Acharya Agyaatdarshan, I have had boundless love and devotion towards the Shakti and used to chant Lalita Sahasranma with unflinching and selfless devotion years ago and have experienced some wonderful things, and had the intense desire to understand Sri Vidya, my question is with respect to your above clarification, and I have a question to you in reference to this statement from your response,
“Normal condition of a Sadhaka is in the first three categories only. In fact In these many years of teaching we have come across only one sadhaka who we can put in the Ekagrata mind category. If that person would have asked for it we would have initiated him in SriVidya directly. He was ready. He was not only ready but occasionally experiencing Turya-Sushupti and Turya-Swapna as well. Alas! He came, he listened and enjoyed our talks, kept coming for few months and drifted away. He was trying something else and he didn’t seem to have any inclination towards Sri Vidya Sadhana! Honestly speaking as teachers we did feel how mutual much loss it was but we principally we can NOT ask someone to take Sri Vidya deeksha even if that person is ready. He/She HAS TO request for it and as Teachers we have to take permission from MahaShakti!”
What is the reason for not asking when someone is ready, but they might not know to ask, is it ok to have that person drift and feeling the loss, isn’t it the duty of the Guru to guide when someone comes and is ready, and I am intrigued by this “Permission from MahaShakti”, does it mean that you see the MahaShakti blessing the acceptance , I mean in a concrete manner, what does that acceptance constitue and how is it validated.
I have to come to a stage after years of spiritual Saadhana, to be settled in absolute stillness, sometimes my own chanting of the Vedas seems noise like to me, so I don’t chant that often loudly, being in that absolute stillness not conditioned by any external or internal influence has seemed to have become my goal over the years of saadhana without my knowledge, God and Satan , I have not seen nor have I seen or met anyone who can with absolute conviction say has seen God, being rebelliously rational, everything has to be explained with logic and reason, and there has to be a basis for everything.
But for whatever reason, I had this tremendous devotion and my intense emotions with the devotion is expressed in my meditations, and chanting, I am not even sure if that is the coditioning of growing up in Hindu culture and subject to that conditioning, so different scientific opinions have been expressed on the devotional state, but coming back to my main question, please elaborate on why the Guru can’t order and say you have to be inititated, and what is the permission of the MahaShakti ?
I also I am a little bit troubled and intrigued by this concept of Moksha and last birth, how does one even know what is all that , as far as know Moha kshaya is moksha, cutting down the desires of all kind is liberation and not being attached to desires but yet work for the sake of working selflessly is the true liberation for me, I can’t see my liberation after my death of the last birth.
Any way I will appreciate if you can take a few moments to clarify the two questions that I have asked,
with prayerful regards
Madhukar
Shivoham!
Beloved Madhukar,
It is really nice to entertain questions and doubts from someone who is already walking the path of self-inquiry (through whatever means or principles) sincerely and has discovered some personal truths. Your personal understanding (assuming it is your own revelation through contemplation and not through words of others) about the concept of moksha confirms that you are well into swadhyaya. Your intellectual indulgence is thus proven.
As far as ‘seeing God’ is concerned, and your insistence on rationalism – I see it differently. ‘You haven’t seen yourself too but don’t you exist? Rather everything else matters (and exists) because of your chetana. And I add – God is not seen. It is experienced as Self. On the lighter note.. I think you have not met someone like Om Swami as yet it seems. He has seen! Why don’t you try meeting him. (Smiles)
Anyways.. Your longtime unexplained pull towards devotional actions (that you have termed as bhakti) indicate your susceptibility and longing for the joy and comfort that any emotional connect has in it. In a way this seems to somewhat balance your approach in the search of truth.
As I can see Madhukar, In the web of your thoughts you have asked two questions now.
- Why should a Guru not order (insist) a person should take deeksha if he observes readiness?
- What is this Mahashakti’s permission and how (literally the process) it is obtained?
The answer to the first one is – A true spiritual Guru has come to realize the reality of self by disconnecting from all (‘all’ means every) so called responsibilities.. [You may call it vairaygya] and therefore neither inclined (by way of cultivated sanskaras) nor obliged (by way of krita-Krityataa) to offer unsolicited advice/solutions to anyone. It is incumbent on the student to approach the teacher in all ‘his/her seeking and humility to ask, whatever it be. O boy! Even in this new world a simple thing as ‘insurance’ is also a subject matter of ‘solicitation’ and you want a spiritual teacher to behave worse than an ‘insurance advisor’ (I’m not referring to sales guys here LoL).
On the serious note, it is the dictum in Guru Parampara of ours. May be there would be other lineages who engage their teams in surveying the neighborhood to identify all semi-ripened spiritual aspirants to make them realized. I don’t know.
Now about the second question – I’m not supposed to give you the exact method or process about how this validation or permission is obtained from MahaShakti however just to hint you I would like to quote a verse from Tantric scripture, contemplation on which may give you some satisfaction that this ‘Man in Red’ (Acharya Agyaatadrshan Anand Nath) is not making it up. Here it is –
Yāmavasthāṁ samālambya yadayaṁ mama vakṣyati |
Tadavaśyaṁ kariṣye’hamiti saṅkalpya tiṣṭhati ||
[Spandakarikas, First Awakening – 23rd Karika]
Hope I have the answered you.
Jai Ambe Shri!
– Acharya Agyaatadarshan Anand Nath