Shri Shri Navamundi Mahasana

Dhyanamulang Gurur Murthi,

Pujahmulang Guruh Padam,

Mantramulang Guror Vakyang,

Mokshamulang Guroh Kripa!!!

 

Mahasiddhas and Mahayogis are well aware of the Panchamundi Mahasana; it is known and revered in upper tiers of occult sadhana.

Paramhamsa Ramakrishna, Raja, Ramkrishna, Sadhak Ramprasad, Sadhak Kamalakanto, all these Mahatmas have practised the occult sadhana of the Panchamundi and have established themselves on it and have partaken the ethereal siddhis that constitute the culmination of this cycle of the esoteric Panchamundi.

Even to this day, in certain parts of Bharatavarsha and Bangabhumi, there exist these consecrated Panchamundi Mahasanas brought into manifestation by the ardous tapas of the yogis and the siddhas.

However, there is not much written about the Panchamundi in the Tantra Shastra, all its teachings are highly gujhya or occult and are handed down from guru to shishya in complete secrecy.

In the sadhak community, there is also a mention of Ekmundi and Trimundi Mahasanas.

In the exoteric sense, a Panchamundi Asana comprises of an altar inside which are interred five skulls–that of a snake, frog, rabbit, fox, and man, but each of these five mundis signify not only these physical skulls, but particularities, they are symbols, of celestials and cosmic origin.

Certain substances, not Earthly, are considered to be the five heads.

But in today’s day and age, this very occult knowledge is ALMOST lost to us, it exists buried in a few pages of a few obscure books in some Indian Languages, and is known to the adepts, but what of us poor, urban spiritually starved people? And what of the rest of the world? They have no way of accessing this information.

I am online and I have witnessed an upsurge in the want of information around the world about Gyanganj, about Shambala as Madame Blavatsky called it. Her guru Master Koot Humi is none other than Paramhamsa Kutupananda of Gyanganj. I created a group on Blavatsky and Theosophy around 2007 or so on Facebbok and it keeps growing every day. People en masse want to know more about Gyanganj, people from all over the world, from all walks of life. So here lies the necessity in trying to create this body of work. But I warn you I am no scholar, just a fellow pilgrim, just a human seeking the truth!

It may not be of any great relevance to us, but for the Yogi, the mysterious tattwa of the Asana is of great importance to him, because depending upon the asana he receives from Sadguru and the Universe, will typify the levels of siddhis and wisdom he will reach.

Researches of Tantra Sastra have heard of the occult Panchamundi, but for the first time in this Historic cycle, the mention of the sacred Navamundi Mahasana was in a Bengali article by Mahamahopadhyay Gopinath Kaviraj in a book called Vishuddhabani. I am infinitely indebted to him as he has been my guiding voice in writing this piece.

Kavirajji tells us repeatedly how abstract this great metaphysical theory is, in fact it will sound absurd to a “rational” man who pivots the world with mere common sense.

Voltaire made sense when he said “Common sense is not so common”. But through years of History, psychological conditioning and social structures, we revere common sense; it is the very death of Metaphysics and Mysticism.

Let’s forget left-brained analytical thought when we’re entering the sacred domain of the Navamundi, let’s go beyond our mind, let’s not think as men and women, as mere personalities, instead let’s feel this piece, let awareness be aware of what is being written here.

Do not try to think outside of the box, in fact, think there is no box. Remember the scene from the epic film Matrix, when Neo goes to visit the Oracle, he sees a boy, reminiscent of a Buddhist monk, bending the spoon with his mind. Neo is flabbergasted, how is this even possible? The boy tells him, “Do not try and bend the spoon. That’s impossible. Instead… only try to realize the truth. Neo: What truth?
Boy: There is no spoon.
Neo: There is no spoon?
Boy: Then you’ll see, that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself.”

There you have it, bend your consciousness towards the mystical, think of it all as deep, abstract space and you will begin to feel the glow emanating from the Navamundi, it will illumine your existence.

Be pure awareness, aware, just aware!!!

In fact, after saying all I said, I realize that this mahatattwa of the Navamundi may not be for all the ensemble of the kaliyuga, but for me it has a very special significance in my life.

I cannot quite relate to you who is Paramhamsa Vishuddhanada in my life. He is the heat emanating from the fire in my spirit, he is the vision of my eyes, he is the song of my existence, he is the truth of all lies. Anyway, where words fail, I shall keep quiet and you will understand the depths of my emotions in that silence as that silence does speak a million words of such profundity!

Simply speaking he is my karana(causal) Gurudeva, the voice of my conscience, the anchor of my spirituality, the guiding light to which I swam from the abyss of despair, death and devastation.

Shri Shri Baba took my grandfather Shri Anath Nath Mukerji under his wing and gave him deeksha at a very tender age when most men are interested in the worldly things. Anath was always a vairagi and preferred to surrender to his gurudeva unconditionally, the ties of samsara could not keep his restrained. He spent months on end with his gurudeva and guru-bhratas, travelling and serving Paramhamsa Vishuddhananda with unreserved love and devotion.

Shri Shri Baba saved Ananth from drowning in the Ganges. My grandfather told me,”It was late afternoon, I was staying at the ashram at Benaras. It was my ritual to visit the ghats every morning till before lunch-time. I went for my usual afternoon dip, just before lunch. I don’t know what happened, but suddenly I realized I was drowning, my legs felt like two iron pillars and I had not the strength in me to swim. It was later on that I realized how far I had swum into the river, the currents were ripping my skin like barb-wire. Unable to swim, I was sinking into the very depths of maa Ganga wondering if this was the end, I was calm in my surrender to her, but suddenly out of the blue, there appeared a gigantic flock of hair right i front of me, it looked white and I knew it was my gurudevas beard. Hold on to it Anath he told me, I just reached out and held onto it. I felt my whole weight was being pushed up, to the shore, I lost consciousness; I felt that I had still unfinished business in the world. People found me lying on the ghat. I revived shortly and headed back to the ashram. As I entered, Baba told me, so Anath how was your swimming today? Did you swim far? I saw the twinkle in his eye and knew that he was alluding to the little incident that had transpired. I just smiled and prostrated at his feet. I had learned later from my guru-brhatas that during lunch time Baba had told them that I will be arriving late today from the Ghats, as it was customary to make an appearance before lunch; he asked them to keep my food aside. This was my gurudeva, the knower, the known and the knowing, all rolled into one.”

Of course my grandfather had work to do, my father was not yet born, so the person which in the future is to be me had no fixed reference point for this incarnation. This piece remains unwritten, my world remains barren, my life a blank sheet in the reality where my grandfather succumbs to the holy waters of Maa Ganga.

So my connection with Baba Vishuddhananda began way before even my father was born. In fact it is his holy plan to bring us together as one family- the Mukkhujey bari of Janai.

My parents, who have been rock-solid pillars of my life and have made me who I am are both shishyas of Shri Tunu baba who is the holy grandson of Baba Vishuddhananda. Tunu Baba’s father was Durga Baba who rose to great heights in his tapas and is one of the siddhas of Gyanganj. Tunu Baba was more like my granfather than my mother’s guru. I loved him from the day I knew him and I was merely six or seven when my mother was initiated. Shortly my father was also initiated by Tunu Baba and therein began a lifetime of pilgrimage in wondrous lands of spiritual awareness for all three of us.

It was difficult at times as life always is, the great dance of duality, but we made it and here I sit before you typing away furiously on my computer. I feel deeply privileged to be writing about these Mahatmas, researching and developing their life and work.

Before I begin to unravel the secrets of the Navamundi, I want you to understand that I am no scholar, I am in fact a Nobody, yet, today this Nobody has somehow been given the exalted task of writing this piece about the Navamundi for the benefit of everybody, hoping it will inspire somebody to look deeply at this mesmerizing enigma.

I do not know how successful I will be at the execution of this, but if I am seated at my table, at this fixed moment in History, trying to bring to light this esoteric subject then it follows that the Universe has conspired to make it happen.

So here I am and here you are reading this, at this very moment, NOW, nothing else exists, it is just this very moment.

Capacity of self-articulation and self knowledge as a rationale for incorporating the personal into this text, the body, the emotions, the lived experiences, your whole life, become comingled with this piece. So read on.

The Navamundi Mahasana was established by Paramhamsa Vishuddhananda, its divine glow enriched the lives of a very selected few. Due to its secrecy, the masses never got to venerate it and for years it remained a tightly guarded secret which it still remains.

Much of what is known to the world about Baba Vishuddhananda comes to us from Paramhamsa Yogananda’s groundbreaking novel titled “An Autobiography of a Yogi.”

In Chapter-5, titled “A PERFUME SAINT DISPLAYS HIS WONDERS”, we are introduced to Gandhababaji.

Definitely intrigued, I entered the house and was ushered into a commodious parlor. A crowd of people were sitting, Orient-wise, here and there on a thick orange-colored carpet. An awed whisper reached my ear:

“Behold Gandha Baba on the leopard skin. He can give the natural perfume of any flower to a scentless one, or revive a wilted blossom, or make a person’s skin exude delightful fragrance.”

I looked directly at the saint; his quick gaze rested on mine. He was plump and bearded, with dark skin and large, gleaming eyes.

“Son, I am glad to see you. Say what you want. Would you like some perfume?”

“What for?” I thought his remark rather childish.

This childishness was the very hall-mark of Baba Vishuddhananda, he was often the little bal-Gopala to his matrika.

“To experience the miraculous way of enjoying perfumes.”

“Harnessing God to make odors?”

“What of it? God makes perfume anyway.”

Exactly! God is in everything, in the foulest stench to the most beautiful smell of a sunset by the sea.

“Yes, but He fashions frail bottles of petals for fresh use and discard. Can you materialize flowers?”

“I materialize perfumes, little friend.”

“Then scent factories will go out of business.”

“I will permit them to keep their trade! My own purpose is to demonstrate the power of God.”

“Sir, is it necessary to prove God? Isn’t He performing miracles in everything, everywhere?”

“Yes, but we too should manifest some of His infinite creative variety.”

“How long did it take to master your art?”

“Twelve years.”

“For manufacturing scents by astral means! It seems, my honored saint, you have been wasting a dozen years for fragrances which you can obtain with a few rupees from a florist’s shop.”

Yogananda seems a bit brash as it is well known that Shri Shri Baba not only made perfumes, he also manifested sweets, fruits and flowers. One he made my grandmother Anupama Devi listen to the music of the flowers, she told me herself, it was pure magic. Like an animated flick!

“Perfumes fade with flowers.”

Impermanence!!! The only truth we can see on a daily basis.

“Perfumes fade with death. Why should I desire that which pleases the body only?”

“Mr. Philosopher, you please my mind. Now, stretch forth your right hand.” He made a gesture of blessing.

I was a few feet away from Gandha Baba; no one else was near enough to contact my body. I extended my hand, which the yogi did not touch.

“What perfume do you want?”

“Rose.”

“Be it so.”

To my great surprise, the charming fragrance of rose was wafted strongly from the center of my palm. I smilingly took a large white scentless flower from a near-by vase.

“Can this odorless blossom be permeated with jasmine?”

“Be it so.”

A jasmine fragrance instantly shot from the petals. I thanked the wonder-worker and seated myself by one of his students. He informed me that Gandha Baba, whose proper name was Vishudhananda, had learned many astonishing yoga secrets from a master in Tibet. The Tibetan yogi, I was assured, had attained the age of over a thousand years.

“His disciple Gandha Baba does not always perform his perfume-feats in the simple verbal manner you have just witnessed.” The student spoke with obvious pride in his master. “His procedure differs widely, to accord with diversity in temperaments. He is marvelous! Many members of the Calcutta intelligentsia are among his followers.”

I inwardly resolved not to add myself to their number. A guru too literally “marvelous” was not to my liking. With polite thanks to Gandha Baba, I departed. Sauntering home, I reflected on the three varied encounters the day had brought forth.

The last paragraph displays Gandhaba as a rather flambyuyant personality, it does not have a multi-faceted interpretation. People who have known and spent time with Gandhababa can verify that as evening seeped in, Baba became SILENT! He seemed to be in another dimension, lost in a deep trance. When Shri Shri Baba wanted to be serious, he was, but essentially his approach to life and problems was humourous. He infused daily drudgeries with witty dialogue, poetry, music and some entertainment. All work and no play makes Lalloo a dull boy, who has not ascertained the verity of this statement. Baba was sombre, he was funny, he was strict, also lenient. He was what you needed when. He did not just create perfumes but also wanted to impart the knowledge of SURYA VIGYAN to the world, his heart cried out for the suffering humanity. He was in fact Sadashiv in person.

My sister Uma met me as I entered our Gurpar Road door.

“You are getting quite stylish, using perfumes!”

Without a word, I motioned her to smell my hand.

“What an attractive rose fragrance! It is unusually strong!”

Thinking it was “strongly unusual,” I silently placed the astrally scented blossom under her nostrils.

“Oh, I love jasmine!” She seized the flower. A ludicrous bafflement passed over her face as she repeatedly sniffed the odor of jasmine from a type of flower she well knew to be scentless. Her reactions disarmed my suspicion that Gandha Baba had induced an auto-suggestive state whereby I alone could detect the fragrances.

Later I heard from a friend, Alakananda, that the “Perfume Saint” had a power which I wish were possessed by the starving millions of Asia and, today, of Europe as well.

“I was present with a hundred other guests at Gandha Baba’s home in Burdwan,” Alakananda told me. “It was a gala occasion. Because the yogi was reputed to have the power of extracting objects out of thin air, I laughingly requested him to materialize some out-of-season tangerines. Immediately the luchis  which were present on all the banana-leaf plates became puffed up. Each of the bread-envelopes proved to contain a peeled tangerine. I bit into my own with some trepidation, but found it delicious.”

Years later I understood by inner realization how Gandha Baba accomplished his materializations. The method, alas! is beyond the reach of the world’s hungry hordes.

The different sensory stimuli to which man reacts—tactual, visual, gustatory, auditory, and olfactory—are produced by vibratory variations in electrons and protons. The vibrations in turn are regulated by “lifetrons,” subtle life forces or finer-than-atomic energies intelligently charged with the five distinctive sensory idea-substances.

Gandha Baba, tuning himself with the cosmic force by certain yogic practices, was able to guide the lifetrons to rearrange their vibratory structure and objectivize the desired result. His perfume, fruit and other miracles were actual materializations of mundane vibrations, and not inner sensations hypnotically produced.

Performances of miracles such as shown by the “Perfume Saint” are spectacular but spiritually useless. Having little purpose beyond entertainment, they are digressions from a serious search for God.

The above paragraph is definitely uncalled for. Little did Yogananda realize who Gandhababa was. Nothing Baba did could ever be spiritually useless, in fact NOTHING any Mahatmas has done or does is spiritually useless and I do not understand how being a realized Yogi he could have written something like this. But maybe, Yogananda was writing for a predominant Western audience and he moght have had other agendas at work. I am not question Yogananda, but merely reading from line to line, inferring what I can. Anybody who has been blessed by Shri Shri Baba’s presence in their lives will know that the word USELESS cannot in any way be linked to a maha yogi of his calibre.

Sadly the book which has popularized Eastern Mysticism to the world has not done justice to Paramhamsa Vishuddhananda, it does not convey the grandeur, the awesomeness, the simplicity, the innocence, the dedication, the steadfastness, the inherent devotion and strength of his character. It is only been our loss.

PART- 2

In the year 1341 of the Bengali calendar which is about 78 years ago, in 1935, on Doshra Falgun, the sacred Navamundi was created and established by the immense psychic energy of Gandhababaji.

My grandfather was present there during that timeframe, staying and travelling for long periods with Shri Shri Baba.

He told my father that the energy radiated from the Navamundi was so powerful that STILLNESS enveloped his Being every single time he came near its presence. His awareness was heightened and during such moments he was a blessed witness to many Lilas of Paramhamsa Vishuddhanandaji.

Shri Shri Baba had told his disciples, “It took me over forty years of intense devotion, dedication and sheer hard work to be able to beget the Navamundi for the benefit of Mankind.

Om Kashidham is Gyankshetra, which is why the auspicious Navamundi was established here. Some people feel the tremendous power of Paramhamsa Vishuddhananda, while for some, that spot has not retained any of its former glory, it sits in decrepitude for lack of proper safekeeping.

I think that the psycho-spiritual power of Gandhababaji is still there, but it needs to be felt. So here I am, kind of embarking on a failed mission, with my limited understanding and restricted spiritual vocabulary.

Words are so futile, so punitive that it can never express the innumerable emotions I feel as I narrate this story to you.

As I close my eyes, I see Shri Shri Baba’s smile, the same as in the photograph my Grandfather left to my father and about three years ago, he parted with this treasure so that it may enrich my existence.

So I am the humble care-taker of this treasure, three generations have now been the holders to this original, B/W, slightly faded image, but with age, the vibrancy of his expression has not faded, his smile still illumines a million Suns, his face still radiates that adhyatmic shakti.

I am surely a close person to Gandhababaji, one does not get to possess such an image otherwise, I am astrally seated right at his lotus feet, but in this dense reality, as this incarnated person I know not what or where.

I have splashes of intuition, surges of serotonin, oxytocin and dopamine; I feel completely in awe and bliss, I feel like I am a child again, seated on his lap. I feel safe, it’s my “Happy Place”.

I hold on to the photograph, as the last vestiges of my sanity in this insane world.

It is so ancient, not only is it Shri Shri Baba’s original images and one can feel him in it, this photo also has my grandfather’s energy, bhakti and shraddha in it.

It is a sort of thread, a sutra which ties me to my ancestors and Paramhamsa Vishuddhananda is the pearl in it. It is a story of surrender, the surrender of three generations.

Shri Shri Baba had told everybody that the Navamundi will provide deep awareness to the whole world, nay, all of existence. It will be the source of immense realization and for this purpose, he had seeded the future. Certain individuals will awaken to his Lila, his call and will successfully provide spiritual warmth in this cold, dark age of pure materialism.

Paramhamsa Vishuddhananda’s life has been kept away from the masses, tucked away in abscure books and in the memories of his shishyas and their progeny. His real life and work has been shrouded in mystery, but as in when the correct time comes, small bits of information about this Mahatma will be released to the world, via the seedlings he had planted. Those seedlings have now become trees, ready to provide fruits, shelter and security to numerous pilgrims.

The two words Asana and Asin are used in the parlance of sadhana. One must begin and continue sadhana on this asana to become an asin, an individual who has provided psycho-spiritual internal power to the externalized seat, in a sense this asana gets activated.

The Asana is an external tool and can be made of very many things like kusa, kambal, tiger’s skin, lion’s skin or deer’s skin.

If one sits and meditates regularly on his asana, then it becomes an extension of their BEING, this in turn makes pranayama and dhyana easier, the deep silence of the self is felt without any significant effort. This is why the asana is so invaluable in sadhana.

The Guru will give a disciple the particular asana which he has earned and deserves, this will greatly benefit the shishya in his spiritual practices. This decision is based on karmas performed in this life and others and on the nature or prakriti of the sadhak being initiated.

Ancient Tantric scriptures mention Yogic postures or asanas, the Padmasana and Siddhasana are highly acclaimed, but for tantric sadhana, Shavasan is the most effective asana.

Shavasana is used by the highest adepts.

A shava or a dead body of a human is often used as an asana in Vamachara Tantra Vidya, but in the very true form of shavasana, the sadhak must convert his own physical body into a cadaver, and the Consciousness or Awareness must establish itself over this corpse and perform sadhana. This is the true esoteric shavasana and not the body relaxation you are taught at yoga class.

The living, breathing body has been transformed into a nonliving corpse and the sense of ME, the sadhak’s personality or individuality or EGO uses this cadaver as an asana and this ME-NESS or sense of identity becomes the asin, and consciousness spirals upwards.

To a true practitioner of Tantra Shastra, this is the fundamental key to shavasana.

In the language of the Agamas, it is understood that this whole Universe consists of 36 tattvas. The goal of sadhana is to penetrate these tattwas and soar upwards; if a sadhak is unable to do so, he can never travel to the next realm. There are numerous realms in this manifested reality.

…”Hence it only stands to reason that the globes which overshadow our Earth must be on a different and superior planes. In short, as Globes they are they are in COADUNATION but not in CONSUBSTATIALITY WITH OUR EARTH and thus pertain to quite another state of consciousness. Our planet(like all those we see) is adapted to the peculiar state of its human stock, that state which enables us to see with our naked eye the sidereal bodies which are coessential with terrene plane and substance, just as their respective inhabitants, the Jovians, the Martians and others can perceive our little world.” – Madame Blavatsky.

HPB discusses these realms in some detail in the SD and it is a must read to get certain concepts clearer.

These realms manifest as shapes of sacred geometry to the yogi. Each such Universe has multiple Universes in them, they grow and self replicate as fractals. They are infinite and endless.

All Universes are not made up of the same elements, in fact they differ greatly.

Earth has free oxygen in its atmosphere, likely as a result of photosynthetic life making her somewhat unique. This atmosphere is imperative in preventing harmful electromagnetic rays emitted from the Sun from reaching surface creatures in excessive amounts, necessary for the sustenance of life and no other planet in the solar system has this feature.

In fact the strange windy worlds of Saturn and Jupiter are so bizarre that we cannot fathom them.

Each world or realm has its own uniqueness, worlds so strange, so complex, so bizarre that it will dwarf our imagination.

This Universe we experience is called Bramhanda in Samskrit and it with all its intricate web-worlds has been created by Bramha with Prithvi Tattwa.

Pauranik rishis have labelled this Universe as the Chaturdosh plane of the whole structure of the Multiverses.

Quantum Mechanics has done the rishis proud by finally tackling the many realities which are being played out simultaneously. Deeply metaphysical times for Science!

The many-worlds interpretation is an interpretation of quantum mechanics that asserts the objective reality of the universal wavefunction and denies the actuality of wavefunction collapse. Many-worlds implies that all possible alternative histories and futures are real, each representing an actual “world” (or “universe”).

How absolutely poetic!!! What more needs be said!!!

How vast is this totality, if our Universe is just a speck on it.

Will not a tiny speck very close to our vision blot out the glory of the world, and leave only a margin by which we see the blot? I know no speck so troublesome as self.
George Eliot

I don’t think we can even grasp this. Infinity is the greatest abstraction for the human mind, we can only feel awe and wonder for a few moments before we revert back by a default setting to our mechanistic, robotic lives- slaves to the man-made system, oblivious of divine intelligence and grandeur.

How insignificant is man in the greater scheme of things, unless he has awakened the kundalini.

Patala and Naraka are two netherworlds spoken of in the ancient Indian scriptures, they may both be underworlds but there is a subtle difference. They are both parts of Adhorajya.

Naraka has many variations and so does Patala in the many planes of existence.

Each individual plane of existence has its own ADHISHTHATA, or ruler.

There is a plane called AVICHI, in the realm of Naraka, which is surrounded by abysmal darkness, not even a ray of light is seen here.

It is pitch black!

But in the higher planes of Patala, there is a radiant glow, although they are parts of the netherworld. This is the glow of Manimukta and fire.

Above patala there is Bhuprishtha, above which is Antariksha and above that is Swarga.

Swarga or Heaven, as Christians understand it, is not one but many.

There are uncountable such heavens, and on one of its lower rungs Devaraj Indra is seated on his golden throne ruling it.

The higher planes of Swargas do not have any specific rulers; they are all bhogloks, but one must have performed spiritual karma and have been of a higher vibrational frequency to become a resident in these heavens. Beings of higher wisdom who have come to enjoy the labours of their karma are seen in such places.

These planes may even take a pilgrim to moksha if karma is continued.

Maharloka, Janaloka, Tapoloka and Satyaloka are the higher planes of our swarga; they are also known as Dyulokh.

Trigunadhari Tridev Ishwara resides in the upper realms and he is the Holy Trinity- Bramha, Vishnu, Maheshwara, coalesced into one.

So from the highest to the lowest, all realms fall under one Universe and each Universe has its own.

Bramha has created it, Vishnu preserves it and finally when the clouds of Pralaya gather in the cosmos, Shiva will destroy it.

Bramhanda is names after its creater Bramha.

As numerous Universes exist, infinite actually, so do tiny Universes exist in our human body.

Our body is a Universe, we are not drops in an ocean, but an expression of the entire ocean in a drop. Therefore the maxim- AS ABOVE SO BELOW!!!

We are all made of stardust. Yes, it sounds rather poetic, but there is some solid science behind this statement : almost every element on Earth was formed at the heart of a star.

The iron in our blood and the calcium in our bones were all forged in such stars. We are made of stardust, say Scientists.

Certain Yogis have actually realized that their bodies are Universes- this dharana is known as VAIRAJ DHARANA, and through this meditation their consciousness merges with Bramha, the creator. In this state the Yogi becomes Bramha, the creator of the Bramhanda.

But there is a certain type of Yogi who can separate his I-NESS from that of the Creator. He does not merge his awareness, his individual EGO with Bramha and can retain his own cognizance. When this state is reached, the Yogi can penetrate the Bramhanda and rise above. If he merges himself with Bramha he cannot rise above the Bramhanda.

But interestingly such yogis who have risen above the Bramhanda do not sever their connection to this Universe, but keep it connected. It becomes like an umbilical cord- the yogi is the mother, the Universe is the Foetus. Such high level adepts are indeed scarce today!

When the Yogis awareness has traversed beyond this Universe, he keeps maintaining the connection to it, gradually the life-breath out of the Universe fades away and it becomes a gigantic corpse!

I have already explained in some detail the esoteric shavasana. Now look intuitively, the Yogi is now the ASIN and the Bramhanda is the ASANA, a shava, a representation of his own corporeal self.

He plants himself on this asana and such a Yogi is even superior to Bramha.

The entire Universe is personified in the Yogi’s sthula sharira which is a corpse now, his consciousness, the asin sits to meditate on the asana which is the lifeless corpse of a Universe; Bramha is then in his PRETA(SPIRIT) form, HIS BODY is then the Yogis ASANA!!!

 

 

 

 

PART- 111

“Let rather the planetary chains and other super and sub-cosmic mysteries remain a dreamland for those who can neither see, nor yet believe that others can.”  -HPB

This Bramhanda is just another horizon, a different level, a plane and it consists of Prithvitattwa, so the word Prithvi or Earth has a different connotation to a yogi.

By those words we understand the huge spherical orb we reside in, the one which we are depleting and abusing, the one which we call home, but it has a total different implication to the Yogi.

We cannot comprehend a minute fragment of what the wise sages can.

Now listen to what the Ancients say. Apart from the Bramhanda there are, there are more colossal structures in creation.

The one higher and larger than the Bramhanda is called PRAKRITANDA, and in this structure, infinite Bramhandas are hanging like pieces of crystal in a chandelier; Universes are floating around like skies in the gigantic sky termed Prakritanda.

After a yogi has converted the Bramhanda to a corpse-like ghost and has performed the esoteric shavasana on it, he the asin, the Bramhanda, the Asana; then he must do the same with the Prakritanda.

Then as before, he continues his connection to the cadaverous being of a prakritanda, rises above it and claims a higher asana for himself.

All these structures are embedded in the consciousness of Mulaprakriti. In our gross understanding, she is NATURE- the “BREATH THAT IS COOL, WHO CONCEIVES, FORMS, BRINGS FORTH, AND RECEIVES THEM BACK INTO HER BOSOM…” according to HPB.

“Life is the Universe, experiencing itself in endless variety”, says Alan Watts and we will see how true this is as our discussion progresses.

HPB sums it up so eloquently- “The eternity of the Universe in toto as a boundless plane; periodically the playground of numberless Universes incessantly manifesting and disappearing, called the manifesting stars and the sparks of eternity.”

Creation, destruction- an infinite cycle!

Fluids are generated out of solids, fixed things out of volatile gases, subtile out of gross- such is the miracle of our existence!

The Bramhanda has its specificities, its uniqueness and so does Prakritanda, but essentially they are created with Jalattatwa and Prithvittatwa.

Remember the time when Science assumed that water is only peculiar to our Earth? How wrong they were!

Now for some 21 st Century Scientific studies which prove the Ancients correct- WATER OR JALA IS EVERYWHERE, EVERYTHING IS WATER AND IT HAS MEMORY!!!

Professor Matt Griffin of Cardiff University, who is the SPIRE Principal investigator, said: “Some trial observations have been made during initial testing of the spectrometer, and it is clear that the data are of excellent quality, and even these initial results are very exciting scientifically, especially our ability to trace the presence of water throughout the Universe.”

In a galaxy 12 billion light-years away resides the most distant and most massive cloud of water yet seen in the universe, astronomers say.

Weighing in at 40 billion times the mass of Earth, the giant cloud of mist swaddles a type of actively feeding supermassive black hole known as a quasar.

Among the brightest and most energetic objects in the universe, quasars are black holes at the centers of galaxies that are gravitationally consuming surrounding disks of material while burping back out powerful energy jets.

 

“As this disk of material is consumed by the central black hole, it releases energy in the form of x-ray and infrared radiation, which in turn can heat the surrounding material, resulting in the observed water vapor,” said study co-author Eric Murphy, an astronomer with the Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena, California.

The vapor around this particular quasar represents enough water “to fill all the oceans on the Earth over 140 trillion times—that’s a lot of water.”

Primordial Water Was Universal Coolant?

Murphy and colleagues found the wet black hole using a spectrograph attached to the ten-meter Caltech Submillimeter Observatory on the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii. The team also revealed that the unusually warm water cloud is bathing other gases and dust around the black hole.

In fact, there’s enough gas and dust present that the black hole could grow to be 6 times its current size—or more than 120 billion times the mass of our sun, Murphy said.

Perhaps even more surprising is that the colossal cosmic reservoir formed when the universe was a mere 1.6 billion years old. “To me, the most exciting aspect of this discovery is that it demonstrates how pervasive water is even at a tenth the current age of the universe,” Murphy said.

“The fact that we have detected such a large amount [of water] at this early stage in the universe is another indication that molecules and chemical enrichment of galaxies were able to occur so rapidly after the big bang.”

Astronomers are hoping to use the find to study how large quantities of water in the young universe may have acted as efficient coolants of the interstellar medium—the thin gas and dust that exists between stars—possibly affecting star formation and the evolution of galaxies such as our Milky Way.

I read somewhere- Seven hundred and fifty light-years from Earth, a young, sunlike star has been found with jets that blast epic quantities of water into interstellar space, shooting out droplets that move faster than a speeding bullet.

The discovery suggests that protostars may be seeding the universe with water. These stellar embryos shoot jets of material from their north and south poles as their growth is fed by infalling dust that circles the bodies in vast disks.

 

Water Vanishes, Only to Reappear

Located in the northern constellation Perseus, the protostar is no more than a hundred thousand years old and remains swaddled in a large cloud—gas and dust from which the star was born.

Using an infrared instrument on the European Space Agency’s Herschel Space Observatory, researchers were able to peer through the cloud and detect telltale light signatures of hydrogen and oxygen atoms—the building blocks of water—moving on and around the star.

After tracing the paths of these atoms, the team concluded that water forms on the star, where temperatures are a few thousand degrees Celsius. But once the droplets enter the outward-spewing jets of gas, 180,000-degree-Fahrenheit (100,000-degree-Celsius) temperatures blast the water back into gaseous form.

Once the hot gases hit the much cooler surrounding material—at about 5,000 times the distance from the sun to Earth—they decelerate, creating a shock front where the gases cool down rapidly, condense, and reform as water, Kristensen said.

Stellar Sprinkler Nourishes Galactic “Garden”

What’s really exciting about the discovery is that it appears to be a stellar rite of passage, the researchers say, which may shed new light on the earliest stages of our own sun’s life—and how water fits into that picture.

“We are only now beginning to understand that sunlike stars probably all undergo a very energetic phase when they are young,” Kristensen said. “It’s at this point in their lives when they spew out a lot of high-velocity material—part of which we now know is water.”

Like a celestial sprinkler system, the star may be enriching the interstellar medium—thin gases that float in the voids between stars. And because the hydrogen and oxygen in water are key components of the dusty disks in which stars form, such protostar sprinklers may be encouraging the growth of further stars, the study says.

More info on how water is fundamental to Bramhanda and the Prakritanda- they are created by JALATATTWA.

And what are we doing here, at least what we should be doing here- Float like the clouds and flow like water!!! To simply BE!!!

The ADHISHTHATA of the Prakritanda is VISHNU, but do not mistake him for the preserver of the Bramhanda. These two VISHNUS are totally different beings.

Then why the identical name?

I have not found any answer to that. I have searched and searched the Agamas and other writings which touch upon this subject but honestly I have found nothing.

If you do happen to know why these beings have synonymous names, is it a xerox, then do let me know.

I think the Pauranic Rishis gave them corresponding names for some occult reason; for making things plainer for the sadhaks, the humans who need not know any more. Who knows?

VISHNU definitely contains some secret beej.

The Yogi must now take on this PRAKRITANDA as his own corporeal self, he must convert it to a vacant corpse, perform shavasana, maintain connection, but retain his awareness as separate from VISHNU, THE ADHISHTHATA, then penetrate this structure; he is superior to the Yogi who has in the process has amalgamated his consciousness with Vishnu.

But this is not the end, not even close to it. It’s just a level and a true seeker will want to rise higher to the great TRUTH!

So the Yogi must continue severe tapas, perform the shavasana on the shava of the Prakritanda.

What boundless bliss, what a profound experience!

Can our punitive mind ever understand this giant expression of sadhana? Can we feel a part of this gigantic phenomena a Yogi goes through- yes, someday, through relentless sadhana.

Imagine what Yog-kriya the Yogi must perform at this stage! What must be the state of consciousness in that adept?

I remember a quote of Carl Jung, “There is no coming to Consciousness without PAIN.” The word PAIN here takes on so many meanings when we are talking about infinite Bramhanda, infinite Prakritandas and Yog-sadhana- what exactly is then the definition of PAIN???

Such a Yogi is called a DIMUNDI YOGI.

The Yogi who has pierced the Prakritanda is of course superior to the Bramhanda conquering Yogi.

At this elevated stage, the Yogi realizes the CHATURVINGSHATI TATTWA or the PRITHVITTATWA & JALATTATWA and he can utilize and manipulate them.

PART- IV

Only one word ‘OM’
I studied
The same word ‘OM’
I reared in my heart,
The same ‘OM’ I learned
And smoothened on a stone:
A bit of grass I was, yet
I changed into gold.

– LALLESHWARI, a revered saint of Kashmir Shaivism.

In all these grandiose cosmic structures discussed, the PRAKRITANDA is not the final arrangement of “INTELLIGENT DESIGN” and is not simply ONE, but INFINITE, exactly like Bramhanda and Prakritanda and OM is the secret frequency which brings spirit into matter.

Think of an analogy to make this clearer, or else it becomes too abstruse. Think you are walking through an apple orchard in Kashmir, the snow has gathered on the numerous red, luscious apples that lay suspended from the trees, similarly such numerous colossal PRAKRITANDAS hang from a mother structure called MAYANDA, the very bosom of Mahamaya.

Maya is none other than the Divine Mother. The mighty weaver, says Ramakrishna Paramhamsa, and the Divine Mother or Mahashakti lays a very severe test for the Yogi.

The Mayanda is a very illusive structure, Maya is a very mysterious force which is the root cause and effect of all these structures discussed.

The Mayanda is very complex and too vast, it is not to be pierced or penetrated easily by even the most advanced Yogis.

To elucidate this point, think of Maya as a massive labyrinthine configuration, with no end and no beginning. Once you have entered this maze, you can keep going, keep trying to find a way out, but it is not to happen, unless you have a special GPRS Devise which can map the labyrinth and calibrate your route towards an exit. Even then you cannot get out- this maze is infinite!!! You have to encompass infinity in your SELF!

To the Avadhuta, this maze, this Mayanda comprised of Maya is a jailhouse, because he knows what exists outside of it- PURE SUBLIME MUKTI!

Imagine you never walked out of you room and someday you are whisked off to the beach. Look around, this is the first time you have seen the ocean, the waves crashing on the shore, the smells, the sounds- all of this will wreak havoc on your senses. Your sensory perceptions are now experiencing what you have never seen, felt, experienced before. And then you are stuffed back into your tiny room and never allowed to go out. Will you not miss the open skies, the gushing winds, the clouds forming shapes in the blue sky? You are bound to crave for the outdoors once you have seen it, similarly the Avadhuta has seen what lies beyond!

“Like the full moon is ATMAN. See IT in ALL. Duality is the product of defective vision. As there is only one moon so there is only ONE ATMAN”, says Bhagawan Dattatreya.

Dattatreya performed Tara Sadhana, just like Vashishta and Sakyamuni Buddha after which they could pierce the Mayanda.

Maya’s primary quality is contrast and separateness, and “We are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness,” says Zen Master THICH NHAT HANH.

Yet, Ramakrishna did not shun Maya like the ADVAITIS, he acknowledged her power in life. He was all love and reverence for maya, perceiving in it a mysterious and majestic expression of Divinity. To him maya was his Maa Kali.

 

“Maya . . . is the Mother of the Universe, identical with the Brahman of Vedanta and with the Atman of Yoga, said Thakurmahasaya, it was DAKSHINA KALI standing on Bhairav, her dark form, like dark rain clouds, encasing deep space.

 

Through it he also recognized divine immanence. Even those who realize the absolute in nirvikalpa samdhi are under its jurisdiction as long as they live on the relative plane.

 

“Like the effulgent sun, bringing into existence clouds of different colours and shapes, shining through and standing behind them and thus conjuring up wonderful forms in the blue autumn heaven”, sang Ramakrishna Paramhamsa.

So in a Mayanda infinite Prakritandas float about and in each Prakritanda, infinite Bramhandas exist.

So the main point of understanding is that in all these structures contrast and separateness are inherent, like positive and negative charges, like night and day, and like sleeping and awakening.

The Beings who cohabit these structures have quite an understanding of their I-NESS.

The ego represents what we call reason and sanity, in contrast to the id which contains the passions. SIGMUND FREUD the man who revolutionised Western thought and heralded the period of Modernism studied the psyche of man in great detail. To conclude in his terms, we are a bundle of nerves and slave to chemicals coursing through our bodies. The ego which says- I am a boy, I am black, I am an Indian, this identifying traits makes up the personality.

But we are so much more than just that!

Carl Sagan, the most poetic astrophysicist tells us, “We are a way, for the Cosmos to know itself.” The Ancients are smiling! The Ancient wisdom venerated by the materialistic Western society.

If one does not realize the Unity of ALL THINGS, if this SEPARATENESS of YOU AND I does not cease, if this body identification does not end, then this Mayanda can never be traversed.

This beautiful Mayanda is the creation, participation and implementation of two principle in creation- PURUSHA and PRAKRITI.

Through the inter-play of gunas, Prakriti which is pure creative energy, it binds the Purusha which is the Creative Consciousness which sets in motion this whole reality and all others. Purusha is Unconscious without Prakriti, as Shiva is Shava without Shakti.

As Poe said: “All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream”–namely, prakriti, the creative energy in Purusha, the unconscious force of it all.

 

LALLESHWARI, a revered saint of Kashmir Shaivism puts it most eloquently-

“Lalla wilfully entered the garden door (of self).
There.
I saw Shiva and Shakti
Merged in one:
Absorbed in that VISION, I
Dissolved in Him alive.
Realised the essence and,
Tasted the sweetness of
The Divine secret,

I would die while alive
How can He stop me ?

Purusha is the transcendental self or pure consciousness. It is absolute, independent, free, imperceptible, unknowable through other agencies, above any experience by mind or senses and beyond any words or explanations. It remains pure, “nonattributive consciousness”. Purusha is neither produced nor does it produce.

Prakriti is the first cause of the manifest material universe — of everything except the Puruṣa. Prakriti accounts for whatever is physical, both mind and matter-cum-energy or force. Since it is the first principle (tattva) of the universe, it is called the Pradhāna, but, as it is the unconscious and unintelligent principle, it is also called the jaDa. It is composed of three essential characteristics (trigunas). These are:

• Sattva– poise, fineness, lightness, illumination, and joy;
• Rajas– dynamism, activity, excitation, and pain;
• Tamas– inertia, coarseness, heaviness, obstruction, and sloth.

In the beginning this (world) was only the self, in the shape of a person. Looking around he saw nothing else than the self. He first said, ‘I am’ (aham asmi).

—Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.1

 

The above quote clearly illustrates how Purusha

is the life force of the Mayanda.

 

Maya tends to veil this electric life force.

 

The Atman which is none other than Shiva’s swaroop, or self, has five shaktis embedded in it, and they are but an aspect of the INFINITE power of the Atman.

 

These five shaktis are present in the atman of all JIVA; with their realization, the Atman holds the quality of eternity, it becomes evident as forever, indestructive.

The Atman is All- pervasive, All-knowing, The swatantra ruler of ALL, and complete in ITSELF.

When Atman, the eternal aspect of the Jiva decides to incarnate into a being of flesh and blood, it is similar to an actor who dons new costumes for each role he plays.

Shakespeare did hint at an occult truth when he wrote, ” All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.”

A bit of reflection. The Shivarupi Atman must renounce or veil its perfect knowledge, it must forget the eternal flow of neumenon to phenomenon, of cause and effect, it must enter a new state of awareness, which is restricted.

But to play about in this lilamancha, stage, the Atman has to forget.

Says Sri Krishna in the Bhagavadgita,  “The Paramatman [Supreme Self], the Great Lord [Maheshwara], also called the Supreme Spirit [Parampurusha], is the witness, consenter, supporter, and experiencer in the body” (13:22).

As a result of this intricate game plan, the eternal must resort to the transient.

As a true actor completely forgets his own identity at the time of performance, so must the atman forget it is Shiva.

In the words of Kashmir Shaivism-

asmad rupa samāviṣṭaḥ
svātmanātmanivāraṇe  / 
śivaḥ karotu nijayā
namaḥ śaktyā tatātmane //
(1st Verse, Śivadṛiṣṭi)

“Let Shiva, who is my Self, let Shiva do  pranam (bow down) to his real nature – to Universal Shiva, by his own Shakti, for removing the bondage and limitation, which is Shiva.”

Now Shiva who has incarnated into you and me, just remembers mundane details. What’s my name, where I live, what ideas I adhere to, whether I thrive in war or peace- that’s all Shiva remembers now.

I know I am Tina, I write, shoot and edit my indie films, I meditate, I love my cats and my beloved, my parents are my support system- blah, blah, blah, this is all just a cacophony drowning the true nada, sweeping away my true identity.

This body- it’s not me, these fingers typing away furiously , nah they are not me, my foot tapping the ground, it’s just a foot, not me!

I am not my heart which pumps blood, I am not my breath which keeps me alive, I am not the words which stream from my consciousness.

I JUST AM- ATMAN!!!

Honestly in this left brained, materialistic, rat-racy world, this truth has no bearing what-so-ever! It’s an empty echo, it’ll make for a good joke. I am not me, tell that to my credit card companies. I do not owe them anything, I am not this limited personality, I am the Atman. Trust me, locked up you shall be, in some psychiatric institution, heavily medicated.

So how can we make sense of this?

Bills have to be paid, the growling stomach has to be fed, the mind has to be stimulated, be it porn or Foucault’s Pendulum, whichever does the trick- and each day rolls by, like a blink of an eyelid of eternity.

Occult knowledge is so very poetic, the metaphysical munchies are so very sumptuous that once you have dipped into its infinite reservoir, there is no going back.

Once you have begun to swim this deep, deep sea, you will never be the same.

I stand under the golden canopy of thine evening sky
and I lift my eager eyes to thy face.

I have come to the brink of eternity from which nothing can vanish
—-no hope, no happiness, no vision of a face seen through tears.

Oh, dip my emptied life into that ocean,
plunge it into the deepest fullness.
Let me for once feel that lost sweet touch
in the allness of the universe. -Tagore.

 

Who cannot be touched by these lines?

Clouds are hills in vapour,
hills are clouds in stone, –
a phantasy in time’s dream.

While God waits for His temple to be built of love,
men bring stones.

I touch God in my song
as the hill touches the far-away sea
with its waterfall.

Light finds her treasure of colours
through the antagonism of clouds.

My heart to-day smiles at its past night of tears
like a wet tree glistening in the sun
after the rain is over.

 

Somehow Tagore manages to touch such a deep part of my soul, that for a second, I forget, I forget I am this body and I celebrate the eternity of the Atman!!!

To keep up this “little” drama and the constant change of costumes, Maya utilizes her Shakti, without which nothing can be created and this shakti is termed as KAAL-SHAKTI.

The Atman is beyond KAAL which can be thought of as SAMAY or time, but the Atman must remain under the dictates and confinements of time while playing the role. The character will only be given a restricted amount of time on stage, it cannot be infinite, after all it is a performance!

Imagine Anthony Hopkins in his role as Hannibal Lecter. He reads the script, he gets into character, he does workshops for it, then the final day of shooting arrives. The lights are set, the stage is set, the mikes are in place, his attire, the costume, the makeup, all is in its place; the director shouts, ACTION.

From that moment on till the director says cut, he is Hannibal, not Anthony Hopkins. But once the director has said cut, he retires from the persona of Hannibal and slowly resumes his own identity.

When actors do immensely emotional roles, they can never snap out of character, it takes them several minutes. This is known fact. But at home Anthony Hopkins is not Hannibal, he is himself.

The atman has a particular timeframe to incarnate as a particular individual, and when the lights are out and the show is over, the atman throws away the body, or the costume it was dressed in. The actor has finished shooting, and until he signs another film, he can go on to being JUST HIMSELF!

“You are the Universe, expressing itself as a human for a little while.”- MASTER ECKHART TOLLE

The Atman knows no eccentricities, no dissimilarities, it only knows the Universal Unity.

Pashupatinath Shiva, the all-knowing, becomes Pashurupi Jiva, who has limited knowledge.

The power which is internal to Maya, and which in turns veils this infinite knowledge is known as ASHUDHYA VIDYA.

Atman controls KRIYASHAKTI, but Jiva, or us, in most cases are not even aware of Kriyashakti, least of all be in control of it.

But some are aware and they call it FREE WILL, but in this day and age, we are all slaves to the system- THERE IS NO FREE WILL- ALL IS KARMA.

The same way a compact disk isn’t responsible for what’s recorded on it, that’s how we are. You’re about as free to act as a programmed computer. You’re about as one-of-a-kind as a dollar bill.

CHUCK PALAHNIUK

I have found truth in these lines by Palahniuk, his writing has a certain brand of gritty realism and dark abstraction that appeals to me, he has definitely dabbled in esoteric truths.

KALA is that aspect of Maya by the sense of differentiation occurs. I am me and you are you.

The Atman in its core stage is holding AKHANDA or undivided BLISS, it is established in LOVE and ABUNDANCE, it has no wants, needs or desires.

It is APTAKAM- absolute in itself.

It is quite simple actually- although it may seem repetitive.

The ATMAN has lived infinite lives, it has no thirst for anything, it seeks nothing; when it desires to be housed in flesh, it longs for life, it yearns for experiences.

 

It begins to seek out so many things, new horizons, new experiences, new ideas; which is why the Jivatman is inherently dissatisfied.

It wants, it needs, it craves!

This desire that is evident in the Jiva is created out of an aspect of Maya; it is called RAGA.

So the eternal Shiva, now encased in flesh and bones, blood pumping through his veins, this Shiva is now a mortal man or a woman.

Therefore after this most elaborate discussion we can safely conclude that ATMAN or BHAGAWAN cloaks himself in this mortal garb to become JIVATMAN!

This is the GREAT TRUTH, the penultimate realization of our identity!

The Yogi has come a long way, he still “has miles to go before he SLEEPS”, this achievement will definitely bring its own anti-climax, but for now he has visualized this great Mayanda as his corporeal self; he has become RUDRA.

According to the Agamas, Rudra is the sovereign of the Mayanda.

The Mahayogi who has traversed the Bramhanda, has penetrated the Prakritanda which is Vishnubhumi and has converted them to a corpus delicti, is NOW himself RUDRA.

Finally the yogi through kriya, tapas and sadhana must in turn convert this Mayanda into a relic, a carcass and establish himself on the asana which is the Mayanda!!!

Such a Yogi performing such a shavasana is indeed rare, he is a gem of gems, a true kohinoor.

This Mahayogi is a holder of the TRIMURTI ASANA, and he can control the whole of Maya.

 

PART- V

As consciousness soars higher, there is only purity, bliss, timelessness; it is Vishuddha and is the land of Mahamaya.

This awesome land of Mahamaya, is further divided into three planes.

The realm in question is so vast, that it is really beyond our comprehension.

Earlier we have discussed about Mayanda and how vast it is; it is infinitely huge, but when compared to this realm the Mayanda begins to appear like a tiny speck of sand.

This infinitely colossal structure is termed SHAKTANDA in scriptural literature.

The Mayanda is situated in a far-off, insignificant corner in the SHAKTANDA, just like our solar system, once thought to be the centre of the Milky Way, is actually situated in a far-out, tiny corner of it. When presented with a diagram of the Milky Way and our presence in it, we look insignificant, by “we” I mean our dear Sun and its companions.

If you check out a video which compares the sizes of the celestial bodies, you will see how tiny our Sun looks when compared to Sirius, Arcturus, Aldeberan, Rigel all the way to VY CANIS MAJORIS.

You will be baffled. The computer simulation will make it clearer for your brain to grasp at the magnitude of celestial greatness!

Ah the beauty of the computer era, without which we would never have computed infinity in fractals.

The etymology of the word Shaktanda is from Shakti, the sublime creatrix and Anda, meaning sphere. So to loosely translate, it means the realm of pure consciousness, of unalloyed bliss.

Although in actuality, the Shaktanda has no such divisions, the Pauranic rishis, for the sake of better understanding, have divided this structure into two parts.

The ADHISHTHATA of one half is ISHWARA and of the other is SADASHIV.

Ishwara and Sadashiv are both direct emanation of the PARAMATMAN, yet they both hold dualistic powers.

Ishwara is the symbol of the illusory power or shakti of Paramatman, whereas Sadashiv represents his anugraha or the power of compassion.

Take a moment. Do you now see that the ONE CONSCIOUSNESS plays around with duality in this sphere. Do you see Nigraha and Anugraha- the interplay of these forces take shape here.

Infinite beings, all part of that ATMAN, are troubled and suffering in the mire of samsara.

“Your suffering is my suffering and your happiness is my happiness.” – Buddha

That is why great beings are incarnated to guide us.

It is through the play of all the forces that suffering arises in samsara.

Creation is held together by contrasted forces, so like PRANA and APANA, our reality is balanced by YIN and YAN, duality.

Just like positive and negative charges vibrate inside an atom and matter is formed, so is reality manifested by contrasted forces.

The SHAKTANDA becomes a prison of the mind for some Yogis, even after having come so far.

ISHWARA’S energy is extroverted, while that of SADASHIV is introverted.

By the left hand, the divine ruler pushes atmas into the soup of samsara, and then the right hand grabs these tortured souls to bring them back to the light of self realization, a return to the eternal realm.

Therefore ISHWARA and SADASHIV are two integral aspects of the SHAKTANDA- the external and the internal.

The Yogi enters the Shaktanda, and through diligent tapas begins to transform to Ishwara and Sadashiv, and at that point, the entire Shaktanda becomes his corporeal body; in his body shines infinite Bramhandas, Prakritandas, Mayandas.

The Yogi is both Nigraha and Anugraha rupa- he is both Ishwara and Sadashiv.

BUT the Yogi has still not witnessed all there is to see in this divine creation, in the realm of Maa Mahashakti.

Yes Sadashiv and Ishwara are the so-called highest aspects of the mayavik realm, but they are NOT ENTIRELY INDEPENDENT!!!

So again, the long journey of infinite steps must begin with one, the Yogi must now traverse the Shaktanda.

Ishwara and Sadashiv, although supreme GODS, are only representatives of the will and power of PARAMESHWARA, who invites them to take command of these posts, to perform their designated karma, to continue the game, watch over it. Of course their karmic equations must be at par with holding these “posts”.

The Yogi will have to metamorphose his body, the Shaktanda, into a shava, a cadaver, and like before, establish his awareness on this asana, which is the bodies of Ishwara and Sadashiv. This is the explanation of the esoteric PANCHAMUNDI ASANA.

Bramha, Vishnu, Rudra, Ishwara and Sadashiv are now PANCHAPRETAS, the five great spirits of yoke, and the yogi domiciliates his consciousness over this sacred asana of the panchapretas.

Now the yogi is illuminated and radiant like a trillion, trillion Suns.

The Panchamundi asana is in fact the asana of Sadashiv; Bramha and the rest are all just parts of him. Sadashiv must be a shava in this sadhana, and on his chest stands the form of the divine MOTHER- she is Mahakali and it is actually she, who is seated on the Panchamundi.

The Yogi finds himself in the lotus feet of Mahakali and gains infinite wisdom.

The rishis have termed Panchamundi as a Krishna-paksha sadhana.

Here, let’s take a detour to delve into the immense ocean of SAMKHYA philosophy; let us acquaint ourselves with SAGE KAPILA’S teachings.

Kapila denies the existence of GOD AS CREATOR; there is no need for a personal GOD, as PRAKRITI in her magnificence performs all creation.

The sage, just like Buddha and numerous enlightened beings, realized that all we are trying to do is swim across the miry soup of existence, the illusory samsara, to realize our SWATANTRATA, our independence.

Numerous beings remain trapped in this holographic reality, not knowing what to do or what keeps hitting them, they are lost, in pursuit of useless things.

But the Yogi through his kriya, enters a Manvantara and after Mahapralaya, when the cycle begins anew, he is ready to be a Bramha, Vishnu and Shiva; but he may decide to be born as a mere mortal, as that way he does not remain restricted as these high beings with such supernal responsibilities, but through kriya and tapas, he can rise higher.

In fact we all will be GODS in different cycles of creation.

Kapila says, “GODS” are all temporal, there can be no eternal GOD who is the adhishthata of all; there is only existence of all these Bramhandas, Prakritandas, Mayandas and Shaktandas in the mahat of the Yogi.

Sage Kapila says everything exists in us, the visible exists in the seer, the knowledge in the knower.

So without a creator, preserver and destroyer, the acts of creation, preservation and destruction could not be possible; and each cycle must then have a new Bramha, Vishnu and Shiva, they are not permanent, but just “posts”.

But the Navamundi yogi has no desire for posts, he wants to be seated in Maa Kali’s lap and see the drama unfolding, the sublime drama of the creatrix.

 

Shokoli tomari iccha, iccha moyi tara tumi, tomar kormo tumi koro maa, loke bole kori aami…Sadhak Ramprasad, Panchamundi Yogi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Death be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not soe,

For, those, whom thou think’st, thou dost overthrow,

Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill mee. …..

One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,

And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

John Donne