Gayatri Mantra Around the World - Deva Premal

[shaberon]

Posted by greybeard (here)
One Translation of the Gayatri Mantra.

"The earth, the sky. the heavens.
That Divine effulgence, that we all adore.
I contemplate on your Divine Glory.
Please help me illumine my intellect."

Chris

Here you have added words that are not part of the Gayatri.

You have added three of the seven Vyahriti:

Om Bhu, Om Bhuvar, Om Svar

(earth, sky, heavens)

Tat Savitur Varenyam: in a broad sense, male savitr can be the sun or something descended from the sun such as the Solar Dynasty, and so Divine Effulgence is not really a wrong way of saying it, although that sounds to me like a more direct translation of Brahma Jyotir. As a word, Savitr's name in Vedic Sanskrit connotes "impeller, rouser, vivifier". He is sometimes identified with—and at other times distinguished from--Surya, "the Sun". When considered distinct from the Sun proper, he is conceived of as the divine influence or vivifying power of the Sun. The Sun before sunrise is called Savitr, and after sunrise until sunset it is called Surya.

If feminized, Savitri generally means his daughter. It is stated in some Purāṇas that Sāvitrī, Gāyatrī, Sarasvatī all these are one and the same. But there is a story in Padma Purāṇa, Sṛṣṭikhaṇḍa, Chapter 17, stating that Brahmā once went to Gāyatrī in the absence of Sāvitrī, who got angry at this and cursed all the Gods.

So Gayatri turns out also to be a deity. One would think that is probably about mantra, and Sarasvati definitely is and adds music to it. And then when you find some unexpected verse that doesn't fit in the rest, it probably is suggesting if you (Brahma) went to say the solar gayatri at the wrong time, bad things happen. And then at a more subtle level it is saying if you go to gayatri (any mantra) without savitri (the desired energy) bad things happen.

The end of these poems is all about the same: Dhimahi Tanno [name] prachodayat, we meditate on you, grant us illumination.

Savitr is definitely saying there is something coming from the sun that is not only its visible and obvious effects, it is also both the power of life as well as divine consciousness. This makes it rather clear that the Hindus were not primitives pointing at the sun going "Wow!" Does it say the sun is a person like you and me? No, not really. They divide it into gross and subtle aspects, and it is, so to speak, the daughter of the subtle aspect who enters the world via mantra-related processes.

As a kid, I could say sometimes the sun feels nice, and it feels like life and healing and stuff like that, which is great. But that is not any system of guidance and you can feel great about the sun while walking into a brick wall. A little older now, I can say well, basically that same thing is like a sacred fluid used for inner alchemy, and, we can improve guidance and defeat the walls or whatever.

It is relatively simple then to say, Sarasvati is a light head-centered and general auric purity, but in the Durga song, Katyayani is inner heat (Tapas). These are distinct feelings that work differently. That is why different forms are not really for entertainment purposes, there is a sort of science here, whereby people study the nature of samsara/phenomena/experience in relation to consciousness.

Sanskrit Buddhism captures exoteric Durga and uses her in Sarvadurgati Parishodana, which is the real death rite as well as the related meditation on overcoming death. This is Trailokya Vijaya, or, Conquering the Three Worlds, Bhu, Bhuvar, Svar. The esoteric or metabolic Durga continues in Samvarodaya Tantra. And we also have Durgottarini Tara, who had her own monastery until it was destroyed in the 1200s. And then if we go back to verse two in the Durga song, tarasi tarase, it is the same, carry over, cross over, as Tara.

Sarvadurgati Parishodana also definitely takes the mystical view of the sun and throws it in a profoundly occult direction. This sun was "a man who was crucified and had his head blasted". His secret missing energy is in Shiva's Trident. And so when the question on inverted poses came up, in magic, generally, you can find in the Tarot, The Hanged Man, who is inverted, hanging by a foot. You can also find the black and white hexagram with the inverted head or figure. In Manichean dualism, this was used to "cast off" the inverse head and render it a cosmic father of evil, a devil, an enemy. Most religions remain steeped in this.

But these are just saying the terrestrial man is inverted compared to his divine nature.

This is why in our school we structure practice based around an Inverted Stupa, which I believe was accurately represented by HP Blavatsky as Inverted Divine Prism. I am not aware of much else in the world that describes this. The Stupa, of course, is the common cone-shaped funeral monument. We say the real (upright one) belongs to the deity, which is full enlightenment. Ours begins upside-down with a tiny tip point of mantra and inner heat. The training of the Yoga path works from this and develops more shapes, until our top part, which is the base, touches or merges with the base of the deity's stupa.

Buddhism also allows use of Sri Yantra, and, one can find in 1008 Names of its goddess Lalita Tripura Sundari:

She who holds Buddha doctrine as one of her branches.

So although it is a distinct branch, most of the basics and definitions are similar to most Yoga. Seeing what is meant in perhaps two gayatris as the sun and as Tapas is useful and reliable in any of these systems.

[greybeard]

Its not my translation shaberon.
Once upon a time I was a follower of Sai Baba --the translation came from him or his organisation.
He was credited with bringing the Gayatri to his devotees Reawakening interest in this powerful mantra.
Chris

[shaberon]

Yes, of course. Don't mean "you", personally. Just that it is an addition to the solar mantra. The most common addition is to add these three words, and, if you go deep, it is seven. Here is a brief explanation of the seven related to seven chakras.

In fact this is the common root of Hindu and Buddhist systems and also immediately the place where a difference begins. Buddhism does not use that seven step chakra thing. The Vyahriti words themselves are not chakras, but worlds. And so we would take the equivalents of the first three, Bhu, Bhuvar, Svar, and work with that. In practice, this means something like the highest worlds do not really exist for man. We may be able to commune to the fourth which is something like a lead blanket. The highest part of the Path is beyond this, real enough for the Bodhisattva, but mostly theoretical to an ordinary human. Because the actual, practical experience of almost all spiritual aspirants is in getting through the "blanket", our "geometry" looks different. It does not look like seven chakras or planes or worlds because it is mostly talking, in practical terms, about only four of them.

So it is the "same thing", but a different way of working it.

[shaberon]

The solar gayatri has been frequently coupled with a prayer which is usually translated as lead us from darkness to light, from the unreal to the real, and reveal to us the true face of the sun.

According to Koothoomi, this "true face" has a specific meaning. He may, perhaps, have overstated the influence of meteoric dust, although he is perfectly aware all the temples knives are meteorite iron. His more substantial point was in telling science the sun is not so much a hot, burning gas, but is a pulsating anemone of magnetic loops. The explanation is simply that they are able to perceive the "true face" or corona:


Call it a chromosphere or atmosphere, it can be called neither; for it is simply the magnetic and ever present aura of the sun, seen by astronomers only for a brief few moments during the eclipse and by some of our chelas -- whenever they like -- of course while in a certain induced state. A counterpart of what the astronomers call the red flames in the "corona" may be seen in Reichenbach's crystals or in any other strongly magnetic body. The head of a man -- in a strong ecstatic condition, when all the electricity of his system is centred around the brain, will represent -- especially in darkness -- a perfect simile of the Sun during such periods. The first artist who drew the aureoles about the heads of his Gods and Saints, was not inspired, but represented it on the authority of temple pictures and traditions of the sanctuary and the chambers of initiation where such phenomena took place. The closer to the head or to the aura-emitting body -- the stronger and the more effulgent the emanation (due to hydrogen science tells us, in the case of the flames); hence -- the irregular red flames around the Sun or the "inner corona."

There, we also see that the head of a man in a certain condition would repair the "damaged" images of Surya with a blasted-out head.

He then goes on to describe Jupiter as a storm of aero-fluidic metallic vapors. Even physically, Jupiter is considered "almost" a sun. His Indian name, Brihaspati, refers to "large", and what happened is:


Brihaspati was married to Tara. In medieval mythologies, Tara was abducted by Chandra [Soma--Moon]. Tara bore a son, Budha (planet Mercury).

So the way the Vedas were written, was during trance-possession by Agni. And so this type of Speech or Poetry is attributed to Jupiter; in India, the poet is called Kavya. Therefor, what Yoga teaching is doing, is extracting this ability from perfected Sages, and from an exclusive priestly caste, and placing it into the hands of the individual, making one as the knower of the Vedas or into what Time itself dissolves into. The development of mantra moves from basic formulas to fully Purified Speech or Kavya.

This adaption of Jupiter is the same as what is called in Buddhism, the Tirtha or "bathers", which means if one's interest and ability is limited to memorization and praise, one's progress on the Path remains shackled to the very beginning.

From a Theosophical description of Jupiter:

"The Greeks of Alexandria appended the title Ammon to his name, calling him Jupiter-Ammon or Amen, which means 'concealed or hidden'. The priests of Egyptian Thebes declared that he contained the mysterious power which created and sustained the universe, and hence joined his name to that of Ra, the supreme solar god. But they also called his planet Heru-ap-sheta, 'the revealer of hidden and secret things', an aspect of his arcane nature which relates to the Vedic function of Brihaspati, who protected and concealed the sacred Word while also being involved in its authoritative pronouncement.

Brihaspati is the ruler and spiritual guru of the gods [Devas], who are transmitters of the creative forces of the cosmos. When his wife Tara (signifying a seeker initiated into Gupta Vidya) leaves him for Soma, who has the initiatory power to make a new person of the reborn postulant, Brihaspati is revealed to be the upholder of the letter and form of scriptural sanction instead of its intuitive realization in the immortal souls of ardent aspirants. Brihaspati thus represents the exoteric or ritualistic form of worship which one finds in all popular or folk religions. But the Rig Veda also alludes to him as Brahmanaspati, "the deity in whom the action of the worshipped upon the gods is personified". This suggests that the magnetic action upon the gods by the material object of worship evokes a grace which is released through Brahmanaspati, the object of worship being, ultimately, none other than himself. In this way, he is the indispensable agent (hotri) for the descent of grace through ritual worship and religious ceremonies. But though these may degenerate in time into mechanical observances maintained by hereditary priestcraft to preserve a profitable and vicarious interaction between man and God, the Word made flesh can continue to transmit the vital germ of the potent sound of primeval hierophants. Magic may linger in mystery temples wherein sacred mantras were uttered in days of old by Initiates who knew the language of the gods, whom they invoked in the 'tongue' of their respective element with sounds, numbers and figures. Such sacred mantras are the talismanic keys opening the door between mortals and immortals. They are the immemorial gift of Jupiter to the meditative and magnanimous mind and must not be confused with the exoteric ritual of orthodox and self-perpetuating élites."

Jupiter is essential, and it is the mentality of its application that makes one either a simple ritual repeater, or one able to "crack the shell" and apply it in terms of inner meaning.

Jupiter relates to Rta, which is more like natural law, whereas Dharma is order applied mentally and socially.

So yes, the raw driver of natural forces could largely be said to be the Sun and Jupiter, but the inner way or Esotericism or Gupta Vidya is done via Tara and the Moon.

And so if I said the Nepalese Buddhist system is concordant with Vedic rites, since it may begin like an Apri Hynm with Ila, Bhu, and Sarasvati, then use a Buddhist liturgy, and culminate on Agni, it would be reasonable to describe the middle or characteristically Buddhist part as Tara and the Moon.

That is why I show an interest in the Sanskrit or Ratnagiri system because it is really the system of Tara.

Tara is so approachable, they say even non-Buddhists appeal to her.

When one studies the Western Mystery systems of Egypt, Greece, etc., it is generally held that after training, a person goes through harrowing trials and then takes a perhaps intoxicating or hallucinogenic beverage and is left in a tomb overnight as "dead" and is supposed to obtain a visionary experience of the other side.

Our system of Tara is such that it can train a teenage girl to do this at will for several days against the wishes of her authorities.

As a "system", what it does is things like renames Savitri as Marici, and Marici is a Tara. But Tara can do anything. She can handle Fear, and just takes a different name, appearance, and method to do so. Her multiple functions are the practice of loosening the knots in the subtle body and repairing it. So she is supreme safety in terms of Yoga practice.

The teenage girl referred to in doing a voyage to Pure Land around the 1930s maintains that Tara's song is still sung in Sanskrit there. And so this is something that may be taken on a Sutra basis and is still abundantly used by Tibetan Buddhist organizations. It is non-different. It is the same as known in Medieval India. It effloresces through all the developments up to Taranatha, a widely-recognized master of Shentong. There are more elaborate tantras which are considerably more difficult, and so for example it is said that the Pure Land of Akshobya cannot be seen by less than an Eighth Ground Bodhisattva. Most of these cannot be done unless one is stable in the Heruka Yoga. Tara will take anyone and help them do this.

I feel this is much more important than most of the popular material. Almost anyone who has studied Buddhism has been influenced by Pabonkha. The difficulty here is not that the Pabonkha material is necessarily wrong, but it is too advanced, it is throwing material at any disciple that could scarcely do more than make a Tirtha of them. The Tara system, and/or what we call Yoga or Generation Stage, is crucial. That is why there is certain practice that may be accessed on a Sutra level, and is reliable to a point of spiritual development which is at least greater than any known in western civilization.

This is quite similar to the ability to distinguish the Om-like energy of the Solar Gayatri from the Tapas of the Durga Gayatri. By "Generation Stage", we mean something like this Tapas cultivated by many Taras. When one has this, one gains the Heruka Yoga, Tara and the Moon together producing Budha--Mercury--Hermes, initiation, perceived by the mind, administered by goddesses. Eventually Tara returns to Jupiter, Dharma or Purified Speech conjoined with Rta (which itself could be gained by merely discipline alone).

[shaberon]

What, exactly, would it mean for Tara and the Moon to work together to amplify an Agni system?

In the same manner as above, the Moon will be found approximately similar to all Mystery systems. Aside from the Lunar Mansions and its days of waxing and waning, Moon, or Soma, has an applied meaning:


SOMA (Sanskrit for "pressed juice," from the root su, to press), in Hindu mythology the god who is a personification of the soma plant (Asclepias acida), from which an intoxicating milky juice is squeezed. Soma is the Indian Bacchus, and one of the most important of the Vedic gods. All the 114 hymns of the ninth book of the Rig Veda are in his praise. He is celebrated as a dual divinity with Indra, Agni, Pushan or Rudra, in other books. The preparation of the soma juice was a very sacred ceremony, and the worship of the god is very old, soma being identifiable with the Avestan homa, prepared and celebrated in the Indo-Iranian period. The plant's true home is heaven, and soma is drunk by gods as well as men, and it is under its influence that Indra is related to have created the universe and fixed the earth and sky in their place. In post-Vedic literature soma is a regular name for the moon, which is regarded as being drunk up by the gods and so waning, till it is filled up again by the sun. In both the Rig Veda and Zend Avesta soma is the king of plants; in both it is a medicine which gives health, long life and removes death. In both the celestial is distinguished from the terrestial soma, and the liquor from the god. The first soma is supposed to have been stolen from its guardian demon by an eagle, this soma-bringing eagle of Indra being comparable with the nectar-bringing eagle of Zeus, and with the eagle which, as a metamorphosis of Odin, carried off the mead.

See A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology (Strassburg, 1897).

According to a Soma article that also mentions Tara and Rohini:

They then gave the drink to the archer-god Gandharva for safe-keeping but one day Agni, the fire-god, stole it and gave it to the human race.

So in the human aura, Gandharva is the most elusive and ethereal class of being, considered to be concealed by classes which are revealed by mantra. Fire by Friction does have a secret meaning, i. e., mantra. According to HPB:

Let him turn to the allegory of Pururavas and the celestial Gandharva,* who furnished the former with a vessel full of heavenly fire. The primeval mode of obtaining fire by friction has its scientific explanation in the Vedas, and is pregnant with meaning for him who reads between the lines. The Tretagni (sacred triad of fires) obtained by the attrition of sticks made of the wood of the Aswattha tree (the Bo-tree, of Wisdom and Knowledge) -- sticks "as many finger-breaths long as there are syllables in the gayatri" must have a secret meaning, or else the writers of the Vedas and Puranas were no sacred writers but mystificators. That it has such a meaning, the Hindu Occultists are a proof, and they alone are able to enlighten Science, as to why and how, "the fire, that was primevally one, was made threefold (treta) in our present Manvantara, by the Son of Ila (Vach), the primeval woman after the Deluge, the wife and daughter of Vaivasvata Manu. The allegory is suggestive, in whatever Purana it may be read and studied.

*The Gandharva of the Veda is the deity who knows and reveals the secrets of heaven and divine truths to mortals. Cosmically -- the Gandharvas are the aggregate powers of the solar-fire, and constitute its Forces; psychically -- the intelligence residing in the Sushumna, Solar ray, the highest of the seven rays; mystically -- the occult force in the Soma (the moon, or lunar plant) and the drink made of it; physically -- the phenomenal, and spiritually -- the noumenal causes of Sound and the "Voice of Nature." Hence, they are called the 6,333 "heavenly Singers" and musicians of Indra's loka who personify (even in number) the various and manifold sounds in Nature, both above and below. In the latter allegories they are said to have mystic power over women, and to be fond of them. The esoteric meaning is plain. They are one of the forms, if not the prototypes, of Enoch's angels, the Sons of God, who saw that the daughters of men were fair (Gen. vi.) who married them, and taught the daughters of the Earth the secrets of Heaven.

The "Soma" plant is the asclepias acida, which yields a juice from which that mystic beverage, the Soma drink, is made. Alone the descendants of the Rishis, the Agnihotri (the fire priests) of the great mysteries knew all its powers. But the real property of the true Soma was (and is) to make a new man of the Initiate, after he is reborn, namely once that he begins to live in his astral body (See "The Elixir of Life); for, his spiritual nature overcoming the physical, he would soon snap it off and part even from that etherealized form.

Soma was never given in days of old to the non-initiated Brahman -- the simple Grihasta, or priest of the exoteric ritual. Thus Brihaspati -- "guru of the gods" though he was -- still represented the dead-letter form of worship. It is Tara his wife -- the symbol of one who, though wedded to dogmatic worship, longs for true wisdom -- who is shown as initiated into his mysteries by King Soma, the giver of that Wisdom. Soma is thus made in the allegory to carry her away. The result of this is the birth of Budha -- esoteric Wisdom -- (Mercury, or Hermes in Greece and Egypt).

The partaker of Soma finds himself both linked to his external body, and yet away from it in his spiritual form. The latter, freed from the former, soars for the time being in the ethereal higher regions, becoming virtually "as one of the gods," and yet preserving in his physical brain the memory of what he sees and learns. Plainly speaking, Soma is the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge forbidden by the jealous Elohim to Adam and Eve or Yah-ve, "lest Man should become as one of us."

When Vishnu Purana narrates that "the world was overrun with trees," while the Prachetasas -- who "passed 10,000 years of austerity in the vast ocean" -- were absorbed in their devotions, the allegory relates to the Atlanteans and the adepts of the early Fifth Race -- the Aryans. Other "trees (adept Sorcerers) spread, and overshadowed the unprotected earth; and the people perished . . . unable to labour for ten thousand years." Then the sages, the Rishis of the Aryan race, called Prachetasas, are shown "coming forth from the deep,"* and destroying by the wind and flame issuing from their mouths, the iniquitous "trees" and the whole vegetable kingdom; until Soma (the moon), the sovereign of the vegetable world, pacifies them by making alliance with the adepts of the Right Path, to whom he offers as bride Marisha, "the offspring of the trees. This means that which is given in the Stanzas and Commentaries, and what is also given in Part II. of Vol. I., "The Sacred Island." It hints at the great struggle between the "Sons of God" and the Sons of the Dark Wisdom -- our forefathers; or the Atlantean and the Aryan Adepts.

The whole History of that period is allegorized in the Ramayana, which is the mystic narrative in epic form of the struggle between Rama -- the first king of the divine dynasty of the early Aryans -- and Ravana, the symbolical personation of the Atlantean (Lanka) race. The former were the incarnations of the Solar Gods; the latter, of the lunar Devas. This was the great battle between Good and Evil, between white and black magic, for the supremacy of the divine forces, or of the lower terrestrial or cosmic powers. If the student would understand better the last statement, let him turn to the Anugita episode of the Mahabharata, chapter v., where the Brahmana tells his wife, "I have perceived by means of the Self the seat abiding in the Self -- (the seat) where dwells the Brahman free from the pairs of opposites and the moon, together with the fire (or the sun), upholding (all) beings (as), the mover of the intellectual principle." The moon is the deity of the mind (Manas) but only on the lower plane. "Manas is dual -- lunar in the lower, solar in its upper portion," says a commentary. That is to say, it is attracted in its higher aspect towards Buddhi, and in its lower descends into, and listens to the voice of its animal soul full of selfish and sensual desires; and herein is contained the mystery of an adept's as of a profane man's life, as also that of the post-mortem separation of the divine from the animal man. The Ramayana -- every line of which has to be read esoterically -- discloses in magnificent symbolism and allegory the tribulations of both man and soul. "Within the body, in the midst of all these life-winds (? principles), which move about in the body, and swallow up one another, blazes the Vaishvana fire sevenfold, of which 'I' am the goal," says the Brahmana.

But the chief "Soul" is Manas or mind; hence, Soma, the moon, is shown as making an alliance with the solar portion in it, personified as the Prachetasas. But of the seven keys that open the seven aspects of the Ramayana, as of every other Scripture, this is only one -- the metaphysical.


And again, with her Buddhist Yogachara school, she means continuity from Yogachara of Yajnawalkya. And so the Ramayana is about Sita, who practiced the same Agni Vaisvanara as Yajnawalkya. Buddha is practically the next closest historical personality to her. And so Buddhism continues a tradition that uses Soma beverage.

It is the most important thing.

But it is Yoga and the beverage may be symbolic. Sometimes it is tea. The point is that no matter what the substance, it is considered mundane, until enchanted. The vessel and beverage is magic while the deity is invoked into it. In orthodox practice, this is generally Varuna, or Neptune, lord of the ocean. However, in the same way that Savitri is considered the Daughter of the Sun, in the Nepalese Buddhist system that pertains to Agni, the Soma goddess is Varuna's wife and daughter, Varuni, who has the nature of emerging from the Ocean of Milk. This is the legend that is the basis for immortality.

In the ritual, this magical Varuni Soma beverage is supposed to intercept the Tapas Katyayani Durga in the song above. This is Gauri Durga, related to Vrata, or Vow, and Marriage (i. e. of Manas to Buddhi).

Beyond her, Maha Gauri Durga is the Anna Purna of Kashi--Benares, fullness, or fulfillment.

The pure Full Moon god of the Agni sacrifices is above Chandra--Soma--Moon, is Purniman or Purnamasa. In Theosophical terms, it is the Monad, or Atma--Buddhi--Manas. The Buddhist Mahatmas' teachings say to refer to it as Amrita. He only has one brother who is the Monad of the Vairajas or already-perfected souls.

Indian timekeeping is on the lunar cycle, and part of the meditative practice is in handling the phases of the moon conjoined to letters. That is Ali Kali or vowels and consonants. It is the root of Chandali Yoga which is Buddhist and is different from Kundalini which is not. It is Manas as this fluctuating moon focusing on the power of the strongest kind, the one that is fully in the sun. It copies a Shiva tantra naming scheme. But the important thing is that Varuni is the Amrita or Nectar of Immortality. A worldly being would tend to think, no, I can't spontaneously manifest that for myself. The counter suggestion is that yes, you can.

She may have a nature of Intoxication which perhaps is part of the mystery, but she, too, is a type of human auric energy, something like the raw heat of Tapas converted to Bliss by mantra. In Ayurveda, she is a set of lateral, looping nerves in the midsection and flanks.

Popular Buddhist publications out of the Pabonkha influence take this for granted. And so this is why, especially as outsiders, we really just need the basics, or preliminary Yoga path. This is really a mantra buildup from being able to get anything from Om, through stages of Purification, up to being able to make one's own elixir of immortality, or fountain of youth. One does not simply "have" or "gain" higher Manas or its marriage to Buddhi; the developmental exercises cannot be skipped. It does not work by a one-sided or male-based memorization of the features of the Moon; it requires the active presence of goddess power. In the liturgy, there are many, many ways of doing this with various deity forms, but the core of it is the Sun's virgin daughter who is mentally obscured, and also a water daughter who is physically hidden, and related to Immortality and Bliss. She is Amrita, the same Puranic teaching that the Masters used for man's immortal nature, is what is used in this Buddhist method where he lived. And so the system of Tara is perfect for this, whereas a lot of the published material on other rites strictly pertains to Highest Yoga, which is not useful as a starting point.

It is accessible, and does begin at a Sutra or exoteric level, and so the explanation of Marici and Varuni is important. It is not obvious, since, for example, one of the main Puranas, the Bhagavata or Srimad Bhagavatam used mainly by Vaisnavas, is rather silent about goddesses, omitting many.

[shaberon]

What I have learned from living in America is that they expect you to be familiar with a cult of five hundred movie characters.

They are never really processed like you do in literature class with character development and conflict and so forth, and it is mostly an attempt just to remember things and if you liked it.

Deities are like that, except they actually have meaning.

As outsiders, since it will be something we are not really familiar with, it is easy to get overwhelmed or lost. And so in this thread with the Solar Gayatri, I am trying to go a little further with Sun and Moon deities and how they are in the Puranas and that it does directly lead to Buddhist deities as well.


Once one realizes the "superficiality" of visible form (Sight) under the visible sun, then, Sound becomes the esoteric sense, as in "Liberation through Hearing on the After Death Plane". I never really watch anything, I just listen to music. And so this sound-based approach to meditation can be used to proceed from the basic Solar Gayatri, as in the OP, to Tapas or Inner Heat, as described in a few additional posts--Katyayani of the "Durga system".

And so there is a very special Orissa to Nepal connection based in these same lines. The ancient goddesses Vimala, and Viraj of Jaipur, have the same meaning as Katyayani. And what we are doing is working with a Buddhist Ratnagiri Tara system; Ratnagiri was in Orissa, and very similar to the same thing, as indicated by leading Buddhists such as Indrabhuti. This has never been studied; it is present in the Sadhanamala.

Yoga arises by degrees, and Katyayani is a level whereby a Vow is maintained (Gauri). Keeping it for a long period of time has higher results (Maha Gauri, Anna Purna, the Viswamata of Kalachakra tantra).

If harnessed into the Ratnagiri Tara system, the main Vow-maintained result is Marici, also as mentioned in some of the previous posts as a special Dawn or Daughter of the Visible Sun, or the realization of Life Force from the Sun.

So here are a few pieces which are not Gayatris--Katyayani's Gayatri was already given earlier in the thread. If listened to with the right frame of mind and a little study, it may tighten up what seem like vague or tenuous connections, in that we are still using Hindu definitions, but the Buddhist practice makes certain alterations to it. By "definitions", we assert, from personal knowledge and experience, that Katyayani as inner fire is not a theory, is an art or science.

We are trying to represent Ratnagiri Tara as valid and concordant with these terms--and more approachable than Kalachakra and other restricted things; she flows directly from research in Sanskrit generally. In Buddhism, it is acceptable to use some basic forms of Tara without an Empowerment. Therefor, it is feasible to fuse study with meditation and spiritual practices based on her. It would, by contrast, not be allowed to use the Suryagupta Tara system unless you were initiated into it; and we are not using it.




The word 'Katyayani' literally means 'one who is able to remove rigidity and destructive ego'.

She is also "Daughter of Sage Katyayan" by meditation; all the Devas emitted their energy as rays, and from Katyayan's Tapas, the form of Katyayani appeared.

She is extremely beautiful and extremely violent, and was given weapons by many gods. Going to kill Mahishasura, he, instead, fell in love with her. She says she could not be won without a fight (he was unsuccessful).

As a popular deity, she is mainly relied upon by women for ordinary marriage, such as Sita for Rama, or the Gopis or Rukmini for Krishna, i. e. they are uniting with forms of Vishnu. Shiva and Uma exist only when Vishnu and Lakshmi have re-united and grown complete. This is the Shakta attitude generally; Shiva, the masculine aspect of divinity, is considered solely transcendent, and Shiva's worship is generally relegated to an auxiliary role. The Shakta doctrines are quite similar to Shiva's, but almost all the attention is to Amma or Ambha Bai or Mata, Mother.

Other Shaktis, such as Bhadrakali and Chandika, refer to or derive from Katyayani.

Vajrasattva is, so to speak, the first Buddhist Vow Deity. For any meditation or ritual. This is true at the beginning, and then, in the tantra, Samvarodaya, he unites with Katyayani as Tapas. Unlike most of the Hindu yoga, which generally starts with a physical or forced vibration at the base of the spine, this one is a mental or Noumenal process beginning in the abdomen.

Vajrasattva is the first Bodhisattva Stage, Vimala (Katyayani) is the second Stage, and further and further stages are more Marici-like.

This is a Rosary of Katyayani's Puja, or, a visualization of her form and dedication to her meaning:

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=xPh6QOSgGJY

Chandra Hassoja Vallakara
Shardulavara Vahana
Katyayani Shubham Dadya
Devi Danav Ghatini

Many Indians do not understand it.

This type of Sound is very steady and concentrated and takes over half an hour.

Out of the wide array of weapons she used in battle--Shiva gave her a trident--nevertheless, her meditative form holds Chandra Hassoja or "Moon Sword", meaning crescent-shaped sword or scimitar, a very rare, special Shiva item shared with only a few others.

It looks a little different in Buddhism: it is Kartri or Vajra Chopper, used only by more advanced deities with the intent of cutting out ego.

In other words, one of the main symbols or items in Buddhism, comes from this relatively misunderstood mantra.

Cutting obstacles away from Vow, or from the Marriage of Shakti to Vishnu.

This is like male Ganesh, who, unlike most deities who have only one Shakti, collects them all. Katyayani has been infused with all the male energy and all the males' weapons, and, Virgo-esque, is not won by merely asking, the Vow and Penance must be actually performed.

Some of the other words are obscure; Shubham usually refers to Fortune and well-being, and, the main ritual sense of Dadhya is Curds--i. e., from Sacred Milk, there is a type of gestation and transformation making Food, or Yogurt, which matures the meditation. That is an essential ingredient of an Agni ritual.

And so the verse means something like:

Wielding a Crescent Moon Sword
Mounted on a Lion
Katyayani's Blessings and Increase of Wisdom
Devi, give us these.


Both Hindu and Buddhist tantra use Gana Chakra or "Circle of Hosts", involving a feast with dancing. One might not exactly dance to the concentrated kind of mantra like the previous. So here is Katyayani in a very musical song:

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=jEu67bn_ZrA

Uma Katyayani Gauri Dakshayani Himanatha Giriya Kumari

Uma (Shiva's wife) in the form of Katyayani Gauri (Vow) Mind-born Mountain Lord's Daughter

So, in practice or personal experience, we are certainly not able to perceive Universe Mother on her own plane, so, she has descended to somewhere in the mind of man, and we are trying to find that tiny little spark and increase it safely.


And so to really be able to do a full Buddhist tantra, Vajrasattva marries Katyayani whose meaning is pretty much the same as the Hindu one, if you just look at its esoteric meaning mostly about Vow and Tapas. In a sense, what Buddhism does is cut away a lot of material deemed non-essential, and starts dwelling on points that are hard to find as stray bits in the Hindu system, it binds these together and repeats them, compressing and accelerating them, heating them. No Buddhist is ever likely to describe it this way; it is decoded by referring to that first Katyayani song on the previous page.

This inner alchemical action spawns Marici. She does have an outer form, and is important to the Samurai, Chrysanthemum Throne--Rising Sun. This is Needle and Thread Marici, who will either sew your troubles shut in a bag and dispose of it, or, sew shut the eyes and mouths of enemies. It is much more common to meet her in this outer way. But--especially in Sadhanamala--she is an extremely occult divinity, a hypostasis of Vajravarahi.

Varahi is Pig Face (Ignorance). Roughly put, the Buddhist view is that she is in subterranean hell, and the disciple helps her escape and fly a Garuda into the sunlight. Marici is so intricate, she involves Varahi by an almost-forgotten title used before she was called Vajravarahi. Marici, so to speak, has a whole Pig Family, or a fractal of infinite piggies. The pig face melts or deteriorates, until a human one remains, which is the removal of Ignorance--but the esoteric truth is that it is the removal of Vajra Ignorance or whatever we do not understand about occultism.

Again, this is like an opposite female complement to the male Sun or Surya whose face is gouged out, and re-cast into a Shiva weapon. That refers to both the Solar Corona and magnetism of one's aura and a changed state of being. In the sense of a Shiva weapon, this item is "the Moon inside one's head", i. e. the meditative techniques to achieve and stabilize Bliss; inner heat or Katyayani eventually melts the Moon in the head.

That is the role of Vajrasattva, like the Moon, achieving and stabilizing Bliss, Noumenally and by Mantra. Almost any legitimate Buddhist study will describe him like this, after Purification.

Because Ratnagiri was destroyed, and Sadhanamala was lost until only a few years ago, there is not a whole lot to listen to about Marici.

This is from an earthquake benefit for Nepal; they are using Sanskrit, and invoke Marici in a very special way:

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=zf8DfnJiFKg

Om Manipadme Hum (Avalokiteshvara or all consciousness in our solar system)

Om Vagishvari Mum (Manjushri, founder of Nepal)

Om Vajrapani Hum (Lord of tantra, Protector of Shaolin temple, used in Voice of the Silence)

Om Maritsye Mam Svaha


They are calling the Bodhisattvas of the primary three Buddha Families (Lotus, Buddha, Vajra) with their related seed syllables.

Marici obligingly just uses the syllable for the first letter of her name.

The secret twist is that Mam is also Varuni--as described in the previous posts--and finally or ultimately, is Mamaki, or, the arch-goddess or Adi Prajna of the entire Nepalese occult system, which, roughly, is Marici along with her dark side or Midnight, the Buddhist Dharmakaya, or ultimate realm at the highest stages of meditative training or sphere of immortality.

If you listen to it, your ego will simply be swept out of existence.

When we take Refuge Vow, when we take refuge in the Sangha or spiritual community, this has a few interpretations, but particularly in Nepal, it means refuge in the Bodhisattvas. They are not of this world; and yet it is they who teach the disciples. Marici is a Tara and she is also a Bodhisattva. That means, if you are open, she will come to you very quickly.

Right now, They are a "Them", but, if you keep going, there will no longer be a "you" that is different from "Them".

[shaberon]

The way that Madame Blavatsky presented Buddhism is basically the same as the ancient Nalanda University system. That means that it includes, or, rather, begins with Vedas, Puranas, and Upanishads, basically the equivalent education of a non-Buddhist Indian school, including mundane arts and sciences. If one lived in an area where Buddhism was flourishing from ca. 200 B. C. to 1200 A. D., and was able to take its training, then it included everything else in the culture, and, added what it had to say.

The ruins of Ratnagiri have shown that it was among the most major as well as one of the most magical sites, and that Tara was exceedingly important there, in an Indian way that is not quite like the known Tibetan Tara systems. It could be said to have a very continuous flow from the Hindu knowledge base into the operational details of the Buddhist Path. It has a type of consistency in its original form. One of the most recent voyagers to Tara's Pure Land (1930s) tells us that Tara's Song is still in Sanskrit. It is mainly this song, interpreted more closely with those Taras which were in use when it was composed, that would be the Sadhanamala or Ratnagiri system.


The main key, so to speak, of Ratnagiri Tara, is Reversal. On one hand, it is the detailed Yoga process as displayed by the Inverted Stupa. But in a much more common and simple reference for Vajra Family, there is Mirror Wisdom.

And so this is looking at a human being as almost the same thing as a generator. In ordinary, everyday usage, an external force is applied to a generator, which produces electricity. This is then sent somewhere else to do something different.

But if you reverse it, and backfeed electricity into the generator, it will spin. It will make a little Sound and Heat, but, it would not really be described as external activity.

And so this is done to the body, and the series of deities is something like different kinds of circuit boards found when the electricity goes the other way. Then the Path as we have it is like making all these circuits go at maximum. It has a simple name for the circuitry:

Net

The Noumenal reason that the Path is beginning in the core of our body, instead of the base of the spine, is because the mechanical driver of our system as applied to outer acts is digestive fire. That is the main thing that fuels the large muscles, and we move around.

I can breathe without physically or mentally grasping for anything external.

So the main Agni is digestive fire that warms us, but, then, he has sons and descendants which mean all the other biochemical sources of energy inside the body, such as oxygen.

In Ayurveda, this is also called Pitha or sacred site, is the name of mystical sacred sites in tantra. Pitha. In the Puranas, it means places on the earth where pieces of Shiva's wife's body fell. She, of course, appears in another form later, but India is filled with Pithas where there are pieces of the goddess. But it simultaneously means energies and sacred sites inside the body. It is the body, and it is the goddess smashed into earth.

So Agni or Pitha is primarily Fire, but, just as digestive fire is not the only thing inside us, there is Fire of Air, Fire of Earth, and so on. These are what we call Buddha Families.

The Net is their wives, or Prajna, or the Wisdom itself.

So when we say Buddha Akshobya of Vajra Family has Mirror Wisdom, it means he has this Prajna, Mirror Prajna.

So the Ratnagiri Taras are actually all the dynamos and capacitors and inductors and so forth, of the circuitboard, or Net.

They are something like repair drones.

That is why there are many of them of different kinds.

But they do follow something like a diagram, there is a certain patterning to them.


If we say it is the choice of the mind of man, whether, like most generators, to spend power working on something "out there", or, to internalize the mind and reverse the current, then this internal mind is what we call Bodhi Mind.

It is the main motivation in doing any Buddhist meditation; and this is our Vajrasattva.

That is why none of this works without Vajrasattva, and how the liturgy becomes specifically Buddhist instead of another Aryan variation.

You can take any of our schools and they are going to tell you to do 100,000 Vajrasattvas.

At that point, they are all basically the same, and only when you pursue it further, you get different gurus and lineages and variations.

The reason there are so many thousands of repetitions of Vajrasattva mantras is to insure stability and purity.

Without this, deities are extremely dangerous, one can burn one's psychic or subtle body, all kinds of things could go wrong. But Bodhi Mind is also instilling the altruistic method. And so the main technique in protecting ourselves during spiritual practice which can do unusual things to our body and mind, is this strong recognition of other beings.

Well, a similar concept can definitely be found in some of the Hindu works. But in Buddhism, it is not merely "emphasized", it is very blatant and permanent. The Bodhi Mind or Bodhisattva intent is always, always towards others, but it may seem puzzling how can I really help anyone, or how can I preach Buddha's Enlightenment when I must be quite far from it myself?

The answer lies in the power. When the brain has been "mirrored", so to speak, and you open this Bodhi Mind which is really the Heart, you have changed your aura. The stable, purified feeling inside the heart is directly transmitted to others much faster than speech; it is electronic. You are, so to speak, killing heart attacks and making people feel better, regardless of what actually happens, as long as you remain in that state. And resonance definitely applies here; it is like a chain of warmth that keeps getting smoother.

That is really a huge part of what we are doing and why it is kind of beyond words, but, is in the myths, sounds, and images as a type of working vehicle that accomplishes the purpose. That is why it is a Practice and not a Philosophy.

And so none of our rites uses Katyayani by name, or, those mantras posted above--except that by honest inquiry, we are able to make an equivalency with that first, most ancient Durga--Katyayani song.

When the equivalency is made, then, we can say that the way to do a real Buddhist tantra begins with Vajrasattva united with Katyayani in the core of the body most related to Agni, the fires of animation and health.

But remember, she's not won without a fight, which in this case is a Vow, and in Buddhism, Vajrasattva is the pre-eminent Vow deity.

Knowing it refers to Agni makes it consistent with the system of Abhayakaragupta, one of the most important translators of Indian and Nepalese Buddhism to Tibet, which states the tantra system as a whole is really just part of the major Agni ritual as in Hinduism. Buddha himself specifically suggests to do Agni ritual in the inner sense. That is why we do not have to have a temple and all the paraphernalia and so forth, but, we have to have it mentally.

Even as an outer student, it is readily possible mainly based from Sutra and Mantra and a few basic deities, to accomplish the entire outer Yoga path as used by Nalanda or HPB, that is most similar, currently, to Nepal.

[shaberon]

In Buddhism, Yoga is a specific level of teaching, covering the transition from concepts and outer symbols, to inner knowledge. It is not quite the most intense rite or visualization, is not considered the most powerful spiritual practice. The Highest Yogas are their own set.

However, in Tantra, it is actually accepted that two Yoga deities can function, equal in enlightening power, so to speak, to the Highest deities. They are:

Namasangiti Manjushri

Vajra Tara



To me, personally, Manjushri has been a research project. Namasangiti can be described as a close continuation of Rider on the Winds from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. At Amaravati Stupa in Orissa, Buddha projected the Kalachakra mandala (Celestial Mansion) on the floor, and Manjushri Dharmadhatu Vagisvara mandala (Mansions of the Moon and Stars) on the ceiling.

HPB's Yogachara is intended as a continuity from the Brihadaranyaka into Buddhism.

And so the system of Tara that I and many others use was avidly followed by Jonang Tara Natha, who was a devotee of Shentong philosophy. This emphasizes the Third Turning of the Wheel in saying Buddha Nature exists in all. And so it is a somewhat disputed philosophy within Buddhism. In a detailed interview with a Nyingma explaining how his school is not "exactly" Shentong, it is "inclusive", one detail emerges explaining that Shentong includes Rangtong in its view that:

an ultimately existing ultimate truth remains after Rangtong has refuted everything else. It should be noted that the sixth canto of the ancient Brihadaranyak Upanishad (dated 800BC to 1200BC) and the Avadhuta Gita 1.25 both state exactly the same thing through the famous ‘neti neti’ logic (not this not this logic), which says that the Brahman is what remains after everything else, that it is not has been negated).

So there is a Tibetan from some other school reinforcing Yogachara continuity to the Upanishad.

But it is often illuminating to ask if a Tibetan term has a Sanskrit original. In this case, it does. Voidness in Sanskrit is usually written Shunya; but Shentong translates Para Shunya; great, infinite, or supreme void. It means "other empty" in the same way Para means "infinite" by meaning "other" because it means the next link in the chain, and the next, and so on. So Guru Parampara means the "chain" of Gurus. Paramatma is spirit chain linked into each new being. Para Sunya is "empty of all other infinite links" and only has its own nature.

It is not a conveniently made-up word, it is from metaphysics:

Vijnana Bhairava in dealing with Pranava, i. e. sacred sound Aum and other sounds, uses Parasunya for Highest Void and Parama Shiva. So in the teaching that says Turiya is the Fourth Consciousness, Parasunya is the most subtle kind.

Laya Yoga also relates Parasunya to Pithas:

The Supreme void (Para Shunya) is the seat of Supreme Being (Purnagiripitha). All desires are spiritualized here (- Soubhagyalakshmyupanishad', 3. 1-9).


And so in the Bengali Nath and Baul teachings, Purna Giri Pitha is above the head. Matsyendya (Fish) Nath and Jalandhara (Net Holder) Nath were also Buddhist Mahasiddhas. And so if you check the reference, Jalandhara Pitha is also there in the list.

And so this is how the Pithas are defined, usually similarly whether Hindu or Buddhist, but generally there are Four Major Pithas. Then branches, making a Net.

The Net is ultimately enlightened wisdom goddesses, but, in our current condition, is going to be rehabilitated via a process called Dakinis' Net. To ever make our Para Shunya of Purna Giri Pitha do anything, the other stuff all has to be transformed.


Vajrayogini is the teacher of the Secret Doctrine or Rahasya of Dakinis' Net.

The actual identity of Cinnamasta in Buddhism is Tri-kaya Vajrayogini. In other words, one has fulfilled her complete divine form or Three Buddha Bodies.

That is why one does not "worship Cinnamasta", is a state of being, and for now we are just hearing about her and what a Vajrayogini does.

The underlying concept is that it is a female or goddess-centric adaptation of the more commonly-recognized system of Six Chakravartins. This is usually a standardized way of showing Six Buddha Families. But it has two key points: their arrangement and form is able to change, and--it is mantricly identical to Dakini Jala or Dakinis' Net.

And so the system of Taras is like the personnel that inhabit the net.

And the the net extends into human beings, so, some of the yoginis are women, and in this view, we would say the historical Cinnamasta was Laksminkara, sister of Indrabhuti.

Everything in the Tara philosophy and terminology is consistent with Laksminkara and Vajrayogini's Dakini Jala Rahasya, and with Parasunya and its tantric implications.

Sadhanamala is a Vajra Tara treasure trove.

There is a Sakya clan in Seattle which still transmits one of these same Vajra Taras.



The Profound explanation we use for the basic goddess in Kagyu rather than Green Tara is Samaya Tara Vajrayogini. Therefor she is able to teach Dakini Jala.

The Secret Doctrine of Dakinis' Net is so vast, it goes through Five Abhisambodhis, Six Limb Yoga, and Five of the Eight Dissolutions of Death.

That is everything up to the annihilation of form or phenomena, leaving only the Voids.

It covers all the Yoga and Generation Stage.

Buddhist Tara is considerably different from Hindu Tara. They assign her the syllable Trim. However in Buddhism it is Tam, which, according to the chart, stands for moon god Chandra, or, is just by itself, getting rid of disease, worry, fear, and illusions.

That is usually the role that Buddhist Tara is presented to a disciple. Eight Fears is a common theme.

Whereas Vajrasattva is purifying, Tara's light is said to fill one with Buddha qualities.

So she is a curative, but, she is much more than that. The main formula of how she works is her song. And so there are several systems of Taras, like the one at Alchi is not the same as Atisha's system, and so forth. This would be confusing, until we realize that the song really does not use names or describe her forms. And so there is not exactly a "right", or a "wrong", as per the song.

And for example, in almost all interpretations, one of the last Taras is Marici, she is Ozer Chanma in Tibet and Dipper Mother in the rest of Asia, meaning she is a Rishi of the Great Bear. And then whatever you could do to meditate Marici would increase the power of this verse.

And then you are going around the song finding a different Tara that represents something, and whatever you accomplish, increases that verse.

The whole song becomes a kind of amplifier for all these interactive parts.

In questioning the Tibetan version of the song versus the Indian Taras that were used when it was composed, there are legitimate grounds to incorporate Ratnagiri Taras from the Sadhanamala. Well, it is like the Book of Marici, and it makes sense to keep her there. But then, for example, one of the few verses that says anything about Tara's form is that she has "Amitabha and a Crescent Moon in her hair", and, there is only one Tara in the whole tantric catalogue that actually matches this, and none of the traditions are using it.

Initially since people are prone to emotional and mental disturbances, Tara is fast and effective for this. Basic meaning of her syllable with the Hindus. She also however teaches the system from the inside. One of, if not the first, Indian Mahasiddhas was Saraha, the body of whose Tara is made of the Pithas as described above, Pitha Ishvari Tara. And so when I interpret the song, I think of her, first; the standard first one looks kind of similar, but Saraha's Tara makes a clear statement.

Pitha Ishvari Tara is a close equivalent to Jnana Dakini, who is the chief of Dakinis' Net.

Those are initiated lineages but the esoteric truth is that the equivalent of jnana Dakini is Guhya Jnana Dakini who is like a flag goddess of Tibet. In other words if you are properly grounded in Tara there is always some chance that Guhya Jnana Dakini will come to you herself.

Buddhist Tara will help you if she finds you a miserable wreck, and from there, she is capable of giving the entire realm that places an ordinary human into the condition where one could perform Completion Stage of Highest Yoga Tantra.

Several Taras are "in a Stupa", meaning this form is only found in the Pure Lands. We have to build our entire Inverted Stupa to touch the base of theirs. This includes Marici, Vasudhara, Vajra Tara, and Usnisa Vijaya.

Her name can be tricky and Vajra Tara is not in Vajra Family, in fact, with Vasudhara, they are in Jewel Family. This has to do with making the earth plane nothing but a constructive harmonic mantra field: Nirmana Kaya. Mantras attract yoginis and dakinis. It is these which give inner initiations. From this, Amrita. And so what this means, is, the goal of the Net is to work Equally in All Families, which is the Wisdom of Jewel Family (Qualities or Guna). And so there will be mantras for forms of Tara to make her work in Jewel Family.

She will have different names and colors and roles in other families, which are based in life wind and its motion in the subtle body, it is still a kind of Rider on the Winds method. Tara is very approachable in her basic forms and is able to slowly and effectively cross the whole Yoga Path.