sixteen kalas

16 kalas = mind + 5 elements + 5 vital airs + 5 senses of perception

mind + panchabuthas + panchapranaas + jnanendriyaas

Jnanendriyas - senses of perception

Jnanendriyas are:

1. eyes: seeing; this is based on Thejas. Thejas is divine - use it properly - see what is good.

2. ears: Hearing comes from Sabdha. Hear only what is good

3. nose: Fragrance: good smell improves health; foul smell causes illness and distemper

4. mouth / tongue: rasa; taste

5. skin: touch or sparsa; avoid unnecessary contact to avoid contamination; there is a divine electric current in man - "chit-sakti" or energy of consciousness - that gets contaminated when in contact with another body. Good of yours can mix with bad of theirs. This is partly the reason why Sages and Saints of yore left for the forests.

Panchapranas - 5 vital airs of man

There are 12 crores of nerves in the human body. The Panchapranas are:

• Praana:
• Apaana:
• Samaana:
• Udaana:
• Vyaana: pervades the entire nervous system; health of the human body is maintained by this; it also contributes to the experience of happiness; vyaana + 7th sahasraharaa chakra contributes to intelligence

These are all divine and should be used appropriately by man.

Source: Sathya Sai Baba, Pg 16, vol 2, Fundamentals of Sri Sathya Sai Educare

Panchabhutas - five elements

The Panchabuthas are:

• Akaasa: Ether
• Vaayu: Air; with vibrations in space (Sabda), Vaayu is produced
• Thejas: Fire; fire emerges from Vaayu / air
• Jala: Water; water emerges from Thejas
• Prithvi: Earth; solidified water is earth

These are all divine and should be used appropriately by man.

Source: Sathya Sai Baba

Three Gunas

The visible universe, inclusive of man, ismade up of three "Gunas".

• Sathva(guna): represents forebearance, compassion, love
• Thamo(guna): modesty, bashfulness, fear and lethargy
• Rajo(guna): courage sacrifice and adventurous spirit

The term "Sthree" when used in conjunction with "Prakrithi" or visible universe, is often mistaken to mean lady, women ... it is actually a label for these three Gunas.

Sthree = Sa + Tha + Ra

In this sense, even a man is a Sthree!

Source: Sathya Sai Baba, Pg 13, Vol 2, Fundamentals of Sri Sathya Sai Educare

levels of consciousness

Apparently there are multiple levels of consciousness:

1. Jagratha(avasta) - waking state;

2. Swapna(avasta) - sleeping state;

3. Shushupti(avasta) - deep sleep state

It appears that the mind is constructing and conjuring in consort with the environment in the Jagrath / waking state. In Swapna, the mind is on its own imagining and creating on its own power - this being termed as Swapna / sleeping state. And finally, in Shushupti, there appears to be a transcendence of the mind; every abberation of the mind seems to be absent. Here the person is said to be in "Samadhi".

When consciousness is linked with body and senses, it may be termed as "conscious". When the same consciousness is linked with the mind, the term used is "conscience". Similarly when the same consciousness is linked with the higher self, the term used is "pure consciousness".

Source: Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Five fires in man

Apparently there are five kinds of fire principles (or "Agni") in man:

• Udara(agni): burning caused by hunger; fire in the stomach
• Manda(agni): burning caused by excessive eating; indigestion in the stomach
• Kaama(agni): burning sensation in the mind due to excessive passions and desires
• Soka(agni): burning sensation due to grief (due to worldly losses and disappointments) and sorrow (due to yearning for God)
• Badavaa(agni): burning feeling caused due to dire diseases and death

Source: Sathya Sai Baba, Pg 40, Vol 2, Fundamentals of Sri Sathya Sai Educare

levels of happiness

Apparently, Happiness has levels:

• First there is the joy experienced through our body. This is termed as "Dehananda" (transliteration: body-happiness)
• Higher than that is the joy experienced by the mind. This is termed as "Chittananda". (transliteration: mental-pleasure)
• Apparently, one can transcend the mind and experience something bigger than mental-pleasure. The pleasure derived beyond the mind is termed as "Chidananda".
• The universal bliss (into which our personal bliss is to be merged) is termed as "Brahmananda". This latter is eternal.

It is said that our journey is the process of progressing from our body-happiness, to mental-pleasure, to transcending the mind, to ultimately merging with the eternal and universal bliss.

That is, we are to progress from Dehananda -> Chittananda -> Chidananda -> Brahmananda. This is said to be the way to eternal bliss.

Source: Sathya Sai Baba, pg 124, Vol 2 of Fundamentals of Educare book.

prevalence of energy in Hindu pooja (prayer) worship

Karanyasa and Mahanyasa are couple of ways of mapping the cosmic energy onto our selves. In the former we map the cosmic divine energy to our hand and in the latter we map it to our upper body.

The instructions for seating (e.g. make out of kusa grass...), the direction in which to pray (e.g. "god must be east facing etc.) and the attention given to clothing (silk threads) and also tying of twine from kalasa to post during Prana Prathista remind me of the attention we pay to energy of self, earth and cosmos.

Apparently the seating has some earthing / grounding affects. The direction has to do with energy field alignment. Clothing has to do with containment of energy.

At least these are the common myths.

Going back to Karanyasa and Mahanyasa, I see a correlation between this and mapping procedures we use in mathematics (e.g. Laplace, Forier transforms), and mapping procedures we use in computer control (e.g. NASA control room on earth working on a space-shuttle-seen galactic landscape).

Comments?

Pancha Pallava - the 5 posturings of a mantra

Mantra… has five “shoots” (Pancha Pallava).

1. ‘namah’
2. ‘svaha’
3. ‘vaushat’
4. ‘hum’
5. ‘phat’

A shoot, or sprout, or posturing, in this context signifies the emergent attitude with which the mantra terminates. The body of the mantra contains the seed-syllables and the name of the deity; the devotee’s disposition towards, or orientation with regard to, the deity should find articulation at the end of the mantra, and this is the “pallava”.

Without Pallava, the mantra is described as ‘naked’ (“pallavena vina mantro nagnas tu parikrir titah”). The deity is then not properly represented in the sense that the devotee has not specified how he stands with regard to the deity.

Each of the ‘shoots’ or Pallavas has its own special significance and situational relevance.

1. ‘namah’ – means prostration
2. ‘svaha’ – signifies offering
3. ‘vaushat’ – is will to be protected
4. ‘hum’ – is to drive away (evil forces)
5. ‘phat’ – is the urge to break (the obstacles) down

Source: Pg35, book- The Yantras, author – Prof. S.K.Ramachandra Rao, Sri Satguru Publications, Delhi, India; ISBN – 81-7030-118-1

dasa maha vidya - 10 mothers

1. Kali – the evolutionary principle of primordial time; bijam –Krim
2. Tara – The power of spiritual ascent; bijam – Aum
3. Shodasi – perfection and totality; bijam – Aim, Klim Sauh
4. Bhuvaneshwari – Space, consciousness and dimensionality; bijam – Hrim
5. Chinna Masta – ever devouring ressurection; bijam – Hum
6. Bhairavi – the power of destruction; bijam –Hsraim, Hsklrim, Hsrauh
7. Dhumavati – Death, despair, destruction; bijam – Dhum
8. Bagala Mukhi – unconscious tendencies leading to illusions; bijam – Hlrim
9. Matangi – dominating over evil; bijam – Aim, Hrim, Srim, Aim, Klim, Sauh
10. Kamala – prosperity and purity; bijam – Srim

Figure: depiction of 10 placements of the 10 mothers (dasa mahavidya)

Source: Pg34, book- The Yantras, author – Prof. S.K.Ramachandra Rao, Sri Satguru Publications, Delhi, India; ISBN – 81-7030-118-1

Panchangopasana - the five fold prayer

1. Japa – repition of the mantra as prescribed
2. homa – fire oblations
3. tarpana – water oblations
4. abhisheka – bath offering
5. bhojana – feeding the deserving & needy

Source: Pg34, book- The Yantras, author – Prof. S.K.Ramachandra Rao, Sri Satguru Publications, Delhi, India; ISBN – 81-7030-118-1

Yantra Gayatri

Yantra Rajaya Vidmahae

Maha Yantraya Dhimahi

Tanno Yantrah Prachodayaat

Source: Pg30, book- The Yantras, author – Prof. S.K.Ramachandra Rao, Sri Satguru Publications, Delhi, India; ISBN – 81-7030-118-1

Aspects of a Mantra

Each mantra is said to have the following aspects:

1. Rshi – the sage who is the author f the mantra
2. Chandas – the meter in which the mantra is composed
3. Devata – the deity for whom the mantra is meant
4. Bija – the seed of the mantra
5. Sakthi – the power of the mantra
6. Kilaka – the ‘peg’ to which the mantra is tied, viz the activating principle
7. Viniyoga – the purpose for which the mantra is employed

If the mantra is said to have a human form, the sage is the head, meter is the mouth or face, the deity its heart, the seed its navel, the power its private organs, and the peg its feet.

The deity who is invoked by the mantra assumes the form of the mantra, and the mantra assumes the form of the universe:

“mantras tu devata-rupam mantra rupam idam jagat” (vatulagama)

Source: Pg34, book- The Yantras, author – Prof. S.K.Ramachandra Rao, Sri Satguru Publications, Delhi, India; ISBN – 81-7030-118-1