Shakti & Tantra, an essay from Shakti and Shâkta

Is Shakti Force?

There are some persons who have thought, and still think, that Shakti means force and that the worship of Shakti is the worship of force. Thus Keshub Chunder Sen (New Dispensation, p. 108), wrote:

Four centuries ago the Shaktas gave way before the Bhaktas. Chaitanya’s army proved invincible, and carried all Bengal captive. Even to-day his gospel of love rules as a living force, though his followers have considerably declined both in faith and in morals.

Just the reverse of this we find in England and other European countries. There the Shaktas are driving the Bhaktas out of the field. Look at the Huxleys, the Tyndalls and the Spencers of the day. What are they but Shaktas, worshipers of Shakti or Force? The only Deity they adore, if they at all adore one, is the Prime Force of the universe. To it they offer dry homage. Surely then the scientists and materialists of the day are a sect of Shakti-worshipers, who are chasing away the true Christian devotees who adore the God of Love. Alas! for European Vaishnavas; they are retreating before the advancing millions of Western Shaktas. We sincerely trust, however, the discomfiture of devotion and Bhakti will be only for a time, and that a Chaitanya will yet arise in the West, crush the Shaktas, who only recognize Force as Deity and are sunk in carnality and voluptuousness, and lead natures into the loving faith, spirituality, simplichity, and rapturous devotion of the Vaishnava.

Professor Monier Williams (“Hinduism”) also called it a doctrine of Force.

Recently the poet Rabindranath Tagore has given the authority of his great name to this error (Modern Review, July, 1919). After pointing out that Egoism is the price paid for the fact of existence and that the whole universe is assisting in the desire that the “I” should be, he says that man has viewed this desire in two different ways, either as a whim of Creative Power, or a joyous self-expression of Creative Love. Is the fact then of his being, he asks, a revealment of Force or of Love? Those who hold to the first view must also, he thinks, recognize conflict as inevitable and eternal. For according to them Peace and Love are but a precarious coat of armor within which the weak seek shelter, whereas that which the timid anathematize as unrighteousness, that alone is the road to success. “The pride of prosperity throws man’s mind outwards and the misery and insult of destitution draws man’s hungering desires likewise outwards. These two conditions alike leave man unashamed to place above all other gods, Shakti the Deity of Power — the Cruel One, whose right hand wields the weapon of guile. In the politics of Europe drunk with Power we see the worship of Shakti.”

In the same way the poet says that in the days of their political disruption, the cowed and down-trodden Indian people through the mouths of their poets sang the praises of the same Shakti. “The Chandi of Kavikangkan and of the Annadamangala, the Ballad of Manasa, the Goddess of Snakes, what are they but Paeans of the triumph of Evil? The burden of their song is the defeat of Shiva the good at the hands of the cruel deceitful criminal Shakti.” “The male Deity who was in possession was fairly harmless. But all of a sudden a feminine Deity turns up and demands to be worshiped in his stead. That is to say that she insisted on thrusting herself where she had no right. Under what title? Force! By what method? Any that would serve.”

The Deity of Peace and Renunciation did not survive. Thus he adds that in Europe the modern Cult of Shakti says that the pale anaemic Jesus will not do. But with high pomp and activity Europe celebrates her Shakti worship.

“Lastly the Indians of to-day have set to the worship Europe’s Divinity. In the name of religion some are saying that it is cowardly to be afraid of wrong-doing. Both those who have attained worldly success, and those who have failed to attain it are singing the same tune. Both fret at righteousness as an obstacle which both would overcome by physical force.” I am not concerned here with any popular errors that there may be. After all, when we deal with a Shastrik term it is to the Shastra itself that we must look for its meaning. Shakti comes from the root Shak “to be able,” “to do”. It indicates both activity and capacity therefor. The world, as word, is activity. But when we have said that, we have already indicated that it is erroneous to confine the meaning of the term Shakti to any special form of activity. On the contrary Shakti means both power in general and every particular form of power. Mind is a Power: so is Matter.

Mind is constantly functioning in the form of Vritti; Reasoning, Will and Feeling (Bhava) such as love, aversion and so forth are all aspects of Mind-power in its general sense. Force is power translated to the material plane, and is therefore only one and the grossest aspect of Shakti or power. But all these special powers are limited forms of the great creative Power which is the Mother (Ambika) of the Universe. Worship of Shakti is not worship of these limited forms but of the Divine will, knowledge and action, the cause of these effects. That Mahashakti is perfect consciousness (Cidrupini) and Bliss (Anandamayi) which produces from Itself the contracted consciousness experiencing both pleasure and pain. This production is not at all a “whim”. It is the nature (Svabhava) of the ultimate.

Bliss is Love (Niratishayapremaspadatvam anandatvam). The production of the Universe is according to the Shakta an act of love, illustrated by the so-called erotic imagery of the Shastra.

The Self loves itself whether before, or in, creation.

The thrill of human love which continues the life of humanity is an infinitesimally small fragment and faint reflection of the creative act in which Shiva and Shakti join to produce the Bindu which is the seed of the Universe.

I quite agree that the worship of mere Force is Asurik and except in a transient sense futile. Force, however, may be moralized by the good purpose which it serves.

The antithesis is not rightly between Might and Right but between Might in the service of Right and Might in the service of Wrong.

To worship force merely is to worship matter.

He however who worships the Mother in Her Material forms (Sthularupa) will know that She has others, and will worship Her in all such forms. He will also know that She is beyond all limited forms as that which gives being to them all.

We may then say that Force is a gross form of Shakti, but Shakti is much more than that “here” (Iha) and the infinite Power of Consciousness “there” (Amutra). This last, the Shakti of worship, is called by the Shastra the Purnahambhava or the experience “All I am”.

An essay by John Woodruff

manifest magazine

Tantra’s relationship to the Law Of Assumption

Chapter Twenty-four | Shakti and Shakta

Shakti as Mantra (Mantramayi Shakti)

This is in every way both a most important, as well as a most difficult, subject in the Tantra Shastra; so difficult that it is not understood, and on this account has been ridiculed. 

Mantra, in the words of a distinguished Indian, has been called “meaningless jabber”. When we find Indians thus talking of their Shastra, it is not surprising that Europeans should take it to be of no account. They naturally, though erroneously, suppose that the Indian always understands his own beliefs, and if he says they are absurd it is taken that they are so. Even, however, amongst Indians, who have lost themselves through an English Education, the Science of Mantra is largely unknown. 

There are not many students of the Mimamsa now-a-days. The English-educated have in this, as in other matters, generally taken the cue from their Western Gurus, and passed upon Mantravidya a borrowed condemnation. There are those among them (particularly in this part of India), those who have in the past thought little of their old culture, and have been only too willing to sell their old lamps for new ones. Because they are new they will not always be found to give better light. Let us hope this will change, as indeed it will. Before the Indian condemns his cultural inheritance let him at least first study and understand it. It is true that Mantra is meaningless — to those who do not know its meaning; but to those who do, it is not “Jabber”; though of course like everything else it may become, and indeed has become, the subject of ignorance and superstitious use.

 A telegram written in code in a merchant’s office will seem the merest gibberish to those who do not know that code. Those who do may spell thereout a transaction bringing lakhs of “real” Rupees for those who have sent it. Mantravidya, whether it be true or not, is a profoundly conceived science, and, as interpreted by the Shakta Agama, is a practical application of Vedantic doctrine.

The textual source of Mantras is to be found in the Vedas (see in particular the Mantra portion of the Atharvaveda so associated with the Tantra Shastra), the Puranas and Tantras. The latter Scripture is essentially the Mantra-Shastra. In fact it is so called generally by Sadhakas and not Tantra Shastra. And so it is said of all the Shastras, symbolized as a body, that Tantra Shastra which consists of Mantra is the Paramatma, the Vedas are the Jivatma, Darshanas or systems of philosophy are the senses, Puranas are the body and the Smritis are the limbs. Tantra Shastra is thus the Shakti of Consciousness consisting of Mantra. For, as the Vishvasara Tantra (Ch. 2) says, the Parabrahman in Its form as the Sound Brahman (Shabda-Brahman or Saguna-Brahman), whose substance is all Mantra, exists in the body of the Jivatma.. Kundalini Shakti is a form of the Shabda-Brahman in individual bodies (Sharada-Tilaka, Ch. 1). It is from this Shabda-Brahman that the whole universe proceeds in the form of sound (Shabda) and the objects (Artha) which sounds or words denote. And this is the meaning of the statement that the Devi and the Universe are composed of letters, that is, the signs for the sounds which denote all that is.

At any point in the flow of phenomena, we can enter the stream, and realize therein the changeless Real. The latter is everywhere and is in all things, and hidden in, and manifested by, sound as by all else. Any form (and all which is not the Formless is that) can be pierced by the mind, and union may be had therein with the Devata who is at its core. It matters not what that form may be. 

And why? What I have said concerning Shakti gives the answer.

 All is Shakti. 

All is Consciousness. 

We desire to think and speak. This is Iccha Shakti. We make an effort towards realization. This is Kriya Shakti. We think and know. This is Jñana Shakti. Through Pranavayu, another form of Shakti, we speak; and the word we utter is Shakti Mantramayi. For what is a letter (Varna) which is made into syllables (Pada) and sentences (Vakya) ‘? It may be heard in speech, thus affecting the sense of hearing. It may be seen as a form in writing. It may be tactually sensed by the blind through the perforated dots of Braille type. The same thing thus affecting the various senses. 

But what is the thing which does so? The senses are Shakti, and so is the objective form which evokes the sensation. Both are in themselves Shakti as chit Shakti and Maya Shakti, and the Svarupa of these is chit or Feeling-Consciousness. 

When, therefore, a Mantra is realized, when there is what is called in the Shastra Mantra-Caitanya, what happens is the union of the consciousness of the Sadhaka with that Consciousness which manifests in the form of the Mantra. It is this union which makes the Mantra “work”.

The subject is of such importance in the Tantras that their other name is Mantra Shastra.

 But what is a Mantra? Commonly Orientalists and others describe Mantra as “Prayer,” “Formulae of worship,” “Mystic syllables” and so forth. These are but the superficialities of those who do not know their subject. 

Wherever we find the word “Mystic,” we may be on our guard; for it is a word which covers much ignorance. Thus Mantra is said to be a “mystic” word, Yantra a “mystic” diagram, and Mudra a “mystic” gesture. But have these definitions taught us anything? No, nothing. Those who framed these definitions knew nothing of their subject. And yet, whilst I am aware of no work in any European language which shows a knowledge of what Mantra is or of its science (Mantra-vidya), there is nevertheless perhaps no subject which has been so ridiculed: a not unusual attitude of ignorance. 

There is a widely diffused lower mind which says, “what I do not understand is absurd”. But this science, whether well-founded or not, is not that. Those who so think might expect Mantras which are prayers and the meaning of which they understand; for with prayer the whole world is familiar. But such appreciation itself displays a lack of understanding. For there is nothing necessarily holy or prayerful alone in Mantras as some think. Some combinations of letters constitute prayers and are called Mantras, as for instance the most celebrated Gayatri Mantra.

A Mantra is not the same thing as prayer or self-dedication (Atma-nivedana). Prayer is conveyed in the words the Sadhaka chooses. Any set of words or letters is not a Mantra. Only that Mantra in which the Devata has revealed His or Her particular aspects can reveal that aspect, and is therefore the Mantra of that one of His or Her particular aspects. 

The relations of the letters (Varna), whether vowel or consonant, Nada and Bindu, in a Mantra indicate the appearance of Devata in different forms. Certain Vibhuti or aspects of the Devata are inherent in certain Varna, but perfect Shakti does not appear in any but a whole Mantra. 

All letters are forms of the Shabda-Brahman, but only particular combinations of letters are a particular form, just as the name of a particular being is made up of certain letters and not of any indiscriminately. 

The whole universe is Shakti and is pervaded by Shakti. Nada, Bindu, Varna are all forms of Shakti and combinations of these, and these combinations only are the Shabda corresponding to the Artha or forms of any particular Devata. The gross lettered sound is, as explained later, the manifestation of sound in a more subtle form, and this again is the production of causal “sound” in its supreme (Para) form. 

Mantras are manifestations of Kulakundalini (see Chapter on the same) which is a name for the Shabda-Brahman or Saguna-Brahman in individual bodies. Produced Shabda is an aspect of the Jiva’s vital Shakti. 

Kundalini is the Shakti who gives life to the Jiva. It is she who in the Muladhara Chakra (or basal bodily center) is the cause of the sweet, indistinct and murmuring Dhvani which is compared to the humming of a black bee. 

Thence Shabda originates and, being first Para, gradually manifests upwards as Pashyanti, Madhyama, Vaikhari (see post). Just as in outer space, waves of sound are produced by movements of air (Vayu), so in the space within the Jiva’s body, waves of sound are said to be produced according to the movements of the vital air (Pranavayu) and the process of in and out breathing. 

As the Svarupa of Kundali, in whom are all sounds, is Paramatma, so the substance of all Mantra, Her manifestation, is Consciousness (chit) manifesting as letters and words. 

In fact, the letters of the Alphabet which are called Akshara are nothing but the Yantra of the Akshara or Imperishable Brahman. 

This is however only realized by the Sadhaka, when his Shakti generated by Sadhana is united with Mantra-Shakti. kundalini, who is extremely subtle, manifests in gross (Sthula) form in differing aspects as different Devatas. It is this gross form which is the Presiding Deity (Adishthatri Devata) of a Mantra, though it is the subtle (Sukshma) form at which all Sadhakas aim. Mantra and Devata are thus one and particular forms of Brahman as Shiva-Shakti. Therefore the Shastra says that they go to Hell who think that the Image (or “Idol” as it is commonly called) is but a stone and the Mantra merely letters of the alphabet. It is therefore also ignorance of Shastric principle which supposes that Mantra is merely the name for the words in which one expresses what one has to say to the Divinity. If it were, the Sadhaka might choose his own language without recourse to the eternal and determined sounds of Shastra. (See generally as to the above the Chapter on Mantra-tattva in Principles of Tantra, Ed. A. Avalon.) 

The particular Mantra of a Devata is that Devata. A Mantra, on the contrary, consists of certain letters arranged in definite sequence of sounds of which the letters are the representative signs. To produce the designed effect, the Mantra must be intoned in the proper way, according to both sound (Varna) and rhythm (Svara). For these reasons, a Mantra when translated ceases to be such, and becomes a mere word or sentence.

By Mantra, the sought-for (Sadhya) Devata appears, and by Siddhi therein is had vision of the three worlds. As the Mantra is in fact Devata, by practice thereof this is known. Not merely do the rhythmical vibrations of its sounds regulate the unsteady vibrations of the sheaths of the worshiper, but therefrom the image of the Devata appears. 

As the Brihad-Gandharva Tantra says (Ch. V):

Shrinu devi pravakshyami bijanam deva-rupatam

Mantrochcharanamatrena deva-rupam prajayate.

Mantrasiddhi is the ability to make a Mantra efficacious and to gather its fruit in which case the Sadhaka is Mantra-siddha. As the Pranatoshini (619) says, “Whatever the Sadhaka desires that he surely obtains.” Whilst therefore prayer may end in merely physical sound, Mantra is ever, when rightly said, a potent compelling force, a word of power effective both to produce material gain and accomplish worldly desires, as also to promote the fourth aim of sentient being (Chaturvarga), Advaitic knowledge, and liberation. And thus it is said that Siddhi (success) is the certain result of Japa or recitation of Mantra.

Some Mantras constitute also what the European would call “prayers,” as for instance the celebrated Gayatri. But neither this nor any other Mantra is simply a prayer. 

The Gayatri runs Om (The thought is directed to the three-fold Energy of the One as represented by the three letters of which Om is composed, namely, A or Brahma, the Shakti which creates; U or Vishnu, the Shakti which maintains; and M or Rudra, the Shakti which “destroys,” that is, withdraws the world): Nada and Bindu, Earth, Middle region, Heaven (of which as the transmigrating worlds of Samsara, God, as Om, as also in the form of the Sun, is the Creator). 

Let us contemplate upon the Adorable Spirit of the Divine Creator who is in the form of the Sun (Aditya-Devata). He directs our minds, towards attainment of the four-fold aims (Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha) of all sentient beings. Om. 

This great Mantra bears a meaning on its face, though the Commentaries explain and amplify it. 

The Self of all which exists in the three regions appears in the form of the Sun-god with His body of fire. The Brahman is the cause of all, and as the visible Devata is the Eye of the World and the Maker of the day who vivifies, ripens and reveals all beings and things. The Sun-god is to the sun what the Spirit (Atma) is to the body. He is the Supreme in the form of the great Luminary. His body is the Light of the world, and He Himself is the Light of the lives of all beings. He is everywhere. He is in the outer ether as the sun, and in the inner ethereal region of the heart. He is the Wondrous Light which is the smokeless Fire. He it is, who is in constant play with creation (Srishti), maintenance (Sthiti) and “destruction” (Pralaya); and by His radiance pleases both eye and mind. Let us adore Him that we may escape the misery of birth and death. May He ever direct our minds (Buddhivritti) upon the path of the world (Trivarga) and liberation (Moksha). Only the twice-born castes and men may utter this Gayatri. 

To the Shudra, whether man or woman, and to women of all castes, it is forbidden. 

But the Tantra Shastra has not the exclusiveness of the Vaidik system. Thus the Mahanirvana provides (IV. 109-111) a Brahma-gayatri for all: 

“May we know the Supreme Lord. Let us contemplate the Supreme Essence. And may the Brahman direct us.” 

All will readily understand such Mantras as the Gayatri, though some comment, which is thought amusing, has been made on the “meaningless” Om. 

I have already stated what it means, namely, (shortly speaking) the Energy (Nada) in Sadakhya Tattva which, springing from Shiva-Shakti Tattva, “solidifies” itself (Ghani-bhuta) as the creative Power of the Lord (Bindu or Ishvara Tattva) manifesting in the Trinity or Creative Energies. For further details see my Garland of Letters. “Om” then stands for the most general aspect of That as the Source of all. As it is recited, the idea arises in the mind corresponding with the sound which has been said to be the expression on the gross plane of that subtle “sound” which accompanied the first creative vibration. When rightly uttered this great syllable has an awe-inspiring effect. 

As I heard this Mantra chanted by some hundred Buddhist monks (one after the other) in a northern monastery it seemed to be the distant murmuring roll of some vast cosmic ocean. 

“Om” is the most prominent example of a “meaningless” Mantra, that is, one which does not bear its meaning on its face, and of what is called a seed or Bija Mantra, because they are the very quintessence of Mantra, and the seed (Bija) of the fruit which is Siddhi (spiritual achievement). These are properly monosyllabic. Om is a Vedic Bija, but it is the source of all the other tantric Bijas which represent particular Devata aspects of that which is presented as a whole in 0m. 

As a Mantra-Shastra, the Tantras have greatly elaborated the Bijas, and thus incurred the charge of “gibberish,” for such the Bijas sound to those who do not know what they mean. Though a Mantra such as a Bija-mantra may not convey its meaning on its face, the initiate knows that its meaning is the own form (Svarupa) of the particular Devata whose Mantra it is, and that the essence of the Bija is that which makes letters sound, and exists in all which we say or hear. 

Every Mantra is thus a particular sound form (Rupa) of the Brahman. There are a very large number of these short unetymological vocables or Bijas such as Hrim, Shrim, Krim, Hum, Hum, Phat called by various names. Thus the first is called the Maya Bija, the second Lakshmi Bija, the third Kali Bija, the fourth Kurca Bija, the fifth Varma Bija, the sixth Astra Bija. Ram is Agni Bija, Em is Yoni Bija, Klim is Kama Bija, Shrim is Badhu Bija, Aim Sarasvati Bija and so forth. 

Each Devata has His or Her Bija. Thus Hrim is the Maya Bija, Krim the Kali Bija. The Bija is used in the worship of the Devata whose Mantra it is. 

All these Bijas mentioned are in common use. There are a large number of others, some of which are formed with the first letters of the name of the Devata for whom they stand, such as Gam for Ganesha, Dum for Durga.

Let us then shortly see by examples what the meaning of such a Bija is. (For a fuller account see my Garland of Letters.) In the first place, the reader will observe the common ending “m” which represents the Sanskrit breathings known as Nada and Bindu or Candrabindu. These have the same meaning in all. They are the Shaktis of that name appearing in the table of the 36 Tattvas given ante. They are states of Divine Power immediately preceding the manifestation of the objective universe. The other letters denote subsequent developments of Shakti, and various aspects of the manifested Devata mentioned below. 

There are sometimes variant interpretations given. Take the great Bhuvaneshvari or Maya Bija, Hrim. I have given one interpretation in my Studies above cited. From the tantric compendium, the Pranatoshini, quoting the Barada Tantra we get the following: 

Hrim = H + R + I + M. 

H = Shiva. 

R = Shakti Prakriti. 

I = Mahamaya. 

“M” is as above explained, but is here stated in the form that Nada is the Progenitrix of the Universe, and Bindu which is Brahman as Ishvara and Ishvari (Ishvaratattva) is described for the Sadhaka as the “Dispeller of Sorrow”. 

The meaning therefore of this Bija Mantra which is used in the worship of Mahamaya or Bhuvaneshvari is, that that Devi in Her Turiya or transcendent state is Nada and Bindu, and is the causal body manifesting as Shiva-Shakti in the form of the manifested universe. 

The same idea is expressed in varying form but with the same substance by the Devigita (Ch. IV) which says that 

H = gross body,

R = subtle body, 

I = causal body 

and M = the Turiya or transcendent fourth state. 

In other words, the Sadhaka worshiping the Devi with Hrim, by that Bija calls to mind the transcendent Shakti who is the causal body of the subtle and gross bodies of all existing things

Shrim, (see Barada Tantra) is used in the worship of Lakshmi Devi. 

Sh = Alahalaksmi, 

R = Wealth (Dhanartham) which as well as 

I = (satisfaction or Tushtyartham) 

She gives. 

Krim is used in the worship of Kali. 

K = Kali (Shakti worshiped for relief from the world and its sorrows). 

R = Brahma (Shiva with whom She is ever associated). 

I = Mahamaya (Her aspect in which She overcomes for the Sadhaka the Maya in which as Creatrix She has involved him). 

“Aim” is used in the worship of Sarasvati and is Vagbhava Bija. 

Dum is used in the worship of Durga. 

D = Durga. 

U = protection. 

Nada = Her aspect as Mother of the Universe, and Bindu is its Lord. The Sadhaka asks Durga as Mother-Lord to protect him, and looks on Her in her protecting aspect as upholder of the universe (Jagaddhatri). 

In “Strim.” 

S = saving from difficulty.

 T = deliverer. 

R = (here) liberation (Muktyartho repha ukto’tra). 

I = Mahamaya. 

Bindu = Dispeller of grief. 

Nada = Mother of the Universe. She as the Lord is the dispeller of Maya and the sorrows it produces, the Savior and deliverer from all difficulties by grant of liberation.

 I have dealt elsewhere (Serpent Power) with Hum and Hum the former of which is called Varma (armor) Bija and the latter Kurca, H denoting Shiva and “u”, His Bhairava or formidable aspect (see generally Vol. I, tantric Texts. Tantrabhidhana). He is an armor to the Sadhaka by His destruction of evil. 

Phat is the weapon or guarding Mantra used with Hum, just as Svaha (the Shakti of Fire), is used with Vashat, in making offerings. The primary Mantra of a Devata is called Mula-Mantra. 

Mantras are solar (Saura) and masculine, and lunar (Saumya) and feminine, as also neuter.

 If it be asked why things of mind are given sex, the answer is for the sake of the requirements of the worshiper. The masculine and neuter forms are called specifically Mantra and the feminine Vidya, though the first term may be used for both. Neuter Mantras end with Namah. Hum, Phat are masculine terminations, and “Tham” or Svaha, feminine (see Sharadatilaka II. Narada-pañcaratra VII, Prayogasara, Pranatoshini 70).

The Nitya Tantra gives various names to Mantra according to the number of the syllables such as Pinda, Kartari, Bija, Mantra, Mala. Commonly however the term Bija is applied to monosyllabic Mantras.

The word “Mantra” comes from the root “man” to think. 

“Man” is the first syllable of manana or thinking. It is also the root of the word “Man” who alone of all creation is properly a Thinker. 

“Tra” comes from the root “tra,” for the effect of a Mantra when used with that end, is to save him who utters and realizes it. Tra is the first syllable of Trana or liberation from the Samsara. 

By combination of man and tra, that is called Mantra which, from the religious stand-point, calls forth (Amantrana) the four aims (Chaturvarga) of sentient being as happiness in the world and eternal bliss in Liberation. Mantra is thus Thought-movement vehicled by, and expressed in, speech. Its Svarupa is, like all else, consciousness (chit) which is the Shabda-Brahman. A Mantra is not merely sound or letters. This is a form in which Shakti manifests Herself. The mere utterance of a Mantra without knowing its meaning, without realization of the consciousness which Mantra manifests is a mere movement of the lips and nothing else. We are then in the outer husk of consciousness; just as we are when we identify ourselves with any other form of gross matter which is, as it were, the “crust” (as a friend of mine has aptly called it) of those subtler forces which emerge from the Yoni or Cause of all, who is, in Herself Consciousness (Chidrupini). When the Sadhaka knows the meaning of the Mantra he makes an advance. But this is not enough. He must, through his consciousness, realize that Consciousness which appears in the form of the Mantra, and thus attain Mantra-Caitanya. At this point, thought is vitalized by contact with the center of all thinking. At this point again thought becomes truly vital and creative. Then an effect is created by the realization thus induced.

The creative power of thought is now receiving increasing acceptance in the West, which is in some cases taking over, and in others, discovering anew, for itself, what was thought by the ancients in India. Because they have discovered it anew, they call it “New Thought”; but its fundamental principle is as old as the Upanishads which said, “what you think that you become”. All recognize this principle in the limited form that a man who thinks good becomes good, and he who is ever harboring bad thought becomes bad. But the Indian and “New Thought” doctrine is more profound than this. In Vedantic India, thought has been ever held creative. 

The world is a creation of the thought (chit Shakti associated with Maya Shakti) of the Lord (Ishvara and Ishvari). Her and His thought is the aggregate, with almighty powers of all thought. But each man is Shiva and can attain His powers to the degree of his ability to consciously realize himself as such. Thought now works in man’s small magic just as it first worked in the grand magical display of the World-Creator.

 Each man is in various degrees a creator. 

Thought is as real as any form of gross matter. Indeed it is more real in the sense that the world is itself a projection of the World-thought, which again is nothing but the aggregate in the form of the Samskaras or impressions of past experience, which give rise to the world. 

The universe exists for each Jiva because he consciously or unconsciously wills it. It exists for the totality of beings because of the totality of Samskaras which are held in the Great Womb of the manifesting chit Itself. There is theoretically nothing that man cannot accomplish, for he is at base the Accomplisher of all. But, in practice, he can only accomplish to the degree that he identifies himself with the Supreme Consciousness and Its forces, which underlie, are at work in, and manifest as, the universe. 

This is the basal doctrine of all magic, of all powers (Siddhi) including the greatest Siddhi which is Liberation itself. 

He who knows Brahman, becomes Brahman to the extent of his “knowing”. Thought-reading, thought-transference, hypnotic suggestion, magical projections (Mokshana) and shields (Grahana) are becoming known and practiced in the West, not always with good results. 

For this reason some doctrines and practices are kept concealed. Projection (Mokshana) the occultist will understand. But Grahana, I may here explain, is not so much a “fence” in the Western sense, to which use a Kavaca is put, but the knowledge of how to “catch” a Mantra thus projected. A stone thrown at one may be warded off or caught and, if the person so wishes, thrown back at him who threw it. 

So may a Mantra. It is not necessary, however, to do so. Those who are sheltered by their own pure strength, automatically throw back all evil influences, which, coming back to the ill-wisher, harm or destroy him. Those familiar with the Western presentment of similar matters will more readily understand than others who, like the Orientalist and Missionary, as a rule know nothing of occultism and regard it as superstition. 

For this reason their presentment of Indian teaching is so often ignorant and absurd. The occultist, however, will understand the Indian doctrine which regards thought like mind, of which it is the operation, as a Power or Shakti; something therefore, very real and creative by which man can accomplish things for himself and others. Kind thoughts, without a word, will do good to all who surround us, and may travel round the world to distant friends. 

So we may suffer from the ill-wishes of those who surround us, even if such wishes do not materialize into deeds. 

Telepathy is the transference of thought from a distance without the use of the ordinary sense organs. So, in initiation, the thought of a true Guru may pass to his disciple all his powers. Mantra is thus a Shakti (Mantra Shakti) which lends itself impartially to any use. Man can identify himself with any of nature’s forces and for any end. Thus, to deal with the physical effects of Mantra, it may be used to injure, kill or do good; by Mantra again a kind of union with the physical Shakti is, by some, said to be effected. 

So the Vishnu-Purana speaks of generation by will power, as some Westerners believe will be the case when man passes beyond the domination of his gross sheath and its physical instruments. Children will then again be “mind-born”. By Mantra, the Homa fire may, it is said, be lit. By Mantra, again, in the tantric initiation called Vedha-diksha there is, it is said, such a transference of power from the Guru to his disciple that the latter swoons under the impulse of the thought-power which pierces him. But Mantra is also that by which man identifies himself with That which is the Ground of all. In short, Mantra is a power (Shakti) in the form of idea clothed with sound. What, however, is not yet understood in the West is the particular Thought-science which is Mantravidya, or its basis. Much of the “New Thought” lacks this philosophical basis which is supplied by Mantravidya, resting itself on the Vedantik doctrine. Mantravidya is thus that form of Sadhana by which union is had with the Mother Shakti in the Mantra form (Mantramayi), in Her Sthula and Sukshma aspects respectively. The Sadhaka passes from the first to the second. This Sadhana works through the letters, as other forms of Sadhana work through form in the shape of the Yantra, Ghata or Pratima. All such Sadhana belongs to Shaktopaya Yoga as distinguished from the introspective meditative processes of Shambhavopaya which seeks more directly the realization of Shakti, which is the end common to both. The tantric doctrine as regards Shabda is that of the Mimamsa with this exception that it is modified to meet its main doctrine of Shakti,

In order to understand what a Mantra is, we must know its cosmic history. The mouth speaks a word. What is it and whence has it come’. As regards the evolution of consciousness as the world, I refer my reader to the Chapters on “chit-Shakti and Maya-Shakti” dealing with the 36 Tattvas. Ultimately, there is Consciousness which in its aspect as the great “I” sees the object as part of itself, and then as other than itself, and thus has experience of the universe. This is achieved through Shakti who, in the words of the Kamakalavilasa, is the pure mirror in which Shiva experiences Himself (Shivarupa-vimarshanirmala-darshah). Neither Shiva nor Shakti alone suffices for creation. Shivarupa here = Svarupa. Aham ityevamakaram, that is, the form (or experience) which consists in the notion of “I”. Shakti is the pure mirror for the manifestation of Shiva’s experience as “I” (Aham). Aham ityevam rupam jñanam tasya praka-shane nirmaladarshah; as the commentator Natanananda (V-2) says. The notion is, of course, similar to that of the reflection of Purusha on Prakriti as Sattvamayi Buddhi and of Brahman on Maya. From the Mantra aspect starting from Shakti (Shakti-Tattva) associated with Shiva (Shiva-Tattva), there was produced Nada, and from Nada, came Bindu which, to distinguish it from other Bindus, is known as the causal, supreme or Great Bindu (Karana, Para, Mahabindu). This is very clearly set forth in the Sharada Tilaka, a tantric work by an author of the Kashmirian School which was formerly of great authority among the Bengal Shaktas. I have dealt with this subject in detail in my Garland of Letters. Here I only summarize conclusions.

Shabda literally means and is usually translated “sound,” the word coming from the root Shabd “to sound”. It must not, however, be wholly identified with sound in the sense of that which is heard by the ear, or sound as effect of cosmic stress. Sound in this sense is the effect produced through excitation of the ear and brain, by vibrations of the atmosphere between certain limits. Sound so understood exists only with the sense organs of hearing. And even then it may be perceived by some and not by others, due to keenness or otherwise of natural hearing. 

Further the best ears will miss what the microphone gives. Considering Shabda from its primary or causal aspect, independent of the effect which it may or may not produce on the sense organs, it is vibration (Spandana) of any kind or motion, which is not merely physical motion, which may become sound for human ears, given the existence of ear and brain and the fulfillment of other physical conditions. Thus, Shabda is the possibility of sound, and may not be actual sound for this individual or that. There is thus Shabda wherever there is motion or vibration of any kind. It is now said, that the electrons revolve in a sphere of positive electrification at an enormous rate of motion. If the arrangement be stable, we have an atom of matter. If some of the electrons are pitched off from the atomic system, what is called radio-activity is observed. Both these rotating and shooting electrons are forms of vibration as Shabda, though it is no sound for mortal ears. 

To a Divine Ear all such movements would constitute the “music of the spheres”. Were the human ear subtle enough, a living tree would present itself to it in the form of a particular sound which is the natural word for that tree. It is said of ether (Akasha) that its Guna or quality is sound (Shabda); that is, ether is the possibility of Spandana or vibration of any kind. It is that state of the primordial “material” substance (Prakriti) which makes motion or vibration of any kind possible (Shabdaguna akashah). The Brahman Svarupa or chit is motionless. It is also known as Cidakasha. But this Akasha is not created. Chidakasha is the Brahman in which stress of any kind manifests itself, a condition from which the whole creation proceeds. This Chidakasha is known as the Shabda-Brahman through its Maya-shakti, which is the cause of all vibrations manifesting themselves as sound to the ear, as touch to the tactile sense, as color and form to the eye, as taste to the tongue and as odor to the nose. All mental functioning again is a form of vibration (Spandana). Thought is a vibration of mental substance just as the expression of thought in the form of the spoken word is a vibration affecting the ear. All Spandana presupposes heterogeneity (Vaishamya). Movement of any kind implies inequality of tensions. Electric current flows between two points because there is a difference of potential between them. Fluid flows from one point to another because there is difference of pressure. Heat travels because there is difference of temperature. In creation (Srishti) this condition of heterogeneity appears and renders motion possible. Akasha is the possibility of Spandana of any kind. Hence its precedence in the order of creation. Akasha means Brahman with Maya, which Mayashakti or (to use the words of Professor P. N. Mukhyopadhyaya) Stress is rendered actual, from a previous state of possibility of stress which is the Sakti’s natural condition of equilibrium (Prakriti = Samyavastha). In dissolution, the Maya-Shakti of Brahman (according to the periodic law which is a fundamental postulate of Indian cosmogony) returns to homogeneity when in consequence Akasha disappears. This disappearance means that Shakti is equilibrated, and that therefore there is no further possibility of motion of any kind. As the Tantras say, the Divine Mother becomes one with Paramashiva.

The Sharada says — From the Sakala Parameshvara who is Sacchidananda issued Shakti; from Shakti came Nada; and from Nada issued Bindu.

Sacchidanandavibhavat sakalat parameshvarat

Asicchhaktistato nado nadad bindusamudbhavah.

Here the Sakala Parameshvara is Shiva Tattva. Shakti is Shakti Tattva wherein are Samani, Vyapini, and Anjani Shaktis. Nada is the first produced source of Mantra, and the subtlest form of Shabda of which Mantra is a manifestation. Nada is threefold, as Mahanada or Nadanta and Nirodhini representing the first moving forth of the Shabda-Brahman as Nada, the filling up of the whole universe with Nadanta and the specific tendency towards the next state of unmanifested Shabda respectively. Nada in its three forms is in the Sadakhya Tattva. Nada becoming slightly operative towards the “speakable” (Vacya), (the former operation being in regard to the thinkable (Mantavya) ) is called Arddhacandra which develops into Bindu. Both of these are in Ishvara Tattva. 

This Mahabindu is threefold as the Kamakala. The undifferentiated Shabda-Brahman or Brahman as the immediate cause of the manifested Shabda and Artha is a unity of consciousness (Caitanya) which then expresses itself in three-fold function as the three Shaktis, Iccha, Jñana, Kriya; the three Gunas, Sattva, Rajas, Tamas; the three Bindus (Karyya) which are Sun, Moon and Fire; the three Devatas, Rudra, Vishnu, Brahma and so forth. These are the product of the union of Prakasha and Vimarsha Shakti. 

This Triangle of Divine Desire is the Kamakala, or Creative Will and its first subtle manifestation, the Cause of the Universe which is personified as the Great Devi Tripurasundari, the Kameshvara and Kameshvari, the object of worship in the Agamas. Kamakalavilasa, as explained in the work of that name, is the manifestation of the union of Shiva and Shakti, the great “I” (Aham) which develops through the inherent power of its thought-activity (Vimarsha-Shakti) into the universe, unknowing as Jiva its true nature and the secret of its growth through Avidya Shakti. 

Here then there appears the duality of subject and object; of mind and matter, of the word (Shabda) and its meaning (Artha). The one is not the cause of the other, but each is inseparable from, and concomitant with, the other as a bifurcation of the undifferentiated unity of Shabda-Brahman whence they proceed. 

The one cosmic movement produces at the same time the mind and the object which it cognizes; names (Nama) and language (Shabda) on the one hand; and forms (Rupa) or object (Artha) on the other. These are all parts of one coordinated contemporaneous movement, and, therefore, each aspect of the process is related the one to the other. The genesis of Shabda is only one aspect of the creative process, namely, that in which the Brahman is regarded as the Author of Shabda and Artha into which the undifferentiated Shabda-Brahman divides Itself. Shakti is Shabda-Brahman ready to create both Shabda and Artha on the differentiation of the Parabindu into the Kamakala, which is the root (Mula) of all Mantras. Shabda-Brahman is Supreme “Speech” (Para-Vak) or Supreme Shabda (Para-Shabda). From this fourth state of Shabda, there are three others — Pashyanti, Madhyama and Vaikhari, which are the Shabda aspect of the stages whereby the seed of formless consciousness explicates into the multitudinous concrete ideas (expressed in language of the mental world) the counterpart of the objective universe. But for the last three states of sound the body is required and, therefore, they only exist in the Jiva. In the latter, the Shabda-Brahman is in the form of Kundalini Shakti in the Muladhara Chakra. 

In Kundalini is Parashabda. This develops into the “Matrikas” or “Little Mothers” which are the subtle forms of the gross manifested letters (Varna). The letters make up syllables (Pada) and syllables make sentences (Vakya), of which elements the Mantra is composed. Para Shabda in the body develops in Pashyanti Shabda or Shakti of general movements (Samanya Spanda) located in the tract from the Muladhara to the Manipura associated with Manas. It then in the tract upwards to the Anahata becomes Madhyama or Hiranyagarbha sound with particularized movement (Vishesha Spanda) associated with Buddhi-Tattva. Vayu proceeding upwards to the throat expresses itself in spoken speech which is Vaikhari or Virat Shabda. Now it is that the Mantra issues from the mouth and is heard by the ear. Because the one cosmic movement produces the ideating mind and its accompanying Shabda and the objects cognized or Artha, the creative force of the universe is identified with the Matrikas and Varnas, and Devi is said to be in the forms of the letters from A to Ha, which are the gross expressions of the forces called Matrika; which again are not different from, but are the same forces that evolve into the universe of mind and matter. These Varnas are, for the same reason, associated with certain vital and physiological centers which are produced by the same power that gives birth to the letters. It is by virtue of these centers and their controlled area in the body that all the phenomena of human psychosis run on, and keep man in bondage. The creative force is the union of Shiva and Shakti, and each of the letters (Varna) produced therefrom and thereby are part and parcel of that Force, and are, therefore, Shiva and Shakti in those particular forms. For this reason, the Tantra Shastra says that Devata and Mantra composed of letters, are one. In short, Mantras are made of letters (Varna). Letters are Matrika. Matrika is Shakti and Shakti is Shiva. Through Shakti (one with Shiva) Nada-Shakti, Bindu-Shakti, the Shabda-Brahman or Para Shabda, arise the Matrika, Varna, Pada, Vakya of the lettered Mantra or manifested Shabda.

But what is Shabda or “Sound”? Here the Shakta Tantra Shastra follows the Mimamsa doctrine of Shabda, with such modifications as are necessary to adapt it to its doctrine of Shakti. Sound (Shabda) which is quality (Guna) of ether (Akasha) and is sensed by hearing is twofold, namely, lettered (Varnatmaka Shabda) and unlettered or Dhvani (Dhvanyatmaka Shabda). The latter is caused by the striking of two things together, and is apparently meaningless. Shabda, on the contrary, which is Anahata (a term applied to the Heart-Lotus) is that Brahman sound which is not caused by the striking of two things together. 

Lettered sound is composed of sentences (Vakya), words (Pada) and letters (Varna). Such sound has a meaning. Shabda manifesting as speech is said to be eternal. This the Naiyayikas deny saying that it is transitory. A word is uttered and it is gone. This opinion the Mlmamsa denies saying that the perception of lettered sound must be distinguished from lettered sound itself. Perception is due to Dhvani caused by the striking of the air in contact with the vocal organs, namely, the throat, palate and tongue and so forth. Before there is Dhvani there must be the striking of one thing against another. It is not the mere striking which is the lettered Shabda. This manifests it. The lettered sound is produced by the formation of the vocal organs in contact with air; which formation is in response to the mental movement or idea which by the will thus seeks outward expression in audible sound. It is this perception which is transitory, for the Dhvani which manifests ideas in language is such. But lettered sound as it is in itself, that is, as the Consciousness manifesting Idea expressed in speech is eternal. It was not produced at the moment it was perceived. It was only manifested by the Dhvani. It existed before, as it exists after, such manifestation, just as a jar in a dark room which is revealed by a flash of lightning is not then produced, nor does it cease to exist on its ceasing to be perceived through the disappearance of its manifester, the lightning. The air in contact with the voice organs reveals sound in the form of the letters of the alphabet, and their combinations in words and sentences. The letters are produced for hearing by the person desiring to speak, and become audible to the ear of others through the operation of unlettered sound or Dhvani. The latter being a manifester only, lettered Shabda is something other than its manifester.

Before describing the nature of Shabda in its different form of development, it is necessary to understand the Indian psychology of perception. At each moment, the Jiva is subject to innumerable influences which from all quarters of the Universe pour upon him. Only those reach his Consciousness which attract his attention and are thus selected by his Manas. The latter attends to one or other of these sense-impressions and conveys it to the Buddhi. When an object (Artha) is presented to the mind, and perceived, the latter is formed into the shape of the object perceived. This is called a mental Vritti (modification) which it is the object of Yoga to suppress. The mind as a Vritti is thus a representation of the outer subject. But, in so far as it is such representation, the mind is as much an object as the outer one. The latter, that is, the physical object, is called the gross object (Sthula artha), and the former or mental impression is called the subtle object (Sukshma artha). But, besides the object, there is the mind which perceives it. It follows that the mind has two aspects, in one of which it is the perceiver, and in the other the perceived in the form of the mental formation (Vritti), which in creation precedes its outer projection, and after the creation follows as the impression produced in the mind by the sensing of a gross physical object. 

The mental impression and the physical object exactly correspond, for the physical object is in fact but a projection of the cosmic imagination, though it has the same reality as the mind has; no more and no less. The mind is thus both cognizer (Grahaka) and cognized Grahya), revealer (Prakashaka) and revealed (Prakashaya), denoter (Vacaka) and denoted (Vacya). When the mind perceives an object, it is transformed into the shape of that object. So the mind which thinks of the Divinity which it worships (Ishtadevata) is, at length, through continued devotion, transformed into the likeness of that Devata. By allowing the Devata thus to occupy the mind for long, it becomes as pure as the Devata. This is a fundamental principle of tantric Sadhana or religious practice. The object perceived is called Artha, a term which comes from the root “Ri,” which means to get, to know, to enjoy. Artha is that which is known and which, therefore, is an object of enjoyment. The mind as Artha, that is in the form of the mental impression, is an exact reflection of the outer object or gross Artha. As the outer object is Artha, so is the interior subtle mental form which corresponds to it. That aspect of the mind which cognizes is called Shabda or Nama (name), and that aspect in which it is its own object or cognized is called Artha or Rupa (form). The outer physical object, of which the latter is in the individual an impression, is also Artha or Rupa, and spoken speech is the outer Shabda. 

The mind is thus, from the Mantra aspect, Shabda and Artha, terms corresponding to the Vedantic Nama and Rupa or concepts and concepts objectified. The Mayavada Vedanta says that the whole creation is Nama and Rupa. Mind as Shabda is the Power (Shakti) the function of which is to distinguish and identify (Bhedasamsargavritti-Shakti).

Just as the body is causal, subtle and gross, so is Shabda, of which there are four states (Bhava) called Para, Pashyanti, Madhyama and Vaikhari. Para sound is that which exists on the differentiation of the Mahabindu before actual manifestation. This is a motionless, causal Shabda in Kundalini, in the Muladhara center of the body. That aspect of it in which it commences to move with a general, that is, non-particularized, motion (Samanya Spanda) is Pashyanti whose place is from the Muladhara to the Manipura Chakra, the next center. It is here associated with Manas. These represent the motionless and first moving Ishvara aspect of Shabda. Madhyama Shabda is associated with Buddhi. It is Hiranyagarbha sound (Hiranyagarbharupa) extending from Pashyanti to the heart. 

Both Madhyama sound which is the inner “naming” by the cognitive aspect of mental movement, as also its Artha or subtle (Sukshma) object (Artha) belong to the mental or subtle body (Sukshma or Linga Sharira). 

Perception is dependent on distinguishing and identification. In the perception of an object that part of the mind which identifies and distinguishes and thus “names” or the cognizing part is, from the Shabda aspect, subtle Shabda: and that part of it which takes the shape of, and thus constitutes, the object (a shape which corresponds with the outer thing) is subtle Artha. The perception of an object is thus consequent on the simultaneous functioning of the mind in its two-fold aspect as Shabda and Artha, which are in indissoluble relation with one another as cognizer (Grahaka) and cognized Grahya). 

Both belong to the subtle body. In creation Madhyama sound first appeared. At that movement there was no outer Artha. Then the Cosmic Mind projected this inner Madhyama Artha into the world of sensual experience and named it in spoken speech (Vaikhari Shabda). 

The last or Vaikhari Shabda is uttered speech, developed in the throat, issuing from the mouth. This is Virat Shabda. Vaikhari Shabda is therefore language or gross lettered sound. Its corresponding Artha is the physical or gross object which language denotes. This belongs to the gross body (Sthula Sharira). Madhyama Shabda is mental movement or ideation in its cognitive aspect and Madhyama Artha is the mental impression of the gross object. The inner thought-movement in its aspect as (Vacaka) and denoted (Vacya). 

When the mind perceives an object, it is transformed into the shape of that object. So the mind which thinks of the Divinity which it worships (Ishtadevata) is, at length, through continued devotion, transformed into the likeness of that Devata. By allowing the Devata thus to occupy the mind for long, it becomes as pure as the Devata. 

This is a fundamental principle of tantric Sadhana or religious practice. The object perceived is called Artha, a term which comes from the root “Ri,” which means to get, to know, to enjoy. Artha is that which is known and which, therefore, is an object of enjoyment. The mind as Artha, that is in the form of the mental impression, is an exact reflection of the outer object or gross Artha. As the outer object is Artha, so is the interior’s subtle mental form which corresponds to it. That aspect of the mind which cognizes is called Shabda or Nama (name), and that aspect in which it is its own object or cognized is called Artha or Rupa (form). 

The outer physical object, of which the latter is in the individual, an impression, is also Artha or Rupa, and spoken speech is the outer Shabda. The mind is thus, from the Mantra aspect, Shabda and Artha, terms corresponding to the Vedantic Nama and Rupa or concepts and concepts objectified. The Mayavada Vedanta says that the whole creation is Nama and Rupa. Mind as Shabda is the Power (Shakti) the function of which is to distinguish and identify (Bhedasamsargavritti-Shakti).

Just as the body is causal, subtle and gross, so is Shabda, of which there are four states (Bhava) called Para, Pashyanti, Madhyama and Vaikhari. Para sound is that which exists on the differentiation of the Mahabindu before actual manifestation. This is motionless, causal Shabda in Kundalini, in the Muladhara center of the body. That aspect of it in which it commences to move with a general, that is, non-particularized, motion (Samanya Spanda) is Pashyanti whose place is from the Muladhara to the Manipura Chakra, the next center. It is here associated with Manas. These represent the motionless and first moving Ishvara aspect of Shabda. Madhyama Shabda is associated with Buddhi. It is Hiranyagarbha sound (Hiranyagarbharupa) extending from Pashyanti to the heart. Both Madhyama sound which is the inner “naming” by the cognitive aspect of mental movement, as also its Artha or subtle (Sukshma) object (Artha) belong to the mental or subtle body (Sukshma or Linga Sharira). Perception is dependent on distinguishing and identification. In the perception of an object that part of the mind which identifies and distinguishes and thus “names” or the cognizing part is, from the Shabda aspect, subtle Shabda: and that part of it which takes the shape of, and thus constitutes, the object (a shape which corresponds with the outer thing) is subtle Artha. 

The perception of an object is thus consequent on the simultaneous functioning of the mind in its two-fold aspect as Shabda and Artha, which are in indissoluble relation with one another as cognizer (Grahaka) and cognized Grahya). Both belong to the subtle body. In creation Madhyama sound first appeared. At that movement there was no outer Artha. Then the Cosmic Mind projected this inner Madhyama Artha into the world of sensual experience and named it in spoken speech (Vaikhari Shabda). The last or Vaikhari Shabda is uttered speech, developed in the throat, issuing from the mouth. This is Virat Shabda. Vaikhari Shabda is therefore language or gross lettered sound. Its corresponding Artha is the physical or gross object which language denotes. This belongs to the gross body (Sthula Sharira). Madhyama Shabda is mental movement or ideation in its cognitive aspect and Madhyama Artha is the mental impression of the gross object. The inner thought-movement in its aspect as Shabdartha, and considered both in its knowing aspect (Shabda) and as the subtle known object (Artha) belongs to the subtle body (Sukshma Sharira). The cause of these two is the first general movement towards particular ideation (Pashyanti) from the motionless cause Para Shabda or Supreme Speech. Two forms of inner or hidden speech, causal, subtle, accompanying mind movement thus precede and lead up to spoken language. The inner forms of ideating movement constitute the subtle, and the uttered sound the gross aspect of Mantra which is the manifested Shabda-Brahman.

The gross Shabda called Vaikhari or uttered speech, and the gross Artha or the physical object denoted by that speech are the projection of the subtle Shabda and Artha, through the initial activity of the Shabda-Brahman into the world of gross sensual perception. Therefore, in the gross physical world, Shabda means language, that is, sentences, words and letters which are the expression of ideas and are Mantra. In the subtle or mental world, Madhyama sound is the Shabda aspect of the mind which “names” in its aspect as cognizer, and Artha, is the same mind in its aspect as the mental object of its cognition. It is defined to be the outer in the form of the mind. It is thus similar to the state of dreams (Svapna), as Parashabda is the causal dreamless (Sushupti), and Vaikhari the waking (Jagrat) state. Mental Artha is a Samsara, an impression left on the subtle body by previous experience, which is recalled when the Jiva reawakes to world experience, and recollects the experience temporarily lost in the cosmic dreamless state (Sushupti) which is destruction (Pralaya). What is it which arouses this Samskara? As an effect (Kriya) it must have a cause (Karana). This Karana is the Shabda or Name (Nama) subtle or gross corresponding to that particular Artha. When the word “Ghata” is uttered, this evokes in the mind the image of an object, namely, a jar; just as the presentation of that object does. In the Hiranyagarbha state, Shabda as Samskara worked to evoke mental images. The whole world is thus Shabda and Artha, that is Name and Form (Nama, Rupa). These two are inseparably associated. There is no Shabda without Artha or Artha without Shabda. The Greek word “Logos” also means thought and word combined. 

There is thus a double line of creation, Shabda and Artha; ideas and language together with objects. Speech as that which is heard, or the outer manifestation of Shabda, stands for the Shabda creation. The Artha creation are the inner and outer objects seen by the mental or physical vision. From the cosmic creative standpoint, the mind comes first, and from it, is evolved the physical world according to the ripened Samskaras which led to the existence of the particular existing universe. Therefore, the mental Artha precedes the physical Artha which is an evolution in gross matter of the former. This mental state corresponds to that of dreams (Svapna), when man lives in the mental world only. After creation which is the waking ( Jagrat) state, there is for the individual an already existing parallelism of names and objects.

Uttered speech is a manifestation of the inner naming or thought. This thought-movement is similar in men of all races. When an Englishman or an Indian thinks of an object, the image is to both the same, whether evoked by the object itself or by the utterance of its name. For this reason possibly if thought-reading be accepted, a thought-reader whose cerebral center is en rapport with that of another, may read the hidden “speech,” that is thought, of one whose spoken speech he cannot understand. Thus, whilst the thought-movement is similar in all men, the expression of it as Vaikhari Shabda differs. According to tradition there was once a universal language. According to the Biblical account, this was so, before the confusion of tongues at the Tower of Babel. 

Similarly there is, (a friend tells me though he has forgotten to send me the reference), in the Rigveda, a mysterious passage which speaks of the “Three Fathers and three Mothers,” by whose action like that of the Elohim “all-comprehending speech” was made into that which was not so. Nor is this unlikely, when we consider that difference in gross speech is due to difference of races evolved in the course of time. If the instruments by which, and conditions under which thought is revealed in speech, were the same for all men then there would be but one language. But now this is not so. Racial characteristics and physical conditions, such as the nature of the vocal organs, climate, inherited impressions and so forth differ. So also does language. But for each particular man speaking any particular language, the uttered name of any object is the gross expression of his inner thought-movement. It evokes the idea and the idea is consciousness as mental operation. That operation can be so intensified as to be itself creative. This is Mantra-Caitanya.

It is said in the Tantra Shastras that the fifty letters of the alphabet are in the six bodily Chakras called Muladhara, Svadhisthana, Manipura, Anahata, Vishuddha and Ajña. These 50 letters multiplied by 20 are in the thousand-pealed Lotus or Sahasrara.

From the above account, it will be understood that, when it is said that the “Letters” are in the six bodily Chakras, it is not to be supposed that it is intended to absurdly affirm that the letters as written shapes, or as the uttered sounds which are heard by the ear are there. The letters in this sense, that is, as gross things, are manifested only in speech and writing. This much is clear. But the precise significance of this statement is a matter of some difficulty. There is in fact no subject which presents more difficulties than Mantravidya, whether considered generally or in relation to the particular matters in hand. I do not pretend to have elucidated all its difficulties.

What proceeds from the body is in it in subtle or causal form. Why, however, it may be asked are particular letters assigned to particular Chakras. I have heard several explanations given which do not, in my opinion, bear the test of examination.

If the arrangement be not artificial for the purpose of Sadhana, the simplest explanation is that which follows: From the Brahman are produced the five Bhutas, Ether, Air, Fire, Water, Earth, in the order stated; and from them issued the six Chakras from Ajña to Muladhara. The letters are (with the exception next stated) placed in the Chakras in their alphabetical order; that is, vowels as being the first letters or Shaktis of the consonants (which cannot be pronounced without them) are placed in Vishuddha Chakra: the first consonants Ka to Tha in Anahata and so forth until the Muladhara wherein are set the last four letters from Va to Sa. Thus in Ajña there are Ha and Ksha as being Brahmabijas. In the next or Vishuddha Chakra are the 16 vowels which originated first. Therefore, they are placed in Vishuddha the ethereal Cakra; ether also having originated first. 

The same principle applies to the other letters in the Chakras. Namely;

 Ka, to Tha (12 letters and petals) in Anahata; 

Da to Pha (10) in Manipura; 

Ba to La (6) in Svadhisthana; 

and Va to Sa (4) in Muladhara. 

The connection between particular letters and the Chakras in which they are placed is further said to be due to the fact that in uttering any particular letter, the Cakra in which it is placed and its surroundings are brought into play. 

The sounds of the Sanskrit alphabet are classified according to the organs used in their articulation, and are guttural (Kantha), palatals (Talu), cerebrals (Murddha), dentals (Danta) and labials (Oshtha). When so articulated, each letter, it is said, “touches” the Chakra in which it is, and in which on this account it has been placed. In uttering them certain Chakras are affected; that is, brought into play. This, it is alleged, will be found to be so, if the letter is carefully pronounced and attention is paid to the accompanying bodily movement. Thus, in uttering Ha, the head (Ajña) is touched, and in uttering the deep-seated Va, the basal Cakra or Muladhara. In making the first sound the forehead is felt to be affected, and in making the last the lower part of the body around the root-lotus. This is the theory put forth as accounting for the position of the letters in the Chakras.

A Mantra is, like everything else, Shakti. But the mere utterance of a Mantra without more is a mere movement of the lips. The Mantra must be awakened (Prabuddha) just like any other Shakti if effect is to be had therefrom. 

This is the union of sound and idea through a knowledge of the Mantra and its meaning. 

The recitation of a Mantra without knowing its meaning is practically fruitless. I say “practically” because devotion, even though it be ignorant, is never wholly void of fruit. 

But a knowledge of the meaning is not enough; for it is possible by reading a book or receiving oral instructions to get to know the meaning of a Mantra, without anything further following. 

Each Mantra is the embodiment of a particular form of Consciousness or Shakti. This is the Mantra-Shakti. Consciousness or Shakti also exists in the form of the Sadhaka. The object then is to unite these two, when thought is not only in the outer husk, but is vitalized by will, knowledge, and action through its conscious center in union with that of the Mantra. The latter is Devata or a particular manifestation of Shakti: and the Sadhaka who identifies himself therewith, identifies himself with that Shakti. According to Yoga when the mind is concentrated on any object it is unified with it. When man is so identified with a Varna or Tattva, then the power of objects to bind ceases, and he becomes the controller. Thus, in Kundalini-Yoga, the static bodily Shakti pierces the Chakras, to meet Shiva-Shakti in the Sahasrara. As the Sadhaka is, through the power of the rising Shakti, identified with each of the Centers, Tattvas and Matrika Shaktis they cease to bind, until passing through all he attains Samadhi. As the Varnas are Shiva-Shakti, concentration on them draws the mind towards, and then unifies it with, the Devata which is one with the Mantra. The Devata of the Mantra is only the creative Shakti assuming that particular form. As already stated, Devata may be realized in any object, not merely in Mantras, Yantras, Ghatas, Pratimas or other ritual objects of worship. 

The same power which manifests to the ear in the Mantra is represented in the lines and curves of the Yantra which, the Kaulavali Tantra says, is the body of the Devata:

Yantram mantramayam proktam mantratma devataiva hi

Dehatmanor yatha bhedo yantra-devata yoshtatha.

The Yantra is thus the graphic symbol of the Shakti, indicated by the Mantra with which identification takes place. The Pratima or image is a grosser visual form of the Devata. But the Mantras are particular forms of Divine Shakti, the realization of which is efficacious to produce particular results. As in Kundalini- Yoga, so also here the identification of the Sadhaka with different Mantras gives rise to various Vibhutis or powers: for each grouping of the letters represents a new combination of the Matrika Shaktis. It is the eternal Shakti who is the life of the Mantra. Therefore, Siddhi in Mantra Sadhana is the union of the Sadhaka’s

Shakti with the Mantra Shakti; the identification of the Sadhaka with the Mantra is the identification of the knower (Vedaka), knowing (Vidya) and known (Vedya) or the Sadhaka, Mantra and Devata. Then the Mantra works. The mind must feed, and is always feeding, something. It seizes the Mantra and works its way to its heart. When there, it is the chitta or mind of the Sadhaka unified with the Shakti of the Mantra which works. 

Then subject and object, in its Mantra form, meet as one. By meditation the Sadhaka gains unity with the Devata behind, as it were, the Mantra and Whose form the Mantra is. The union of the Sadhaka of the Mantra and the Devata of the Mantra is the result of the effort to realize permanently the incipient desire for such union. The will towards Divinity is a dynamic force which pierces everything and finds there Divinity itself. 

It is because Westerners and some Westernized Hindus do not understand the principles of Mantra; principles which lie at the center of Indian religious theory and practice, that they see nothing in it where they do not regard it as gross superstition. It must be admitted that Mantra Sadhana is often done ignorantly. 

Faith is placed in externals and the inner meaning is often lost. But even such ignorant worship is better than none at all. “It is better to bow to Narayana with one’s shoes on than never to bow at all.” Much also is said of “vain repetitions”. What Christ condemned was not repetition but “vain” repetition

That man is a poor psychologist who does not know the effect of repetition, when done with faith and devotion. It is a fact that the inner kingdom yields to violence and can be taken by assault. 

Indeed, it yields to nothing but the strong will of the Sadhaka, for it is that will in its purest and fullest strength. By practice with the Mantra, the Devata is invoked. This means that the mind itself is Devata when unified with Devata. This is attained through repetition of the Mantra (Japa).

Japa is compared to the action of a man shaking a sleeper to wake him up. The Sadhaka’s own consciousness is awakened. The two lips are Shiva and Shakti. The movement in utterance is the “coition” (Maithuna) of the two. Shabda which issues therefrom is in the nature of Bindu. The Devata then appearing is, as it were, the son of the Sadhaka. It is not the supreme Devata who appears (for It is actionless), but in all cases an emanation produced by the Sadhaka’s worship for his benefit only. In the case of worshipers of the Shiva-Mantra, a Boy-Shiva (Bala-Shiva) appears who is then made strong by the nurture which the Sadhaka gives him. The occultist will understand all such symbolism to mean that the Devata is a form of the Consciousness which becomes the Boy-Shiva, and which, when strengthened is the full-grown Divine Power Itself. All Mantras are forms of consciousness (Vijñanarupa), and when the Mantra is fully practiced it enlivens the Samskara, and the Artha appears to the mind. Mantras used in worship are thus a form of the Samskaras of Jivas; the Artha of which manifests to the consciousness which is pure. The essence of all this is — concentrate and vitalize thought and will power, that is Shakti.

The Mantra method is Shaktopaya Yoga working with concepts and form, whilst Shambhavopaya Yoga has been well said to be a more direct attempt at intuition of Shakti, apart from all passing concepts, which, as they cannot show the Reality, only serve to hide it the more from one’s view and thus maintain bondage. These Yoga methods are but examples of the universal principle of Sadhana, that the Sadhaka should first work with and through form, and then, so far as may be, by a meditation which dispenses with it.

It has been pointed out to me by Professor Surendra Nath Das Gupta that this Varna-Sadhana, so important a content of the Tantra Shastra, is not altogether its creation, but, as I have often in other matters observed, a development of ancient Vaidik teaching. For it was, he says, first attempted in the Aranyaka Epoch upon the Pradkopasana on which the tantric Sadhana is, he suggests, based; though, of course, that Shastra has elaborated the notion into a highly complicated system which is so peculiar a feature of its religious discipline. There is thus a synthesis of this Pratikopasana with Yoga method, resting as all else upon a Vedantic basis.

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Seed Syllables | Bīja बीज |  种子 | The Origin Of Sound | Total healing and transformation

Seed Syllables | Bīja बीज |  种子 | The Origin Of Sound | Total healing and transformation

“Sanskrit has come out of Kundalini’s movement, when She ( Kundalini) makes a sound, all was recorded by the great saints and like that every chakra has got vowels and consonants according to the number of sub-plexuses they have, or, you can say petals they have, and all of them make the alphabets of Sanskrit language.”

“Kundalini is the Shakti who gives life to the Jiva (Embosied human) . It is she who in the Muladhara Chakra, is the cause of the sweet, indistinct and murmuring Dhvani which is compared to the humming of a black bee.”

(And...just because inevitably. the newbie MANIFESTRS will ask.... "Do I need this to manifest x, y or z???"   The answer is NO!   You don't need anything to manifest another thing.  No manifestation is dependent on another for its manifestation. This information is for higher levels of awareness)

Bīja mantras are used in resonance with the chakras, that align with the spine. Each chakra is associated with its own Bīja mantra:

  • Lam – muladhara (root) chakra
  • Vam – svadisthana (spleen or sacral) chakra
  • Ram – manipura (solar plexus) chakra
  • Yam – anahata (heart) chakra
  • Ham – visuddha (throat) chakra
  • Sham – ajna (third eye) chakra
  • Om – sahasrara (crown) chakra

Og Image

The best known Bīja mantra is Om (or Aum), which is the sound of Brahman, the vibration or primordial sound. The unstruck sound, which is really the sound reverberations heard long after the sound was struck… like ripples on a clam lake after a pebble was tossed in. It is often chanted during yoga practice and meditation. Other common Bīja mantras include:

  • Krim – believed to awaken the lower chakras.
  • Shrim – correlates to the goddess Lakshmi and is thought to promote health, joy and beauty.
  • Hrim – associated with creativity, purification of the heart and healing.
  • Hum – energizes the body and eliminates negativity.
  • Lung – associated with the earth element and is used as a grounding chakra
  • Vang – associated with the water element and is used to ground and increase sensuality
  • Rang – associated with the fire element and is an energizing mantra
  • Phat – The word phaṭ means something like “crack!” is imported from the Vedic tradition. In the Vajrasattva mantra it is added when the mantra is used to subdue demons.
  • Svaha – This is particularly important in Mantra yoga. There are various translations of svaha, but the simplest is that it means “so be it.” 

As a Mantra-Shastra, the Tantras have greatly elaborated the Bijas.

Though a Mantra such as a Bija-mantra may not convey its meaning on its surface, the initiate knows that its meaning is the own form (Svarupa, its TRUE form) of the particular Devata whose Mantra it is, and that the essence of the Bija is that which makes letters sound, and exists in all which we say or hear. 

Every Mantra is thus a particular sound form of the Brahman.

There are a very large number of these short unetymological vocables or Bijas such as above mentioned Hrim, Shrim, Krim, Hum, Hum, Phat called by various names.

Thus the first is called the Maya Bija, the second Lakshmi Bija, the third Kali Bija, the fourth Kurca Bija, the fifth Varma Bija, the sixth Astra Bija. Ram is Agni Bija, Em is Yoni Bija, Klim is Kama Bija, Shrim is Badhu Bija, Aim Sarasvati Bija and so forth. 

Each Devata has His or Her Bija. Thus Hrim is the Maya Bija, Krim the Kali Bija. The Bija is used in the worship of the Devata whose Mantra it is. 

All these Bijas mentioned are in common use. There are a large number of others, some of which are formed with the first letters of the name of the Devata for whom they stand, such as Gam for Ganesha, Dum for Durga.

There are composite consonants such as Śhra, Kla, Tva, etc., which have correspondences with particular chakras or Deities.

The vowels are all associated with the Viśḥuddhī Chakra and give the power, quality or direction (ā is Left Side, ī – Central Channel, etc.) (Ida, Pingala, Shusumna Nadi)

Ida, Pingala, Shusumna Nadi

Mantras are solar (Saura) and masculine, and lunar (Saumya) and feminine, as also neuter.

The two main Nadis, Ida and Pingala, reaching their pinnacle of evolution and contributing to the vital energy.

But what exactly are Ida and Pingala?

Ida – The Left Energy Channel – LUNAR

Ida is located on the left side of the spine (your left). It is associated with the vibration of the moon, which represents the emotional part of a person – the Yin energy.

In the Sanskrit language, Ida means “comfort”.

Regardless of our gender, we all have a female and masculine side.

Each one of those manifests in different situations according to our inner state of mind at a given time.

Ida is the one connected to our female part. It corresponds to the left nostril to the right side of our brain.

This is the more introvert part of our bodies. Ida transports the energy to the nervous system. This process calms the body, mind, and soul.

Pingala – The Right Energy Channel – SOLAR

Pingala is located on the right side of the spine. It represents the masculine, pragmatic part – Yang energy.

In Sanskrit, Pingala means “channel” or “flow”.

It connects to the right nostril and to the left hemisphere of our brain. 

Pingala brings the element of the sun which represents the intellect. It connects to the more extroverted and masculine side.

Pingala controls essential life elements such as vitality and strength.

What Do Ida And Pingala Represent

Even if they are presented as a duality in Hindu tradition, let’s not forget that they are within the same body. Everything is a whole and works together.

For example, a coin has the “heads” printed on one side and “tail” on the other, but it’s one coin. Thus, this creates balance and in the end a whole object. Neither of the pieces can be absent. It is what it is because of the two sides.

The same goes for Ida and Pingala, Yin and Yang, masculine and feminine.

Therefore Ida and Pingala, together with Sushumna, are the most important energy channels that we have.

These three Nadis keep the energy flowing, intersecting themselves at the most important junctions – the chakras. 

The prana (or light) energy flows from the base of the spine all the way up to the crown chakra, exiting as a fountain of light.

They Are Gateways

Ida and Pingala are in strong connection with the chakras. These are gateways that connect the subtle realms with the physical ones. 

Through them, we are able to express inner emotions, thoughts, words, and actions. 

This helps us understand that we are spiritual beings living a physical experience. In the end, this has to lead to spiritual growth and awareness.

Many people live within the vibration of Ida and Pingala and less in Sushumna.

This is reasonably balanced, meaning if the exterior is calm we will also feel calm. But if the exterior changes, we will react to this change. It’s the basic pattern on which they function.

Yet, we can surpass this condition and raise our awareness and consciousness. Through wisdom and understanding, we can expand beyond that and become virtually immune to the outside world.

They simply won’t affect us anymore.

But the energy cannot flow without these two channels being properly cleansed and energized. That’s why there are quite a few Yoga breathing exercises out there.

Call on Hanuman to change your destiny:

ओं ह्रीं श्रीं ह्रीं ह्रौं ह्रैं ह्रः हन-हन, दह- दह, पच-पच, गृहाण-गृहाण,मारय-मारय,मर्दय-मर्दय, महा महा भैरव भैरव रूपेण, धूनय-धूनय, कम्पय कम्पय,विघ्नय-विघ्नय, विश्वेश्वर, शोभय-शोभय,कटु-कटु,मोहय हुं फट् स्वाहा।

There is a widely diffused lower mind which says, “what I do not understand is absurd”. But this science, whether well-founded or not, is not that.

Those who think so might expect Mantras which are prayers and the meaning of which they understand; for with prayer the whole world is familiar.

But such appreciation itself displays a lack of understanding.

There is nothing necessarily holy or prayerful alone in Mantras as some think.

Some combinations of letters constitute prayers and are called Mantras, as for instance the most celebrated Gayatri Mantra. A Mantra is not the same thing as prayer or self-dedication. Seed syllables are Consciousness (chit) manifesting as letters and words. 

 “Om” is the most prominent example of a “meaningless” Mantra, that is, one which does not bear its meaning on its face, and of what is called a seed or Bija Mantra, because they are the very quintessence of Mantra, and the seed (Bija) of the fruit which is Siddhi (spiritual achievement). These are properly monosyllabic.

Om is a Vedic Bija, but it is the source of all the other tantric Bijas which represent particular Devata aspects of that which is presented as a whole in 0m.

FREE DOWNLOAD, learn everything about the mystical Sanskrit SEED mantras:

Manifest magazine

Rumi’s Eternal Love Poems

Rumi’s Eternal Love Poems

Be in love with life

Your Love is the source of passion

for all the Love there is.

It burns my soul, night and day.

Don’t look for the ashes,

you won’t find any, 

they are all inside of me,

layers upon layers,

all inside of me.

Even a sea of passions and seductions

could not wash these ashes away.

Wait until I am dead,

if they open me up, you will find

a thousand eyes,

staring you in the face.

I AM | EIYPO | Solipsism or Oneness | What is the real deal?

Drawing water from the well of God-song

Where is God?

Arjuna:

-Oh my lord what is God? What is the self? What are fruit of activities? What is this material manifestation? What are the demigods? Who is the Lord of the supreme sacrifice, how does he live in the body? How can we know you at the time of death?

God:

⭐ The indestructible transcendental living entity is called God and his eternal nature is called the self.

⭐ Action pertaining to the development of the material bodies of the living entities is called fruit of activities, Karma.

⭐ The physical nature that is constantly changing is called the material manifestation.

⭐ The universal form of God includes all the demigods like the sun and the moon.

⭐ And I, the supreme lord , as I am represented as the supersoul in the heart of every embodied being, is called the the supreme sacrifice.

⭐ And whoever at the end of his life remembers me, at once attains my nature.

This expert is from Bhagavad Gita, chapter 8. (shortened for ease of reading, please explore the real text)

For our purposes we’ll only focus on WHO and WHERE is God.

This verse is all that we truly need to know about God, the great I AM, and about Godself. Nothing is clearer than this. God is self, God is manifestation, God is action.. (God are all the little deities as well.) God is me, and you, and our actions, and our bodies and our consciousness, (and by sacrifice is meant that devotional bestowal that we feel when our compassion overtakes our ego, and and such God is our hearts.)

When the concept of EIPO or everything is yourself pushed out, is brought up in LOA massive confusion immediately begins, it is such a hard concept for a beginner to grasp, and it doesn’t hep that the blind are leading the blind.

As hard as this is to grasp, just know that your journey towards embodying this, and living and breathing oneness has begun. Everything that you are trying to manifest is you, is already yours, and is part of yourself. There is nothing that isn’t self, but notice that God states in the above paragraph that there is a difference between God the manifest material bodies and that difference is that Godself is the eternal transcendental entity, in other words, the body is not everything at once, but consciousness is and consciousness is within all manifest bodies.

The best way to start to understand this is to call everything out as self, and to immerse yourself a little bit everyday in texts or podcasts that explain this. Listen to the Bhagavad Gita or the Ashtavakra Gita or other texts that thoroughly explain it, read Neville Goddard everyday, and one day it will dawn on you, and this is called awakening. You will see it with your own mind, and then it is much easier to grasp.

Awakening isn’t something difficult, boring or unattainable, it is a bliss state, nothing feels better, and it is easily available for everyone. Learn from the original texts, spend some time with the methods, for example meditation or chanting, practice seeing yourself inside of another human, or practice seeing god in another human, or inside of yourself. Practice makes perfect.

Awakening has been made out to be so difficult but it is not, it is easy, but you have to start calling yourself out when negative beliefs pop up, beliefs in the illusion of separation for example. The other one that is evil, is God, and is self. Call it out as often as you are able to, by saying -No! That is not evil, that is love, that is God and that is myself. It will feel unnatural at first, but the day will come when you have a flash of insight into your vastness, and you will even if briefly see yourself as everything. Then you will understand, everything is yourself pushed out, and you will understand the golden rule of treating others as yourself because obviously it is yourself.

One way to get to this awakening is to bring yourself to a state of alignment everyday, because alignment contains the same feelings as awakening, that is blissful feelings. Leaning closer to feeling blissful to the best of your ability will get you there eventually. In the ancient texts this alignment is called “devotion”, and it is a state of great love. Fix your attention of the love of the heart, and bring in light from the top of the head.

You are now, the beginning of time, the current moment, the end of time, and all the living creatures within it, and yet this body causes us to se time as linear, and bodies as separate. This iss merely an illusion or a mirage. Everything arises from within, not from without. This is how EIYPO works. All is within consciousness, and our focus brings somethings to the front row seat of our manifest world, and our lack of focus cause other things to recede into the background.

To cause something to come into your material manifestation, merely allow your consciousness to dwell on the state of its fulfillment. All manifestations come and go, but consciousness remains unchanged, make attaining Godstate part of your manifesting journey. Mastery comes from mastering our minds.

Reality is the real backdrop

The Bhagavad Gita, or Gods song, as it translates to, is set to the backdrop of war and far too much emphasis is often put on the specific backdrop but it could have been anything. Any real life circumstance. It helps to remember that his is an extraordinarily old story, and that warring tribes was their reality.

The backdrop could have been anything.

It seems like it is a story about war. And it is.

And then it seems like it is a story about spirituality. And it is.

Then you realize that it is a story about how to face reality, and that the lesson is that real spirituality is what happens in your current life, and it not something that happens while meditating in a cave. It is a story that everyone needs, because we all have a backdrop of our own circumstances, and we all face a crisis now and then.

a man in yellow kasaya

The backdrop of your own story is your own circumstances.

If you look at any person who is successful in their area of life, be it career or marriage, the success came from facing their circumstances boldly, not from hiding in a cave mediating.

The western mindset has created a separation between practicing spirituality and living real life, but that separation is false as Krishna explains, the real test comes in real life.

How well can you control your mind, and be still, and know that I AM God when the sh*t hits the fan? Spirituality seems to be what happens deep in concentration on the yoga mat, but the truth is that it happens in the midst of your greatest challenge of all. Do you remember then, how to control your mind or do you forget? Arjuna wants to get out of his circumstance, he is standing at the frontline of a war that is about to start and he wants to leave and go home. He isn’t afraid as much as he is disturbed that he ha has to kill people whom he actually love. The circumstance is so extreme that it is hard to find a more extreme circumstance. Yet, Krishna (God, and also self in form of eternal transcendent consciousness) tells him that circumstances don’t matter. Arjuna will win, the war is already won, weather Arjuna battles or not those other men will die. The interpretations to this story are so deep, and what we have to understand here is that time begins and ends in our consciousness, this circumstance was a mere intention, and as an intention it must take place and your actions are immaterial to it, but you are better of going than being dragged through your circumstances. What you have intended in consciousness is so. Can you think purely? Until then, you will face every intention, until then you will be dragged through your circumstances, and until then there will be “wars” or breakups, or divorce, or any other struggle. God (eternal transcendent consciousness) tells Arjuna to stay calm, the battle is won, do his duties as expected of him as a soldier, and that circumstances do not matter.

No matter how many times we are told that separation is an illusion, and that oneness is the real truth that permeates all of existence we STILL want to create a division between some lofty and holier spirituality, and a sinful problematic “real” world. Krishna is clear, literal, and no nonsense. There is NO such division, YOUR life is YOUR spirituality. YOUR spiritual practice happens on the floor of YOUR life. You don’t need to leave and go meditate anywhere to be “good”, your battles are already won, and your very basic job is to be still and know.

When our spiritual strengths are realized inside they are also materialized outside. Is it starting to sound like Law Of Assumption yet, because it should.

God is Brahman is the limitless vast always expanding and all pervading.

The words that we use to express oneness are only necessary after we have accepted duality. We only talk about how time does not exist after we have accepted the untruth that time does in fact exist. We only talk about oneness after we have accepted the untruth of separation. This is what is meant by the unstruck sound (anahata) which is likened to the reverberating sound of a heartbeat. This oneness does not in fact need to be expressed in relation to duality, it is for our understanding only. This is Brahman.

Brahman means God for us, but the word Brahman translates to:

That which expands without limit, ie, consciousness.

In the west God means something in heaven, outside of ourselves. In India it always meant expanded transcendental consciousness. The concept of EIYPO is only relevant if you have accepted duality and separation as reality, as a way to explain that we are actually one consciousness only, and this consciousness gives rise to the entire universe including other people. It is a consequence of eternal transcendent consciousness. Your consciousness.

Placing God in our hearts

This small sentence, God is the bestower in the heart, deviates from solipsism in a significant way, in that not just our minds are involved in experiencing consciousness. This aligns with other ancient teachings such as Kabbalah. God is the bestower, and the quality of bestowal is found in the heart. The mind as such, is a tool, and should be used as such, but the mind is not God. Consciousness and mind have clear differences, and notice that it is never said that God is our mind, God is the indestructible transcendental living entity but the mind is born with the body and dies with the body.

Using this wisdom for MANIFESTING:

  1. Set Goals using your mind as a tool to do this.

2. Intend, using your mind as a tool to do this.

3. Be still, cease your mind to do rhis.

Remember:

God (self as limitless and ever expanding consciousness, not self as in the body or the mind) is the DOER.

The battle is won weather you fight or not.

You are merely the intender, using your mind as a tool, to intend.

Experience Gratitude that it is already done, this is equal to being still.

Awakening becomingthegoddess bliss Divine Feminine GATEWAY Goddess healing law of assumption LivingWellness love manifest manifestation MANIFESTING manifest love manifestlove Manifest your dreams meditation neville goddard revision specific person subliminal

Divine Love | Creating the true Twin Flame connection | Build true love with the right foundation | Manifest a specific person

Divine Love | Creating the Twin Flame connection | Build true love with the right foundation | Manifest a specific person

Is there such a thing as a Twin Flame connection? What is a Twin Flame? Is it a divine connection or is it just an excuse for a toxic relationship to go on?

These questions are very valid, there are thousands of people who are wondering if their estranged lover is their twin flame, and who can’t move on and level up, even if that would be the healthiest and safest thing to do, and there are thousands of others who give up on a love that just needed a little bit of realistic work to get back on track but we have been sold this pil that love should be easy, or else it isn’t “real love” Real love takes work. Sometimes.

Love is not a one size fits all.

I am Manifest Divinity, Unmanifest Divinity, and Transcendent Divinity. I am Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, as well as Saraswati, Lakshmi, and Parvati. I am the Sun and I am the Stars, and I am also the Moon. I am all animals and birds, and I am the outcast as well, and the thief. I am the low person of dreadful deeds and the great person of excellent deeds. I am Female, I am Male in the form of Shiva.

– Devi-Bhagavata Purana

In order to get the most of this post please also read: Circumstances , and The subconscious mind.

Let’s answer some of these questions and more importantly, let’s learn how to create a divine love connection.

I am assuming that you have a basic knowledge by now, of the law of assumption, if not, bookmark this page and come back to it if you didn’t feel like you understood it. Don’t worry, a lot of this information has taken me years to fully understand!

The technique; Using the EGO, to enhance the divine feminine principle

Yes you read that correctly, this is where you will learn how to make friends with you ego, and how to use it as a tool to check itself. It’s time to stop the war on the ego, it is a necessary tool for us humans, that is why we have it, and as long as we are smart about how to use it, and as long as we have an equal measure of compassion along side of it, there is no issue with the ego. Enough said about that I think. The ego is only an obstacle to enlightenment, but we are manifesting something different. We are manifesting love! Lets’ face it, a massive ego is unattractive and repelling, but this is why will learn how to use it to check ourselves!

Using the egoic aspect to check itself in order to enhance the divine feminine principle is the best tool that you will ever have in your manifesters tool box, if you want to create a Twin Flame connection, or if you believe that you have met your twin flame. (If you are in an estranged or toxic relationship, and you feel that this is a twin flame, then read this blog post as well, since you will need to go through obsession detox first.) The addiction developed in an abuse cycle is a real addiction, and as an addict you need to recover or you will just throw yourself into the toxic cycle again.

Up until now you might have believed things like “you only have one twin flame”, or “”the twin flame triggers an awakening” but now that you have learned that you manifest your reality out of the contents in your subconscious mind, you will begin to understand that the appearance of a twin flame (or a toxic abuse cycle) is just a way for you to show yourself the inner contents of your own mind. Nothing was ever created by an outer universe or God to trigger you, or to teach you a lesson. There is NO such thing. Because of the principal idea of oneness, the Twin Flame is simply you giving yourself an opportunity to return to oneness, (not that we can truly ever leave) and to remember that comfortable bliss state of all knowing, all positive, all zenful bliss. We all long for that, we forgot that love is ourselves, we go numb or fill up with dreary thoughts, or painful emotions, we dissociate and we forget who we truly are. Now you have understood that it is a natural longing, and that it is programmed into our very nature, and nobody exists without this fundamental desire. The creator already knows the answer, since creation is finished, and the beginning of time is already finished, as well as the end of time, so the outcome was good, we all returned to our oneness consciousness, and we recognized God in ourselves, and God in our fellow human sisters and brothers. God is not testing us, he already knows. We are giving ourselves opportunities that’s all. I realize that some people have never experience this incredible love that we call Twin Flame, but chances are that you have. And you want it back.

The recognition that we want to create a greater love than our previous idea of seeking fulfilment through love in the usual way, is a natural part of the human/divine journey. We are all marching in the same direction, towards total well being. This is a comforting thought, at least it should be, and an even better thought, is that total wellbeing is ours for the taking now, today, and we don’t have to wait.

Creating a higher connection requires overcoming our problems and perfecting our approach to love. It does not involve changing our partner, no matter how much we may want that, and any change that we want to see begins with ourselves, and this expands us. No one to change but self. Our consciousness expands, through expanding our love, and this positive change positively effects our relationship. This is the way that our relationship becomes the lab where we get to create a twin flame, or soulmare, or divine relationship. Divine relationships are made, by ourselves, by a greeter part of ourselves communicating to a smaller part of ourselves.

We all want to be loved and valued, cherished and respected, and this is caused by our ego, and this desire is natural. This is why the war on ego is unnecessary and useless. Each of us are unique though, and we are more or less drawn to different things and interests, and it also changes and fluctuates over time, and as we fulfill one desire we develop new desires. One desire is fulfilled and a new one develops. If we go stagnant and numb, we stop developing additional desires, and the natural process of creation comes to a dreary halt. Sometimes we connect with a partner or lover when we have a mutual desire, and our consciousness exist in the same state, but later we diverge, and develop different desires and interests, or life places different demands on us, or one person stays behind in the same state, and the other continues to grow and develop , and continues to consciously create themselves into newer states, so how do we maintain our love then? From our old state maybe we were satisfied with dating and courting and if problems hit at that time, the leap into manifesting from the end state seems to big of a gap. What then? You are stuck in a so called runner and chaser situation, wich by the way is not a real thing, it is just a state, nothing more and nothing less.

In the old paradigm, people just let the love die. Or people who were married, they maintained a marriage without any love in it, or they divorced. Today people are facing more issues, there is ghosting and i don’t know what else.

We are in a new paradigm, and we have brand new tools.

Many people who divorce stay singel for years or decades after, and breakups and divorces are not a great solution to creating a greater love. We need to learn how to create a divine love, in order to experience it. If we passively assume that it is just going to always be there, we will probably be disappointed.

We have to find a shared space, a space where we can come together, and it is created by a mutual desire for love and connection. This understanding is something that you can create all on your own, since your consciousness is what creates in your universe. Eventually, we both also need to participate in this creation. At some point, we will need reckon with the fact that we also have each our own egoic needs and this is necessary to admit before a divine love can be created. It is like an addict who needs to admit that they are an addict before they can get sober. It is not such a big deal though, you just have to admit that you have your own desires that are driven by a purely selfish desire for fulfilment. We are all the same in that way even if what we desire is fully altruistic, it is still desired from the part of ourselves that is seeking personal fulfillment (through altruism). Nevertheless, this is a relationship, and it is a love relationship, so we must come clean with ourselves about our egoic needs and demands because this is what creates our unreasonable demands on one another. This does not mean that we will not have our needs met. We are just finding a new way to go about it.

Most of our impulses in love relationships were picked up from a failing system, from our parents, or from movies or books that portray love in a false way without the part that actually involves going through the difficult times in a way that creates this divinity between us, and so we have to learn as we go to try rise above those impulses, or become another statistic. Another divorce, another serial dater, another long term single parent.

Love is grown to divine love by withstanding difficult times, when we dare to see our partner and their needs, in those times when we feel that our needs should be met, we again grow. Our love grows and expands, and this creates a split in reality, and levels us up. This is a quantum jump, into a greater love. Every situation that we overcome, and rise above, rises us above the old realty, and brings us closer to a divine love.

It isn’t about the outcome, it is about our intention. Think about it. The creator doesn’t need our actions, the creator has no need for us to DO anything, “he” can do it by himself, but rather it is our intention to generate love upon our partner that increases the love that is divine. I don’t mean in action, I don’t mean to cater to, to smother, or to become a doormat, I mean in INTENTION. The intention to always see the bigger picture, and being willing to do what it takes to refuse that narrow angry, fear based, hate filled or bitter view of our partner and to do what it takes to see the greater expanded version of them that includes the infatuation and bubble love that you fell in love with, under all circumstances. “The creator” also want this, our love, our connection between all of us, that is all.

The creation becomes, because of our intention. Not because of our actions. Our intention to maintain an infatuation and an adoration of your partner, and an image of them adoring you in the midst of your fights, this creates a divine love, a Twin flame. This means that you have to do the exact OPPOSITE of what you always do. When you go don’t go down the negative path, you have to level up, maintain a greater view, and your love will expand. Your ego will feel justified in going down the same old same old path but this is where your willpower and willingness to do what it takes comes into play. Now you can use your ego to check your own ego, to bring total focus to love and only love, to fairytale love and everything that you have been told doesn’t exist. This is a decision made deliberately and your ego is the only thing strong enough to decide to follow through with living in the end of lala land!

Your ego will overcome the resistance when nothing else will! When you are focused in love, love transmutes all thing to become like itself. The divine principle is non action, is intention only, and this work is internal. Turning your whole situation around by focusing on love, dropping the fear, and knowing that the work is already done, creation is already finished, and any negative feeling that you have is only a protective cover for the love that you are feeling. Every time that you feel a negative emotion (in any situation) realize that that is just covering the love that is underneath, so you can use your ego to call it out.

-No, that is not fear, that is love!

-No that is not bittenes, that is love!

– No, that is not anger, that is love!

This invisible love is not a metaphor, it is not a “peace love and understanding hippie” teaching, this is real, there is only love connecting us all, and our only challenge is to uncover that love, and what better person to practice on than your own partner, lover or twin flame.

Thi Bible interprets this false covering over the love as “The devil” and that is all that it is, a dark cover, but your ego is strong enough to uncover this love. This is why I started this post by saying that the war on ego need to end, and the only thing to do is to make sutre that we have an equal measure of love and compassion alongside it.

Rising above yourself, and being willing to do what it takes to reorient towards love creates divine love

Photo by Dmitriy Ganin

Manifest Love