Respected Sir, Today , while chanting the Lalita Sahasranam , I felt a strange presence . I actually saw a shadow pass . I believe I was chanting the 989th naam of Amma and the awareness of the presence of stronge. But, I took the name of Amma knowing that she would protect me through whatever and went on. I don't know if it was the figment of my imagination or a ghost or what. I actually saw a shadow pass and I just can't ignore this facet of information. The presence didn't necessarily feel evil to me. I'm sorry if I am unable to put this in clear terms. Can you plz help me understand this? P.S. After my puja, I have constantly been feeling a presence around me. Should I be scared? Earnestly waiting for your reply.

Self-realized person need not be a liberated person. Self-realized person is the one, who understands and realized that the Self is within and he will not seek God outside his body. Liberation is the ultimate process that an individual becomes one with God and he is not reborn. 

Hi sir. 1) Can we say that a self realized person is liberated? Or 2) What is the exact difference between self realization and liberation?

If you are about the Siddhi Vinayak Mantra then I have taken this mantra and another (Saraswati mantra) from this website: https://www.gurushakti.org.in/67/sadhna/success-in-life/siddhi-vinayak-mantra To get good results in practicing this mantra I recommend getting Siddhi Vinayak Diksha: https://www.gurushakti.org.in/255/diksha/ganapati-or-siddhi-vinayak-diksha The first link says how much you need to read this mantra. Here is a brief description of the experience after receiving Siddhi Vinayak Dikshi and chanting this mantra: https://www.gurushakti.org.in/280/success-stories/experience-of-siddhi-vinayak-ganpati-mantra The site does not provide information on the full Japa procedure of this mantra, but I think it is best done with the Ganesh Gayatri mantra and some Stotras. The Japa procedure for this mantra might look like this: First, you can read a Shloka or a mantra to remove obstacles — 1.) ॐ श्री गणेशाय नमः oṃ śrī gaṇeśāya namaḥ 2.) वक्रतुण्ड महाकाय सूर्यकोटि समप्रभ निर्विघ्नं कुरु मे देव सर्वकार्येषु सर्वदा Vakratuṇḍa mahākāya sūryakoṭi samaprabha nirvighnaṃ kuru me deva sarvakāryeṣu sarvadā here is its meaning — ( घुमावदार सूंड वाले, विशाल शरीर काय, करोड़ सूर्य के समान महान प्रतिभाशाली। मेरे प्रभु, हमेशा मेरे सारे कार्य बिना विघ्न के पूरे करें॥ O Lord Ganesha of the curved trunk and massive body, the one whose splendor is equal to millions of Suns, please bless me to that I do not face any obstacles in my endeavors.) 3.) शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुं शशिवर्णं चतुर्भुजम् । प्रसन्नवदनं ध्यायेत् सर्वविघ्नोपशान्तये ॥ śuklāmbaradharaṃ viṣṇuṃ śaśivarṇaṃ caturbhujam । prasannavadanaṃ dhyāyet sarvavighnopaśāntaye ॥ After these slokas you can recite this mantra: ॐ परम् तत्वाय नारायणाय गुरुभ्यो नमः oṃ param tatvāya nārāyaṇāya gurubhyo namaḥ All the above-mentioned slokas and mantras should be read 3, 7, 9, 21, 27, 36 times as much as possible but that will be enough. Next you can read the Ganesh Gayatri mantra: ॐ एकदंताय विद्महे, वक्रतुण्डाय धीमहि, तन्नो दंती प्रचोदयात् oṃ ekadantāya vidmahe vakratuṇḍāya dhīmahi tanno dantiḥ pracodayāt here is its meaning — (यह भगवान श्री गणेश का गायत्री मंत्र है इसमें कहा गया है कि हम उस परमात्मा स्वरुप एकदंत यानि एक दांत वाले भगवान श्री गणेश, जो कि सर्वव्यापी हैं, जिनकी सूंड हाथी के सूंड की तरह मुड़ी हुई है उनसे प्रार्थना करते हैं एवं सद्बुद्धि की कामना करते हैं। हम भगवान श्री गणेश को नमन करते हैं एवं प्रार्थना करते हैं कि वे अपने आशीर्वाद से हमारे मन-मस्तिष्क से अज्ञान के अंधकार को मिटाकर ज्ञान से प्रकाशित करें।) (We pray to the one with the single-tusked elephant tooth who is omnipresent. We meditate upon and pray for greater intellect to the Lord with the curved, elephant-shaped trunk. We bow before the one with the single-tusked elephant tooth to illuminate our minds with wisdom.) Next you can read Stotram compiled by Radha here he is: परं धाम परं ब्रह्म परेशं परमीश्वरं विघ्न्-निघ्न्-करं शान्तं पुष्टं कान्तमनन्तकम् सुरासुरेन्द्रैः सिद्धेन्द्रैः स्तुतं स्तौमि परात्परं सुरपद्मदिनेशं च गणेशं मंगलायनम् इदं स्तोत्रं महापुण्यं विघ्नशोकहरं परम् यः पठेत् प्रातरूत्थाय सर्वविघ्नात् प्रमुच्यते ॐ श्री ब्रह्मवैवर्ते श्रीराधाकृतं गणेश स्तोत्रम् सम्पूर्णम् । Paraṃ dhāma paraṃ brahma pareśaṃ paramīśvaraṃ vighna-nighna-karaṃ śāntaṃ puṣṭaṃ kāntamanantakam surāsurendraiḥ siddhendraiḥ stutaṃ staumi parātparaṃ surapadmadineśaṃ ca gaṇeśaṃ maṇgalāyanam idaṃ stotraṃ mahāpuṇyaṃ vighnaśokaharaṃ param yaḥ paṭhet prātarūtthāya sarvavighnāt pramucyate oṃ śrī brahmavaivarte śrīrādhākṛtaṃ gaṇeśa stotram sampūrṇam Next you can read Ganesh Dwadashanama Stotram thinking deeply about the meaning of each name, here it is: शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुं शशिवर्णं चतुर्भुजम् । प्रसन्नवदनं ध्यायेत्सर्वविघ्नोपशान्तयेः ॥ 1 ॥ अभीप्सितार्थ सिध्यर्थं पूजितो यः सुरासुरैः । सर्वविघ्नहरस्तस्मै गणाधिपतये नमः ॥ 2 ॥ गणानामधिपश्चण्डो गजवक्त्रस्त्रिलोचनः । प्रसन्नो भव मे नित्यं वरदातर्विनायक ॥ 3 ॥ सुमुखश्चैकदन्तश्च कपिलो गजकर्णकः । लम्बोदरश्च विकटो विघ्ननाशो विनायकः ॥ 4 ॥ धूम्रकेतुर्गणाध्यक्षो फालचन्द्रो गजाननः । द्वादशैतानि नामानि गणेशस्य तु यः पठेत् ॥ 5 ॥ विद्यार्थी लभते विद्यां धनार्थी विपुलं धनम् । इष्टकामं तु कामार्थी धर्मार्थी मोक्षमक्षयम् ॥ 6 ॥ विध्यारम्भे विवाहे च प्रवेशे निर्गमे तथा । सङ्ग्रामे सङ्कटे चैव विघ्नस्तस्य न जायते ॥ 7 ॥ इति मुद्गलपुराणोक्तं श्रीगणेशद्वादशनामस्तोत्रं सम्पूर्णम् śuklāmbaradharaṃ viṣṇuṃ śaśivarṇaṃ caturbhujam । prasannavadanaṃ dhyāyetsarvavighnopaśāntayeḥ ॥ 1 ॥ abhīpsitārtha siddhyarthaṃ pūjito yaḥ surāsuraiḥ । sarvavighnaharastasmai gaṇādhipataye namaḥ ॥ 2 ॥ gaṇānāmadhipaścaṇḍo gajavaktrastrilocanaḥ । prasanno bhava me nityaṃ varadātarvināyaka ॥ 3 ॥ sumukhaścaikadantaśca kapilo gajakarṇakaḥ । lambodaraśca vikaṭo vighnanāśo vināyakaḥ ॥ 4 ॥ dhūmraketurgaṇādhyakṣo phālacandro gajānanaḥ । dvādaśaitāni nāmāni gaṇeśasya tu yaḥ paṭhet ॥ 5 ॥ vidyārthī labhate vidyāṃ dhanārthī vipulaṃ dhanam । iṣṭakāmaṃ tu kāmārthī dharmārthī mokṣamakṣayam ॥ 6 ॥ vidhyārambhe vivāhe ca praveśe nirgame tathā । saṅgrāme saṅkaṭe caiva vighnastasya na jāyate ॥ 7 ॥ iti mudgalapurāṇoktaṃ śrīgaṇeśadvādaśanāmastotraṃ sampūrṇam On Fridays you can read Lakshmi-Ganesh Stotram here it is: ॐ नमो विघ्नराजाय सर्वसौख्यप्रदायिने । दुष्टारिष्ट विनाशाय पराय परमात्मने ।। लम्बोदरं महावीर्यं नागयज्ञोपशोभितं । अर्धचन्द्रधरं देवं विघ्नव्यूहः विनाशनम् ।। ॐ ह्रां ह्रीं ह्रूं ह्रैं ह्रौं ह्रः हेरम्बाय नमो नमः। सर्वसिद्धिप्रदोऽसि त्वं सिद्धिबुद्धि प्रदोभवः।। चिन्तितार्थ प्रदस्त्वं हि सततं हि मोदकप्रियः। सिन्दूरारुण वस्त्रेश्च पूजितो वरदायकः।। इदं गणपतिम स्तोत्रम् यः पठेद् भक्तिमानः नरः। तस्य देहं च् गेहं च् स्वयम् लक्ष्मीर्न: मुञ्चति:।। oṃ namo vighnarājāya sarvasaukhyapradāyine । duṣṭāriṣṭa vināśāya parāya paramātmane ।। lambodaraṃ mahāvīryaṃ nāgayajñopaśobhitaṃ । ardhacandradharaṃ devaṃ vighnavyūhaḥ vināśanam ।। oṃ hrāṃ hrīṃ hrūṃ hraiṃ hrauṃ hraḥ herambāya namo namaḥ। sarvasiddhiprado'si tvaṃ siddhibuddhi pradobhavaḥ।। cintitārtha pradastvaṃ hi satataṃ hi modakapriyaḥ। sindūrāruṇa vastreśca pūjito varadāyakaḥ।। idaṃ gaṇapatima stotram yaḥ paṭhed bhaktimānaḥ naraḥ। tasya dehaṃ ca gehaṃ ca svayam lakṣmīrna: muñcati:।। Then you can read Siddhi Vinayak Mantra: ॐ नमो सिद्धि विनायकाय सर्व कार्य कर्त्रे सर्व विघ्न प्रशमनाय सर्व राज्य वश्यकरणाय सर्वजन सर्वस्त्रीपुरुष आकर्षणाय श्रीं ॐ स्वाहा oṃ namo siddhi vināyakāya sarva kārya kartre sarva vighna praśamanāya sarva rājya vaśyakaraṇāya sarvajana sarvastrīpuruṣa ākarṣaṇāya śrīṃ oṃ svāhā Read this mantra at least 108 times and better (4x108=432) times (although it is possible and more it depends on the time), then you need to make Samputa from the above Stotras here's how it should look: First you briefly worship your Guru if he is not there then worship all the other Gurus with whom you have connections that you like you can worship Guru Dattatreya as they say he is very merciful to those who worship him and immediately bless them. You can spend a short Ganesh Puja. Then read one or more as you want Shlokas or mantras listed in paragraph 1.). The Japa procedure looks like this: 1.) oṃ śrī gaṇeśāya namaḥ (read 1 time). 2.) Ganesh Gayatri mantra (read 108 time). 3.) Radha Kritam Ganesh Stotram (read 1-3 time). 4.) Ganesh Dwadashanama Stotram (read 1 time). 5.) Lakshmi-Ganesh Stotram (You can read only on Friday, and you can on other days, read 1 time). 6.) Siddhi Vinayak Ganesh Mantra (read 4x108 time). 7.) Lakshmi-Ganesh Stotram (You can read only on Friday, and you can on other days, read 1 time). 8.) Ganesh Dwadashanama Stotram (read 1 time). 9.) Radha Kritam Ganesh Stotram (read 1-3 time). 10.) Ganesh Gayatri mantra (read 108 time). 11.) oṃ śrī gaṇeśāya namaḥ (read 1 time). Next, one should briefly worship Ganesha and Guru as well as at the beginning of the Japa Mantra. This is the whole procedure of Mantra Japa, I say again that this is purely my procedure, I would follow it. However, for best results and guidance in this practice, you should consult the Guru, if you do not have such an opportunity, you can follow the procedure I have given. May you all succeed in this practice and may the divine mother bless you.

How ekakshari mantra recited in particular chhanda like anustup,tristup etc.There any many chhandas for different six letter mantras. This is real problem.Chhanda is main thing and I know nothing.What to do Guruji?

Hi sir. i am wishing for this mantra. any thing before this one? i means ganapati mantra before chant this mantra? or i do suklam baradaram and guru brahma guru vishnu and then chant this mantra? or any other needed. please. thanks.

Yes, you are right. The corrections are now in place. Thank you for pointing out the errors.

Thank you for pointing out the errors. This has been corrected now.

Sir, in कामकलाकाली करतलकरपृष्ठाभ्यां नमः, do we need to add ली and make it कामकलाकाली ली करतलकरपृष्ठाभ्यां नमः, because we are each letter of कामकलाकाली to nyasa? Thank you.

Sir, in section 8 and 17 (Dhyanam), both the slokas are different, please verify. Thank you.