The Advaitist

Sharada Tilaka Tantra/ शारदातिलकतन्त्र / শারদাতিলক তন্ত্রম্ Chapter 1 Discusses cosmogony and embryology 1. Definition of mahaH / shabda brahmaNa 2. Process of creation - bindu, nADa, shabda brahmaNa Chapter 2 1. Evolution of cosmic sound 2. mantravAda 3. Definition of a good guru and shishya Chapter 3 Rites to be performed before initiation like vAsty-yAga, site selction for maNDapa, its construction, directions on how to draw yantra etc Chpater 4 Discusses all aspects of initiation Chapter 5 1. Initiation 2. homa Chapter 6 Meditation on alphabet and its deities a. devI mAtRRikA or sarasvatI b. dhyAna of shAradA, ardhanArIshavara etc c. importance of brAhmI sAga Chapter 7 Meditation on alphabet and its deities a. bhUtalipi mantra b. lipitaru c. viyat yantra, vAyaviya yantra etc d. Rules of conduct of worshipper of Sarasvati Chapter 8 lakShmI a.5 dhyana mantras and associated rules, yantras b.Rules of conduct of worshipper of Lakshmi Chapter...

Prapanchasara tantra / प्रपञ्चसार तन्त्र / প্রপঞ্চসার তন্ত্র The Prapanchasara Tantra is a celebrated Tantrik text generally attributed to Shri Shankaracharya . Prapancha means the 5 basic elements of our Universe - Ether, Air, Fire, Water and Earth. Prapanchasara Tantra is therefore the Science of the Essence of the 5 Basic Elemental Principles. Prapanchasara is an authoritative Tantra text. It is cited as such by Raghava Bhatta, who wrote the famed commentary (Bhashya) on Sharadatilaka Tantra , authored by Lakshmanacharya. It is referred by Kalicharana in his notes on the ShatChakara-nirupana. Commentaries of Prapanchasara Tantra include. Prapanchasara Sambandha Dipika Prapanchasara Vivarana Prapanchasara Sarasangraha Below is a summary of Prapanchasara Tantra. In order to download please visit DLI website . Chapter 1 1. Deals with the origin of the world and the nature of existence 2. Discussion on the two basic principles - Purusha and Prakriti 3. Discu...

dasha mahAvidyA dasha mahAvidyA or The Ten Great Knowledges the ten aspects or cosmic personalities of the Divine Mother (Devi). These are: a. Kali b. Tara c. Shodashi/ Lalita-Tripurasundari d. Bhuvaneshvari e. Bhairavi f. Chhinnamasta g. Dhumavati h. Bagalamukhi i. Matangi j. Kamala dasha dikpAla dasha dikpAla or the Ten Guardians of Directions are deities who rule specific directions of space. a. Kubera - North b. Yama - South c. Indra - East d. Varuṇa - West e. Ishana - Northeast f. Agni - Southeast g. Vayu - Northwest h. Nirrti - Southwest i. Vishnu - Nadir j. Brahma - Zenith dashAvatAra dashAvatAra or the the ten incarnations of viShNu are as follows: a. matsya or fish b. kUrma or tortoise c. varaha or boar d. narasiMha or man-lion e. vAmana or dwarf f. parashurAma g. rAma h. kRRiShNa i. buddha j. kalki

In this article I will talk about Steps for Nitya Puja in Sanskrit, Bengali and English. Nitya Puja in Bengali style involves the Puja of 5 Gods - Ganesh, Surya, Durga, Shiva and Vishnu, in that order. Even for a general Puja, Panchadevata Puja is an essential step. However prior to the Puja of the 5 Gods, certain other steps need to executed which I have described below. Once these are done, one is ready to perform the Puja of the 5 Gods. 1. Achaman & Vishnusmaran ॐ विष्णुः ॐ विष्णुः ॐ विष्णुः | ॐ तद्विष्णोः परमं पदं सदा पश्यन्ति सूरयः । दिवीव चक्षुराततम् ॥ ঔং বিষ্ণুঃ ঔং বিষ্ণুঃ ঔং বিষ্ণুঃ | ঔং তদ্বিষ্ণোঃ পরমং পদং সদা পশ্যন্তি সূরয়ঃ | দিবীব চক্ষুরাততম্ || Sip water thrice. Rub mouth twice. Touch eyes, nostrils, ears, heart, belly button ॐ अपवित्रः पवित्रो वा सर्वास्थां गतोऽपि वा | यः स्मरेत्पुण्डरीकाक्षं स बाह्याभ्यन्तरः शुचिः || ঔং অপবিত্রঃ পবিত্রো বা সর্বাস্থাং গতোঽপি বা | যঃ স্মরেত্পুণ্ডরীকাক্ষং স বাহ্যাভ্যন্তরঃ শুচিঃ || Whether pure or impure, in...

Introduction Described below is the worship of Brahman (not to be confused with God Brahma) as discussed in the Mahanirvana Tantra. Brahman or para-brahma is the supreme all-pervading unmanifest Divine essence of the Universe. Being one with Brahman is the ultimate aim of all philosophical schools like Yoga or Advaita Vedanta or Kashmiri Trika. People generally worship a concrete Godly manifestation of Brahman like Vishnu, Shiva or Devi, as it is exteremly difficult to visualize or conceptualize something that is abstract and beyond senses (nirguNa brahmaNa). Puja Rules There are no rules except that the devotees be of pure disposition of mind and heart. Additionally this is a pa~NchaopachAra pUjA. A pa~NchaopachAra pUjA is one with five offerings (physical or mental) – gandha or scent, puShpa or flower, dhUpa or incense stick, dIpa or lamp, naivaidya and food offered to God). 1.It may be done always and in all places. 2.It is of no account whether the worshipper h...

Tantra: "Scripture by which knowledge is spread". In this post I will give an introduction to Tantra, which is a scared system of religion and philosophy, and an integral part of Hinduism. What Tantra Is First let us be very clear on what Tantra is and is not. Trantra/ Agamas are a broad class of religious Hindu works. They are mostly based on the Vedas and accept the authority of the Vedas. They contain philosophical speculation as well as concrete practices to apply the philosophy. The practices are quite elegant and elevating in many instances. However in some cases, and not all, these practices have taken hideous forms as those mentioned above. But the essential philosophy is more or less in harmony with the Vedic World View. The difference with respect to Vedas lies in some of the methods and subtle points of differences in philosophy. In terms of applicability to ages of Hindu thought development, they follow the sequence: 1. Sruti for the First Age 2...

From Mahanirvana Tantra  Chapter 7 त्रैलोक्या विजय कवच ह्रीमाद्या मे शिरः पातु श्री/ काली वदनं मम । हृदयं क्री/ परा शक्तिः पायात् कण्ठं परात्परा ॥ ५८ ॥ नेत्रे पातु जगद्धात्री कर्णौ रक्षतु शङ्करी । घ्राणं पातु महामाया रसनां सर्वमङ्गला ॥ ५९ ॥ दन्तान् रक्षतु कौमारी कपोलौ कमलालया । ओष्ठाधरौ क्षमा रक्षेत् चिबुकं चारुहासिनी ॥ ६० ॥ ग्रीवां पायात् कुलेशानी ककुत् पातु कृपामयी । द्वौ बाहू बाहुदा रक्षेत् करौ कैवल्यदायिनी ॥ ६१ ॥ स्कन्धौ कपर्दिनी पातु पृष्ठं त्रैलोक्यतारिणी । पार्श्वे पायादपर्णा मे कटिं मे कमठासना ॥ ६२ ॥ नाभौ पातु विशालाक्षी प्रजास्थानं प्रभावती । ऊरू रक्षतु कल्याणी पादौ मे पातु पार्वती ॥ ६३ ॥ जयदुर्गाऽवतु प्राणान् सर्वाङ्गं सर्वसिद्धिदा । रक्षाहीनंतु यत् स्थानं वर्जितं कवचेन च ॥ ६४ ॥ ত্রৈলোক্যা বিজয় কবচ হ্রীমাদ্যা মে শিরঃ পাতু শ্রী/ কালী বদনং মম | হৃদয়ং ক্রী/ পরা শক্তিঃ পায়াত কণ্ঠং পরাত্পরা || ৫৮ || নেত্রে পাতু জগদ্ধাত্রী কর্ণৌ রক্ষতু শঙ্করী | ঘ্রাণং পাতু মহামায়া রসনাং সর্বমঙ্গলা || ৫৯ || দন্তান রক্ষতু কৌমারী কপোলৌ কমলালয়া | ওষ্ঠাধরৌ ক্ষমা রক্ষেত চিবুকং চারুহাসিনী || ৬০ || গ্...