Articles

APARAJITASTUTI – Hymn to the Invincible Devi

Articles, Sadhana, ShaktiOctober 17, 20181KViews 2Likes 0Comments

The Chandipath is divided into three sections - charitras - each being equivalent to one of the three Veda-s: Rig, Sama, Yajur. The 3rd Charitra is the domain of Maharasraswati, and has given rise to some of the greatest theological and metaphorical interpretations of Shakta doctrine. The Bija of this section is Klim, which is…

THE SLAYING OF MAHISASURA (a liberal translation from the original text)

Articles, Sadhana, ShaktiOctober 13, 2018513Views 2Likes 0Comments

As he saw the army being slaughtered, Ciksura, the great asura general went ahead in tremendous fury to battle Ambika. He rained showers of arrow on the Devi just as clouds shower the summit of Mount Meru. But easily shattering those volley of arrows, the Devi, in turn, killed Ciksura's horses and charioteer. Like lightning…

Devi Stuti: Symbolism of Madhu and Kaitabh

Articles, ShaktiOctober 12, 2018679Views 1Like 0Comments

One of the most beautiful sections of the #Caṇḍī Pāṭha is the stuti to the Devi done by Brahma, so that Vishnu can fight with the Asura-pair named Madhu and Kaitabha. The names Madhu and Kaitabh most easily remind us of madhu - honey, and a play on the word kITa - insect, a…

Importance of Pitr Karma

Articles, SadhanaOctober 2, 2018732Views 0Likes 0Comments

[Note: This article was first published in IndiaFacts] Every year during the second fortnight of the lunar month of Bhardrapada, right after the Ganesha puja, a period of 14 days is set aside for offering reverence to ancestors, known as pitrpaksha. During this time, many traditional Hindus perform pitr tarpana, pitr shraddha, and pinda danaeither at home, or preferably near…

Jvaradeva

Articles, ShivaSeptember 1, 2018657Views 0Likes 0Comments

One of the lesser known gods in the Saiva pantheon is called Jvaradeva - god of fever. He is depicted as three-armed, three-legged and when he would attack an individual their body temperature would increase to uncomfortable levels. Later on jvara deva was paired with Sitala or goddess of smallpox. The story of his origin…

The Avatāra

Articles, VishnuAugust 27, 2018437Views 1Like 0Comments

śhrī bhagavān uvācha bahūni me vyatītāni janmāni tava chārjuna tānyahaṁ veda sarvāṇi na tvaṁ vettha parantapa ajo ’pi sannavyayātmā bhūtānām īśhvaro ’pi san prakṛitiṁ svām adhiṣhṭhāya sambhavāmyātma-māyayā yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṁ sṛijāmyaham paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśhāya cha duṣhkṛitām dharma-sansthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge janma karma cha me divyam evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so ’rjuna vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā…

ADHIKARA: Spiritual Competency

Articles, SadhanaAugust 20, 2018825Views 3Likes 0Comments

Men vary in capacity, temperament, knowledge and general advancement, and therefore the means (for Sadhana also means instrument) by which they are to be led to enlightenment must vary. Methods which are suitable for highly advanced men will fail as regards the ignorant and undeveloped for they cannot understand them. What suits the latter has…

Krshna Subdues Kaliya

Articles, VishnuAugust 15, 2018678Views 2Likes 0Comments

The episode in the Bhagwatam where Sri Krshna subdues Kaliya is of tremendous spiritual importance in the sadhana of Vaishnavism. While there is a historical significance to the stories, for a sadhaka the spiritual metaphors in each of these stories are of greater importance in the fullfilment of sadhana. Yamuna is the river of Bhakti…

Siddha Kunjika Stotram

Articles, Sadhana, ShaktiAugust 9, 20184KViews 8Likes 2Comments

The modern text of the Chandipath that comes to us is an aggregate of various stotras and parts which were added over time, around the core of the 13 main chapters and which are helpful for sadhana. At the very end of the text we have the Siddha Kunjika Stotram which is often regarded as…

Sri Aurobindo: When Does a Mantra Succeed?

Articles, SadhanaAugust 1, 2018984Views 4Likes 0Comments

The japa is usually successful only on one of two conditions – if it is repeated with a sense of its significance, a dwelling of something in the mind on the nature, power, beauty, attraction of the Godhead it signifies and is to bring into the consciousness, – that is the mental way; or if…

Ramana Maharishi on Guru

Articles, Sadhana, SaintsJuly 27, 2018736Views 1Like 0Comments

I have not said that a Guru is not necessary. But a Guru need not always be in human form. First a person thinks that he is inferior and that there is a superior, all-knowing, all powerful God who controls his own and the world’s destiny and worships him or does bhakti. When he reaches a certain stage and becomes…

Tarakhepa: Story of a Saint

Articles, SaintsJuly 21, 20181KViews 1Like 1Comment

Manimohan Goswami was a young man during the rule of British India, born in Bangladesh, and like many others of that era, took to armed revolution as a means of overthrowing the foreign rulers. Manimohan had a spiritual inclination from childhood, having been intiated into some mantra in a dream when he was a kid,…