides happiness and material wealth and the period of Shukra in the devotees' astrological chart is considered to be most productive and lucky.

ZODIAC:

Venus or Shukra rules Friday and is considered to be effective worship of Shukra. He is the Lord of Tula. Shukra takes one year to complete the zodiac cycle living one month in each Rasi.

SHUKRA MANTRA:

"Om Dram Dreem Draum Sah Shukraya Namah" "Om Shum Shukraya Namah"

SHUKRA GAYATRI MANTRA

Om Aswadhwajaaya Vidmahe
Dhanur hastaaya dheemahi
Tanno shukra prachodayaat

NAVAGRAHA SHUKRA MANTRA

"Himkundmrinaalaabham Daityaanam Paramam Gurum
Sarvashastrapravaktaram Bhargavam Pranmaamyaham"
Meaning : I bow down to Shukra who is as white and fair as snow and who is the teacher of daithyas who are the enemies of Gods and who is knowledged of all scriptures.

By Yogi Ananda Saraswati

Vibhuti

11/23/2012

VIBHUTI AS ISVARA PRASADAM.

Vibhuti is an essential part of Hindu divinity. Vibhuti made from thin air by siddhi powers is hardly divine; purchasing such vibhuti is ignorance par excellence. Vibhuti is Isvara Prasadam. It is the sacred ash that Hindus symbolically and with utmost reverence wear on their forehead, chest, head and various part of their body. The mid-brow region, palms, soles and heels of feet and front part of the crown of head are very sensitive from the perspective of imbibing positive and negative vibrations.

Vibhuti is made in a homam, before Deities and in temple compounds, where sacred items such dried cowdung flakes, twigs, ghee etc are offered in agni. These pure sattvic substances are described in the ancient scriptures. But it the chanting that adds sacredness to the burnt ash and it is called Vibhuti or Bhasmam. In Shaivite temples, it is the standard prasadam to represent purity of the mind. Often bhaktas wear it as Tripundra or the three lines of vibhuti. Vibhuti offers the user spiritual and physical protection, drives away negative energy. It also contains self-help spiritual healing remedy.

Vibhuti means ‘glory’ and it is a reminder that it is ash that remains when the yagna disappears. ‘Sudar-mudi mannarum oru pidi saambalavar’ is a cliché meaning ‘the king adorned by a magnificient crown is reduced to an handful of ashes’. Wearing vibhuti first thing in the morning or after temple prayers reminds us of our imminent mortality; that this mortal coil, bedevilled with maya of arta and kama, is a temporary housing. It is the Atma, the divine consciousness that is indestructible. The yagna burning is also symbolical of burning of desires; the sacrifice that man has to make to be oneness with the Supreme. Bhasmam is an acronym of two words: ‘bhartsana’ meaning annihilation and ‘smaranam’ meaning remembrance. So, this erstwhile turbanacle and its senses can be spiritual and charitable without the ‘I’ feeling. Indeed, in Hindu thoughts, Shiva’s Mahapralaya means the entire universe ending up in ashes.

PERIYAPURAANAM:

This is given by Muzhu Neeru Puchiya Munivar’ in the Periayapuraanam. KARPAM is the sacred fire grown for Lord Siva, with Siva mantra praised by celestial bodies putting thus accepted cow-dung saluting the Holy feet of the Three Eyed Lord, the Holy Vibhuti that results is karpam. ANUKARPAM is bringing dung dried in the forest, powdering it, wetting with water of the cows, with the Athithira mantram, casting it and putting ritual fire and taking the properly burnt Vibhuti. UPAKARPAM is other than ash from the forest fire, making balls out of the dung with the water of the holy cow, go jala, chanting holy mantras and burning in the ritual fire and holy Vibhuti thus obtained. AKARPAM is other than karpam, anukarpam and upakarpam, the unacceptable. The Periapuraanam states that ‘thus taking the Sacred Ash humbly chanting the Siva mantra, the slaves of the Lord adorn themselves. The Holy ash, the fame and fruit, which is extensive to explain, makes good for the devotees who wear with respect for spiritual progress. The munis wear this holy substance praising God.Let the Holy ash and its glory as found by the Muzhu Neeru Puchiya Munivar, be remembered.’

PRASADAM:

The Hindu concept of prasadam is a phenomenon of material to spiritual transformation. Hindus are involved in this daily at home or in temples. What they offer God is naivedyam and what the Lord offers back after ‘tasting’ and sanctifying it is prasadam. But where is the Lord? He is not far away; He is also very close, ‘tad dure tadv antike’ – Isopanishad Mantra 5. Thus prasadam also means the Lord’s mercy and grace. Metaphysical understanding and material abundance are of no avail to gain access to the Lord. It is pure devotion to which the Lord submits Himself. The Lord accepts all tokens of love and each does this according to one’s means. In Gita 9.26, Sri Krishna states:

patram pushpam phalam toyam
yo me bhaktya prayacchati
tad aham bhakty-upahritam
ashnami prayatatmanah

Meaning: ‘Whoever offers Me with devotion, a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I accept that, the pious offering of the pure in heart.

ISVARA PRASADAM:

The Upanishads say that the famous Mrutyunjaya mantra should be chanted whilst applying ash on the forehead. Sri Swami Parmarthananda-ji has explained this so beautifully in terms of surrender-saranagathi. “The Panchakshari mantra, occuring in Sri Rudram, is also known as sharana-gati mantra. Sharana-gati means surrender. We surrender to the Lord. This means we surrender to the order of the law of the Lord - the universal law of dharma and the universal law of karma. Every time we chant namasivaya, we surrender to the law of karma meaning whatever happens in our lives will take place according to the law of karma alone. So we must never refuse or resist to accept karma phalam or the fruit or result of our actions. Whatever happens in our lives is Siva prasadam or Iswara prasadam. Vibudhi is not to be looked upon as useless ash and pongal is not to be looked at with relish. We must accept both with the same attitude - that it is Iswara prasadam. There must be no dwesha (hatred, aversion) towards vibudhi and no raga (liking, attachment) towards pongal. We welcome everything we encounter in life. Welcoming experiences in one thing. Accommodating experiences is another thing, particularly with respect to family. We must accept our family members—husband, wife, children, etc as they are. If our child is slow or dull or retarded, we accept it as Iswara prasadam. The acceptance of everything as karma phalam is saranagati. The result is shanti or peace”.

AGNEYAM

is taking bath in Vibhuti. It is defined in the Vedas as Agneyam bhasmasnanam. Vibhuti can be worn in Five, Eight, Sixteen or Thirty two places. There are two broad categories of wearing Holy Ash. The first is Uddulanam which means the sprinkling of Vibhuti on the body. The second is Tripundram that is in the three distinct bands. In aghori practice agneyam is also ego dropping in which one is clad in vibhuti for certain number of hours and ritualistic bath is taken or worn in his or her digambra state.

TRIPUNDRA: Lord Shiva is affectionally called Vibhuti Bhushan. Indeed he is synonymous with Vibhuti. Shiva smears his body with bhasma. Some forms of Shiva, such as Bhairava, are associated with a very old Indian tradition of cremation-ground or shamshan sceticism. ‘Tri’ means three and ‘pundra’ implies ‘release.’ Vibhuti is three lines of ashes drawn on the forehead that represents the essence of our Being, which remains after all the malas -impurities of ignorance, ego and action and vasanas -likes and dislikes, attachments to one's body, world, worldly fame, worldly enjoyments, etc. have been burnt in the fire of knowledge. Hence vibhuti is revered as the very form of Shiva and signifies the Immortality of the soul and manifested glory of the Lord. The red kumkum bindi together with tripundra symbolizes the yoga of spiritual energy of Shiva and the material energy of Shakti.

THIRUNEETRU PATHIGAM:

Saint Thirugnasambandar did many wonders with Vibhuthi and he expounds the greatness of Vibhuti in one of his Pathigams called "Thiruneetru Pathigam" as follows:

Mandhira maavadhu neeru, Vaanavar meeladhu neeru
Sundhara maavadhu neeru,Thudhikkap paduvadhu neeru
Thandhira maavadhu neeru, Chamayaththil ullaadhu neeru
Senthuvar vaayumai pangan,Thiruaalavaayaan Thiruneerae

Meaning: Mantra is the ash; Higher than heavenly people is the ash; Beauty is the ash; Praised is the ash; Technique is the ash; In the religion is the ash; Lord Sundareshwarar of Thiruaalavaay in Madurai, who shares the body with the red lipped Parvathi - His Holy Ash.

SCRIPTURES: Vibhuti Yoga in the Gita: In Chapter 10 of the Bhagavad Gita, titled Vibhuti Yoga, Lord Krishna uses the term 'vibhuti' to describe divine attributes such as magnificence, splendour, glory and prosperity.

(1) "Some skilled in Vedasiras call the besmearing the whole body with sacred ashes Pasupata; others call it Sirovrata; others, Atyasrama; others, Vrata and Sambhava": Jnanayoga Khanda of Sutasamhita, 14th Adhyaya.
(2) Besmearing the body with the sacred ashes and repeating six mantras is called Pasupata in Atharvasiras; in Mundaka (3. 2. 10) Sirovrata; in Svetasvatara 6. 2.1 and Kaivalya. Atyasrama; in Kalagnirudra, Vrata and Sambhava.
(3) Sivarahysa says "Those belong to Taittriya think, O Uma, that sacred ashes should not be neglected."
(4) The word Bhuti (sacred ashes) is found in Taittriya 1, 11, 1.
(5) Again the Sutasamhita says "Besmearing the whole body with sacred ashes and wearing on the forehead and other limbs with three streaks of ashes form appendages to knowledge (Para Vidya): Yajnavaibhava Khanda, 30th Adhyaya.
(6) "Besmear the body with ashes repeating" Agni is the ashes, Jalam is the ashes" (i.e. adding the word Bhasma at the end of the words Anilam, Vayu, Amrita as in the order mentioned in Atharvasira) - Brihadaranya7.15.1; Isavasya Upanishad 17th mantra
(7) Pasupata Vrata Adhikarana - As besmearing the body with sacred ashes forms an appendage to the study of Upanishads and Brahma Sutras.
(8) Other references: Saiva Bhasya, III. 4. 48, 49; Kailasa Samhita; Linga-purana, Vayu-Samhita, Maha-Bharata.

Hara Hara Mahadeva
(draft The Hindu Person: Gods, Goddesses, Minor Deities and Sages)
by Yogi Ananda Saraswathi

ARDHANARISVARA

11/23/2012

ARDHANARISVARA is representative of the complete union of the two aspects of divinity: Shiva the supreme consciousness and Shati, the divine power of potency. When oneness becomes duality, then pranic powers that create life split into two energies: red bindu – female genital fluid (rajas) which unite with white bindu (shukra) the male genital fluid.

In Tantra, through maithuna the male and female absorb the essence of the fluids of the partner. In vishuddha chakra, Sadasiva’s body is one with his power – Shakti. Right half of the body is the white God Sadashiva and the left half is the Goddess Shakti. While half of the tripundra is depicted, the vertical eye appears wholesome, indicating Shakti’s half. Half of the Sadashiva as Ardhanarishvara sees only with his vertical third eye as the other two are in meditative state and closed.

This third eye sees only true knowledge – Samadhi prajna of absolute bliss consciousness or Satchitananda.
Om Shiva-Shakti. Sivoham Sivoham
Yogi Ananda Saraswathi

Sri Bama Khepa of Tarapith W Bengal India, he blessed and initiated Nabani Das Khyapa Baul

11/19/2012

"Shri Shri Bama Khepa of Tarapith"

“Drill right into me… you’ll find nothing there.”

Shri Shri Bama Khepa (Bam Dev) of Tarapith was born in 1837 in the village of Atla near Tarapith in Birbhum district of West Bengal.

He was born to a poor Brahmin family. His father, Sarvananda Chatterjee, was described as being a very pious and religious man, as was his mother. Bama Khepa had one other brother and a sister. His sister also displayed great religious zeal, and was called khepi, madwoman.

Bama Khepa was given the name Bamacara by his father at birth. But even as a child, he was considered ‘mad’ Bama, and thus the name Bama Khepa arose. It should be noted that this use of khepa meant, not mad in the ordinary sense, but was a term used by Tantrics to denote one who was divinely mad, one who was a great soul.

Bama would have tantrums and erratic moods from the youngest age, often screaming and crying and rolling on the floor when the image of Kali Maa would not answer his prayers. He had other peculiar habits in his childhood too.

At the dead of night, he liked to steal into his neighbors’ houses, take their images of Gods and Goddesses and carry them to a riverbank some distance away. There he worshipped the images all night long. When, in the morning, the villagers couldn’t find their family deities, they would make a big scene. Bamakhepa was discovered as the culprit but, no matter how severely his parents scolded him, they could not prevent him from taking the images.

Bama Khepa’s father was a singer by profession, but he also showed the signs of being an ecstatic. Often when he sang he would fall into intense bhavas (states of strong spiritual emotion). It is said that he even forgot who and where he was when he entered such states. And these bhavas would descend upon him when not singing too. His wife despaired of it, begging him to pay more attention to his physical situation so the family would be provided for and not go hungry.

It’s not surprising then, that Bam Dev referred to his father as a Yogi. It was Sarvananda Chatterjee who first took Bama Khepa to the Mahasamshan cremation grounds at Tarapith, that sacred place beloved of Maa Tara.

Since being from a Brahmin family, Bamacara was initiated by the family guru, and he received the sacred thread ceremony at age sixteen as was the tradition. This was in 1853. Bama’s father died not long after this.

Bamakhepa as a child had not shown a great interest in studying, and since they were a poor family they hadn’t been able to afford to send him to school. Now that his father had died, Bamakhepa’s mother urged him to find work so that the family would not fall into poverty. But he wasn’t much enamoured with the world of work either, and struggled to keep even the simplest of jobs for very long.

He much preferred to spend his time at Tarapith, at the shrine of his beloved goddess Maa Tara, and at the Mahasamshan burning grounds there. He is said to have spent his days and nights sitting before Tara’s image, singing songs of devotion to her.

Then, in 1864, a Shakta Tantric came to Tarapith. He was wearing sacred tulsi beads and the red robes of a renunciate. The wandering ascetic was feared by the local community, who believed him to be a powerful siddha who practiced black magic (pisaca siddha). His name was Brajabasi Kailaspati.

Kailaspati was regarded as having great powers. There were stories of him having brought a dead tree back to life, of walking on the waters of the nearby Dvaraka river when it flooded, of him having lived under water, and being able to fly.

The wandering Baba caused consternation among the people of Tarapith. He had no regard for normal rules of purity, violating them by eating with the dogs and jackals at the cremation grounds. Bama Khepa began to follow him, and to do as he did. The villagers then began to refer to Bam Dev as one without caste; in their eyes he had lost his Brahmin status and became an outcaste.

Bamakhepa’s strange and erratic behaviour continued. Once he saw a boy at the roadside claiming to be the Narayana deity from one of the nearby houses. The boy asked Bama to give him a drink, offering a stone idol to him. Bama took the stone idol down to the river and dipped it into the water so it could drink. He then went back to the village and collected all of the other statues of deities from the villagers’ houses. He set them all up on a sand altar at the river’s edge. When the villagers found out, they were furious. Bama ran away and hid in a hut, blaming it on Narayana.

On another occasion he had a dream where Maa Tara appeared to him and told him to set fire to the rice paddy next to the village. This he did, seeing a vision of himself as Hanuman (the Monkey God) setting fire to Lanka (as in the epic tale, the Ramayana). The fire took hold and spread throughout the village, and took an age for the villagers to put it out again.

To try to make amends to the villagers for it, he said he would jump into the fire. This he did, yelling “Jaya Tara!” (victory to Tara) as he jumped. No-one could find his body after that. Then later he was seen running into Kailaspati’s hut. The villagers weren’t sure whether they had seen a ghost, or whether he was actually alive, whether he had learnt some magic which had kept him protected from the flames. Bama Khepa later told his disciples that he had felt Tara’s hands lift him up out of the fire and throw him into the forest.

Bama Khepa took Diksha (initiation) from Kailaspati. The story that is told about this moment is incredible. He saw a great light which condensed into the form of the personal mantra he had received, the Tara mantra. He saw a great demoness with long teeth and fiery eyes. All around him the environment was transformed, with bushes turning into mythical and divine figures. He heard Maa Tara’s voice telling him that she lived forever in the ‘salmoni’ tree and that she would be its fiery light. Then flames shot forth from the tree. A great blue light emerged, and it took the form of the Goddess Tara. She wore a tiger skin and stood upon a corpse. She had four arms, matted hair, three eyes and a protruding tongue. All over her body she wore snake ornaments, and an erect snake stood atop her head. She embraced him, then vanished. Other accounts of the story add that, preceding this vision, Bama had a vision of Kailasphati walking on water in the form of Bhairava.

Bamakhepa completed all the tantric rites and sadhanas under the guidance of his guru, Kailaspati, and the Tantric master Mokshananda, and in accordance with all the Tantric Shastras (scriptures). When his spiritual guides saw that he had attained perfection, they installed him in the role of Temple Priest at Tarapith, then left.

Even this role was not enough to shake him from his unconventional ways. His disregard for orthodoxy and rules of purity remained. He continued to roam the cremation grounds, making friends with dogs, naming them, and sharing his food with them. He would share any food that had been offered to him with dogs, jackals, crows and low-caste people – offering it too them all from the same leaf. He would eat the temple offerings at the burning grounds too, sharing them with whoever or whatever wished to eat.

He would also eat the food at the temple being offered to Goddess Tara, before the puja worship had been completed. This made the temple caretakers angry, and one day they beat him severely for it. Bama Khepa insisted that Maa Tara had told him to take the food in this way.

After a few days, the temple owner received a dream, in which she saw the stone image of Maa Tara from the temple leaving and going to Kailasa. The image was beaten and bloodied and emaciated, with tears rolling down her face. When the temple owner asked her why she was leaving, Maa Tara replied:

‘I have been in this sacred place (mahapitha) for ages. Now your priests have beaten my dear mad son, and as a mother I have taken these blows upon myself… For four days I have been starving because they have not allowed my mad son to eat my ritual food. So for four days I have refused to take their offerings of food … How can a mother take food before feeding her child? You must arrange for food to be offered to my son, before it is offered to me, at the temple. Otherwise I will leave permanently.’

So Bama was reinstated as temple priest, and wasn’t hindered from taking the prasad before Tara again. But the experience didn’t change his mode of worship, and he continued to refuse to follow the traditional rules and orthodox ways of puja.

He would sit before Tara’s image and say: “So girl, you are having great fun, you will enjoy a great feast today. But you are just a piece of stone without life, how can you eat food?” Then he would eat all the food which was to be offered to the goddess and asked an assistant to sacrifice a goat to her. Even the sacrifice would be made without the traditional rites and mantras. He didn’t say any Sanskrit mantras at all. Sometimes he would say a few mantras in Bengali, but mainly his worship would be spontaneous and unorthodox, coming as they were from his very deep bhava.

One time it is said he took a handful of flowers marked with sandal paste and stood before the goddess. He cursed her and threw the flowers at the statue in an aggressive manner, having wetted them with his tears. Despite them being thrown with an attitude of abuse not reverence, they fell about in a neat and beautiful garland around Maa’s neck.

Bama Khepa often went into deep trances for a day or more on end. So he didn’t follow the usual regular schedule of pujas one would expect at a temple. When time came for ritual to be conducted, no-one could find the mad saint anywhere. Later he would be found meditating under a Hibiscus tree, or wandering in the jungle arguing with his beloved Goddess.

Yet despite all this, he became highly respected. He was called Shri Shri Baba Vamaksepa (or Bamakhepa). Many believed him to have achieved spiritual perfection and regained all memories from his previous lives.

There are stories of his unorthodox methods of healing people too. One man came to him suffering with a painfully swollen scrotum. Bama Khepa cursed him and kicked him hard in the groin. Of course, the man doubled over in pain, but then he was completely cured.

Once when a devotee was bitten by a snake, Bam Dev took the poison into himself. He turned blue and went into a trance, but his devotee was fine. Another man was healed by Bama in a most unconventional manner – by having his throat tightly squeezed. It looked like he was trying to strangle him, but again, the man was cured of his illness.

Both his methods of conducting rituals, and his ways of healing, were of an unorthodox or sacrilegious (ashstriya) nature. Nonetheless, they had great power due to the great bhava (spiritual mood) Bama Khepa was continuously in while performing them. Many of his devotees took his curses as blessings as a result of this.

Bama Khepa left this world, entering Mahasamadhi (final liberation,) in 1911. Shortly before his death, he became withdrawn. He spent a great deal of time in trance and meditation, and stopped talking with his disciples. He rarely spoke at all then about either death or Maa Tara. The Mahasamadhi shrine of Bama Khepa is located near the Tara Temple at Tarapith, and one can still visit it today.

Bama Khepa was a Shakta Tantric Master which many have come to regard as the greatest Tantric of our Modern Era. He became the symbol of devotion for millions of Bengali Shaktas, and is the saint seen by many Shaktas as the ideal child of the Mother, more faithful to his beloved Maa than any other devotee.

Of the many disciples and followers of Bamakhepa, he named only two as his best. One of these two was Shri Kapalik Yoganand Maharaja.

Babukishan's Grandfather Nabani Das Kheppa Baul although a Vaishnava Baul was another unknown here in the west except for Allen Ginsberg and a few others, Most Tantrics and Yogi's never want to be known and their students do not want to be known.. Nabani also did sadhana at Tarapith probably against his Vaishnava families wishes... Nabani left this world in 1969 he would take Babukishan as a young child here and teach him Tantric Sadhana.. it is much different from reading about Tantra and Yoga in books.

Copied from MAA TARA on facebook... Not sure of the author.. but everything comes from somewhere and this has been translated into english.. Would love to know the original Bengali source.