Navratri Prashnottari — A Live Question Session on the Second-Last Day of the Navratra

If you recite the Devi Atharvashirsha, the speaker tells the questioner, then you ought to have this knowledge, and you should study it as well. Those who cannot recite in Sanskrit — because it is a vaidik mantra, a mantra of the Atharvaveda — do not all have the adhikara over it, and he states that this is the truth. But those who wear the YajnopavitaThe sacred thread ceremony marking initiation into Vedic rites (Janeu) — if lapsed across generations, expiation (Prayashchitta) for each known generation is required before it can be resumed. must certainly study it, and every sadhak of the three varnas should do so. He adds that those who will not accept this are not his concern any longer; it is their own wish whether they accept it or not, and he is only saying what is true. Those who cannot study it in Sanskrit should at least read it through in Hindi, since a common person will not follow the Sanskrit clearly enough to know what its subject and meaning are.

In the Atharvashirsha, the speaker says, you will certainly hear the discussion of two mantras: the first is the Panchadashi and the second is the Navarna. These are the mantra-raj of the Devi, divine beyond the divine — meaning that beyond them there is nothing further. Bhagavati has only these two as her principal mantras, and their primacy comes from the fact that they are the ones mentioned there. Although, he adds, when you enter the rahasya of the Atharvashirsha there is an endless store within it: the meaning of every shloka will come out, and which mantra arises according to that meaning is what your guru will tell you. But it is these two that are discussed openly and manifestly. He then remarks that these are the very two mantras over which people today shout and make videos saying do this and that will happen. Now you are yourself possessed of viveka, he says; God has placed intelligence in your head, and that intelligence has the capacity to reflect — reflect with it.

Asked whether a one-day Rudragan sadhana performed on 18 September may also be done on 2 October, the speaker says yes, it can be done. No adverse result of the kind feared will follow; look at the video once, where what is to be done and how has been made largely clear. He recalls that the timing was already put into the group around 16 September — from what hour to what hour on the 2nd the Rudragan sadhana is to be done. The Rudragan time will most likely be in the morning, between 6:00 and 10:00. Within that, take even two hours. Since it must be done in the middle portion, the one hour from 8:00 to 9:00 will be clearly right; for the rest, do it whenever you find time in those four hours. Do it, he says, and then see the result.

A listener who is initiated in the ordinary Vaishnava Narayana mantra asks, with reference to a video in which the Saptashloki was samput-ed with Bhairav ji's beej mantra, whether something of the kind may be done for the destruction of tantra. The speaker replies that in that video he made this point clear: that sadhak was a wearer of the YajnopavitaThe sacred thread ceremony marking initiation into Vedic rites (Janeu) — if lapsed across generations, expiation (Prayashchitta) for each known generation is required before it can be resumed. and an initiated sadhak, and he had first completed a PurashcharanaA ritualistic repetition of a mantra to prescribed rules — required in Tantra Sadhana. of four lakh of that mantra in the proper manner, because he was already performing Gayatri and so on. He says there are many further matters in the case, but he stated at least this much so that a common person would not imagine the mantra was simply lifted and applied — it was not so. The video runs seventeen minutes; if such case analyses are wanted in future he will try to set out each element better. Analysed in full detail, that one case would make a video of an hour and a half to two hours, and much has been skipped, because only someone who wants to grasp each element of this field would listen that long. Most people, he says, will listen to it as a story and conclude it is made up, until it happens to them.

Now those who are not initiated in any way, or who are initiated in another kula, should at the least take the adesh of their own guru before doing this, the speaker says — and in the video too he said to act on the guru's adesh. Those who cannot manage even that should turn to the saumya shaktis: if the line is Narayana's, then the beej of Bhagavan Narasimha will also serve as the Samput. He mentions a video he had begun making, in which the whole vidhan of samput with Mahadev's mantras and others was to be set out completely, but it could not be finished. In it, a single-syllable beej will not be applied; there the samput will be of three syllables each. Time is now short, so it will not happen this time; if he gets even half an hour tomorrow he will upload that video as well.

For now, the speaker says, at the least accomplish the Saptashloki — the listener has heard the account of it, seven thousand paaths were performed. The full meaning of the seven mantras of the Saptashloki taken together is that the total paath across all seven mantras came to seven thousand. So do that seven thousand first, he says. After that do the ekakshari — a thousand, eleven hundred, twelve hundred — and then go on to perform the prayoga. Then the effect too will be received at that same level.

Asked whether the nyasa of the fourteen mantras may be performed, the speaker asks which mantra's Nyasa is intended, and says that the nyasa of a vaidik or a pauranik mantra can be done. But if a Pranav is present in it, then there the tantrik pranava will be uttered and not the vaidik pranava. That much alone must be kept in mind. And the vaidik pranava, he says as he does every time, is not for everyone anyway. Ordinarily all of us should utter the tantrik pranava; there are many mahatmas too who utter only the tantrik pranava. The vaidik pranava is meant particularly for sannyasis.

The questioner says that where he lived before, he used to perform the Navratri anushthan to the best of his capacity in the temple next door, keeping an akhand lamp burning and making a mandal and so on. Now, because his place has changed, it will not be possible to do all of that. He asks what to do so that no dosha is incurred. The speaker's answer is short: do as much as is possible.

A listener from the Kamakhya region asks about Kamakhya. You live there, the speaker says — go there, and before Bhagavati do archan and pujan. Stand in the Saubhagya Kund in water up to the navel and perform the japa of your initiated mantra. Every single day there has its own importance. According to the Devi Bhagavat and the Devi Purana Mahabhagavat, he says, if a person is present in the Kamakhya kshetra on the day of Amavasya's counterpart Akshaya Tritiya and completes one day's anushthan or purashcharan there, the very best fruit is obtained.

In the Shakti Peeths, the speaker says, there is no special need to look at tithi and the rest, particularly in those kshetras that are most awakened. The measure he gives: a place where a hundred bali are offered is taken as jagrit. At Kamakhya, if one looks at it, a hundred Bali would be offered daily during the parva kala. So that is a most divine and most fierce peeth. It is not called a Mahashaktipeeth for nothing, he says; among the Shakti Peeths it has been held the highest, and there are a great many reasons behind that. The state of the questioner, he remarks, is that of a child in the lap while the town is searched — go there and do it.

Asked whether japa may be done in the Datta mala mantra, the speaker says that wherever a Pranav comes, he has again made it clear: if it is a vaidik pranava, then do the tantrik pranava in that place. From now on, he says, the attempt will be that in every PDF that is made, the tantrik pranava alone is written. That will be more and better suited. The tantrik pranava, he states, can be uttered by anyone at all. What the tantrik pranava, the vaidik pranava and the Devi Pranava are is set out completely in a video on the channel; listen to that.

Asked how many times the durga-32-names should be recited by the chakra vidhi, the speaker says to do it once — if the paath is by the chakra vidhi then roughly thirty-three paaths are taking place, and that is one chakra. So at the very least do three chakras, he says. Or as much as you can manage: do three chakras, do five chakras. Or, taking morning and evening together, complete nine chakras. That is all — and it will become tremendous and divine.

A listener asks whether a separate lamp is to be lit at the time of Jayanti Mangala Kali, apart from the one for the kula bhairav. There is no such need, the speaker answers. If there is no lamp at all, then a lamp will certainly be lit. Otherwise the lamp that stands for the kula bhairav and the Kuldevi is quite enough. Make the SankalpaA formal ritual resolution spoken aloud before an offering or observance, declaring its intent and dedicating its merit. in that very lamp; they will become the witnesses of the karma.

Asked how the Havan is to be done, the speaker says to do it with guggul and ghee. For a paushtik havan, always use guggul and ghee — it is the very best. Mix in panchmeva, madhu and the rest and it is better still. Panchmeva, madhu, black til and guggul-ghee, he says, is the finest. Only this much is to be kept in mind: men will keep the quantity of ghee greater, and women will keep the quantity of guggul greater. Give 108 Ahuti with this same mantra.

Abhishek Kumar writes that when his kundali was examined he was told a vayavya dosha was forming on account of Rahu, that it would begin from March 2025, and that he has already started to sense it. Be quite free of anxiety, the speaker says, and take the benefit of the time that is running now. If it seems to you that some upari badha is forming, that light trouble has begun, then begin from this Navratra either the mantra vidhans given in connection with Bhagavati — there is the durga-32-names anushthan, there is the Ashtottara ShatanamaA recitation of a deity's 108 names — shorter than a Sahasranama (1000 names) and commonly used as the accompanying Havan or daily Japa count. anushthan — or, besides these, the Kavach anushthans that have been given, taking the kavach or raksha mantra of whichever form you have shraddha in. And after the Navratra it is not to be stopped now. There is Navratri, then the month of Margashirsha, then the month of Kartik, the most divine month, all falling in this stretch; in the four or five months you are getting before March, do this much kavach. Catch hold of one thing and repeat that one thing — do not change it. We will give a thousand things, he says, but not everything gets done, and many people go on waiting for the best. Until Bhagavati wills it, the thought that this thing should be done, this anushthan should be taken up, will not even arise in anyone's mind. So take hold of the one thing that appears to you to be full of shraddha, and go on doing its purashcharan and anushthan again and again, in the proper manner.

A listener describes offering five lamps in the speaker's name and two in his own, and at the end burning clove and camphor. You are doing five lamps for me — you are doing too much, the speaker says. Keep your own greater and mine less; increase your own. If you light only two, or are keeping the number small, then on the final day do five once. Otherwise, in the daily practice keep one lamp. He had spoken of lighting more in a one-day observance, or of lighting more on the last day; for the nitya practice one lamp is quite enough.

All those who are joining the anushthan being organised by Grihastha Tantra, the speaker says, should try from tomorrow — which is the Amavasya — up to the Dashami on the twelfth to observe a complete vow of brahmacharya. Brahmacharya ought to be kept. Observe BrahmacharyaStrict celibacy required through an extended ritual observance. both physically and mentally. It is the time of the Navratra; do not commit any mistake or offence in it. Even those who are doing no anushthan at all and having none performed, he says — go about, move around during the Navratra, but do not eat wrong food and do observe brahmacharya. These two things must certainly be done. And for those who are performing an anushthan or sadhana there is in any case the rule that one must remain fully and properly in order.

Those who are having an anushthan performed, the speaker says, should certainly do something at home as well: dhoop, deep and aarti morning and evening. If nothing else is done, then doing the shringar and performing shringar puja is the best of all. If you are not capable of doing anything, if the body is not supporting it — there are people who have grown aged, or who are tormented by some illness — then at the least there should be one shri vigraha of Bhagavati in the house, a small one, up to five or six inches. Such that you can do their abhishek daily, do their shringar and do their aarti. Let that much happen. For the Navratra, he clarifies, he is speaking of Bhagavati as the aradhya.

If you perform Ghatasthapana and kindle the Akhand Jyot, and a shri vigraha is placed, then the vigraha is not to be moved for the nine days of the Navratra, the speaker says. If your daily rule is to give them a bath — that you perform abhishek of Bhagavati every day — then if you have a guru, ask him whether the asana of Bhagavati will be moved during the Navratra or not. According to his own knowledge, and as far as their own practice goes, the asana should not be moved in this. So arrange the abhishek in such a way that they need not be shifted from the asana: make an arrangement upon the asana itself, adorning them with cloth and the rest each day, then next day lifting the cloth very gently, bathing them so that the water passes from the vessel into another vessel, and wiping them there and doing the shringar. If your heart says they should be given abhishek, still they should not be lifted from the asana in the Navratra. Only the first day will carry their full, proper snan; from the next day they should not be taken off the asana. This much, he adds, is his own view — your wish and your own opinion are yours; there is no need to make it controversial.

A broom should not be used at all at night, the speaker begins. He recounts that a friend was sweeping at night and he forbade it, whereupon the friend said one may sweep at night provided the rubbish is not taken outside the threshold. Yes, that is right, the speaker agrees: rubbish should not be taken out past the dehri; sweeping can be done. And there is also a rule in many places that the broom should not be touched after evening has fallen, so some do not touch it. But the substance of the matter, on which the weight mostly falls, is that the rubbish should not go outside the threshold and should not go out of the main gate. Cleaning inside can be done.

Asked whether pushpa samarpan in the chakra vidhi must be done thirty-three times, the speaker says that doing it thirty-three times will be more fitting, and it will be good; the more you do, the better. If it is not working out, then you can also do thirty-three paaths upon a single flower. And if five chakra paaths are to be done, then thirty-three times five offerings should be made — yes, if you want to do it in that manner. Otherwise do it on five flowers alone, doing thirty-three paaths on each. There is no difficulty in that either; but if more is available to you, then doing more is better still.

A listener asks whether two cloves should be taken in the hand for one completed chakra, and then two again for the next. There is no need for two cloves, the speaker says — keep just one. There is no need of a pair here, because in this it is Bhagavati alone, and the Samput being applied is of Bhagavati's pranavas. So taking one clove at a time: since there are thirty-three paaths, thirty-three cloves will be used in completing one chakra. And they can absolutely be burnt at the end. If a silver vessel is available it is excellent; otherwise in a clay vessel or whichever you like — a copper vessel, a brass vessel — placing camphor and everything in it, they can be burnt in the form of bali. This too is good, indeed very good.

A listener says he has done 21,000 paath of the Jayanti Mangala Kali so far. The Jayanti Mangala mantra is at five thousand, the speaker says; in that way the PurashcharanaA ritualistic repetition of a mantra to prescribed rules — required in Tantra Sadhana. is completed for you at eleven thousand. If you have done 21,000, that is excellent. And if you perform that mantra independently, having done the full Nyasa and the rest in the proper manner, it will be very good indeed.

Akshay Tanwar asks how many paaths should have been completed, by one whose Sanskrit recitation of the Saptashati is sound, before performing a prayoga for a desired end. The speaker calls it a very good question. At the least, if a Satchandi is completed, that is best. After a Navchandi Anusthan too you may put it to use in work. But if you have done 108 paaths of the ordinary kind, without Samput, for the sake of Bhagavati's grace, and offered them to Bhagavati — with the condition that you must have the AdhikaraThe eligibility or readiness required before attempting an advanced ritual — without it, even a correctly performed rite risks serious harm to the practitioner., you must have the Diksha of the Navarna and so on — then after that you are authorised, and only then should you go on to make use of it in work. Bhagavati then bestows her grace very well indeed.

Keep the SankalpaA formal ritual resolution spoken aloud before an offering or observance, declaring its intent and dedicating its merit. in the very name by which you are called, the speaker says. There is no need of the rashi and the rest. If from the start you have been taking the sankalp in your pujan by your rashi name, or by your nakshatra name, then that is good — take it by that. Otherwise give the name that is in currency.

Asked whether a woman can perform one Chandi paath in a day, the speaker answers that she absolutely can. If the vidhi vidhan is known, if all the pronunciation is clear, and if there is the adesh of a guru, then why should she not be able to? In Sanskrit, or if she wishes in Hindi — in Hindi too she may absolutely do it.

Pranav Snab asks whether those who fast in Navratri and do not sleep raised may put a mattress down and sleep on it, or whether sleeping on a mat on the ground is compulsory. If your body is possessed of strength, the speaker says, then do bhumi shayan — on a Kusha Asana, or on a blanket, or make the blanket thicker. One should not sleep on a khat; if you do not sleep on a bed, that is best. And if you are sleeping above because there is no space at all on the ground, or some such matter exists in the family — there is a great deal of talk in families — then there is no difficulty: sleep above, having asked Bhagavati's forgiveness. But bhumi shayan is the finest of all: on the ground let there be a kusha mat, or a blanket; a blanket is good.

A listener asks how the astra mantras in the Saptashati are to be handled, noting that some mantras do not carry the name of the astra and yet no Ahuti takes place, and asks for a video on it. The speaker says it has now become late, so a whole video on the Saptashati is not possible today; if he gets time tomorrow he will make one. Ahuti is not made with the vach lines either — Rishi uvacha, Vaishya uvacha, Raja uvacha, Devah uchuh, all of these: with a 'vach' no ahuti is given. And the mantra that comes after the stuti of the fourth adhyaya, Shulin pahi no Devi, will not receive ahuti with these mantras. In place of ahuti with them, either do only the recitation, or give ahuti of ghrita alone, or else place a banana on a paan leaf and give that as ahuti. He adds that he will also make a separate video tomorrow.

Asked whether the Ratri Suktam and Jayanti Mangala Kali may be done together, the speaker says not to do them together — do one of them. Otherwise so many devis will come that you will not be able to manage, he says, and there will be a shortfall in their share of devotion. There are prachand shaktis in each of the two. So do only one: at any time, doing the japa of one mantra at a time is best.

A listener asks for some other lamp in place of the five-grain lamp in the bajrang-baan vidhi, for prachand siddhi. That lamp is for prachand siddhi itself, the speaker says, if you are performing it. Otherwise, another video will be available to you on the Siddh Sabari Vidya channel; listen to it. There too he has explained a different method.

Asked whether a twenty-one day sankalp can be made and when the kanya pujan would then fall, the speaker says it will not be done in that way. The Navratra SankalpaA formal ritual resolution spoken aloud before an offering or observance, declaring its intent and dedicating its merit. will be of nine days only. After that, if you wish to do it, then in some other month, beginning from the Ashtami — or, if a twenty-one day observance is intended, from the Pratipada of the Shukla Paksha — carry it right through the twenty-one days. And whose, which deity's, and what you wish to do should all be looked at before doing it.

A listener says that in his region narbali used to take place in older times, and that goat bali is now offered at that siddha peeth, and asks how awakened the temple would be. Very jagrit, the speaker replies. Such temples have great capacity — but people do not make good use of that capacity, do not employ it, forget it all and leave it aside. Then it finishes. What finishes is the chetana that stays awake in that kshetra; it passes slowly, slowly into a state of sleep.

Asked how a coconut, kushmanda or lemon is consecrated for Bali, the speaker says that if you enter the vidhan of consecration then the whole thing follows. First do the pujan of the bali peeth, then the astra pujan; within that the virachara mantras and the rest should have come to you, and if the guru has given the phatkar mantras into your ear then that is excellent. Then do the pujan of the Yoginis, before giving the bali at all. Then do the pujan of the bali, perform the pratishtha, and only then the chhedan — and there are rules governing the moment of chhedan. So much rule, he says: how will you learn it without Diksha? It will not be done by the pratishtha vidhi alone; if you perform the pratishtha then all the complete procedures will have to be done, the subject of tarpan will arise at once, and the vidhan becomes intricate.

Asked which mantra the havan is done with in a Saptashloki Durga prayoga, the speaker says it is done with the very mantra with which you are performing the Samput. Its havan will happen and the Saptashloki's havan will happen too — both must be done. The samput will have a havan of its own, separately. As in the video heard today, he says, in which the samput was being done with the Bhram mantra: Bhram Swaha, Bhram Swaha, that would be separate; and then each mantra of the Saptashloki would receive its own separate Ahuti.

Asked whether the pranava is placed only on the first shloka in the havan or when applying the samput, the speaker first asks which mantra the samput is being done with. If the samput is being done with the Pranav itself, then it will apply in all of them. He then sets out the two methods. Reciting the Saptashloki you read it mantra by mantra, meaning you read the seven mantras together; having read the seven mantras once, that is one paath complete. When you come to the havan, either you give nine ahuti of each mantra, or, if you have done a hundred paath, you do the havan of eleven paath as the dashansh. It is not necessary that you go on giving one full ahuti of each mantra in turn — ahuti of the first mantra, then of the second, then the third; not that way. If you wish, give nine ahuti of the first mantra, then nine of the second, then nine of the third; this remains better. All the mantras may also be done independently in the havan in this fashion. When only one havan is to be done, as when they perform a Chandi havan, then one ahuti of each mantra goes on in sequence. So the Pranav will apply when you continue nine ahuti of each mantra.

The speaker asks whether the listener is thinking of doing samput with Patni Manorama, or wants only independent japa. If japa is to be done, do ten mala of japa of Patni Manorama. And then do the paath that is to be done, according to your own wish — five paath, seven paath. However much paath you can manage within the nine days; if you complete 108, that is excellent.

A listener says no work is coming off, money is being steadily lost, and he is afflicted by Rahu, and asks what should be done. If you are afflicted by Rahu, the speaker says, then — the subject connected with Rahu has already been treated separately on the channel, and the best matter in it is that you should worship Bhagavan Shiva and do the shringar of Bhagavan Shiva's chaukhat. Choose such a temple in which the garbhagriha of Bhagavan Shiva has a chaukhat. Do this much and there will be great benefit, and swift benefit. He adds that a video on the Shiv Kavach already exists.

On Chhinnamastika Ma, the speaker says the fuller subject cannot be given this time, because the mantra that would be involved makes the subject somewhat long. And he does not feel it right at present to put up so long a video; time is short. Next time, or when time comes again after the Navratra, he will put it out — at the time of the Mother's Gupt Navratri.

Do it with the means that are available to you, the speaker says. In whatever place one lives, the sadhana and anushthan should be undertaken according to the means available in that place. By the rule it extends this far: if there is a scarcity even of fruit and leaf in that kshetra, then perform the pujan by making the offering mentally.

Asked whether the Chandi Path can be done without Diksha, the speaker says that if you are doing it in Sanskrit and have no diksha, then everything must be known thoroughly well, so that there is no error or defect in the pronunciation. One mala of the Navarna Mantra will do without diksha, he allows. But for the Chandi paath alone one should at least do this much: while practising, take upadesh from some Brahmin who performs Gayatri. Or, if there is some elder in your house who does sadhana and puja, take upadesh and permission from them — but doing it with permission taken will be best.

A listener who has two small shivlings and wants to bring a Narmadeshwar shivling is told that three shivlings should not be kept. And as for the two small shivlings — see who they are, of what sort, what the matter is. Having examined that, bring the new one, and only then perform the Visarjan of the two.

A listener refers to the vidhan of the Devi aarti in which two cloves are added each day, and asks whether they should be left to accumulate in the same vessel. What you mean, the speaker says, is the cloves that will be put in for the aarti. When the aarti is done and the fire kindled in the lamp has gone quiet and cooled, go on gathering those cloves in one place. Make a powder of them, mix in kesar and so on, and apply it daily as tilak after the Navratra. Whatever has burnt in the lamps, he says, has to be emptied out anyway.

For the stock market, the speaker says, first get a kundali analysis done by some competent, learned jyotishi. Have your panchamesh, Rahu, bhagya and everything of that kind examined and shown — what the situation is, what will be right and what will not. Only then perform the sadhana connected with it, so that there is benefit.

Asked on which day the ghat is to be moved and the visarjan performed this time, the speaker says: on the twelfth, after 11:00. The Dashami will set in — at 10:58 — and the ghat is to be moved after that. As for the Visarjan, if any such matter arises it may be done that day after 12:00 noon; and otherwise, if in your region the farewell is not done on a Sunday, then leaving Sunday aside, do it on Monday. That too can be done.

Asked whether, in the nitya puja, the pujan of the Devi may be done directly without doing the Ganapati puja, the speaker says no, it cannot be done. The pujan will be in sequence: guru, Ganesha, Bhairava ji, Hanuman ji, and then Bhagavati. Otherwise, in the minimum too, Ganapati ji and Bhairav ji, and then Bhagavati.

If you perform an anushthan of the SahasranamaA recitation of a deity's thousand names — a devotional text genre used across many deities, not one single fixed composition., the speaker says, then the havan too will be with the Sahasranama itself — a full 1008 Ahuti is excellent. And if you cannot do that much, then take the ahuti belonging to its first name and give that 108 times. Having completed the paath of the Sahasranama, if you do not wish to give ahuti with the Sahasranamavali, then give 108 ahuti of the first name alone.

The speaker says he has already made this subject clear to Vikas. If you are giving each shloka its ahuti separately — nine times for one shloka, then nine times for the next — then the Pranav will apply in all of them. But if you are giving it while reciting the whole stotra, giving one ahuti of the first shloka, then one of the second, then the third, going on in that way, then there will be no need at that time of applying the pranava.

Asked how one is to do the seva without fasting, the speaker replies that for the seva of the ghat and the seva of the Akhand Jyot one does have to keep a fast, at least somewhat. Their seva will not happen without the fast. Do not do it half-finished, he says. Ask Bhagavati for the capacity: Jagadamba, make us capable, so that we may keep the fast and serve you in the proper manner. And if you cannot keep the fast, then perform the nitya pujan, morning and evening, well and with grandeur. Grace will be obtained in that as well — it is not as though grace will not be received in that.

For consecrating water one then has to learn the MudraA symbolic hand gesture used in worship or iconography — such as Varada (boon-granting) or Abhaya (fearlessness-bestowing) — each carrying its own specific meaning., the speaker says, if you want it in the proper manner — a video-worthy quantity of it only arises when the matter of mudra comes up. For mudra one should at least be doing Gayatri, and then that subject will become clear. The display of mudra cannot be made public. The complete vidhi of jal Abhimantran in tantra brings mudra into it. And the ordinary consecration of water is simply this: place the water in front of you, and looking at it with your gaze, with the feeling that the energy of the mantra is entering it, do the japa. It will become consecrated.

A listener writes that he received the diksha of the Navarna Mantra from his kuldevi, completed a sankalp of eight lakh, that Baglamukhi Devi told him at the end that the mantra had become siddh, and that he does not know the vidhi. There is a contradiction in your very question, the speaker replies. You have written that the diksha came from the kuldevi — now, how did the Kuldevi give you diksha? Did she appear before you and give it, or give it in a dream, or give it by taking possession of someone's head? First learn clearly what Diksha means, he says, and then say that diksha was given; merely saying a thing is not diksha. Even when svapna diksha does occur, the upadesh of that mantra has to be received by you — only if the mantra carries upadesh is that diksha complete. The full meaning of diksha is that when a guru gives it, he makes clear the whole vidhi of that mantra including its pronunciation, what its mahatmya is, and, if it is keelit, how it will be made nishkeelit — all of that. Only then is it the diksha and upadesh of that mantra.

Either you have no shraddha in her, the speaker says. When Ma Baglamukhi told you in a dream that the mantra had become siddh, what propriety is there in asking publicly here that you do not know the vidhi? Where is the need of vidhi in that place, when you have already done eight lakh japa and the confirmation of the mantra's siddhi has also been given to you there? Now you ask what its vidhi will be — think for yourself whether that is proper. If you have had a divine experience of this kind, then there is no propriety at all in saying it publicly; it should simply not be said. He is not saying it did not happen — in the field of sadhana, paralaukik activities are astonishing in themselves. But put such things in public places with thought: your own loss will follow. Everyone should be careful of what they are asking. Broadcast such experiences of yours, he says, and nothing goes from us; people will make sport of it, and the loss will be yours.

If the sadhana is to be done properly again, then take its Diksha and do it — then it will be in the proper manner; receive that mantra from the mouth of some guru. Become Shakta-initiated. Here, without diksha, Bhagavati is being said to declare that siddhi has occurred. The speaker says the listener may feel hurt and he asks forgiveness for it in advance; many people try to troll him for speaking on these matters. But this becomes a subject of manipulating people: on hearing it, fifty others will say that such and such happened to them too, and a state of confusion is created. And in any case, if you have faith in that devi who gave the diksha and gave the confirmation, there is no justification for asking anywhere. He recalls a similar occasion when a sadhak related his whole experience — how he had darshan, how she manifested, what divine experience he had, how much he wept. People forbade him, several said, brother, do not tell all this on a public platform; nobody wished him ill. But that gentleman said, what is your problem, nothing of the sort happens, it is not some low siddhi that will go away by being told. Then tell me this, the speaker says: where did Vashishtha Muni go about displaying his Tara siddhi, saying we have accomplished Tara, that Bhagavati Tara is siddh to us — is there any such episode? Did Telang Swami go about displaying and declaring his capacity and siddhi, that we are Shiva himself and possessed of power with us? Or did Ramakrishna Paramhansa go about showing and telling? For the welfare of the world these placed their things before people up to a certain level, or their disciples and their people placed it, so that our welfare and yours might occur. You and I are not at that level for our divine things to be placed before everyone. He says he has spoken for the listener's own welfare; if the listener takes offence and runs off and abuses him sitting elsewhere, that is his own private matter.

The presence of the Lakshmi tattva is within Parvati ji herself, the speaker says; there is no need to take a separate form of her. Look at the forms of Ganesha ji and you will see that there are several forms of his in which shaktis connected with Bhagavati Lakshmi stand as his shakti aspects. And this is exactly why it is said that these matters should not be discussed before ordinary people: such a person will be wholly frustrated, saying Lakshmi ji is his mother, how can you say this. So this becomes a subject of tantra, and it is not a fabricated subject. But to be able to accept the subject of tantra one must also have a fit mentality and such viveka; only then will you discuss it and the other person understand — ah, so this is what rahasya is — and then he will listen. If he flees at hearing only this much and starts speaking crookedly, saying how can you speak so about Bhagavati Lakshmi, then on learning about that particular Ganapati his condition would be ruined.

The next vidhan of the Kalka Yogini has been changed and put into that same video, the speaker says; look at the PDF once. If you are doing it newly, then this vidhan is the second stage. The first-stage vidhan has been removed, because many people had begun to have all kinds of experiences from it — it was somewhat prachand, and the matter in it was a little different. What the second-level one does is that it creates balance. So the PDF currently uploaded is the second stage, and in it only japa is to be done, according to that same method.

Answering Anshul Raj Tiwari, who says he has only done japa of the Baglamukhi mantra, the speaker says that Baglamukhi is a Mahavidyas. And if you have done japa of a Mahavidya's mantra, then you have taken its Diksha — which diksha did you receive? Did you get the thirty-six syllable one directly, or is it a kramagat diksha? That is a very different subject. Merely saying that we have done several lakh japa does not settle it; you cannot compress Baglamukhi into a single sentence. Bhagavati Baglamukhi is not such a one that we saw the mantra somewhere, or it was obtained, or we heard someone's experience and japa'd it straight away in lakhs. No. There is a method to it, there is a vidhi. She is not merely a vidya, she is a Mahavidya. So observe the rule and discipline of the Mahavidya with faith, walk that road, complete the vidhan of the PurashcharanaA ritualistic repetition of a mantra to prescribed rules — required in Tantra Sadhana. — then it will bear fruit and loosen the joints of your enemy, and only then will the right to use it in work come to you. If you have done it any old how, then do a lakh or even a crore and nothing will happen. It is not that nothing will happen — but what happens will not be proper.

If they have come of their own accord, then they should be entreated, the speaker says. If the kula's Brahm has begun coming and you wish that it not come upon the body, then get the elders and old people of the house to entreat them. Only by requesting can they be stopped: please do not come upon the child's body. If they are coming upon dharma — that is, no one has driven or goaded them wrongfully, no oath of that kind has been laid on them, and they are coming of their own gladness — then do not stop them in that hard manner. Not in anger; speak to them in gladness, entreat them, saying come only once in the year on the day of your annual puja, and come then when some very great calamity or misfortune occurs, when life itself is in danger; come then and give us your will. Say it in that fashion and they will certainly agree. But if, without entreaty, the matter goes straight to quarrelling and fighting or something of that fierceness, then they will not agree.

If you had taken the mantra from someone, then complete its PurashcharanaA ritualistic repetition of a mantra to prescribed rules — required in Tantra Sadhana. in the proper manner under their guidance, the speaker tells Anshul Raj Tiwari. Having done the twelve-syllable one, you should complete at the very least four purashcharan of it. Whether it is without the other vidyas or along with other vidyas, there is a great deal involved — so speak once to the one from whom you took it, whom you describe as a competent sadhak. If the mantra is not giving its effect, if it is not becoming siddh even after performing the siddhi, then both the cause and its remedy are known to the guru who has accomplished it.

A listener writes that forty or fifty pishachas are in his body. If forty or fifty Pishach are going to live in the body, the speaker says, then one pishach is quite enough to finish the story. You have written forty or fifty are in your body — then your belly has become the very kshetra of Mahadev Mahakal, the kshetra of Mahakali; it has become a Shamshaan. As under section 144 more than three men should not gather, and it is counted a crowd, so likewise if more than three or four prets and pishachas come into someone's body, that body has become the equal of a cremation ground. And you have written forty or fifty — then a very old shamshaan would be present there. This is not a matter for jokes, he says; he is speaking the truth. Secondly, there are many shaktis that put before you the illusion of their being more than one. They will create the illusion of forty, even of a hundred, when they are one or two; but they will change their form so much that the person goes mad and it seems to him that there are ever so many things. So first meet some competent learned person and make the whole matter of these danavas clear before him, open the secret. And think: if that much really were so, you would understand the fluctuation of energy — you would not be in a condition to speak to anyone at all. One or two ruin the condition, and you have written forty or fifty.

Asked which anushthan a man should perform for marriage, the speaker says to do the Patni Manorama Dehi mantra — the last mantra of the Argala Stotra. If you complete seven thousand japa of the Saptashloki in your life, then in marriage, in wealth, in every matter you can perform one PurashcharanaA ritualistic repetition of a mantra to prescribed rules — required in Tantra Sadhana. each of the Samput mantra and put it to use. He has said this many times, he adds.

A listener says that in the family, across four or five generations, an aunt died a month ago. If the Varshiki has been completed and the matter of Sutak does not apply in your household, then it can absolutely be done, the speaker says. If the varshiki has not taken place and you had to observe the full thirteen days of sutak, then obtain the full information on the further question according to your own custom, there, and only then do it — determining whether you can or cannot.

When any mantra, stotra or kavach becomes jagrit and siddh, the speaker says, its energy comes to be present in our aura. You yourself become full of chaitanya. Hunger will not be felt as on ordinary days. Its energy will be so great that the capacity to keep moving will come within you easily, so that you can walk about comfortably. To a very great extent there will be control over your own vasanas. Your intellect will not be soiled, and a divine buddhi will be illuminated within you again and again. And along with that, when you enter the half-conscious, half-sleeping state, some divine moment, divine loka, divine light, divine shaktis and their coming and going will be seen by you. All of these, he says, are what are called the very lowest of the experiences in siddhi — but they will give you enough of a sense that yes, the mantra has become awakened and conscious. And when you put it to use in work many times, it increases the intuition: you come to know how it is to be done. As with the subject of the video put out today, in which the Saptashloki is recited with the samput of Kaal Bhairav's single-syllable mantra — this, he says, will not be found written anywhere in any tantra text, that it had to be done with the samput of Kaal Bhairav's ekakshari. When you accomplish some siddhi, that kind of development takes place in your brain of itself. Those are paralaukik activities; you begin to understand everything, how and what is to be done here. That you can do as your own self-experiment with confidence, without any tiryak effect. As, if someone in your house falls ill — you have, say, accomplished a whole kavach — and now someone has a pain in the stomach, at that moment your mind will work: yes, here, with which devi's mantra, or with which of their name mantras, with which samput or vidhi the paath is to be done, whether a lemon is to be cut or what is to be done. Whether the thought is there or not, you will begin to sense it. And how will that happen? By the effect of that mantra.

If the mantra has not become chaitanya, if its awakening has not taken place, the speaker says, that will be because you merely counted it out and finished it any old way, moving it about here and there. Then the effect will not come. But if you do it in accordance with vidhi, if you do it by the proper method, if you do it with samarpan — then it will certainly happen.

Without Diksha in the Shri Kula, no one can be an adhikari of the pujan of the Sri Yantra, the speaker says. Ordinarily you may do this much: with the Tantrokta Devisuktam, perform their abhishek daily and do the shringar. Through that too their grace and blessing will remain. And if someone in the family takes diksha in the Shri Kula, learns the entire subject in the proper manner and then performs their pujan, that is excellent. He adds that if a pandit has said everything can be done, then by all means do the pujan and paath.

The bali of a new coconut is not to be given with the khadga, the speaker says; it is to be dashed down and broken, in the way it is done, as one breaks it by hand. According to one tantra text, the Bali is broken with one hand alone. As to this two-handed practice that has come into use — he says he is speaking a shastrokta matter, speaking what is absolutely written. The coconut is to be broken with one hand alone, with the right hand alone. With one hand.

A listener says he has installed a vigraha of Mahishasura Mardini by mistake and asks whether it would be proper to do a small, proper Durga puja at home. Absolutely do the Durga puja, the speaker says; there is no such difficulty that it cannot be done. But if even a little ugrata begins to increase in your house, then look at the further matter. If Bali is offered in your house, then there will not be so much difficulty.

A pregnant woman should not give Bali, the speaker says. Asked what kind, he says she should not give bali at all. And once she is more than three months along, she should not even go into the pujan sthan; she should offer her pranam and so on from a distance. Japa and svadhyaya, stuti, mantra paath — these she should do sitting on her own asana, right where she is. Puja and paath are not to be abandoned; only going to the pujan sthan is not to be done. For the rest she may do everything, and bali and the like are not to be given.

The Saraswati kavach that is in Hindi will not become siddh, the speaker says. But this is certain: if the Saraswati Kavach even in Hindi becomes committed to memory for you, then its effect will certainly become full of bhaav. It is not that it will simply give no protection, or that it will not protect you — it absolutely will. And know this too, he says: it often happens, as the questioner also wishes, that you will do a thousand paath, two thousand paath in Hindi, and while doing the paath in Hindi that thing will become so clear to you that the Sanskrit will begin to come of itself. From the first paath your Sanskrit will be clear as to what the pronunciation is, if you have done that much in Hindi.

Going to the pujan sthan is forbidden, the speaker says, because the level of energy at a pujan sthan is never balanced or always of one kind. And the growth of the child in pregnancy requires stability. Why does a doctor forbid repeated ultrasounds, he asks — in rare cases where some trouble has arisen you are told to have one, and even there the doctor says it will affect the child's brain; it is a field of radiation. So too your pujan sthan: there is the dwelling of devis and devatas, the dwelling of shaktis and their coming and going, so it too is a field of energy. Just as radiation is not visible and can be measured with a particular instrument, so likewise, because of the presence of the devatas' energy, the jeevatma that has come into the body and is going to take on its own form will face difficulty. And the second shastrokta view, he says, is that from the third and fourth month, since it is a woman's body and there is a child in the belly, some fluid or other keeps coming from the body, so the possibility of the body being impure remains; and if in such a state a touch of some object or of the deities occurs in the pujan sthan, that too will incur a dosha, and there is loss in that as well. For these reasons it is forbidden to go to those places. But certainly do the stuti paath — in pregnancy the whole paath is to be done. Recite the Gita ji, recite the SahasranamaA recitation of a deity's thousand names — a devotional text genre used across many deities, not one single fixed composition., do stuti; there is no prohibition on that. Only do not touch any divine objects, in that time, from after the third and fourth month.

If the rog is one that is going to be cured, then complete the PurashcharanaA ritualistic repetition of a mantra to prescribed rules — required in Tantra Sadhana. of the Saptashloki, the speaker says. Then do a separate thousand japa of the rog-nashak mantra that stands in Durga Saraswati — the roga-nasheshan mantra. And then, with that, recite the complete paath daily.

Everyone knows that the choti is not to be cut, the speaker says: the shikha will not be cut in any state whatever. And a fellow is saying, how will purification happen if the shikha is not cut, and he has set himself against cutting off the shikha. The village people too have joined in — since the village people do not keep a shikha, they ask, brother, how is this man's shikha to be allowed to remain? When my shikha cannot exist, then nobody's shikha shall exist. That is precisely the matter, he says. This is what is called dvesha; in the shastras this very thing has been called dvesha. It comes of jealousy.

A listener asks whether the samskaras of anulom varna sankar can be performed, and what if their parents are far away. The matter of loma, anulom, varna sankar and so on, the speaker says, if it goes along with the PrayashchittaRitual atonement performed to offset the karmic burden of a weighty act, such as a Shatkarma that results in an enemy's death. vidhi and there is a SankalpaA formal ritual resolution spoken aloud before an offering or observance, declaring its intent and dedicating its merit. of that kind, can absolutely be done.

A listener says his whole family is vegetarian and a goat bali is offered to their kuldevi, and asks for guidance. See who all can be the ones to accept that Bali, the speaker says, and give it to those people after the bali has been offered. Ordinarily the bali, the bali prasad of a Kuldevi or kula devata, ought to be received by the people of the kula parampara alone. But if you people no longer eat it at all, then there is no matter of compulsion in it. Perform the bali in such a place where such people are present and where they have the right, so that they can eat it. It is not quickly possible to find a middle path in this. And if there is a matter of Laag with the kuldevi, then it will attach to those who eat it as well, and then a puja will be offered there too before they are pacified.

There is also the further matter, the speaker says, that after the bali has been offered the animal is taken away and given samadhi, and there is a fixed place for that. And there is a great deal of this ear-cutting matter too: since they do not eat it at all, then bring the Bali, have the SankalpaA formal ritual resolution spoken aloud before an offering or observance, declaring its intent and dedicating its merit. and the rest performed, and only a little of the ear will be cut, so that what falls will fall on the bali peeth; and offering it to Bhagavati the whole vidhan will be completed in that itself, and that goat will be taken and released in a forest or the like. Whatever is to happen to it, let it happen. It has become Bhagavati's then; it has become your Kuldevi's. This matter also exists. It is one option — but it should be done only after seeing the kuldevi, seeing what kind of ugrata she carries, and whether she will agree or not agree after being entreated.

Asked whether Brahmins have a kuldevi and kula devata to whom bali is offered, the speaker says that in today's time everything is being offered. The reason, he says, is this: where have people kept their own Kuldevi and kula devata protected? They worshipped this one and that one. So now the devi and devata of the kula have come forward with primacy — and therefore Brahmins too have to give Bali.

A listener sets a thousand paath of the 32 Nama against a sava lakh of the Navarna. This has now become like asking, the speaker says, whether we should drink amrit or go to the kalpavriksha and ask of the kalpavriksha. Both have their own importance and their own capacity. Where the Navarna Mantra is the mantra-raj, there Bhagavati Jagadamba herself says in the mahatmya of the durga-32-names that it is for the removal of every kind of sankat that the 32 Namavali exists. Both have their own importance. The Navarna is a mahamantra. Do not compare the two.

Hemant Soni says that ugrata increased when he began the names of the sixty-four Yoginis of Tripura Sundari Ma; he has offered clove bali, and on Tuesdays and Saturdays lemon bali too — one lemon, but he has offered it. If you do the name-japa and the rest without Bali, the speaker says, their capacity will certainly come, their energies will certainly come. But without bali they will not be balanced. The bali of lemon, of clove, of nutmeg, all of these can be performed.

Asked whether a vegetarian who gives money towards a bali will incur the dosha of jeev hatya, the speaker says there is nothing of the sort. But if you are offering Bali to bhoot-pret, then not merely dosha but everything will attach. Where the bali is being offered, what its state is, what the matter is — it depends on all of that.

Asked who Sati Banni Mata is, whether Durga ji or Kali ji, and noting that their kuldevi Banni Mata has been called a form of Bhadrakali, the speaker says he has stated many times that the Jayanti Mangala Kali mantra is the very best for those whose kuldevi is Banni Mata. Names get corrupted and become different, he says. And because Sokha Baba and Gauraiya Baba are worshipped alongside both, it is understood that the shaktis are one. Yet even if by distinction one accepts two, the form is still held to be that of Bhadrakali. In the Kashi kshetra too, where the temple stands, this same form is held: the form of Bhagavati Bhadrakali present in the patal kshetra. So the Jayanti Mangala mantra is the finest for them, because Bhadrakali also comes within it.

Knowing in advance how many people will come, it is done well within that, the speaker says. We get the opportunity of seva, and in that seva the SankalpaA formal ritual resolution spoken aloud before an offering or observance, declaring its intent and dedicating its merit. and the paath and so on are performed on behalf of all of you — and by that the divinity increases further. So the uplift of Sanatan, he says, is taking place here through full cooperation. There is no other particular matter present in it.

This Durga Ashtakshari mantra, with the pranava, is in itself an Ashtakshari vidya, the speaker says. So without Diksha he never tells anyone to do the mantras. The reason is that until there is diksha, this cannot be done merely as an independent mantra — it falls within the vidya krama. So you may do the nama mantra. But the full Ashtakshari mantra cannot be done in that way. At the very least take upadesh from some competent sadhak and do it having taken that upadesh. And otherwise there are so many things to do; a mantra by itself is not performed independently like that.

In the upadesh, the speaker says, it is precisely this that is told. Suppose someone receives the Diksha of the Ashtakshari: the guru will not give the diksha of the Ashtakshari alone, but will give upadesh along with it. He will say that the form of Bhagavati that is the Ashtakshari, the form that goes according to the Ashtakshari mantra, has this dhyana mantra — the mantra beginning Kalabhra Brahma and the rest will be the dhyana mantra in it, and by this mantra you are to do the dhyana. Then, since her Bhairava is Ruru Bhairav, you will have to do his along with it, and the guru will give you the Ruru Bhairav mantra separately, his tryakshari or panchakshari mantra. After that, if in the Ashtakshari other matters are carried further — whether the Yogini is to be present in it or not, whether the pujan of the yogini will take place in it or not, whether the matter of the Bali of the yogini in the dakshin and ishan corner is to be given after the mantra japa or not — then if that is to be given, the guru will give you three more mantras for it.

This is the whole matter, done in the proper way, the speaker says. If not so much, then at least the guru will certainly give three things with it: Durga ji's kavach — not the Saptashati Chandi kavach, but the durga-kavach that goes with the Ashtakshari — and Bhairav ji's mantra. And he will give one adhyaya of the Saptashati, whichever it is. That will depend on their kula parampara: if it is Kali ji's, he will tell you the Ratri Suktam; if your matter or your emphasis is connected with Lakshmi, he will tell you the fourth adhyaya; if it is behind Bhagavati's grace and siddhi and the like, he will tell you the Tantrokta Devisuktam. But to say simply, do this mantra straight off in this way, is a little improper. This is according to him, he says — it was his own view and he has made it clear; the rest of the decision is for each of you to take yourselves.

Mrigendra sadhana is of two kinds, the speaker says. One Mrigendra sadhana is an independent sadhana, of the Veer bhaav. And one is of Bhagavati's Mahasingh. Within the Mahasingh of Bhagavati too, it depends on the different forms of Jagadamba. It is Mahavishnu in all of them, but according to the form — as with the eighteen-armed Durga ji, the singh in that becomes a separate matter, and in the eight-armed it becomes different. Along with the form there is a difference of mantra and so on as well.

There are so many things in the first mantra of the Jayanti Mangala Argala Stotra, the speaker says, that two or three videos were made clarifying it, simplifying the whole of it, and its Viniyoga and Nyasa were given as well. Search for it, he says, and the first result you find will be on this channel. The first mantra of the Argala together with its nyasa and viniyoga you are not going to find anywhere. And if there is some scholar of Sanskrit — leave aside the question of shastra pramana — have it examined by a Sanskrit scholar as to whether what is given there is correct according to Sanskrit grammar. From that much alone you will understand that the arrangement here is entirely right. But people are not satisfied. It is true, he says, that the people or society can never be satisfied; they want something more, something special, something strong. From our side this much effort must be made.

Those who especially cannot give very much time, who have an extreme shortage of time, should do only this, the speaker says: for the nine days of the Navratra — this time the Navratri is of ten days, so everyone will comfortably get nine days — for those nine days, each day take the time of 11:43 to 11:45, a quarter to twelve, at night. From a quarter to twelve until 1:30, sitting continuously through that stretch and doing the continuous japa of whatever stotra, stuti, kavach or mantra it is — one is not to rise, not to move. For them it becomes divine. If you cannot manage it through the day, if there is not much time because of work or something else, then rest a little and take that time. For the rest, you must do the sandhya pujan; you must do the shringar, aarti and pujan. Keep this time for japa, and it is divine.

And the third, the speaker says, is for those sadhaks in particular whose kuldevi takes Bali — the Rahukaal. Keep it in mind: the time of the Rahukaal is only for those whose Kuldevi or kula devata take bali. And each day, after the japa, at that same time the bali of lemon, nutmeg and clove is to be given, with whatever mantra you are doing — supposing it is Bhagavati's, say the first mantra of the Argala. Now if the Rahukaal is from 9:00 to 10:30, an hour and a half, then sit down comfortably at 9:00, and until 10:30 the Jayanti Mangala Kali mantra will run continuously with complete absorption. See the effect, he says.

Those whose kuldevi and devata are not ugra may do this japa in a temple instead of at home, the speaker says, and may perform the Bali vidhan and so on in the temple as well. But those who simply have no knowledge of it, and to whose kuldevi and devata no bali is offered, should leave the Rahukaal aside. Let them do it in the Abhijit, or in the night hours; that is best. And whenever you do it — if after the daily japa you give bali at these divine times, its effect remains good, and no dosha of any kind attaches either, because the Yoginis come at that time with great fierceness.

And the most distinguished muhurta of all, the speaker says, is the sandhi kaal of the Ashtami and Navami. Besides that there are the transition periods too, of one tithi changing into the next. But that is for initiated sadhaks, and then the amrit kaal has to be worked out within it — so leave that subject aside, he says. But on the sandhi kaal of Ashtami and Navami there is so much separately, videos and lives all of it, that nobody should ever leave it out.

And the time of the sandhi kaal is so divine, the speaker says, because it is the time of the manifestation of Bhagavati Chamunda. Navratri is the very best time for the destruction of enemies, for the destruction of Kritya and avichar, for the obtaining of shakti, and for the fulfilment of desires. And the more Sanatani Hindus perform pujan at that time, the more powerful the energy of that time will be, and the better and easier your life and ours will become.

The second and greatest danger, the speaker says, concerns those people — look, he says, even the writers of tantra texts put a question mark on this; he had himself read it once and had spoken of it in a live: when our India was so rich in tantra, how in the end did the Mughals and the English come to rule over us? Where had the vidya of the tantriks gone at that time? Working in this field in the present day, he says, he understands that their shakti had not gone anywhere. But the people themselves were duplicitous. There is no shortage of people who learn things from you and then run them against you, who practise duplicity — prachand duplicitous people are available.

Still, the speaker says, thank those forebears that even today this heritage has remained alive in every field. The most fierce regions of tantra — everything still stands, everywhere. It was not destroyed. So in the present time too, those who are practising duplicity at a high level will not destroy things by their duplicity. But this much is certain: taking two or four or ten people into their influence, they will become fully capable of doing them harm.

When calamity comes, the speaker says, the Kundalini shakti awakens very well. You are going peacefully along the road, comfortably eating chips and listening to a song, no difficulty — you will go along very comfortably. But if a dog comes after you and it is a biting dog, then on seeing it you will run. The ten-foot wall you could not cross before, you will jump and catch with your hand and climb over it. This fear has awakened your kundalini shakti; without this fear, where was that capacity? It did not appear out of the air; it was sleeping within you, what we call the shakti asleep in the Muladhara. So this is one matter: when calamity is coming near us, somewhere it is also giving an opportunity. Make this disaster into an opportunity, and with this understanding keep yourself prepared. Keep doing sadhana; it will come to work. And transfer this thing to your next generation as well.

Calamity does not depend on anyone's saying, the speaker says; there is no such matter that it will only happen because someone spoke of it. It can come at any time. Was there any particular prophecy about Corona? Those people say there was not; whether there was or there was not — the calamity came, and there was trouble in it. If those who have long been pressing for the anushthan of the Mahamrityunjay Mantra's kavach and the like had gone on doing it, then at least some more lives would have been saved.

These people should be avoided, the speaker says, because they will attempt to deceive you in every manner. First they will win your trust. And whenever you try to move forward, in the field of sadhana or in the field of life, they will cause you loss through money, one hundred per cent. Winning over your practical dealings, they will make the fullest effort to destroy your respect. They will try to plunge a knife into your back, and if they succeed in that, they will try lifelong to belittle you. Doing all this brings them self-satisfaction. These are of rakshasa disposition, he says. Ravana was a Brahmin, but he was still a rakshasa — so these people are of that rakshasa disposition.

The japa of the beej mantra (Bija Mantra) you may certainly do up to a limited quantity, the speaker says, because it belongs to Bhagavati Bhuvaneshwari and it is the Devi Pranava — that you can do. But if her brihat anushthan is to be performed, then doing it after taking upadesh is excellent, because then the matter of Aavaran Puja and the rest arises. If you have done a sava lakh, there is no issue; do at least that much. Doing ten mala of japa every day is excellent. But if you now wish to do eleven lakh or twenty-one lakh, then you should become initiated.

Asked whether 108 paath of Narasimha ji's mala mantra will bring any negative effect on account of too much energy, the speaker says that if 108 paath are going to be done, it will be better to first certainly do the stuti and so on of Bhagavan Narayana. And if you are doing 108 paath, then along with it also do eleven paath of Bhagavati Lakshmi's Mala Mantra. Do both of them.

The Mahalakshmi Ashtakam can also be done, the speaker says, but the Lakshmi Mala Mantra is already on the channel and doing that would have been more fitting. It becomes Lakshmi Narasimha, he says. Bhagavati Lakshmi stands with Bhagavan Narasimha in his saumya form, as one of the eight shaktis. So since she is a shakti, her dashansh will be done, and that will be suitable. In this way Mahapratyangira too is performed — but she will come into the most fierce.

Online Diksha is no diksha at all, the speaker says. Plainly: neither is the diksha of the Navarna Mantra given by a microphone a diksha, nor is the diksha of the Panchadashi given by a microphone one. All of this — the diksha that a guru gives entirely in the proper manner, by the shastrokta vidhi, that alone is the diksha that is proper. Keep this matter in mind, he says.

Go yourself with your family, the speaker says; there is no such special or difficult situation now that you cannot do it alone, with your family. He has already clarified the whole subject many times. You may comfortably do the Trikon Parikrama in a single day. And if you are quite alone, then in the forest area there is a little difficulty in coming and going — that place is never actually empty, but when it is new to you it feels so, and for two or four days you may face some difficulty if you are going to do a long trikon.

Asked how the pujan, paath and full vrat are to be done when the varshi has not yet been performed in the house, the speaker says the vrat alone may be kept. As for the full matter of pujan and paath — take Ekadashi and the like: even when the Varshiki has not taken place, Ekadashi cannot be given up. If you keep the vrat of a tithi, then you cannot abandon it; that you may do.

If you become settled in dvaita bhaav, the speaker says, then make the request of your own aradhya, your ishta. And remember one thing: when you begin to advance on the path of sadhana, the feeling of dvaita slowly, slowly begins to come to an end of its own accord. It may be that for some time you have become fixed in one place, but that will not remain forever. There will be onward motion, and that very labour will be transformed into advaita. He adds that one may go to Vindhyachal during the Navratri, but should not leave in the middle of it.