Panchadasi mantra

July 5, 2009

Dear Members,

I have some time now to scribe something here.Few days ago one member had given me an email whether he could chant Panchadasi without initiation and also yet another member asked me whether his reading the mantra in books was making him say it without his consciousness while waking up(Hinting at ajapa) in the morning.I did not want to reply to them personally and hurt their feelings.I dont want to discourage anyone personally rather give objective views about the same in the main forum.

At the outset let me state clearly that both these mental stances are the tricks of the Mayavic mind.Caution is needed with respect to mantras and utmost caution is needed with respect to powerful mantras.

I see some sites and organizations wherein popularity is sought w.r.t. Srividhya and unscrupulous people in the guise of Gurujis and "Anandaspropogating" Srividhya.

Their fallacious reasoning being:

Tantra is the domain of Divine Mother, we all are Her children, thus what is wrong in everyone taking up the mantraical practices of Her Majesty?

Will a Mother hurt her child?

Brahmins and other uppercastes have for long held these traditions secretive to prevent entry for all people(Paamaraas) most cunningly and now there is a revolution coming up ahoy!

Guru is not necessary for anything.Afterall, we find so many charlatans and fraudsters looting money.You are your own Guru, consider Mother as your Guru.

These and other assorted medley of reasonings and arguments tend to create an emotional rhetoric and thus influence people from all parts of the globe.The Gurus pen "liberal writings" to influence everyone and fill their coffers well or gain the power status or just get a kick out of the whole thing.Many writings are poetic,emotional,keep harping on Shiva and Shakthi as sex symbols or Father-mother figures or a commingling of both in an emotional way and induce logical fallacies to negate the realities of sadhana and create utopian worlds which never fructify.

Software Professionals in USA,Business people in Thiruppur,Professors from Delhi,'Flower-power' caucasians from Europe,etc all fall for such holy garbage in the guise of freedom and unrepressed and uncontained Tantric creativity.

These people live in euphoria, report "experiences and visions of Mother"(mere mental plays enacted by the subconscious mind),perform strange rituals which does not have any shastraic support,contort their bodies in rare asanas without any initial prepartion,connive with other like-minded to hold group discussions/chats,support their cult-like activities,protest vociforously against the least comment made upon them,their practices or their dubious Gurus,etc.

At the other end of the spectrum lie the "scriptural fools" as my Master appelates them aptly.These people take scriptures and nothing else as an evidence of divinity.They even compare and contrast spiritual greats like Ramana Maharshi or Kavyakantha Ganapathi Muni with scriptural references.Their left brain alone functions is all I can say.They are great with words, quote a multitude of texts, write tomes and open many many blogsites and groups and bamboozle people with their erudtion and stiff-upper lip replies.These people even act as mutt-heads sometimes and as self-anointed Gurus often having a faithful band of Chelas who consider this scriptural parrot to be a Guru-Mahan of sorts.They deride everyone else and frighten innocent people with their verbosity.They use the crutch of Shastrapramana or logicality for every thing under the sun.They have inflated egos and subtly

cover it with oft-repeated parrot-like 'humble' phrases, that they do not do it but it is mother who does it and all the mushy-mushy kind of cloyed stuff.("Perversity lies not in words but in the hearts"; "Sweet words are never true and True words are often bitter"--Tao Te Ching)

These two groups and their ways are a learning curve for them for sure(infact anything and everything is a 'learning curve' for the soul) but the energy is manifested outward and it takes a lot of time(Read as: Many births for the soul) to bring it again inward.A BIG learning curve indeed,considering that God has infinite patience and infinite time!

Finally both groups end up frustrated.

In all this hullabulla, the real essence of Tantra and Divine Mother vanishes and what comes about is just another form of psuedo-establishmentarianism of sorts deluding kaliyuga people further.

In a classic farcical story, oft-quoted; A beggar the knocks at the door of a big Church.The Pastor of the Church shoos Him away and says, "No time for you bugger-of-a-beggar! I have my sermons to give and prayers to offer". The beggar says, "But Jesus said in the Bible, to serve a beggar in need is to have offered the highest prayers to God".The preacher says sternly,"You dont teach me whats in the Bible, get lost!"

The beggar dejectedly walks down the aisle of the Church and walks away.Another beggar seeing all this rigamarole who stands out of the Church says to Him sadly, "They dont allow me too inside the Church"

The first beggar asks curiously, "Who are you my friend?"

The second beggar replies, "They call me Jesus Christ"

While freedom,'un-repression' and 'un-containment' are all welcome, they have to be earned.Freedom is not free! This is the hard oxymoronic reality which many people cannot simply understand. Freedom comes with a sense of responsibility,with dedication,hardwork,persistence,Guru-Bhakthi,sadhana and a sense of Mumukshatwa.

Panchadasi creates a Vaak-shakthi of a different kind.It is a paravidhya mantra.This mantra contains both Ojas and Prana and thus is balanced.However, the need for initiation arises when the Tejas of the mantra(roughly ascribed as a combination of the Ojas,Urdvaretas,Retas and Prana) increases then the sadhaka is left high and dry as to what to do.Then the Srividya adept steps in and then controls the heat(rather absorbs it) or directs some other cooling mantra for the sadhaka seeing his condition, customized to his auric energy.

Not all Gurus can do this and thus the need for authentic Gurus in this marga(for that matter in any marga).Anyone can read the mantra from books and do it.And if anyone keeps thinking about it, naturally His mind would be working on it and when He or she gets up the mantra would be ringing in one's ears, there is no miracle(or Ajapa) embroiled in this.Just the wiring of the brain playing a potent part.

Ajapa is a greater concept, which come sout of immense sadhana, wherein a chakra is activated.More information should be procured strictly from one's Guru.

This mantra activates the Soma of the Crown Chakra.Without initial and preparatory stages,purascharanas,leading a pure life,devotion to Mother,Humility,Guruseva bhavam,etcIt would affect one's nerves as Soma in the Crown chakra would then be tainted by adhama bhavas(lower tendencies) which are the prerogative of the lower chakras like Muladhara.It would be like dropping human excreta into a sacred homaagni.(Excuse me for the gross example, but I have to drive a point here).

There are 4 energy centres in our psyche(I will never use gross terms like body).They are Agni,Surya,Vidhyut(lightening) and Soma(not exactly moon but then one can consider it to be moon for practical ease of understanding).

Vedic Yoga emphasizes these as the Cosmic Being(Purusha)--Light of consciousness and the Tantra Yoga enunciates these as the Cosmic Energy(Shakthi)--Energy of consciousness.

One has to proceed from Veda Yoga to Tantra Yoga and not directly to Tantra Yoga as many modern aspirants think they should/can.This is because these 4 major centres need to be strengthened before the Kundalini fire can be raised through them and reach atop the Sahasrara.

How are they augmented?

Soma being the highest among them as it gives a cool contemplative Para-saathvic mode and deep insights and intuitiveness has the Panchadasi mantra to enhance its potency.

The other 4 energy centres also have mantras which enhance their potency.

As higher Chakric forces are unfold, they connect the sadhaka with the great wonders of the conscious universe which even modern science has not even gauged and beauty and bliss beyond all formulation or expression.

Gagangiriji,a real master of whom I had a darshan recently while here in India.He has control of this Soma Chakra

Kundalini Yoga requires lot of "cooling of mind" before even thinking to connect these 4 energy centres and then raise the fire up.This cooling requires slowing down of the mind.To slowdown we must reduce the rate of sensory activity, withdrawing from rapid media stimulation that our modern culture promotes TO a deep contemplation of the world of Nature and unbounded voidness of space.

We must remember to keep the Agni in the belly,Vidhyuth in the Moolam and the Soma-coolness in the mind.But most people have the reverse of this scenario! They are heated up in their brains.Excessive office work and mental strain involving one project or the other, computer work, reading magazines,newspapers,etc "heats" up their brain.They eat lot of food to satiate hunger and that too gross food(meat and other rajasic/tamasic food)--the food they eat also from microwave ovens and refridgerators etc form the Tamasic-Rajasic food.And mind you gross Rajasic does not mean energetic and the fire in the belly being stoked.It just numbs the fire there.Vidhyuth in the moolam is kept awry by constant titillation --either by way of actual sex or reading or seeing movies and other vulgar stuff.

These very same people start as budding aspirants and go about to practice the Panchadasi mantra or worst Kundalini mantras/Yogas.Some even foolishly believe that by dancing one can activate the chakras and become Yogis overnight.

I have nothing to do with such people and let them live in their own worlds.

Cardinal rule for sanity: "Never argue with fools,lest you become a fool thyself"

Yours yogically,

Shreeram Balijepalli

P.S. My posts would be far and few between from now on, as Im concentrating on my sadhana these days and also other aspects of my mundane life.Please excuse, with a generous heart, my tardiness in replying to your queries and emails.

Hreem Rajarajeshwari Paradevatha!

Purity, Powers, Parabrahmam...