SRIVIDYA SPHURANA (THOUGHTS) – PART 4 - By Bhuvananandanatha

[AUM.Ravi]

O my child, you turned towards me atleast. Don’t worry. I am always looking for you to come towards me. You looked at me now atleast. I will show the right path to perform the journey. That is spiritual journey. You will find both thorns and roses in that route. Don’t worry, I am here. I will be with you always in this journey. Your hardships are mine. I will bear your hardships. You enjoy your life with belief that I am with you. Like this Srimata will assure her children. In this, both assurance and warnings are there. Thorns are not warnings. They are real teachings or tests. They are like mirage only. Roses are attractions towards materialistic desires but they have real thorns. Thorns appears to be obstacles but they are the shortest route to final destination i.e. lap of Amma (salvation). Roses are real obstacles to reach that final destination. I discuss more precisely. This junction is very important in spiritual journey. This journey decides the future of a sadhaka. Examples of roses are exuberance of rajo guna and tamo guna. We have already discussed about these two in previous parts of this series. Once, a sadhaka progress upward rajo guna will first attack him i.e. mahisasura. Sometime, tamo guna will attack him i.e.bhandasura. Many times both will attack him at a time. Many sadhakas will fall into this web very easily because of their weaknesses in their heart and mind. Please remember, asuras are more powerful than devatas. This is the reason Lord Rama has to perform almost twelve years journey to take the blessings and powers of various saints, munis etc to kill Ravanasura. What we are in front of Rama? So we have to be equipped with more powers to win over those asuras (mahisasura and bhandasura). To get such power we have to practice so many mantras. This is the reason why there are so many mantras in Srividya cult. Mantras like Guru, MahaGanapathi, Bala, Panchadasi, Shodasi etc………. almost hundred mantras. It is very ironic that now day we find publicity that either one mantra or no mantra is sufficient to get the sidhi. Just stay silent and watch your breath. This is dhyana and this will give you sidhi. Many people will believe this and start doing this. Finally what will happen? Defeat in the war. They will come to the conclusion that “there is no god” or some people will try to find some other new god.
Yes, sir we know all these things. What to do tell us. I am coming to that point only. Have belief on one real guru. Start the journey in the path shown by him. A sadhana is the combination of both Bahiryaga and Antaryaga. Bahiryaga is for cleaning of chitta. Once the chitta cleaned properly, antaryaga will lead you to final abode very easily. Hence, we have to perform both at a time. So let us understand first what bahiryaga is. Simply, bahiryaga is external puja. We keep an idol or photo or yantra etc in front of us and do puja to them. How it will clear our chitta. Chitta cannot be cleaned immediately. Bahiryaga should be done like a yajna. For this we must learn the proper puja procedures from our guru and should practice in presence of him. After his approval we have to start doing in our own. Please remember Sri Parasurama. How he did his sadhana. He first learnt bahiryaga from his guru lord Sri Dattatreya. Then he did mantropasana. Bahiryaga should never be practiced by seeing videos or by listening mantras in tape records/cell phones. There are certain rules to pronounce mantras. Those things should be learnt from guru only. Sandhyavandana, Puja, Mantropasana and stotra is the sadhana krama. Practice of this series is known as sadhana. But not simply sitting in dhyana by closing eyes. Here you may ask me. What if we are not authorized to do sandhyavandana. For them parents puja is equal to sandhyavandana. Of course, this puja is to be performed by everyone. All people irrespective of caste, creed and sex are authorized to do puja. Perquisite qualification is quest only. Nothing else. So what to do as puja?. In Srividya cult, Srichakra puja is very important. A conventional method of Srichakra puja will take not less than five hours. A detailed version will take minimum twelve to fourteen hours. For gruhatas it is very difficult to follow this every day. So there are some other simple procedures to do daily. But a sadhaka should do detailed version of Srichakra puja on the following days atleast.
1. Sarannavaratris
2. Vasantanavaratris
3. Pournami days
Apart from above, a sadhaka can do naimittika puja. Naimittika means not for any specific reason or desire. Just to near to Srimata. Who are authorized to do naimittika puja? A sadhaka who follows the  sadhana krama as detailed above is authorized to do naimittika puja. When this naimittiaka puja can be performed? Following are the important days to do naimittika puja.
1. On sadhakas Guruji’s  birth day
2. On sadhakas birth day
3. On Sundays
Srichakra puja should be done nishkama i.e. not for any desires. Nishkama puja will fructify early. It is very painful to learn that many people are performing Srichakra puja for fulfilling their desires by paying lakhs of rupees. There are certain important clear cut meanings for each step of Srichakra puja. What is the using of doing puja without knowing these things? It is ironic that the person who pays the money will be in the impression that he will get his desires fulfilled because he paid the money and the person who does the puja will do the puja by thinking of the money he received. No one has concentration on what is being done. What will be the net result? Srimata’s affliction. Whether such a child will develop?
To be continued……