The Magic of Sri Vidya Sadhana by Dr.Niranjan (USA)

The Magic of Sri Vidya Sadhana

by Dr.Niranjan (USA)

Sri Matre Namah It is with great humility and gratitude that I share my experiences with the practice of Sri Vidya as taught by Guruji Sivapremanandaji. All the various paths I have followed over the years have culminated in the river of Sadguru Thirumoolar’s Sri Vidya lineage. I don’t think it is an accident that we come across these teachings. It is a great blessing and and precious gift. It becomes a brief accidental encounter only if we don’t practice it with sincerity and humility. Another chance may never come or even if it does, we may not recognize its value. Grace is all I can think of when I must say how it happens. Just as one does not find diamonds by chance, but only through persistent effort at digging underground, these sacred teachings become available to us when we start digging within. Without that initial effort and a deep desire, there isn’t space for grace to descend. Our free will is the only tool that we have that helps us look within. Without divine grace these teachings or any teaching will be like a diamond displayed in a museum. We cannot hold and experience them as our own. I have been practicing this sadhana for a few months and grace has gushed forth in torrents. A unique aspect of that grace is that it makes me feel as welcome as one would feel when visiting one’s own mother after a long separation.

This grace is so welcoming and overpowering that in its midst, ego consciousness becomes as rare as snow in a hot desert. It happens automatically and it feels very natural. There is no question of “I did it”. Grace wipes out the “I did” and only “it” remains. Like a powerful wind that takes down dry twigs and branches but leaves strong and healthy branches intact, these teachings very quickly strip away old conditioning of the mind and unravels our true self. It trims the tree of the mind and makes it a fruit bearing tree, the fruits being our noble soul qualities that others can enjoy. Just as each plant, shrub or tree must be well maintained in order for a garden to be beautiful, the world will similarly be a beautiful place that generations to come can enjoy, if each one strives to make one’s innate soul qualities one’s outer nature.

Just like so many others, I have been a seeker for as far as I can remember. We all share one deep aspiration, seeking happiness. Happiness that springs forth from our inner self is an unending reservoir and Sri Vidya is a definite way to unearth that source hidden within ourselves. Just as one cannot see the sea where a river empties into, by standing at its source on a mountaintop, we cannot see the “sea of higher consciousness” with us when we stand on the mountaintop of our ego. Streams of false identification roll down into the sea of the senses, which are treacherous waters.

Sri Vidya teachings imparted by Guruji Sivapremanandaji create the right grooves for our individual consciousness to flow towards the higher universal consciousness. As individuals, we have full “ownership rights” over our mind. No one can enter that space. But if we are willing to give up some of its contents, make space and invite the hand of divinity to enter with our love and devotion, a beautiful space will be carved within us. This would then serve as a very welcoming launching pad for our own inner discovery. Like a radar beam that touches an object

and is reflected, Gurujis teachings touch the core of our being and they reflect back as bliss.

Using that as a guiding instrument, we can reach that source and be one with it.

I am very grateful for having found these teachings at this stage in my life. I would say I am at the crossroads of life. Having ascended the material ladder to a peak that I am personally satisfied with, there is no other way but a slow descent into impermanence or death that we all must succumb to. At these crossroads, I like all others have a choice of following the body towards its destination or taking a less trodden path to higher elevations of consciousness where the seeds of immortality are to be found. These sacred teachings come to us as seeds, the grace of Guruji seeds our worldly consciousness with love and power and if water those seeds with love, dedication, humility and surrender then a giant evergreen tree of “universal consciousness” will surely emerge. This is Siddhar Thirumoolar’s promise to us.

Good Disciple follows Guru like a Shadow O! disciple true!

In virtue, truth, compassion, discrimination and love You pursue the Holy Feet of Guru true Constant as unto a shadow; You then gain the nectar of Finite Jnana in its crystal clarity, And witness the many miracles it brings in train.

Thirumandiram (1703) by Siddhar Thirumoolar Everyone has a personal journey that is unique to the individual. Just as white light is composed of all colors, universal consciousness shines on all of us equally. Colors are perceived when objects absorb certain wavelengths of visible light while reflecting others. Similarly, everyone is the recipient of the same grace, but due to our individual conditioning at the level of the mind, we cannot see grace in its pure light. Each one’s experience is unique. Grace is impartial, our perception of it may not be. Just as a skilled sailor who uses the wind to his advantage, we should all be ready and take full opportunity when we recognize the descent of grace in any form. We all take our individual paths back to our true self.

I would like to present my journey to the teachings of Sri Vidya as taught by Guruji Sivapremanandaji. I truly feel like I have come home. I have searched for many years, tried many paths but there was something missing. Not on part of the teachings or the paths I had tried but there was an deep seated disconnect and I could not tap in completely. I attribute this to either my ineptitude as a student of those teachings or that somehow those paths were not for me. This is not so with Sri Vidya. Everything clicked into place in a very short period.

There is nothing about my spiritual journey that makes me special. Everyone is equally special in a Guru’s eyes. What endears us to the Guru are our virtues, honesty, compassion, love, hard work and dedication. More than external demonstration, our true intention behind every thought, word and action is important. A Guru sees right through us even if we are not in his immediate physical presence. His Grace will help us overcome any obstacle on the path.

My path to the teachings of Sri Vidya did not come easy. The long winding road that I took makes these teachings even more special and valuable to me. It is human nature to not value something that is handed to us on a platter. Only if we work for it, it becomes valuable to us. We are very lucky that these teachings are handed to us so easily. They are precious and need to be respected as such. Guruji is very kind and compassionate in giving us all the levels (1-7) in a matter of three days. I urge my fellow sadhaks to recognize and appreciate what a special gift this is to all of us.

My journey started when I was a young boy of nine. One hot summer night, we were laying on an open terrace. Looking up at the stars there were questions that arose in my mind. They were deep and troubling questions to which I did not think there were any answers. These were questions such as, who am I? What is my place in the universe and why does it have to be so big? I can reach the stars with my eyes but I cannot reach them with my hands, why? These questions continue to linger in a silent compartment of my mind. Instinctively I felt there was a path, but how do I find it? I sought to answer those questions as the years went by; reading many books, going to courses and trying various techniques. Nothing seemed to satisfy me. I was not after visions or experiences, although they would be nice to behold. I simply wanted the truth of my own existence.

Fast forward to May 2016, I was at a retreat in the woods north of Toronto, Canada. A sweet and compassionate saintly monk from the Himalayas was holding a retreat on the teachings of Zen. At that time, I had no idea that he was an adept in Sri Vidya. Like everyone else there, I was granted a 5-minute private audience where I could ask any question of him. He had been speaking and giving discourses for many hours a day. I wished to let him have my five minutes in the form of silence. I did not want to ask him anything that pertained to my personal life. I went with the thought that my mind is my own business and I don’t want to trouble him with that. Why have him waste his power of speech on something that is trivial in the big scheme of things? So, I sat and these words came out almost involuntarily, “If you think I am ready…”. He smiled and before I could complete my sentence, he said, “You are ready. The application is in and the file will move on per Divine Mother’s wishes”. He beckoned me close, made a mudra out of his fingers which I did not recognize, uttered something and put his thumbs on my forehead for a few minutes. Following this he put his hands on my head and smiled and said he was planting a seed. I left silently not knowing what to make of all this.

Couple of weeks later, something made me order a book on amazon titled Shakti mantras. I flipped through the pages when I got the book and settled on a page at random. There was a mantra that I was drawn to and it went as follows, “Om Hreem Shreem Kleem Adya Kalika Param Eswari Swaha”. I felt an urge to recite that mantra not just during dedicated meditation periods but also during the day in between activities.

After a few weeks, I was casually looking online for more information on Sri Vidya and came across www.srividyasadhana.com. I was stunned to see that they offered online deeksha. I requested and received my deeksha mantra for Srividya level 1. As part of the instructions, I was supposed to sit in a particular manner and follow a certain protocol in order for the energy to be awakened by Guruji. In my excitement, I misread the date and time and marked by calendar for the following week. But on the scheduled date and time when the deeksha was supposed to happen (which I was unaware of), inexplicably I took my seat in my usual place of meditation. I could not understand why I felt such waves of peace. There were pinprick like sensations all over my back, neck and arms. This lasted for about an hour and then I got up. Later on I realize that I unknowingly sat down and received deeksha at the appointed hour. That seemed to me like a miraculous occurrence. An auspicious beginning indeed.

With the eagerness of a child who has just been given a promised gift, I “unwrapped” the instructions of the first level in my mind after memorizing them. As oil gets consumed by a fire, I watched the negative tendencies of the mind dissolve as I practiced. The results were very tangible and consistent. The stillness of the mind was as predictable as the still water of a high mountain lake. Anger became very subtle and those bubbles of anger that were trying to gain

access to the surface of the mind where they would unleash their internal fury became almost nonexistent. Confidence levels rose higher and higher like a kite that catches a favorable wind.

The coded whispers within seemed to suggest that anything I asked for would be fulfilled. I was careful not to ask for anything of a personal nature. I had come too far for me to turn back and return to worldly pursuits. But I strangely never felt like turning my back on the world. Joy was in abundance everywhere, both at work and at home. Whenever I wished well for others, it felt like my whole being was jumping up to greet that person. It was spontaneous and childlike.

Adding in another layer to the practice in level 2 seemed to unravel a hidden layer within.

Calmness was the gift that it brought along. Sitting still for 1-2 hours seemed like a breeze. The eternal battle with restlessness was finally turning the corner. Calmness brought along with it another friend, a helpful nature that desired only to help and not seek or expect a return favor.

The vast, dark recesses of the mind started to shrink and take the proportions of the body as if the body and the mind were made of the same mold. When the attention was on the eyes the whole body appeared to have the power to see and the same with the other senses. Five became one and one became five.

With yet another practice added in on the third rung of the seven-step ladder, pleasant sensations started to spring up like little jets of water on the base of calmness. It mostly felt like a cool sensation on the back along the spine like a mountain stream caressing a rock face. Rather than an effort to sit still, it seemed to take an effort to breathe or move. Breath started to slow down and stilled for brief interludes between occasional intake of air. The body seemed perfectly happy without the usual bellowing of the lungs. The head and neck felt as still as the trunk of a tree and the awareness of the body that was draped on it became indistinct and blurry. It almost felt like a fog was swallowing my physical frame.

The mind dissolved into these states just as sugar crystals dissolve in water. Even if I did dip my awareness into the mind, the taste was sweet and palatable. All forms of life including animals, birds and insects seem to emerge from that same mist that was around me. The message was oneness of all beings. Divine Mother seemed to play hide and seek in the form of my wife, mother and daughter. What could I offer them other than my love? Everything was of the divine and from the divine.

The fragrance of the meditative state has become easier to hold onto. Silence has become an essential commodity. The nights and early mornings sing songs only a silent mind can hear. In that communion of silence, there is that inner guide watching, waiting and asking to come closer.

There are many more miles to, but what a journey it has been after just a few steps. What can one do but fully surrender when the world appears like an endless meadow full of enchanting flowers? I may have tasted a sampling of the fruits but there is much work to be done on my part until the seed that was planted grows into a fully-grown tree capable of spreading those very same seeds to others. All we must do is to stand as patiently as a tree and wait for those dew drops of Grace nourish our roots. Guruji is always with us and best offering we can give him is to treasure the immense value of these teachings and hold them dear as we do our every breath.

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