As discussed, in today's context the sadhakas are also seeking the same articles, ornaments, enormous wealth and other possessions. Gurus seeking the same are no different than the sadhakas and must strictly be avoided. To me, such gurus are failed sadhakas who merely switched sides and know the psychology of sadhakas. It is better for genuine gurus to dispense with the requirement of Dakshina, and let the shishyas make the decision, if they benefit from the sadhana. Sow the seeds, let them sprout, water the plants and when they become trees, they may flower and bear fruit. Even if they become barren, they will at least provide shade.

Dear Sir, Thank you for your visit and we hope you continue to patronize us and offer valuable advice on all topics in future as well. I would like to respond to some of the points you raised. 1. The Shastras and tantras suggest a guru for mantra initiations, consultation, activation etc. They also lay down very strict rules for gurus and set the bar too high. Unfortunately, it is not practical for even sincere gurus to maintain such high standards, but many do strive to get to some degree, to the best of their ability. The position of the guru mandala in SriVidya is at the very epicenter and therefore the guru is to be respected and worshipped. Unfortunately, most people cannot find gurus who are worthy of such a high position and also considering the times we live in, there is a lot of mischief, fraud etc. that even sincere sadhakas get afraid when asked to worship the guru. It is probably more acceptable to say, that the guru must be respected and his advice followed sincerely. I have personally witnessed and experienced gurus suggesting that their photo frames of much larger size than the deity, be placed in the puja room and worshipped daily. These sort of suggestions make one doubt the veracity of such gurus and create serious doubts in the minds of sadhakas. 2. I sincerely doubt if the Shastras have indicated anywhere that mantras should not be published. The irony of this, is that we are also reading about the same in some publication of a tantra and learning the same! The suggestions offered are to get initiations and learn from worthy gurus. We can see from the tantras, that most mantras are hidden in the shlokas and need to be derived (mantroddhara), which is only possible if one knows the cipher (key) for deriving the mantra. There are also tantric dictionaries that explain the meanings of every letter (matrika) and the association of deities with bijas (seed syllables) as well. Puja and deeksha procedures are well documented in the tantras and mantra manuals, but most gurus in today's world do no understand their significance and/or do not practice due to their busy schedules. Gone are the days where people had more time on their hand and lead more relaxed and healthy lifestyles. The procedures were also followed very strictly. With the passage of time and the demands of current lifestyles, many of these are not being followed. It is very rare to find such traditional gurus and even rarer to get their attention. Many swamis visiting foreign countries charge thousands of dollars for 5-10 minutes of their time and they dish out a random mantra, which is not present in any tantra publication (and guess why?). Nobody knows deity, nyasa etc but they blindly follow that. Considering how things are, in today's world, major Mandalis and Gurunathas have started publishing and explaining mantra sadhanas to the public at large. Although the intention behind this is praiseworthy, there is always a carrot of "initiation necessary" dangling out there, that not everyone wishes to bite, fearing what the process of initiation would entail, the level of commitment required, recurring payments in some cases or other "duties" and "responsibilities" expected of sadhakas towards their guru. Many sadhakas, especially women, prefer the Dakshinamurti paddhati and leave it to Him to guide them. They do not even wish to see a guru, but prefer direct communication with the deity or Lord Dakshinamurti Himself. 3. Most seekers of mantras in today's world, are people suffering immensely from monetary, family, job and other mundane related issues. There are very few seekers wanting self-realization and pursuit of Truth. Most of these genuine spiritual sadhakas seem to prefer reading some book on mantras, meditation, advaita etc. Once again the need for publication and it's importance in contemporary times! Although people are looking for instant results and magic, their issues are also quite serious and pressing. Not every seeker is greedy. In fact in my experience, most of them are seeking relief and peace of mind, to come out of the situations that have befallen them. Sadly, commercial gurus are exploiting them. Although this website detests this sort of commercialization and commoditization of spirituality, I personally have no qualms with it. Just like a doctor offering his services to a patient for monetary gain, a guru may also declare himself as a professional, run a for-profit organization, pay applicable taxes and if his services are good and result fetching, people may opt for the same. The problem comes when one declares himself or their oganization as charitable, divine etc. and they begin to charge for services rendered. The excuses such as "ashram" maintenance etc. are unacceptable. 4. Even if one in a thousand practice Sri Vidya correctly as taught, I feel the purpose and effort of the guru has paid off! Not every seed that a farmer sows, becomes a plant and not every plant will survive and bear fruit. The farmer must still strive and do his bit in scattering the seeds and the same applies to the genuine gurus. They must scatter and not gather! 5. Mahidhara who wrote the mantra manual Mantra Mahodadhi, states that after practicing a few mantra sadhanas and having realized the futility of leading a mundane life even as a guru, he wished to retire into sanyasa. But hearing the fervent appeals of his disciples, including his son to catalog the mantras and guide them, he decided to write the Mantra Mahodadhi, which itself is a compendium of mantras taken from various sources. Likewise, Srividyarnava Tantram, Tantraloka of Abhinavagupta, Sharada Tilakam etc, would never have come to light and many mantras and the heritage of spiritual India would have been lost forever, had these good samaritan sages not undertaken the effort to preserve the same with their publications. The context is that Mahidhara DID NOT practice every mantra that is cataloged in the Mantra Mahodadhi. It is impossible for him or anyone to do so, in our lifetimes. Same applies to the author authors of major mantra manuals. I do request knowledgable gurus such as yourselves, to salute the yeoman efforts of these writers, who themselves were evolved and very compassionate souls. They scattered everything that they gathered! 6. I respect your thought and desire not to make known, the Para shodashi mantra that you have gathered from your guru. I would like to take a moment to make a fervent appeal to you, to please teach as many sadhakas as possible, the mantras that you know and help them evolve spiritually. Please do not hold back something that can benefit others. The power of mantras is such that, even a thief can become a Valmiki. Research has proven that chanting and meditation have reformed prisoners.

You may be aware that there are various sampradayas (traditions) such as Dakshinachara (Southern or Right oriented) and Kaulachara (Family/clan oriented), Vamachara (Left oriented), Samayachara (time/meditation oriented) and various other combinations of the same. Daksinachara gurus dismiss the Kularnava tantra, the Kularnava gurus hold their tradition to be supreme etc. Irrespective of which path we choose, the destination is still the same. It is best to follow whatever we can relate with. Whatever is stated relating to Kularnava tantra, may not be acceptable to the Samayachara followers and vice-versa. We must also note that the scriptures permit us to seek knowledge from all sources. What is correct and incorrect is subject to interpretation. The same applies to our choice of gurus, traditions etc. Devi rahasya tantra has a shloka in it, which states that the book itself can be considered as a guru. I can reproduce the shloka if that serves any purpose. In India, we treat our books as the Divine Mother Saraswati, who is above any guru or guru mandala. Considering this aspect, how can we state that books cannot be considered as sources of mantras? Why did we have universities of learning such as Takshashila, Nalanda etc, that burned for weeks together? One must make every effort to find a right guru. If a suitable guru is not found, one should still consider performing sadhana after understanding the meaning of the mantras, their purpose, method of mantra japa etc. It is possible that most of it may appear to be gibberish or unnecessary or even incomprehensible. It is best to start with lower Vedic mantras and proceed further up. In my own case, about 14 years ago, I searched and begged many gurus to help me, when I started my pursuit of mantra sadhana. None of them were interested in giving mantras, but were more than happy to provide services (pujas, anushthaans etc.) on recurring payment basis. There was one guru who told me to read his book and practice the mantras in it. He refused to provide mantra deeksha (initiation). Several years of mantra sadhana, I suddenly ran into this website while researching on some topic and were completely bowled over by the writings of Sri Ravi ji and his humility. The Divine Mother had shown me my true guru! When the sadhaka is ready, the guru will show himself! Here is one guru who has transformed many ordinary people into self-realized intellectuals and gurus! (I do not belong to either of these categories, but just a humble sadhaka and seeker of Truth, who is not very sincere in his efforts...)

If Mantras are not to be recorded in any format, how are they to be retrieved and studied by knowledge seekers? How are the gurus expected to retain/verify this information to disseminate to their disciples? If someone has invented a new mantra and has obtained a patent/copyright, I can totally understand if that information is distributed without seeking the proper permission and/or paying the royalty. I am always curious if the people who suggest others not to publish or reveal secret information, such as mantras, ever contribute to the welfare of the sincere sadhakas? For instance, how may people do they initiate who are not their own kith and kin or belonging to their clan? How many disciples do they help in becoming gurus, when they themselves are still active as gurus? Traditions evolve over time. What was once considered very secretive and obscure, may become common knowledge, when the nations become more civilized and people learn to share their knowledge with everyone. There will always be a section of the society who will stick to their rigid old ways without applying any rationale to their belief systems.

Many forget that they live in Kali Yuga, where everything is upside down and refer to traditions that are convenient for impure people. Hence the Commerce in Sri Vidya. We are all children of the mother Goddess and she leads us all to enlightenment. And in the end the highest mantra is Ahaṁ Brahmāsmi अहं ब्रह्मास्मि. The tradition is strong, but when it turns to stone it collapses and instead of Dharma there is Adharma and we see it in the Mahabharata. If with pure thoughts you seek liberation, surrender to the will of the mother Goddess and she grants everything, but when Tantra is used for the power coming from the low ego, the retribution will be cruel. Self-realization is the pinnacle of spiritual life.

@Svarupanandanatha It cannot be followed in KaliYuga. Seekers going in search of Guru and only then they get gurupadesha, definitely not possible in this KaliYuga. First, finding a proper guru is the most toughest part. If you have, then lucky you. You have no right to stop others to spread knowledge and ask others to follow the path you believe in. Making illogical assumptions and allegations to this site such as being commercial would have made major part of your good karma evaporated. I feel you are not here to share knowledge or correct the mistakes if any, you are just the kind of person who are just waiting for opportunity to throw darkness at light when and where ever possible. KrishnaJi had patiently replied to all your queries with logical answers and asked you proof for your knowings but we(all the people who follow this site) still have not got any answer from you. I would request you not to repeat these type of ungrateful acts again.

Namaste Vishnudutt garu.....Courtrallam Siddeshwarananda Bharati Swamy who is considered living, walking, talking Kala Bhairava himself said that you can do self initation of any mantra by writing the mantra on piece of paper or a bhoja patra, go to shiva temple place it in front of Lord shiva, consider him as Dakshina murthy and practise the mantra......quoting a verse or a line from Tantra is good but it needs to be understood wholistically and the context it was given and written. There will be definitely exceptions to it....I will agree if you say any that taking a mantra with Guru will help in faster fructification, Guru is necessary because if there are any problems faced due to mantra will be resolved by him, incorrect pronounciation of mantras will lead to problems etc....but saying that mantras should be kept secret and learnt only from so called Gurus...and in today's world we do not know who is a genuine Guru and who is a fake Guru as many end up in Jails......maybe learning it from a machine (Google) is not that bad an option....rest is left to Divine Mother..

Dear Sir...well said...something doesnt suit you is a popped up story and myth and rest is all authentic....this is called argument of convenience.....

Right

In addition to above I would like to add below: About Commercial aspects of Srividya: As per Tantra shastras, Guru should be worshiped. At the time of initiation, disciple should give Him some articles/ornaments. This aspect will come between a real Guru and Sisya bondage but not a single mantra given and taken bondage. I mean to say, about a guru lineage. In other cases, taking one mantra from one guru, taking another mantra from another guru etc...is a great sin. Guru dakshina also as per capacity of the disciple. Here also certain rules to be followed.