Mantras

Mantras have a special place in the scriptures. Mantras have been graded based on their effects. Below are the mantras in orders of their strengths from least to most powerful.

  • Chalisas
  • Shlokas
  • Stotras
  • Sahasranaamas
  • Mantras from Vedas including Beeja mantras
  • Kavach mantras

Chalisas are most popular among people. It is in many of the regional languages in India. 40 verses in praise of the divine power which are chanted on a daily basis. These are some of the most accessible to people. Ex. Hanuman Chalisa.

Shlokas are verses in Sanskrit language and are from the puranas and many old scriptures. Many shlokas are also accessible by people which are used in pujas and for daily routine like before taking bath, before eating, before sleeping, etc.

Stotras are sacred Sanskrit verses describing and honoring a particular divine power. They take multiple forms like 5 verses 0r 8 verses and so on. They have come from epics, Puranas and Itihaasas. Many of them are also available to the common people and many are chanted on a daily basis as part of a puja to a deity. A famous one is the Adiyta Hrdaya Stotra that Lord Rama chanted to kill Raavana.

Sahasranamas /Ashtotaranamas are names of the divine describing particular characteristics of a deity. These names of the divine are also in verse forms. Each name is a mantra on its own and has a particular energy/way to connect with the divine. 2 of the most famous Sahasranamamas that are chanted in many homes are Vishnu Sahasranama and Lalitha Sahasranama.

Mantras: These are more complex and have a structure in them. These are energized words or phrases which carry a lot of power when chanted with correct pronunciation and rhythm. All of them carry details like the Rishi who is the seer of the mantra, who is the deity for this mantra, what is the meter/Chandas the mantra has to be chanted. Almost all of the mantras are from the vedas and are not man made. This is some of the para vidya which was downloaded by the Rishis and preserved for the betterment of humanity. Many of them have their own initiation process by a teacher. These include Beeja mantras which have the concentrated power of the deity. Ganesha Atharva Sheersham, Suktams fall in these category.

Kavach mantras – Some of most powerful and concentrated mantras fall in this category. They are used for protection mainly but also for many other purposes. They are collection of mantras in particular order invoking the highest powers of the divine and are not for common people. A lot of Sadhana is required in order to master the Kavach mantras and to use them effectively.

I have always been drawn towards mantras and love chanting them. During the COVID times, we started getting together to learn the mantras and how to chant them on a daily basis. We have had few batches who have completed the classes and have requested to start a new batch. So on popular demand, I am starting a new class this end of June 2022. We will learning few mantras from vedas.

Classes are on donations basis. We will meet every Sunday from 8am CDT – 9:30 am CDT from June 30, 2022 onwards.

If you are interested, please RSVP here – http://tiny.cc/vedicchanting

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7 Energy chakras of India & our Earth!

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Yathaa Pinde tathaa Brahmaande. Yathaa Brahmaande tathaa Pinde

The microcosm and the macrocosm are interlinked. Planet earth, home to many organisms, is itself a large organism. It is not just a place for living beings; it is a living organism as a whole. This is what the Gaia theory says. Now scientists have found that the our brain looks just like the universe.

Materialism considers everything as objects. Spirituality on the other hand discovers life in everything!

Ancient rishis or saints always portrayed a country as a person. A person with feelings and energy centers just like a human being. I recently read that INDIA also has her own spiritual energy centers, in form of particular cities, just like human beings. I started looking this up and this is what I found. There are 7 cities in India which correspond to the seven centers or chakras in a human body. It is given in the following sanskrit shlokha(a prayer).

Ayodhya, Mathura, Maya, Kashi, Kanchi, Avanthika, Puri drawaravati chaiva, saptaide moksha dayika.

Maya(Haridwar) corresponds to the Muladhara(Root) chakra situated at the base of the spine. When the lethargy in you goes and enthusiasm begins, you commence your journey. Hari-dwar, the starting point, is “the door to the house of the Divine”.

Kanchi corresponds to the Swadhisthana(Sacral) chakra situated behind the genitals, as the presiding deity here is Kamakshi, the goddess of kama or desire.

Ayodhya corresponds to the third chakra, the Manipura(Solar plexus), situated in the navel region, where joy, generosity, greed and jealousy manifest. All these emotions are connected to Ayodhya.

Mathura is Anahata(Heart chakra)chakra. The heart is associated with three emotions: Love, fear and hatred. Mathura symbolises the love and devotion of the gopis for Krishna, as well as of the fear and hatred of Kansa, all matters of the heart.

Avanthika, also called Ujjain, is related to the Vishuddha(Throat chakra) or the throat chakra. Ujjain is the city of art and literature. It is also the city of Vikramaditya, of grief and glory. We feel gratitude in the throat region — we get choked. Same with grief.

Kashi represents the Ajna(Third eye chakra) chakra situated between the eyebrows. Kashi has always been the seat of knowledge. That’s why the ajna chakra is also called gyana chakshu, the third eye. Kashi is the city of pundits and scholars.

Dwaraka represents the Sahasrara(Crown chakra), the chakra on top of the head. Dwar-ka literally means: “Where is the door?” The door is irrelevant if there are no walls. Infinity has no walls. Sahasrara also means thousand avenues. It means the pathless path.

The path to liberation begins at Haridwar(Mooladhaara chakra) and culminates at Dwarka(Sahasrara chakra).

The seven sacred cities with the 7 sacred rivers –  Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Godavari, Narmada, Sindhu and Kaveri – are linked to the sacred spots inside you. I am not sure what the rivers correspond to in the human body. Maybe Major Nadis in our system?

Positive emotions with knowledge are liberating. Positive emotions without knowledge create negative emotions which are stifling and creates bondage. When you observe the Prana, the subtle life force in one’s body associated with our breath, moving through different chakras associated with sensations, the negative feelings cease to exist and one is liberated from bondage. This why meditation is so important to one’s liberation.

Every city have a collective consciousness. A street where unethical people conduct their business is believed to emit heavy vibrations whereas an educational institution or a place of worship emits positive and light vibrations. That is why there are so many temples in India. To help people raise their consciousness in a collective manner by emitting positive vibrations. The ancient rishis, located these different energies being prominent at particular places and they built these temples accordingly for humans to come and energize particular chakras.

While I was at it, I researched more and found that our earth too has got 7 spiritual chakras! Now this is really interesting.

grid-ley

Muladhara chakra: Mt. Shasta, California, United States.

Swadisthana chakra: Lake Titicaca, on the border of Bolivia and Peru

Manipura Plexus chakra: Uluru-Katatjuta, Australia

Anahata chakra: Glastonbury and  Shaftsbury, England

Vishuddhi chakra: Great Pyramid of Giza and Mt Sinai, Egypt; Mt of Olives, Jerusalem.

Ajna chakra: Kuh-e Malek Siah, Triple border of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Sahasrara chakra: Mt. Kailas, Tibet.

You can read about the earth chakras and vortexes here – http://in5d.com/earth-chakras-and-vortices/

Why you should be in New Delhi this March!

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There I go – taking a hiatus again and this time it was only 6 months! I haven’t been into blogging for some time – maybe a writer’s block or something. But there is something that is to happen in New Delhi, INDIA this coming March which brings be to blog again. That is the World Culture Festival that is hosted by the Art of Living Foundation in New Delhi on March 11, 12 and 13th. I am going to be in New Delhi and I thought – wouldn’t it a good idea to let the know the world know why? And while doing that why not invite the whole world to it too?

| 3.5 Million people |

| Guinness Record for Largest stage ever |

| People from more than 15o countries |

| Former & Current Presidents of Countries |

| Business leaders from all over the World |

| Musicians and Dancers from across the Globe |

| Grandest Cultural Extravaganza in the WORLD |

| HISTORY to be MADE |

You getting the Picture?

Check out this Introduction to the World Culture Festival in New Delhi, INDIA this March 11- 13th.

The World Culture Festival is the largest interfaith gathering for peace! – Sri Sri

There have been many events which have changed the face of the earth through history. If you take a look at the last few decades, it has mostly been disasters, incidents of violence like gun shooting, political crisis, etc. There has not been any event on an international scale to celebrate peace, for love, for happiness. The World Culture Festival is JUST THAT.

This is a celebration of goodness. Good people from more than 15o countries are coming together to celebrate goodness, celebrate love, celebrate peace and celebrate humanity. In this time, where there are so much horror and violence are happening on our planet.

Good people, who are the majority in the world, do not make noise. This is a chance for good people to make noise. What better than all of us,good people, coming together to celebrate PEACE, LOVE, FREEDOM, HAPPINESS and LIFE. New Delhi in March 11-13th, 2016 is where meditation and celebration comes together to make a deafening noise for peace! An event to celebrate the diversity in cultures and unity in humanity.

What is the purpose of the World Culture Festival? In the words of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar himself-

1. To give a message to the world that the whole world is ONE Family.
2. That We can all co-exist with our differences together.
3. Opportunities for religious leaders, business leaders and many more to come together.
4. To let the world know that we care for the environment. We care for the rivers, mountains, plants, trees.
5. To encourage to traditional musicians and dancers. To give them a world platform to relish and enjoy that. This will be brought to the fore front.
6. That good people are there and are dynamic and active and care for LIFE.

Just Imagine 3.5 million chanting OM and meditating together. Regardless of whether you have learnt meditation or not, just being that space of so many meditating and chanting would be out of this world!

It is going to shift the consciousness of the whole world! Towards Peace and Love.

So what are you waiting for? The moment I heard that there is going a gathering of 3.5 million coming together to celebrate peace, I just knew that I cant miss this one! I booked my tickets straight away! More over, you might have an idea to visit INDIA some time in your life right?. What better time to visit INDIA than this March!

More information about the World Culture Festival here –  http://www.artofliving.org/us-en/world-culture-festival

All information for booking your travel to New Delhi this March can be done through this website – IwillBeThere.us

Now there might be some of us who really really wants to be there but genuinely can not make it for various reasons. Well, if you are one of these good people – you can still be a PART of this historical event by making a donation. Here is my crowdrise link where you can donate.

DONATE to be part of WCF – http://tiny.cc/wcffund

Whats more – March 7th is Maha Shivaratri! The day when universal divine energy comes closer to the earth. What better place to be than in the spiritual land of INDIA.

Please take this as a personal invitation from me to come to New Delhi this March! It is going to be historic, fun and an experience like you never had before! I want to end with saying this – Chalo Delhi! (meaning – Lets Go to Delhi!) See you there!

P.S. : – Share this with your family and friends and invite them too!

UPDATE : Just got the news that the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi will inaugurate the WCF and President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, will be at the closing ceremony!

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What’s on your mind?

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It has been a long hiatus this time but Hey, I am back! Hope all of you are doing good. Starting back with a bang – a blog post to know more about our mind!

We all have heard about this question before – “Whats on your mind?”. But have you really wondered what is on your mind. No I mean literally. We all know that our mind is always filled with thoughts and thoughts and thoughts. But what kind of thoughts? Is it thinking all the time? Nope! We also know when we sleep our mind is not thinking. Can you believe that there only 5 modes or activities that the mind is always in? Yup only 5 modes!

Patanjali in the Patanjali yoga sutras says that there are 5 modes or modulations to the mind. 5 vrittis in which the mind will always be in.

PramaanaViparyayaVikalpaNidra – Smrutayaha

Pramaana – always wanting proof of everything. Searching for proof in everything. We search for proof that can convince us of our assumptions. We always search for proof through our senses. Now this gets very tricky in situations between relationships – asking for poof if the other person really loves us.

Viparyaya – Wrong knowledge. This is the way we excuse our thinking by using the wrong knowledge. We know our thinking is wrong but we still use the wrong knowledge to support it. Sometimes we project your views on people and think that is how they are because that is how you feel inside you. We do this most the time. For example, when we don’t respect ourselves we think that others don’t respect us at all.

Vikalpa – Fantasies or Hallucinations. There are two types of fantasies – the one which gives pleasure and the other which are just baseless fears. Sexual fantasies or fantasy and dreaming about rich gives pleasure while hallucinations like “What will happen if I die tomorrow?” are the other type. A common examples is when having a conversation with someone; a person starts their sentence with a few words and straight away, before we let them finish we’re already imagining what they are talking about.

Smruti – Memories. Mind dwells in the memory of the past. In past experiences and memories. Memories triggers various emotions in us like guilt, shame, regret or happiness.

Nidra – Sleep. We all know about sleep!

These are the 5 modulations that keep us from being in YOGA. The mind will mostly be  in either one of these 5 vrittis or in a mixture of these 5.

yoga chitta vritti nirodha

Yoga is the silencing of the Vrittis of the mind. Now how does one get out of these vrittis and get established in yoga. In another blog post coming soon 🙂

10 interesting things about Sri Sri Ravi Shankar you didn’t know

May 13th was my beloved Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s birthday! Found this article on the 10 interesting things that you have to know about him. Reposting it here. Enjoy!

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

1.Ravi Shankar was named “Ravi” because his birth falls on a Sunday, and “Shankar” after the eighth-century Hindu saint, Adi Shankara, because it was also Shankara’s birthday that day

2.By the age of 4, he was able to recite verses from the Bhagavad Gita without even being taught the text. Ravi Shankar’s first teacher was Sudhakar Chaturvedi, an Indian Vedic Scholar and a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi

3.Ravi Shankar at the age of 25, went into ‘silence’ for 10 days and conceived a simple relaxation technique called Sudharshan Kriya, which is now being taught in 152 countries across the globe. As per studies conducted at Harvard, it was revealed that 70-80 percent of patients suffering from AIDS benefitted from SKY (Sudharshan Kriya)

4.He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore University. After completing his graduation, Shankar travelled with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi giving talks and arranging conferences on Vedic science, and setting up meditation and Ayurveda centres

5.In the year 1983, Shankar held the first Art of Living course in Europe, in Switzerland. In 1986, he travelled to Apple Valley, California in the US to conduct the first course to be held in North America

6.Ravi Shankar started keeping a beard only to look more mature. He explained, ‘Wherever I would go, people would feel disappointed after looking at a young boy sitting on a stage.’

7.Ravi Shankar calls himself the ambassador of LSD – (Laugh, Sing and Dance). Being one of the most magnetic personalities of the world, with an ever growing following that runs into millions, his message is simple: Make your smile cheap and your anger very expensive

8.His Art of Living foundation is now spread over 152 countries and is considered the world’s largest volunteer-based NGO.

9.He was always scolded by his mother, Amma, for bringing an empty suitcase after a travel because he would give away all his clothes to others

10.In the year 2009, Shankar was named by Forbes Magazine as the fifth most powerful leader in India.

Source : http://indiatoday.intoday.in/education/story/sri-sri-ravi-shankars-59th-birthday-10-interesting-facts/1/437746.html

What is your choice?

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Have you wondered if you really had a choice in things? Have you been deluded by people saying you always have a choice? Do you feel that you never had a choice in things you did? Well this post is for you.

A saint was once asked to share a message to the people in front of him. He narrates a story with a beautiful message at the end.

There was a man in south india who wanted to pursuit spirituality. It is a age old habit to go to the forest to pursue it. Where they would look for a cave to sit and meditate. So the man went to the jungle positioning close to village. He sat there and started chanting. When he got hungry he would come back to the village. In the night, he noticed there was a fox with both front legs were severed. But the fox was still well fed and healthy. Now nature does not kind to any kind of incapability. If you loose your legs you loose your life. But this fox has lost its life but well fed and healthy.

The man was surprised but ignored it and continued with his meditation. In the night he heard a lion’s roar. He saw the lion bring in a big piece of flesh to the fox. The fox had its dinner. He couldn’t believe this. The lion feeding the fox. This is a miracle. He thought this is a message from the Divine. What is it? What is it? The next day the same thing happened. Now he thought the God was surely sending a message to him. Then he came to the conclusion that the message was – even a crippled fox is being fed by the Lion. You fool, what are you going to the village for food. Just sit here and the food will come and fall on your lap. So he simply sat down. one day, two day, Three days he sat. Nothing happened. By the seventh day, he was groaning nearing death.

Another yogi was passing by and he saw this man. The yogi asked him if the man was ok and the man told him -” You please tell me. A divine message came to me. I went by the message and I became like this.” The yogi asked what the message was and the man explained to him – “See there is a crippled fox. Everyday the lion comes and shares his food with the fox. Is this not a divine message to me?”. The yogi looked at him and said – “Definitely! This is a divine message to you. But why is it that you chose to be like the crippled fox rather than the generous Lion?”

Every situation, no matter what point of life you are in, the existence gives you the freedom to sit here joyfully. Even if you are going to die tomorrow this moment, you can sit down here and be joyful. This freedom is given to all of us. This is the greatest compassion by the existence given to us. Either you make use of it by making the right choices or chose to be frustrated, or miserable or depressed. You have the right to be joyful and not depressed. Nobody is stopping you. It is just a choice. Whether you suffer this life or experience it joyfully, it is absolutely up to your choice. Yes, there are situations where it looks like you are not in control of it. But at that given moment, it is your choice that determines which way the events will follow. Take a moment every time

Now how do we make the right choices? That is for a separate blog post 🙂

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on wisdom – A message to us on Guru Poornima!

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This Guru Poornima GuruDev, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, changed everything I thought wisdom was and how wisdom is got through the Guru tattwa! It was eye opening and amazing. His message was clear and direct and here is a part of the message that he had for us.

Guru is present like space in life.

You just sang this song, ‘Ajo Ananthaya’. Ajo means Never Born, Ananthanya is Infinity, Nitya Shudha is Forever Pure, and Sat-chid-ananda isPure Bliss.Guru principle is like the space, and you cannot avoid space. Whether you recognize that there is space or not, is another question. You cannot escape from air. Whether you recognize there is air or not is another question. And today is the time for you recognize that there is air; there is space.It is a privilege, a good fortune to have access to knowledge.

Today is an occasion to remember, and to celebrate life with knowledge, life in knowledge, and life for knowledge.You know, air is there everywhere but when you sit near the fan, you feel it. In the same way, in the world, in the universe, the Guru principle is there. When you recognize it, you feel so great, and you feel bliss.Recognition of the existence of the Guru Principle, and the role it has played in life, is Guru Poornima.In our body, the throat chakra is for gratefulness. Above the throat chakra is the Ajna(Agya) Chakra, that is the seat of Guru. So gratefulness is a way to reach to the Guru Tattva. And then where does the Guru lead you to? Bliss(pointing to the top of the head), i.e, the Sahasrara Chakra. So, Guru is sandwiched between gratefulness and bliss.

This Guru Principle is that which removes darkness, it is that which removes all suffering.We chant, ‘Bhishaje bhava roginam’, which means, it is like the medicine for those who are stuck in small little worldly things; the disease of small mindedness. It is called a disease because the mind wants to get out of the suffering. Guru Tattva brings that absolute comfort.You know, there are some people who live without light; they don’t even know of electricity. Animals live without electricity, without light; they don’t need it. But human beings need light when it is dark. So human beings need the Guru Tattva, they need the knowledge. People living without knowledge are equivalent to animals. One without wisdom lives an animalistic life, it is not a human life. So, it is fashionable to be civilized and to have a Guru in life. If there is no Guru in life, it means life is uncivilized; like one who does not know anything of technology. It is a privilege, a good fortune to have access to knowledge. And this ancient tradition, from millenniums has preserved this beautiful knowledge, and today we feel very grateful! It is an occasion to remember and to celebrate life with knowledge, life in knowledge, and life for knowledge. It is wisdom that can eliminate misery in the world. If wisdom cannot bring happiness, nothing can bring happiness. So we have this privilege to spread happiness, wisdom, and knowledge

Guru Tattva brings that absolute comfort. Wisdom is not just information, it is a quality of consciousness; it is a quality of life. Wisdom does not come just by studying and attaining degrees, or by stuffing yourself with information. Something triggers inside and you become wise. Some Naadi (energy channel) inside, or some part of your consciousness flips over and you become wise. I think so! Wisdom is not attained just by reading a lot. You cannot just read a lot and be very wise in everything. Wisdom is a quality of consciousness, a quality of life, and this gets transferred by good company. That is what happens.

The Presence of the Guru does not bring you any information, it shifts the quality of consciousness, and that brings the wisdom to your mind. Now, should we go and sit in front of a Guru all the time to become wise? Not necessary. Wherever you are, simply can feel the presence of the Guru Tattva. Guru Tattva is in-between the eye brows. The Ajna Chakra, where the pituitary glands are situated, that is the seat of the Guru. In the science of Yoga, the Ajna Chakra or the space in-between the eyebrows is called the seat of the Guru. It is situated above the Vishuddhi Chakra(in throat region); the pure space. You enter the pure space, you enter into meditation, and you reach to the Guru. And it is the Guru who pulls you into meditation.You are stuck in the heart region where there is love, hatred and fear. If you have to get out of hatred and fear, you have to get into the inner space. And who pulls you into the inner space? The Guru Tattva. So the Guru pulls you into the inner space.When you come to the inner space, what happens to you? You become pure, i.e., Vishuddhiwhich means So Pure. The heart becomes pure, the mind becomes pure, and that connects you to bliss, which is the Sahasara Chakra. This is the science of Yoga. It’s so amazing if you go into the depth of it. Every moment it reveals even more.

Wisdom comes by that shift; that is why it is called Grace.Grace (or Good luck) means what? That which you cannot explain. If you could explain how you got something then it is not luck.When do you call something your luck? When you cannot explain the cause of it. Of course, same for bad luck also. If you have bad luck, you say you can’t explain it. So it’s the gratefulness which leads you to Guru Tattva and the bliss further on, and vice versa, because when you find that solace, then you feel more grateful.

So, what is wisdom? It is a quality of consciousness; like alertness.What is alertness? (Sri Sri snaps his fingers) Your presence in now! You know when you suddenly become alert, your mind shifts (sort of, opens), and suddenly you are all alive. Words cannot describe what alertness is! In the same way, words cannot describe what wisdom is.Everyone in their life, sometime or other, have experienced a little bit of wisdom. Whether one has maintained it or not is another question.It is wisdom that holds the key to happiness. No wisdom, no happiness. So people seeking happiness will have to go come to the Guru. People seeking knowledge will have to come to Guru. People seeking a better quality of life have to come to the Guru; they have to acknowledge the Guru principle in their life.One of the saints of the middle ages, a great yogi said, ‘Who drinks the nectar? One who has a Guru. One who doesn’t have a Guru in their life, he goes thirsty, he has no juice in his life; he does not know true joy. But one who has a Guru drinks the nectar; again and again he drinks the nectar’.There is plenty of nectar in the inner realm of our being. One who has a Guru drinks it in abundance. One without a Guru goes thirsty all his life.He is describing our own physiology, which means, in this (pointing to the head or Sahasara Chakra) there is bliss, there is nectar. When there is Guru in life, then you get access to it, otherwise life becomes meaningless.Wherever you are, simply can feel the presence of the Guru Tattva.

There are a lot of beautiful poems written on this. I’ve not read them all, only heard a little bit here and there. But the essence is how the quality of consciousness gets shifted, and the shift is a gift (wisdom is a gift).The company of the wise brings that shift in the consciousness, or its given to you as gift, and so you feel thankful. It is not something that you earned in your life. You cannot earn it but it is being bestowed on you, and that is the key. Many people think wisdom means reading a lot of books. Wisdom has nothing to do with books. Wisdom has nothing to do with gathering information. It is just the quality of consciousness that shifts in the mind, and that is bestowed by the Guru Principle, by acknowledging the Guru in life. One has to acknowledge from one’s side. The Guru does not accept or reject anyone. It is the student, the disciple, who accepts (a Guru) as his Guru.

3 levels of spiritual practice by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

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I have this question time and again. Not only me but a lot of others too.

“There are so many spiritual practices. Some you have to do – pranayamas, breathing, kriya. Some you do not have to do anything – meditate, concentration. And some where the experience just comes to you. Are they all different?”

I came across this knowledge talk sheet given by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar which talks exactly about this. The different levels of spiritual practices. He clearly says how we start with one level and it takes us to the other levels. Really good read!

There are three levels of spiritual practices.

The first one is called Anva Upaya. The second is Shakta Upaya, . and the third one is Shambava Upaya. Shiva, Shakti and Anva. All practices in the world can be categorized into these three categories. So, Anva is the lowest; means the very beginning. All the japa, mantras, poojas, yogasanas, breath control, everything comes under Anva Upaya. They are called Upayas, which means remedies. Above this is Shakta. Shakta is only mental, i.e., inside. There is no outer thing, no mantras in it. It is the effect of the meditative state, that is Shakta Upaya.

When you sing, meditate,  do pranayam and Sudarshan Kriya (Kriya begins with Anva Upaya but then), it leads to Shakta Upaya, when you are just energy. Here there is no effort, there is no doing. Just a little bit effortless effort is there.

Then the Shambava or Shiv Upaya is just pure awareness. Just a state of awareness. Shambava Upaya means that there is no means (way) to do it, it is just a happening, it will just happen. Even then it is still called an Upaya.

So the purpose of Anva and Shakta Upaya is to go to Shambava Upaya wherein you become one with Shiva (the fourth state of consciousness). There is no two, there is no doer, you are Shiva, and that is Shambava Upaya.

Usually people who have experienced some degree of Shambava Upaya, they simply discard the other levels. If you read, some people have said that there is no point in doing pranayama, or, there is no point in chanting mantras, or there is no point in doing Pooja. They are all talking from the level of Shambava Upaya, but all these practices have their own place too. See, for example, if you go to the Prime Minister of a country, the Mayor doesn’t matter much. But suppose the Mayor has a say as well, then even if you go to the Prime Minister the mayor of this town can put some hurdles, isn’t it? The beaurocrats can put some hurdles.

So the ancient system is attending to everybody and giving everyone their rightful place. And that is how all this, Anva Upaya, Shakta Upaya, everything is maintained because they have some purpose.