Articles - Mystical Experiences en-us http://www.indiadivine.org/hinduism N/A http://www.indiadivine.org/hinduism info@indiadivine.org 20 http://www.indiadivine.org/hinduism/articles/324/1/The-Mystical-Pothi-Oracle-of-Achyutananda-Das/ The sacred oracle (tamra pothi) of Achyutananda Das is a series of blank copper pages. Once a questioner has asked his questions, the answers mystically appear engraved on the blank pages. This is one of the few verifiable mystical occurences in the world that can be seen by anyone, even today. The following is an interview recorded Wednesday July 29, 1992 between Manamohan Mahapatra (MM) and Pandit Amareswar Mishra (AM), the reader of the oracle, explaining how he came to possess it. nospam@nospam.com (Manamohan Mahapatra) Sat, 05 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.indiadivine.org/hinduism/articles/124/1/Exposure-to-the-Tantric-Path/ In that little town under the foothills of the western ghat in Kerala, there was just one real building which was a small temple with a tile roofing. The temple was surrounded by huts and shanties. When I arrived, there was a competition going on in the market place between two tantrics who had selected an onlooker from the crowd to be their medium. They had him standing stiff as a bamboo in trance. One tantric pointed a stick at him and said “lay down” he fell flat! The other pointed and said “get up” he rose up straight without bending a limb. nospam@nospam.com (Atmatattva Das) Wed, 24 May 2006 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.indiadivine.org/hinduism/articles/123/1/Secrets-of-Left-hand-Tantra/ When we met again, the tantra master was much more forthcoming. I was greeted with a warm embrace and invited to relax under the banyan tree. I sensed that I now belonged. In an awed voice I asked him, "What was it that I saw?" He chuckled at my neophyte's excitement. "So, you were impressed?" I nodded. "You saw Mohini, a demoness from the underworld." nospam@nospam.com (Atmatattva Das) Wed, 29 Jun 2005 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.indiadivine.org/hinduism/articles/122/1/The-Gate-of-Dreams-Tantrics-of-Kerala/ I returned to Tamil Nadu with more than just office experience. While in Kerala, my youthful interest in the opposite sex had continued to flourish, but with a difference. From left- and right-hand tantra, I'd learned a highly sophisticated way of interacting with the female psyche. The several close relationships I'd had with girls while in Kerala were experiments in the power of Shakti, by which the sexual drive is channeled not towards physical gratification but to heightened experiences of mind. nospam@nospam.com (Atmatattva Das) Wed, 29 Jun 2005 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.indiadivine.org/hinduism/articles/121/1/The-Self-in-the-Mirror/ The coming of the year 1974 saw my mind roiling with confusion. I had become a bibiliophage, a gourmand of esoteric books on everything from astrology to Zoroaster. And I'd been offered tantalizing glimpses into heightened states of awareness by beings mysterious and divine. But it all had left me fundamentally bewildered. So many paths to so many goals - which one should I dedicate myself to? Which one led to Truth? nospam@nospam.com (Atmatattva Das) Wed, 29 Jun 2005 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.indiadivine.org/hinduism/articles/120/1/Again-a-Mouse/ If you want to become a high priest of humbug, fine - but you are surely not going to do it on company time!" The chief accountant, SVS, a spartan, no-nonsense company functionary with a schoolmaster's mien and sense of metaphor, was addressing me with volume control turned up for the benefit of everyone else in the office. He'd had it up to the eyes; it was time to put his foot down. I continued sketching my picture of Dattatreya as if I hadn't heard him. nospam@nospam.com (Atmatattva Das) Wed, 29 Jun 2005 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.indiadivine.org/hinduism/articles/119/1/I-become-Swami-Atmananda/ It was the end of June, 1974. As per a recent agreement with the workers' union, the company was to dispense a semi-annual cash bonus along with this month's regular pay allotment. Our department's job was to do the calculation of each employee's bonus percentage. But two of our men had gone on leave. SVS was in a fix - how would all this work be finished before payday, tomorrow? nospam@nospam.com (Atmatattva Das) Wed, 29 Jun 2005 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.indiadivine.org/hinduism/articles/118/1/With-and-against-Sai-Baba/ The first welcome I got upon my arrival at Sai Baba's ashram was from a large group of ragged beggars sitting outside the front gate. Past them, flocks of well-off people crowded into the compound; that meant Sai Baba was here now. I viewed this scene with decidedly mixed feelings. "He is supposed to be God", I considered, "and his followers say he has the power to remove misfortune, disease and poverty - so why are these beggars loitering here just outside his own house? nospam@nospam.com (Atmatattva Das) Wed, 29 Jun 2005 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.indiadivine.org/hinduism/articles/117/1/Odd-Gods-of-the-South/ A day or so later I asked my friend to take me around the village. We went to the Chitravati river, but since it was the dry season there was no water, just a sand channel. On a rocky mound near the riverbed stood a tamarind tree from which the Sai Baba is said to have magically plucked mangos and other fruits during his youth. I clambered up the rocks and sat beneath it. At the time I was not aware of the significance the Sai Baba's followers attached to this tree; I only happened to go there because it looked like a suitable spot for meditation. nospam@nospam.com (Atmatattva Das) Wed, 29 Jun 2005 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.indiadivine.org/hinduism/articles/116/1/Mystical-Experiences-in-Meditation/ You first separate yourself from the body; then you identify yourself with the mind, and then you function on the mental plane, with this fine body just as you do on this physical plane. Through concentration, you rise above the body-consciousness; through meditation, you rise above mind; and finally through Samadhi, you realize your spiritual nature. These are three important exercises of Antaranga Sadhana in the achievements of Kaivalya, the final beautitude. nospam@nospam.com (Swami Sivananda) Wed, 29 Jun 2005 00:00:00 -0400