Meditation tools


Bija mantras

The word “Bija” means a “seed” and describes a mantra, which is usually of one or few syllables. Each seed mantra is the essence of a deity. All together they represent the complete divinity revealed in sound. To add more power to your mantra, you can add one or few biga mantras to it, in the beginning or at the end.


AUM is the most renowned bija mantra. Revealed by God himself, it is the form of creation, maintenance and withdrawal.

Shrim is Lakshmi, goddess of beauty and wealth.

Hrim is bija of Maya, goddess of illusion who can open your eyes on real reality.

Krim is described as Kali, the goddess who dwells in the ancestral or cremation ground, representing purification.

Svaha sends your prayer direclty to the Gods.

Thah represents the fire sacrifice.

Hraim is the light bija mantra that destroys sins.

Klrim Svaha is called the bija, which causes things to tremble.

Prim is the crow bija, used in works of magic.

Hrum (with long letter 'u') is the single syllable mantra of Kalaratri, the great night of time.



Seed mantras of the five elements


A body of every living creature is made of the five basic elements: ether, air, fire, water and earth. All magic works are based on manipulation of the elements. The pentagram, used in all witchcraft works is a symbol of these five elements in their union. Every element has its own bija mantra:

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Hang – ether

Yang – air

Rang – fire

Vang – water

Lung - earth


Meditation on each element brings out different effect:


Ether elements brings love of knowledge, spirituality

Air helps to achieve desired goal. Unstable air element brings craziness and nervousness.

Fire brings passion and excitement. Can be used to harm someone.

Water brings love, satisfaction and wisdom

Earth brings stability, mental silence and physical comfort.



To be a well-balanced person meaning having the five elements of your body in perfect balance with one another. Watch yourself and see what element can be out of balance when you feel disrupted. Constant imbalance of one or more elements brings chronic diseases.


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Bija Mantra AUM



Yantras

The suffix 'tra' in Sanskrit means an “instrument”. Yantra is the geometrical form of a divinity, a graphic symbol of God. Mantra is a vibration that corresponds to the essence of a God or a Goddess. Yantra is the centering device, which does not work without a mantra. Invoking of prana (life force) of the deity by reciting the mantra is necessary when you work with yantras. Mantra is the deity itself, and Yantra is the body of the deity with colors and lines that correspond to that particular deity. Instead of Yantras, the picture or a statue of the deity can be used for meditation if you need any visual stimuli at all. Images and sculptures of the deity, called murtis, are more gross representations, while Yantras are more subtle forms.

Yantras can be drawn, engraved or painted on a variety of substances. The classical eight Tantric surfaces are gold, silver, copper, crystal, birch, bone, hide (which can include any type of paper), and Vishnu stone (shalagrama). The simplest yantras are called chakras. These are usually geometric drawings, which are inscribed on the ground.

So, for a more effective work with mantras, use yantras to meditate and connect with the deity. Yantras of some deities are included in this book.


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Yantra of Goddess Tara


Mala: choose your chanting beads
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Japa meditation, or chanting, is done with help of a mala, the chanting beads. Mala (ma-la) means "Rose" or "Garland" in Sanskrit. A more direct translation is the "garland from above," or "heavenly garland." In the Hindu and, sometimes certain Buddhist traditions, it is also called a "japamala." In the Mahayana Zen traditions it is called fozhu and ojuzu, which in other languages expresses roughly the same meaning. Mala is a sacred spiritual tool, and it is also called the "power beads".



Usually chanting meditation is done with help of a mala, or praying beads. The purpose of using praying beads during Japa mediation is to count how many times you have recited the mantra. There is a magic number for repeating a mantra: 108 times. A typical string of praying beads contains 108 bids. This number symbolizes the magic triangle of creation: in the beginning there was the One; The One divided into the two, and from the union of the two the tree, the material Universe was born. By a simple calculation of 1x2x2x3x3x3=108, a number of complete existence that contains One and All, was discovered.

A small sized mala can contain twenty-seven beads, this way you have to turn it around four times while reciting a mantra, because 24X4 is 108. A mala that contains fifty-four beads must be done twice. Each mantra can be repeated a number of times for the greater effect: 1.000 times, or 10.000 times, or 12.500 times or 125.000 times, but that's monk’s practice. For regular people it is enough to repeat mantra for one turn of a mala, that is, 108 times.

Hold mala with your right hand, resting beads on your middle finger. The count begins from the first bead that is next to the big dividing bead. The divining bid should never get passed. As you chant, rotate beads between middle finger and a thumb. Go from one bead to the next as you repeat the mantra, a bead per mantra. If you did one circle of 108 bids, it means you said the mantra 108 times. Turn the mala around and begin from the bead you have just finished with. Do not use dividing bid for chanting.



Types of mala



Mala can be made of different materials, depending on the type of mantra you use and type of result you want to have.

Mala made of tulsi wood is good for praying to lord Krishna, Vishnu, Ram, Hanuman. For piece and prosperity.

Mala made of rudraksha seeds are for worshipping Shiva and Shakti. For sexual rapture and security.

Pearl mala is great for piece tasks

Coral mala to attain wealth

Lotus seed mala used to harm, kill or disturb their mental balance Maran, Uchchatan and Vidweshan Karmas.

Silver mala to connect to your subconsciousness and develop inner vision

Gold mala to attain success become noticed

Ruby and garnet mala to increase sexual passion

Emerald mala to increase love

Diamond mala to obtain purity of spirit

Sandalwood mala is good for all purposes

The ritual


The right chanting attitude



“What better way to respond to a miracle than to fall in love with it?”

-Jose Rivera, Cloud Tectonics



“The winds of God’s grace are always blowing, it is for us to raise our sails.”

-Ramakrishna



The first thing you need to understand before at the beginning of spiritual journey is the right attitude towards God. To approach Gods successfully, you need to understand that they are not your servants, they don't owe you anything, and they don't have to give you things you asking for. They provide help out of their eternal and unconditional love. Come to them from the point of reverence and they will fill you with their divine beauty, perfection and power.

Pray passionately and from your heart, surrender in your prayer. If you decide to offer a gift to a deity, do </div><div id="Layer2" style="position:absolute; left:49px; top:69px; width:294px; height:134px; z-index:2">it with complete sincerity and single-minded love. It does not matter what you offer, as long as you offer it with devotion.

When you are asking for favors, do not try to make any mental pressure on a god or a goddess. They withdraw from pressure; besides, you are not powerful enough to put pressure even on the smallest God. By putting mental pressure on the deity, you are putting the pressure on yourself--as Gods are the parts of you--and creating stress. Instead, gently bow, connect, send your love and admiration and ask sincerely for help. This is how you treat the divine in you. After an approach like this, you will feel like a god or a goddess yourself.



To be able to know God is the God’s grace, and is not your personal achievement. When Goddess smiles at you, it is Her blessing upon you. Never take pride of “knowing God” because you can never completely know the infinite. And again, do not get confused by variety of the Hindu pantheon. Remember that all demi gods are rays of light that come from the same spiritual Sun, the great Brahman, or one and absolute God. Demi Gods are easier to relate to, since each represents one attribute of the Absolute. It is close to impossible to perceive the complete Divine all at once. All demi gods lead to the One, who lives in your heart, who is essence of your highest Self, the Atman, or God within.


Offer a gift and establish connection



There is no ready prescription of what to offer to a God or a Goddess. In the beginning of your relationship with a deity, offer something that you think is truly beautiful. Later, when you establish a communication with your divinity, you may ask what your Goddess desires. One time, in case of Gnash, a spoonful of milk was enough.

To find out what to offer, begin with a simple ritual of lighting a candle, offering a fragrant flower and contemplating on the deity. A ritual is like a handshake: when you put your warmth into it, offering a friendship, and you really mean it, the handshake will be answered. If your handshake is weak, cold and formal, it will not help to establish the connection. Flowers, which are not fragrant, must not be offered in worship--this is a siddha rule. Flowers are the most beautiful gift you can offer to anyone, be it a human or a God. A cantata "At the offering" from "Rejoice in the Lamb", dedicated to Jesus, refer and explain the flower ritual as following: "For the flowers are great blessing. For the flowers have their angels even the words of God's Creation. For the flowers glorifies God and the root parries the adversary. For there is a language of flowers. For flowers are peculiarly the poetry of Christ".



It is generally known from the experience of priests that different deities like: Ganesa likes sweets and milk, Agni likes wood and water, put gold for Laxmi, red flower and honey for Kama, hard liqueur for Shiva, pure water for Brahma, or offer any gift you want to give. Main thing, offer it sincerely, with an open heart. If you offer food, you can receive it back after the ritual as "prasad", or holy food. This food becomes holy, now, because it was touched by the God. It's good to share this food with others. Besides offerings always lit a candle, because Agni, the fire, is the messenger to gods who delivers your oblations and prayers. Burn incense, watch fragrant smoke go up and away, making air fragrant and ready for beauty to appear.

In Indian temples, classically, various ritual accessories (upachara) are used in the daily ceremony, with the 16 principal items being asana (seat), svagata (welcome), padya (water for washing feet), arghya (rice, flowers, sandal paste , achamana (sipping water), madhuparka (honey, ghee, milk, curd), snana (bathing), vasana (clothes), abharana (gems), gandha (perfume and sandal), pushpa (flowers), dhupa (incense stick), dipa (flame), naivedya (food) and namaskar (prayer). These may be multiplied up, depending on the devata. However, despite differences, all daily pujas follow a very similar pattern. Also, according to the Hindy tradition Lord Ganesha is supposed to be worshipped first, before all Gods. Do what you think is best, but you don’t need follow the tradition very closely, since we live in a very different society. Simple offering and inner worship is the most valuable kind.

Still, the highest offering that brings perpetual state of transcendental freedom and happiness is offering of life’s actions. Whatever you do, do it as an offewring to God. Offering your work to God brings an amazing amount of satisfaction and no fear of failure, because winning or failing does not meter anymore. According to Bhagavat Gita, this approach frees one from karma, the law of action and reaction.



Mantras and prayers



Chanting mantras is very much like repeating a prayer. Some Christian prayers can be chanted, like the Jesus prayer: “Jesus Christ, Son of the God, have mercy on me, sinner,” while “Our father” is not for chanting. However, sometimes there is a difference between some mantras and prayers: a mantra is a saying composed from combination of sounds that has a specific, almost mechanic effect on the subtle levels of existence, bringing forth a change. Prayer is an emotional act; it is the act of faith that sends your love and devotion to God. It’s when you scream for help and that call comes directly from the heart. When both, praying or chanting, do not think of your problems or yourself, do not think at all: you mind must be empty. Than you connect to God and posess his allmighty presence in yourself.

Gayatri is a mantra that has all qualities of a prayer, when we ask God to fill our hearts with pure light. So, it has the power of both emotion and science. This is one of the most powerful and beloved mantras in India and even little children recite it before going to bed.


source:http://www.goddessherself.com/mantras/redmagicmantras.htm#_Toc55049440

This post has been edited by mystick: Feb 6 2006, 01:49 AM