Namaste Prince. Descending from dvādaśānta, the central point of the maṇḍala, Kuṇḍalinī is Mahāmāyā and generates the world of transmigration. She is Śaktikuṇḍalinī, coiled like a sleeping serpent as though She has drunk poison. But, awakened by one-pointed awareness, She attains Her supreme abode. In doing so, the Goddess undergoes multiple births. It is said in the Manthānabhairava Tantra: "The Kaulika reality manifests in the seventh birth, that of the Śāmbhava state, which is the last... A Buddhist in the first life and a Jaina in the second. Then a Vedika the third, a Vaiṣṇava in the fourth, a Saura in the fifth and a Śaiva in the sixth." The seventh birth of the Goddess is as the daughter of Himavat. What this means is that one's awareness progressively becomes more and more purified until eventually attaining the Śāmbhava state, which is described as such: "One whose mind is free of thoughts is successful - this is the alchemical potion. Thought is only delusion and thought is in the mind. Once thought has been destroyed then there is success without any doubt." The various mantras and their deities are reflective awarenesses, each a kind of wisdom. For instance, in the scheme of the Paraśurāmakalpasūtra, Mahāgaṇapati, the primordial resonance of consciousness which rules the totality of all things which unfold from it, is practiced first as the reflective awareness of the oneness of all things within pure consciousness through the recognition of one's true nature. Śyāmalā and Vārāhī are the subtle and gross - inner and outer - aspects of reality, the former being the aesthetic wonder of one's true nature and the latter being the secret festival of the relish of one's true nature. Bālā, the slayer of the thirty sons of Bhaṇḍāsura, overcomes the lower states of consciousness. As it is said in the Śivasūtra: "Māyā is the lack of discernment of the principles beginning with Kalā." You can probably understand somewhat the significance of the Pañcadaśī and Mahāṣoḍaśī mantras from my previous comment about lunar symbolism. It is worth quoting a passage from Tantrāloka here: "The perception of the object of knowledge, along with the metaphysical principles that constitute it, which is full or less complete, is the knowledge that, increasingly higher, quells each corresponding form of transmigratory existence. 'I am unsullied by attachment and the like', 'I am inwardly empty' and 'I am not an agent' - this kind of knowledge, whether collectively or individually, liberates from only that much bondage. Therefore, even though someone may be free from one limitation, he is not liberated because other limitations continue to exist. He who is truly liberated is free of all limitations."

For worshippers of siddhilakṣmī , please use the following for your daily practice (tattva-shodana + gayatri) siddhilakṣmī gayatri : khphreṁ siddhilakṣmī vidmahe navatyadhika dhīmahi tanno lakṣmīḥ pracodayāt tattva shodana : 1) khphreṁ hrāṁ ātmatatvāya svāhā || 2) khphreṁ hrīṁ vidyātatvāya svāhā || 3) khphreṁ hrūṁ śivatatvāya svāhā

Dear Dylan, I would like to ask about the significance of krama in mantra sadhana. Namely, what is the philosophy behind starting with one-syllable mantra and gradually working up to mantras with increasing (gradually) more syllables (kali krama, for e.g., starting with 1) chintamani bija KRIM, then to Ekajata Tara mantra and so on and so forth). In addition to this, learned Acarya Timalsina also states that in the beginning we visualise simpler forms in dhyana, and we work our way up to increasingly complex forms, which directly corresponds to increasingly complex mantras. Thank you so much for your help.

om namash chandikayai. Kindly assist or advise me in getting the deeksha for this manthra

Sai ram, very very thanks for sharing this. I really appreciate it much. Since Ashwatthama is a maharishi now from what i had read in this manblunder article here and i had seen the image of Ashwatthama shared here, I am really astonished of how Ashwatthama looks now. Since Ashwatthama's has relieved from his curse and became a guruji, is there any way for me to meet or see Ashwatthama now ? what does this mantra Ashwathaama Balir Vyaso Hanumanash cha Vibhishana Krupacharya cha Parashuramam Saptatah Chirjeevanam means ? please tell me and can i chant this ? if yes at what time ?

Dear Nesh, you may check out 'English Renderings of the Tiruvarutpa' or please check out Volume 2 of Arut Perum Joti and the Deathless Life. I would highly recommend you to learn Tamil, for it is the best way to understand and enjoy the songs within. I am highly fortunate here to have learnt Tamil ever since a very young age (I am still learning now) even though I am not from India.

thank you for explaining it beautifully dylan

The Most Compassionate Lord Vallalar has said: Sanskrit is our mother tongue and Tamil is our father tongue.

Yes Nesh, it is definitely a great read.

Namaste Dylan For a beginner, would you recommend Abhinavagupta’s commentary on Bhagavad Gita? I just stumbled on this, looks very cool. Also potentially very useful for discourse with so-called mainstream Hindus.