Thanks a lot dear Vipul for taking the time to explain things in detail. Much appreciated. The information you've shared would be useful and encouraging to all sadhakas. Thanks again and God bless.

Some questions for all to foster practical discussion instead of reinforcing the old cyclical debate: 1) What method do you know of to discover your ishta devata? 2) What is the correspondence between the Mahavidyas and one's birth nakshatra? 3) Are the deities you approach tantric or orthodox? 4) What, if any, is the distinction between Vidya and knowledge? And specifically for Krishna: Would it be too much effort for you to re-create the old Manblunder Discussion Forum? Its current version is inactive, flooded by spam and on an outdated platform. It's apparent to me that discussion exists, and I think a forum is a platform better suited for interactions of this type than the comments of this blog.

Kuru Sandhyasa and Chakravarti. Do you truly know what the Principle called Guru is? Personally, I believe you still haven't understood what the Guru truly is. Let me state categorically what the Guru is: the Guru is an indescribable intelligence, inseparable from the Soul or Soul Spark of all beings, without exception. It is not only in human beings or supposedly enlightened beings. What I mean is that the Guru is beyond lineages, initiation, religions, and paths. The scriptures establish the need for an external Guru, but this is only for safety. An external Guru has never been and never will be mandatory, as this goes against the very nature of what the Guru is. The principle called Guru is even in a stone, and I say more: it is entirely there, not just in parts. If this principle called Guru so desires, a stone gains consciousness and performs the five great acts: Creation, Sustenance, Destruction/Purification, Concealment/Involution, Revelation/Evolution. True Kaulas place the Guru at the center, but not the Guru you are imagining and that you probably don't yet understand. Authentic Kaulas know this truth and they are absolutely right in saying that they are not Śaktas, Vaiṣṇavas, Śaivas, or others. The authentic Kaula says: I am not obligated to any lineage, any dogma, any school... my only obligation is to be sincere with the Guru. This true Kaula is not talking about the external Guru restricted to a single person... this Kaula is talking about the Guru who is equal and whole in every particle of Creation and who is compelled by sincere devotion, by the act of honoring this Guru in every part of Creation, not just in someone belonging to a lineage, school, or religion. Authentic Kaulas follow Kuṇḍalinī Yoga under the prism of Kādi Vidyā and the Pañcadaśī Mantra. They walk in the same direction, but expanding in all directions. The name "Kaula" comes from "Family", but the family here is all of Creation, Everything. The Guru's oneness does not allow him to be the exclusive possession of any path, school, scripture, or lineage. The Kaula will violate all scriptures that are necessary, if the principle called Guru so dictates. The Guru is beyond that, far beyond. Hinduism, for example, is only a garment that the Guru wears, but he has countless garments. You will only be able to truly worship the Guru's feet through the Oneness of Being. Śrī Vidyā, for example, is the knowledge of Śrī. What is Śrī? Śrī is the Guru. The letter "Ś" signifies Mahāmāyā operating through the Śuddha Tattva, a Tattva that makes you say AHAM = IDAM and IDAM = AHAM. This is called "Diversity that does not lose Unity." The Guru does not lose Unity, even if he becomes many. The letter "r" signifies Cit-Śakti or Force of Consciousness. This Force of Consciousness of the Guru is a Force that "Knows and Acts" simultaneously and in the same act. He knows because he contemplates himself and sees himself in all of creation. The Guru is alone: ​​Sat. The letter "ī" signifies Vyakta Kāmakalā or the Dynamic form of Kāmakalā, inseparable from Avyakta Kāmakalā, signified by the letter "e," the Static aspect of Kāmakalā. When, through the Force of Consciousness (Cit-Śakti), the Guru contemplates himself in all of Creation and says: "I am all of this, therefore I am alone: ​​Sat." He Knows and Acts in the same act. This Consciousness-Power of knowing that all of this "is me" reveals Ānanda. Ānanda in its highest state reveals that "playfulness" is a natural temperament of the Absolute. The Guru possesses this Absolute Svatantrya or Freedom, the power to even forget himself, as in the case of life on Earth, for example. But the Guru also has the Freedom to "play" without forgetting himself. The Guru is that Auspiciousness or "Śrī" which is Sat-Cit-Ānanda in all things. The Guru wants you to find him even in a stone, so that he can reveal his Auspiciousness and Grace. The Guru doesn't want to limit the embrace: he wants you to embrace him in everything, so that he can embrace you in everything. I hope you two will reflect on this.

Brother, I appreciate where your are coming from in this matter. I get it. I've learnt many things from your posts and comments here. Request you to keep sharing your knowledge and insights for the benefit of sadhakas, present and future, at your convenience. Sincere thanks,

This should settle the issue conclusively. My sincere thanks for taking the pains to search the sastras and dig up proof. I know the hard work involved in such matters, so pls accept my appreciation for your diligence. I also am thankful for the insights about the naksatra devatas. Such points build subtle confidence in and encourage sadhakas. LLM hallucinations have everyone in a tizzy, and so everybody is checking and rechecking even the minutest things obsessively. Unavoidable. Nevertheless, a silver lining. No pains taken in engaging with sastra ever goes to waste; they eventually conduce to one's own benefit. Vidya is its own reward.

Raman, the info that you shared “He also mentioned that the original Rudrayamala, which may or may not be available to the public anymore, specifies that you don’t even need initiation to worship your Ishta Devata or Nakshatra deity” is exactly the kind of info that the self-claimed gate keepers don’t want to be known by the general public. Because that takes simply power away from them as well as their source of income. Only a true Guru will not accept any money or donation for initiation as well as ongoing support. It’s too common that most of these so-called Gate Keepers are nothing more than Spiritual Businessman. Having said that, obviously if you are lucky enough to have access to a real Guru then that’s always the preferred path to follow. The info you shared definitely makes sense to me from personal experience. My religious background has nothing to do with Hinduism in one way or the other. There was a time in my life when I was stuck, and whatever I tried did not help including prayers etc. I came across a book that had the word Mantra in its title. Till then I had never heard the word, Mantra. In that book a Ganesh mantra got my interest, and a certain 40-day Sadhana was explained in detail. Due to desperation (Because Neither Christian nor Muslim prayers had worked) I decided to complete the 40-day Ganesha Sadhana. And it worked, with being stuck becoming part of history and new opportunities opening one after another. Here is the interesting part, back then I did not know that my Ishta Devata was/is Lord Ganesha. No initiation whatever and it still worked. And that’s how my journey started and the ups and downs ended after I found my Guru. So, it was a book at a bookstore that led me eventually to my Guru. If most people tried first to find a Guru before starting their journey, then the vast majority could have never started to begin with. Again, from personal experience I know that mantras simply work and some make it sound like as if it’s almost impossible in Kali Yuga. If that is the case, then how can we ever reach Moksha and what is the reason of following Tantra? Another example, before I found my Guru, a Christian-Indian friend of mine after a divorce simply couldn’t get any dates. Long story short I gave him two mantras from that book, and he completed also the 40-day Sadhana, and since then finding dates has never been an issue for him. Last but not least, folks don’t get discouraged by people who come here with an agenda to stir things up and besides negativity and criticism have nothing positive to add to our knowledge base.

Sympathy for what? Accepting Divine guidence from time to time? Only the one above Divine can sympathize. If mantras are not working as per your understanding, then I doubt anyone can change this perception. Krishna ji, a sincere request. Please create a section & move all the troll posts there. People can go on with literary comments, ridiculing posts, mocking others etc, sparing genuine readers. There may be just one with mids. Those posts shouldn't appear on main pg. Even you are trying your best. Thanks for all your efforts.

Yes, Brihad Nila tantra was what I was talking about. If I remember correctly, Shiva said that this mantra can be chanted by anyone without adhikara and that one who practices it sincerely will become a vira. About original lineage of Kashmir Shaivism and why Swamiji didn't appoint a successor, I have this own theory of mine that it was because there was no suitable successor at that point of time. Like not a realised one. While, all gurus of original parampara were those who had got realisation of their true self. So, in a way it would have been just a formality to appoint a successor. And if we analyse Swamiji's personal nature he was always more philosophical oriented rather than towards the side of rituals. He at times also opposed bali rituals. So, i believe he had some foresight too regarding the future and potential fake gurus and all, so he just ended the official parampara with himself. And then if we see the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits and all that happened there, there seems to be some relation to both. About how initiation is done, there are some disciples of his who did the formal initiation though none was a successor. One of my friend, from starting did the sadhanas by himself from shastras, and he is quite knowledgeable as well and had great experiences of his own. Though I would say he is one of the rare ones. Two of my friends did say that they have at times got dreams of swamiji guiding them. Also, the 64 bhairava tantras which are non dual in nature are the core texts, but many of them not available easily. One of the text, Swacchand Tantra and it's 32 lettered mantra, Swamiji said anyone can chant it. Other than that, there is a great gem of a text vigyan bhairav tantra containing amazing 112 methods which are just incredible. Then there are some offshoots schools, like sarvamnaya one by Dr. Sthaneshwar Timalsina and some other Krama schools which I don't have much knowledge on. At times it seems like Kashmir Shaivism is on verge of extinction but then randomly you see people with great knowledge in it. Like I was surprised to find Dylan here and just how incredible his knowledge is regarding the subject, and it's still quite a mystery how he acquired such mastery in it. I have also seen some foreign sadhaks having great command in this subject. So, mysterious nature of grace I would say.

This verse is also featured in the authoritative Sri Vidyarnava Tantra, attributed to the revered Vidyaranya Yati. You can see it in this screenshot: https://snipboard.io/FE8CI6.jpg

Hi Chakravarti, I actually spoke with a Tantrik a while ago who confirmed that the Rudrayamala verse I shared is authentic. He also mentioned that the original Rudrayamala, which may or may not be available to the public anymore, specifies that you don’t even need initiation to worship your Ishta Devata or Nakshatra deity. For example, if your Nakshatra is Punarvasu, you can chant Devi Aditi’s mantras without being initiated. The same applies if you identify your Ishta through your Kundali. Of course, anyone may disregard my comments as I am no expert in Tantra; the words of experts like Tivra, Krishna, Prince, Kuru, Herodion, Jayant etc., will naturally carry more weight.