The First Three Sadhanas for a New Sadhak — Guru, Ganpati, then Batuk Bhairav

The speaker says the series has been discussing how a new sadhak should make the auspicious beginning of his sadhana. Whatever the reason for wanting to come into the field of sadhana, he says — you are troubled by tantric attack, troubled by enemies, by debt on account of a loan, by some difficulty in your health, by quarrel and strife in the family, or by whatever cause you are distressed — or simply that it is your wish to do sadhana: this, he says, is the most excellent thing of all. And if you have come into the field of sadhana and have not obtained a Guru, then how are we to begin? That, he says, is precisely what this discussion is about.

Second, the speaker says, it was discussed that the first sadhana we perform will be the guru sadhana. In the guru form, which form's sadhana is to be done — if you have no direct guru and Diksha is not obtained, then which form will be the most excellent? What is the most excellent? All the deities' forms are the guru form, he says, but there is one avatar, one form, which is chiefly for the sake of the guru alone. That is what was discussed.

After that, the speaker says — when that sadhana is completed, the Dev Deeksha vidhan is done and the guru's sadhana is first finished — then the second sadhana will be the sadhana of Ganpati ji. Ganpati ji's sadhana is to be done. Now Ganpati ji has many forms. 56 Vinayaks are held, sixteen Vinayaks are held, and when you go into parampara, into kula parampara, then every parampara, every vidya, every Mahavidyas and every upa-mahavidya has its own separate Ganapatis. An entire tantra of theirs is developed independently, he says, and independently their whole Mandala sadhana takes place. The upasana of their upa-mahavidyas, of their shaktis and of their anga vidyas is all performed.

But when you are a new sadhak, the speaker says, then with your eyes closed the first sadhana you should do for the sake of Bhagwan Ganpati is the Sankat Nashan Stotra — the Sankat Nashan Ganapati Stotram given in the NaradaA celestial sage and recurring listener/questioner figure across Puranic literature. Purana. By doing this sadhana, he says, not only will Ganpati ji's Kripa be obtained, not only will your Tapo-bala accumulate, not only will your PrarabdhaThe portion of destiny already set in motion by past actions — spiritual practice and good deeds can lessen its severity, but not eliminate it. be destroyed — along with all that, it is given in it that the kamana for the sake of which you recite it will also be fulfilled.

Know this, the speaker says: without the Kripa of Mahaganapati ji, or until you take refuge in some one form of Bhagwan Vinayak and perform his sadhana, puja and seva, you will not obtain any special success in the field of sadhana, and a great many vighnas and obstacles will come. See what sadhaks do, he says — they will take up some specific sadhana and perform no Ganesha AnushthanaAn extended ritual observance — such as 108 recitations of a scripture — carrying its own strict rules. at the outset. Then what troubles will they have? First, much laziness will come to them, sleep will come, torpor will come, the thoughts will never be steady, concentration will keep breaking completely, and along with it Uchchatan will begin. All these vighnas and obstacles, he says, are connected with Bhagwan Maha Ganapati ji, or with all the forms of Bhagwan Vinayak. They give the obstruction. And this has a straightforward connection with our Muladhara, he says — because of the asana on which we sit, the place where our body establishes contact with the asana is the first station, the first chakra, and that very place is Bhagwan Ganpati's first station, which is the muladhara.

Until we perform his puja and seva, until we complete his sadhana, until we obtain his Kripa, the speaker says, our AnushthanaAn extended ritual observance — such as 108 recitations of a scripture — carrying its own strict rules. will not be able to be completed without vighna and obstacle — difficulties will keep coming. So that all these troubles do not come, and so that the kripa of our chief deity is obtained as quickly as possible, we should certainly perform the seva, puja and anushthan of Bhagwan Ganpati ji. The first anushthan performed, then, will be of the Sankat Nashan Stotra. In it, he says, if you perform the sadhana from Chaturthi TithiA lunar calendar day — some idols (like a Shivling) need daily bathing regardless, while others only need it on their dedicated weekly day or tithi. through to Chaturdashi tithi, in any paksha of any month, that is the most excellent.

Or, the speaker says, if the distress is very great — troubles, calamities and financial problems very many, and you do not even have the arrangement of money for the sadhana ahead, since after all money is needed even to buy DhoopIncense offered during worship; its smoke is treated as an offering in its own right within the sequence of upacharas., deep, flowers, prasad and the rest — then in such a state there is another way. Only his Japa, and the writing of the root stotra of his twelve names: first Vakratundam, second Gam, and so on up to the twelfth name — writing that root stotra daily. This, he says, is the most excellent vidhan, by which Bhagwan Ganpati does Kripa and very quickly opens the paths of wealth. If there is debt, if there is a loan, then a path opens for its clearing too. But see, he says, in the PhalashrutiThe closing section of a hymn or scripture that lists the benefits and results promised to whoever recites it. it is written: on doing it continuously for six months. So this work you are to do daily, and thereby strengthen your financial condition and your bodily and mental condition.

The third sadhana, the speaker says, will be Bhairava ji's. Bhairav ji too has many forms: Batuk Bhairava, Kaal Bhairava, Bhoot Bhairav, Mahabhairav, Shamshan Bhairav, Mahakal Bhairav, and the Bhairavs of every Shakti Peeth — so the forms of Bhairav ji are many. Clear the concept — the fear you hold that worshipping Bhairav ji will bring Bhoot Badha and Preta. Clear all those subjects first. And for the safety of your sadhana, for its completeness, you should certainly perform the sadhana of Bhairav ji, in which the sadhana of Bhagwan Batuk Bhairav ji is to be done.

That is to say, the speaker sums up, a new sadhak should first of all, after learning the necessary vidhi-vidhan, first perform the guru sadhana, then again the Ganpati sadhana, and after that the sadhana of Bhairav ji — the sadhana of Batuk Bhairav ji. All of these, he says, should certainly be done.

Now, the speaker says, how the lamp is to be lit; how the wick will lie in the lamp; in which direction its mouth will be; after lighting it, in which direction it should be placed; and if the place of puja in our house is not in the Ishan corner but somewhere else, then how the lamp will be lit there — and so on and so forth. All these various kinds of questions, he says, are very necessary for basic sadhaks, so that the whole concept stays clear and no mistake is made. Proceed in the field of sadhana in this manner, he says. Those who are new sadhaks have to keep these subjects in view very particularly, and have to learn them.