Mantra of Power - Shakti, Mantra of Durga Ji. 

Kali Ma... 

The 8th Lesson of Mantra Yoga ...

Now here is a very important Mantra for the seeker of the Power. I wanted to post this mantra later but I was getting lot of intuition that some of the people here needs this now. To post this Mantra I had lot of deliberations… I was seeking some kind of indication whether I can post this Mantra or not and that is why It got so delayed. But being in Dakshineshwar and then to Durga Temple “Kalka Ji” in New Delhi which is my childhood prayer place too, I could feel that it will be most suitable now to post it for all. I hope this mantra helps those people who I am having a feeling needs more now…


Preparation:

Make your self comfortable in the corner that you have had allocated to your self or the usual place where you meditate. Do the process of blocking your senses with fire sphere placed at your tongue, nostrils, eyes and ears. You can use a picture of Goddess Durga Ji or Kali Ma which I will post on my blog

Here is the mantra ..... for one to work on...

Mantra:

Om Ai(n)m Durgayai Namah

Its a mantra for Goddess of Power Durga Ji also known in her another avatar as Kali Ji. This mantra is used for all things about gaining victory over once adversaries as in both mental or physical obstacles etc, gaining power to do and help people and above all making oneself ready to take on the spiritual developments in the frail physical body that we have.

Pronunciation

Om : As told earlier.

Ai(n)m : “Ai” and “m” as in “aim” but with nasal “n” sound after Ai

Durgayai:

“DU” = Du as Du in Dune

“R” = as R in “Roar”

“Ga” = as GA in Gall

“Yai” = as Ye in Yeah

Practice:

This is about Power and it helps a great lot if one uses Red flowers to meditate on this mantra… Please start with thinking of a red evening sun on the Om sound and let it grow into the place between the eyes. Feel it growing while the whole mantra that you are pronouncing. With “OM” take a deep breath and let it reach the place between the eyes and hold it there with the sound of “Aim”. With Durgayai Namah let the breath out slowly and the Red Sun remains at the Ajna Chakra.

This mantra should be Chanted for 21 times daily in normal course of life… and for the people who are feeling weak in any sense atleast 108 times. The coming week is very important for this Mantra as its Dusshera times (Also called Durga Puja and Kali Puja and in India its very auspicious time for Durga Ji’s Chanting of the names). So if one Chants in the coming days from 3^rd Oct to 10^th Oct, every day 108 times if possible, then one is sure to get very powerful results.

Om Namah Shivaya

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My journey to an amazing effect.... Mayapuri - The devotees heaven

The journey to the Mayapuri was very lovely. I had great company of three of research scholars from Indian Statistical Institute where I was staying for some time. The journey in itself was along with very lovely fields and at many points it was going through high grounds, where on both sides there was water. Some of the times the road ran along the river… lovely place… The trees on the either sides were very huge which I felt very attracted to..

A journey of discovery...again

I was not very much attuned to the Mayapuri temple as I did have certain bias with the ISKCON as I had read some very adverse comments about it.. also I had my own interaction with some of the ISKCON members made me think that they are very rigid in their thoughts about the whole movement which I am sure that Srila Prabhu Pada would not have wanted to be in. It’s like the phrase in Hindi which basically means that the newly made religious follower follows more doggedly the path of the religion than the Priest who converted him…. But just as I took the U-Turn to get off the highway and it opened a completely new vista for me…a nice location with a village on the way with their jute raw material and workmanship lying around on the road. The West Bengal state of India is famous for the Jute works and Saris of Taant (Made of Jute threads I think).

I reached Mayapuri almost in the evening...

By the time I reached Mayapuri Temple it was almost dusk a lovely setting for pictures. The place, as an avid photographer, interested me more to begin with their beautiful sculptures, very different Krishna from the usual Krishna temples in India, beautiful location of the place between rivers and above all with the over all ambience which was far different than more famous temples in India… I think the only other temple which has this kind of infrastructure is the wealthiest temple in India “Lord Bala Ji Temple in Tirupati in state of Andhra Pradesh, India.” . (You can find more about Tirupati temple else where in this blog)So I went on for clicking and video graphing the place.

The new temple....

I went around and also had a look on the new temple that is a massive structure in modern building architecture which houses many paintings of Krishna’s life on the walls and then a most beautiful walk down the road which leads to the main Temple of Krishna. Once inside I had a beautiful sensation with such lovely idols of Krishna and the Gopis and Radha Rani. It was amazing to see them so life like yet so different. The guards on the gate told us to be very careful of not taking any pictures of the devotees. So it was an effort for me not to take a very young English child in traditional Indian attire. I took my own time to take pictures as many of my people had told me that the most beautiful that happens in the hall is the Aarti. So we, me and my friends waited for the time 6.30 PM. While the bhajan in the hall kept its constant tempo.

The start of Aarti - Archna ...

At around 6 PM I was able to watch a very devoted person listening to the Chanting and not able to hold himself started to dance on the sides of the hall behind a pillar so as not to disturb the gathering. By 6.15 the atmosphere started changing.. the guards from outside came in and demarcated a place in the adjacent hall by ropes and the Tulsi plant was brought in (This is the first time I have seen anywhere in India that a Tulsi plant was planted on a planter with wheels) and then most of the ISKCON’ites gathered around it and the chanting began with Tulsi Puja. .. this slowly built in to a religious fervor and ended after 2 hours of devoted Aarti by most of the devotees. I find two very small kids on boy and another girl in the gathering who were so well involved with the whole ceremony that it was a real pleasure watching them dancing with chanting. As the women folks were I guess not allowed to join in, the Aarti, it was heartening to watch them to gather outside the arena and form their own group to sing the songs of Lord Krishna.

The whole ceremony was involved with many types of songs, many types of instruments and many lovely singers. And then it ended with parikrama which allowed many other people to join in with the ISKCON devotees. Finally the good part was that some one realised the earnestness of gathered crowd and take them into the fold by teaching them the basics of Krishna Chants and the steps the ISKCON’ites take in the Aarti.


My experience in the place, specially at the time of Aarti was amazing. The moment those devoted people came into the religious fervor the whole atmosphere changed. I usually have a very good take on the energy in the atmosphere... and I could feel the transformation happenning then and there.

The place comes alive with the power of Devotion....

I personally think that what many of the ISKCON temples lack in the power emanating from the idols, they make it up with their devotion and love for the God. Our temples like Kedar Nath, Neel Kanth, Madurai Meenakshi temple, Bala Ji Tirupati and also Kalka Ji are there for many centuaries and peoples constant devotion and attachment and prayers make those places very powerful.

As the whole place got filled up with bhajan and rhythmic dance and slowly and slowly the atmosphere changed. I was unmoved in the beginning but slowly I could feel the power . .. of the collective religious devotion gathering all around me and at one point of time I could really feel the Krishna coming down from the place his Idol was placed and playing with all of us. I did have had a great sensation at that moment. I felt a very cool breeze flowing down on me like an air curtain and my whole body tingling with electric sparks. In the end I was so engrossed with my mantra Jaap and chanting that I was doing with my Mala beads that I forget everything and flowed in the emotions of the people around me. I did infact started dancing with all those devotees.....

It was a lovely time that I have had and I must say that the place is full of positive energy and I was thrilled to have the experience of coming to a spiritual life with such a devout gathering. I must end the whole thing with a poem that I composed especially for those devout souls who danced with me or rather with those devout souls that I danced with.

KRISHNA YOU LIVE WITHIN....

The drums slowly start beating
The rhythm keep repeating
Your name
Again and Again

Soul gathers around
Form bondings
and running in Chanting
And crying in love

But you kept watching, my Love from a pedestal

The beats grow slowly in frenzy
The feet's tap more hard into the ground
The eyes look heavenly
While your eyes, my love, are of Stone

The shadows of the flickering flame
Put up for showing lights
To lost souls
Flicker more beackoning your light

Slowly, my love, you stir from your slumber
Your smile spread across the hearts
The lights flickers more
And my love bursts in to flame
Of blissful tears

My love I have you in my heart
and in my soul
Now I can peacefully die
In your love

Radhe Krishna, Radhe Krishna
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A visit to the temple town of Madurai in South India....

I am standing Near Nandi who is supposed to be the bull Lord Shiva Rides ...inside the Meenakshi Temple

My trip to Meenakshi Temple in Madurai...

The trip to Madurai was like a god send opportunity for me. My friend was transferred from Chennai to Madurai and he asked me to accompany him to Madurai which I readily agreed to. The temple of Meenakshi Devi at Madurai is one of the most famous temples in India and to me it has a special significance. Meenakshi Devi has given me a special Mantra when I was doing my meditations of Reiki (The whole story I have described in the blog elsewhere (almost in the beginning)). The day we reached, early in the morning me and my friend went to the temple before his joining of the Job. I must say that it was a great visit and I went back to the temple as long as I stayed there.. every day.

The Pic here is of the Golden Horse of the Chariot which is used to drive the chariot on special occasions when the Lord Shiva and His Devine consort takes a tour of the Holy city of Madurai...

At the East Enternace of the temple...

The enormous temple complex is dedicated to Shiva, known here as Sundareshvara and his consort Parvati or Meenakshi. The original temple was built by Kulasekara Pandya, but the entire credit for making the temple as splendid as it is today goes to the Nayaks. The Nayaks ruled Madurai from the 16th to the 18th century and left a majestic imprint of their rule in the Meenakshi - Sundareswarar Temple.

Ganesha's Beautiful Image...

The temple complex is within a high-walled enclosure, at the core of which are the two sanctums for Meenakshi and Sundareshwara, surrounded by a number of smaller shrines and grand pillared halls. Especially impressive are the 12 Gopuras. Their soaring towers rise from solid granite bases, and are covered with stucco figures of deities, mythical animals and monsters painted in vivid colours.

The Image above is of Lord Ganesha's Scuplture as one of the many... which adorn the walls around the temple complex... The Green things is bunch of grass that is given to Lord Ganesha as an offering by devotees...

The Golden Lotus in the Ancient Temple tank....

This temple tank is an ancient tank where devotees take bath in the holy water. The area around this tank was the meeting place of the TamilSangam - the ancient academy of poets. The history of the sangam goes back to the days when gods dallied with men. This academy judged the worth of any work of literature presented before it by throwing it into the tank. Only those that did not sink were considered worthy of attention. The tank is surrounded by a pillared corridor. Steps lead down to the tank, enabling worshippers to take bathe in it.

The goddess of Wealth and prosperity....

The Meenakshi Devi is a very powerful Goddess and she is the giver of wealth here….This time I had a great feeling of having her come to me with a view to bring her essence with me to Chennai. It was a lovely feeling.

Panchmukhi Idol at the Madurai Meenakshi Temple...

The Gopuras... East Gate

The Meenakshi Devi is a very powerful Goddess and she is the giver of wealth here….This time I had a great feeling of having her come to me with a view to bring her essence with me to Chennai. It was a lovely feeling.

Shiva in Tandava Dance ... a place in the temple to sit down and meditate ....

I also went to the place where Lord Shiva is in Tandava Posture … and meditated in front of him….lovely place… and on the whole enjoyed the company and peace a lot.


Om Namah Shivaya
Virtual

The Temple at Thirupparankundram...

The next day I went to the temple dedicated to the other Son of Lord Shiva Karthikeyan called Lord Subhramanyam among with other names. The whole temple is carved within a huge stone.

Childless Couples offer prayers...

This temple also has place of prayer for asking for child. Many childless couple offers prayer here...

Lord Muruga wedded here.....

The Thirupparankundram, 6 kms southwest of Madurai, is a small town known for its sacred granite hill. It is regarded as one of the six abodes of Lord Subramaniya. It is a cave temple . Here Lord Muruga was wedded to Devayanai, daughter of Indra, after annihilating Surapadman.

The Enternace to the temple...

There is a Rock cut temple here, built by the Pandyas in the 8th century. The temple is approached through a series of 17th and 18th century mandapas, at ascending levels, linked by stone steps. In the temple there are separate shrines dedicated to Shiva, Ganapathy, Durgai, Vishnu and other deities. At the entrance to the temple there are 48 pillars with artistic carvings.

The Carvings on the Gopuras...

The entrance mandapa has typical Nayaka period pillars with horse and yali riders, while portraits of Nayaka rulers are carved on the columns. The Rock-cut Temple of Subramaniya here is thronged with pilgrims on all days of special worship. Its innermost shrine is cut out of a solid rock. The 14-day temple festival, in March/April, celebrates the victory of Murugan over the demon Suran, his coronation, and his subsequent marriage to Devayani.

Krishna takes away clothes of Bathing Gopis....

There are many interesting images that are carved on the Gopuras (The entrance Gate and Towers) one of which depicts the story from Krishna’s Life … Where he took all the clothes of the Gopis (Village maidens ) who were bathing in the pond and kept all the clothes on the bank before going inside the water. He then climbed the tree and kept all the clothes on the tree…

The gopis in dilemma...

The gopis were now in a dilemma as their families were waiting and they could not come out to take their clothes from the tree while Krishna mischievously smiled from the tree top and played on his flute nonchalantly. The whole thing is displayed on the Gopuras and I was not surprised to see the stark naked Gopis requesting the Mohan to give them back their clothes. In those days, the devotion played more important part on the minds of the sculptors. For them the devotion was the central theme then the nakedness of the statues that they have had created. This is also evident in the world famous sculptures of Khujaraho’s

Back to Chennai....

In all after three days of a very uplifting time I came back to Chennai thoroughly refreshed and with Devi within me and a very blissful state.

Om Namah Shivaya

My Last trip to Bala Ji.... Tirupati

OM NAMO NARAYANA

Some people believe in shaving the head and offer to Bala Ji...

Well a kid is getting his head shaved to be offered to Lord bala Ji. Its believed that any one who shaves his head is basically giving all his ego to the lord and some people believe that by offering to shave ones head is equal to offering ones head as Ravana did offer to Lord Shiva all his ten heads.

I have shaved my head many times at Tirupati on many special occations this time I shaved for no reason but just to be able to do without any ego and attachement to worldly things... hehehe.. I definately look like a gangstar... of Bollywood movies if not of Hollywood movies...

My Visit this time to Lord Bala Ji - Tirupati Tirumala

The temple of Sri Venkateswara LORD BALA JI of TIRUMALA TIRUPATI has acquired unique sanctity in Indian religious lore. The present temple is supposed to be construsted in 16th Centuary. The Sastras, Puranas, Sthala Mahatyams and Alwar hymns unequivocally declare that, in the Kali Yuga, one can attain mukti, only by worshipping Venkata Nayaka or Sri Venkateswara. The benefits acquired by a piligrimage to Venkatachala are mentioned in the Rig Veda and Asthadasa Puranas. In these epics, Sri Venkateswara is described as the great bestower of boons. There are several legends associated with the manifestation of the Lord at Tirumala. The temple has its origins in Vaishnavism, an ancient sect which advocates the principles of equality and love, and prohibits animal sacrifice.
The sanctum sanctorum which houses the awe-inspiring idol of the Lord of the Seven Hills is situated in the main temple complex of Tirumala.

The Tirumala Hills...

The Legends

Sri Venkatachala Mahatmya is referred to in several Puranas, of which the most important are the Varaha Purana and the Bhavishyottara Purana.
The printed work contains extracts from the Varaha Purana, Padma Purana, Garuda Purana, Brahmanda Purana, Markandeya Purana, Harivamsa, Vamana Purana, Brahma Purana, Brahmottara Purana, Aditya Purana, Skanda Purana and Bhavishyottara Purana. Most of these extracts describe the sanctity and antiquity of the hills around Tirumala and the numerous teerthams situated on them.

The legends....

The legends taken from the Venkatachala Mahatmya and the Varaha Purana, pertaining to the manifestation of the Lord at Tirumala, are of particular interest.
According to the Varaha Purana, Adi Varaha manifested Himself on the western bank of the Swami Pushkarini, while Vishnu in the form of Venkateswara came to reside on the southern bank of the Swami Pushkarini.

One day, Rangadasa, a staunch devotee of Vishnu, in the course of his pilgrimage, joined Vaikhanasa Gopinatha, who was going up the Tirumala Hill for the daily worship of Lord Venkateswara. After bathing in the Swami Pushkarini, he beheld the lotus-eyed and blue-bodied Vishnu beneath a tamarind tree. Vishnu was exposed to the sun, wind and rain and was only protected by the extended wings of Garuda.
Rangadasa was astounded by the wonderful sight. He raised a rough wall of stones around the deity, and started supplying flowers faithfully to Gopinatha everyday for Vishnu's worship.
One day, Rangadasa was distracted by a Gandharva king and his ladies. Consequently, he forgot to supply flowers to Gopinatha for Vishnu's worship. The Lord then revealed Himself and told Rangadasa that He had been testing the latter's continence, but Rangadasa had not been steadfast and had succumbed to temptation.
However, the Lord accepted and appreciated Rangadasa's devoted service to Him till then, and blessed Rangadasa that he would be reborn as an affluent ruler of a province and would enjoy the earthly pleasures. He would continue to serve the Lord, construct a beautiful temple with a vimana and high surrounding walls, and thereby earn eternal glory.
Rangadasa was reborn as Tondaman, the son of the royal couple, Suvira and Nandini. Tondaman enjoyed a pleasurable life as a young man. One day, he set out on a hunting expedition on the Tirumala Hill, and with the help of a forester, saw Vishnu under the tamarind tree. Tondaman returned home, deeply affected by the vision of Vishnu.
Tondaman later inherited his father's kingdom, Tondamandalam. In accordance with the directions given by Adi Varaha to a forester, Tondaman constructed a prakaram and dvara gopura, and arranged for regular worship of the Lord (according to Vaikhanasa Agama).
In the Kali Yuga, Akasaraja came to rule over Tondamandalam. His daughter Padmavathi was married to Venkateswara. The marriage, officiated by Brahma, was celebrated with great pomp and splendour.

The Start of our Journey...

My last visit to the Tirumala Tirupati, the heavenly abode of Lord Bala ji was in many ways a different one. This time my younger brother has come down from Hongkong to join me to go to the most famous and ancient temple on the Indian Peninsula. The 4hour long drive to the holy city from Chennai was full of music in the car of my favorites like Indian Ocean’s Kandisa, Abida Praveens Sufi songs and Om Namah Shivaya Chants…


Once we reached the temple hill things started looking bleak for us… A very close friend whom I had asked for reservation for the stay and visit to the temple had asked his junior who was Superintendant of Police at the city has forgot to book it. And since it was the Janmashtami Day, it made it ever so difficult for us but then one of the Inspectors my friend could assign us and he finally managed to get us a decent place to stay as it did matter to me as I was more worried about my younger brother who has stayed only in decent places since he has made Hongkong his Karam Kshetra. For me it does not matter where as long as I stay on the holy hill.

The Mantra Yoga...

IN the night I left my brother in the room and went out for my usual Chants of Mantra and went to my place where I get a very fantastic view of the Temple and started my chants of Om Namah Shivaya and Govinda … the atmosphere slowly started fading from my views and consciouness and in the end I was only aware of the temple and the Bala Ji as an enveloping and overwhelming presence all around me … finally I got out of my reverie and went back to the room to take my two hours of sleep… It took me 15 minutes to wake my younger brother to open the door… hehehe

At 6 in the morning we started for the temple and things started looking more bleak. The person assigned to us was not available at the Town Police Station and we waited for him for almost two hours and then he appeared saying that arranging the tickets took a lot of timeas there is already a crowd and waiting time for Darshan is almost 12-15 hours .. any how he took us through the VIP enterance which was unusually crowded and I knew that it will take a lot of time than required. My brother started getting worried as his flight to Hongkong was in the evening and thought of leaving the Darshan as he may miss that flight .. but then I had lot of faith in Bala ji and told him not to worry…

The Darshana... and the electric moment...

Finally, the inspector some how got inspired and started taking us from the out route from where the VIP pilgrims come out of the temple.. This took us only 15 minutes and he got us to stand near the deity in the Garbha Grih for almost 10-15 minutes which is rare considering the heavy crowd and the usual time for the person to stay inside the sanctum sanctorum is only 1-2minutes. The volunteers standing there usually allow you to just see the fantastic idol of the Bala ji and then push you on your way. But as the younger brother was blessed he not only got a great darshana he also ended up with having the deity’s Charna Amrit (The washed holy water of Lord’s Feet) and also got the very powerful touch of His clothes in his chambers as well as got the Akshat (The rice grains) that is supposed to have a very powerful effect on a person’s prosperity and well being.

For me touching the clothes of Bala ji was electrifying. It sent my kundalini energy shoot up to my crown and for a minute I was not able to speak and went into trance. The crown chakra burst into energy petals and the head started swimming in white lights.. My eyes started trickling with tears of joy and I just soaked in the powerful display of light inside and the spine continued to tingle for hours together… coming back to the Chennai was very silent and I was on the way completely engrossed in the blessing that Lord Bala Ji bestowed on me. It was definitely because of my younger brothers sincerity that I got this powerful darshana and experience.

OM Namah Shivaya
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Following the kanwarias...

IN the last visit to the Rishikesh, I thought of following the trail of Kanwarias… The kanwars are basically village folk who have a great faith and religious fervor. They are basically followers of the Lord Shiva. Its said in the Purana’s that when the sea was churned with Sheshnag as the rope with Meru Mountain as the churner, the first thing that came out of the sea churning was Halahal (Poison ) no one but Shiva could take that and keep it inside his Adams apple.

The kanwaria's aim is to bathe Shiva in Holy Ganges water...

The Kanwarias bring the holy ganges water to pour it o various shivalinga across the country like this one here on the bank of Ganges at Bijnor and make Shiva Cool and at peace

The Neel kanth Bhagwan....in a different light .. The beacon to all Kanwarias at Haridwar

The kanwariyas believe that this poison makes Lord Shiva very hot. Soothe his body, the kanwariyas bring holy waters from Ganges all across the country side and its specially so to bring it from Haridwar. The kanwarias take the water and many of them go all the way to 3800 meter high mountain to Kedar Nath where Lord Shiva’s one of the many famous Shivalinga is. This water is poured on the Shivalinga with great devotion and religious fervor.

Agroup of Kanwarias relaxing ...

The group here is relaxing under the shadow of a nice tree and under the auspicious Trident blessings which is there in the fore ground...

With the group of Kanwarias...

On the way from Delhi I joined one team of people and went along with them to the Haridwar. Most of the village folk observe very strict religious rituals and its very much the norm to travel on foot. The whole high in these days are blocked for the Kanwarias and no other transportation is allowed on these roads. The very different types of kanwariyas travel with their own chanting groups and many have amplifiers and religious songs belting out of their make shift place of living sleeping and carrying cooking equipments.

A journey of discovery...

Once I started with them on the travel and reached there, for me, apart from the experience of being in the group, it became a journey of discovery. It was search to find how simple folks live with their faith. Most of the time I find that theirs is the way of Bhakti Yoga which comes easily to most of the people. Some times even without the knowledge of those people. Many people have attained enlightenment being in the family, working, tilling the soil. What a way these people live. So with my camera on the shoulders joined them to experience the real feel of it all…

The Haridwar waits for Kanwarias....

The atmosphere is full of the songs and religious thoughts. Although many of the youngsters now travel with the group with the sole purpose of having fun but many enjoy these trips solely on the faith. Many old people who will not walk ten kilometers in a year will walk down 500 Kms in this pilgrimage.

The High Point of the Kanwarias....

On reaching the Ghat of Haridwar, each group reaches its crescendo and with Bol Bum, Har Har Mahadev, Bholenath Chants the atmosphere changes from exhaustion to fresh vigor. The people take dip in the holy Ganges and fill up the bottles that they have carried from their villages and prepare for the trip to various temple of their places and some prepare for the another long and arduous journey towards the Great Kedar Nath Mountains of Himalaya. I took my own route from here and left the group to walk towards Neel Kanth baba 55 Kms away from Haridwar.

Society that has to take care of this halahal (Poison)

The days spent with the group has given me mixed feeling. On the way many incident left bad taste in mouth and many times I felt why this outwardly expressions of Religious inclinations. But then I realize that it’s the paraphernalia that draws the bad elements to this very holy and simple exercise of trying to appease Bhole baba with cold holy Ganges water. Which in any case would be there whether this; every year’s growing phenomenon of Kanwarias; is there or not. If not this outlet of the bad elements then some thing else will be there. It’s the society that has to take care of this halahal (Poison) and put it away in its own adams aple not Bhole naths work is this.

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA

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