Brahmacharya
Every question on the site tagged Brahmacharya, each answered from a timestamped source rather than a summary written from memory.
Strict celibacy required through an extended ritual observance.
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Who may add the pranava before a Shiva mantra?
By guru's instruction, only those who have taken up and wear the yajnopavita add the pranava (Om) before a Shiva mantra like "Om Namah Shivaya." Anyone who has not undergone that samskara — including women — chants with namah alone, after Shivaya, without the pranava; even a thread-wearer who does not keep ashtami-chaturdashi brahmacharya makes the pranava-recitation largely fruitless.
A married woman cannot always control her own brahmacharya — what then?
Where a married woman's brahmacharya is not fully in her own control, a 40-day Durga Chalisa cycle interrupted for five or six days is simply resumed the next day and counted onward from there. Brahmacharya on ashtami and chaturdashi is still required during such a vrata; where it truly is not in the sadhika's control, it becomes a matter to be settled between husband and wife, not a loophole from the rule.
How is control over kama-bhavana actually gained?
Control over kama-bhavana begins with the company and conduct one keeps, since whatever is dwelt on runs on its own in the background eventually; the remedy is satsang and stuti that strengthen the mind, and mastery of one's own paurush, tej and shukra. The single biggest factor is what a person sees, hears and thinks — govern these three and control over kama follows.
Kavach and vajra panjar for a home where badha stops all worship, siddh-ed in a Shiva temple
The speaker says that if the situation is such that you cannot do pujan at home and there is great unrest, you should awaken some mantra or tantrokta Kavach by doing its path for some days — at the least the Panchmukhi Hanuman kavach, the Aghor Shiv kavach, the Indra Vajra kavach, the Indrakshi kavach, any kavach of Bhagavati Durga or of Kamakhya, or the Aprajita kavach; there are also stotras such as Vipreet Mahapratyangira and Maha-Vipreet, and the separate kavachas and vajra panjars of the Mahavidyas. A vajra Panjar has ten times the power of a kavach: panjar means the rib-cage, so it throws a full ring round the entity — a kavach only strikes, a vajra panjar binds and then strikes, so that it dares not return, and it can not only remove a pret badha but punish it. Any deity's vajra panjar, kavach or Mahavidya stuti should be understood properly and siddh-ed in a Shiva temple — with a Sankalpa, by vidhi-vidhan, keeping Brahmacharya and every rule, and never abandoned however great the obstruction or pain — in the temple, not at home. After a fixed time a shakti comes, or guidance comes, by which the badhas are pressed down; done only at home, it will be of no use if the badha is big.
What should a practitioner do about home sadhana if they travel to the Kumbh mid-way?
No fault is incurred. Surrender the days completed before leaving, keep the daily rules of Brahmacharya and diet while travelling, do what the Prayag procedure allows there, and resume at home on returning.
Brahmacharya, timing and food rules during the Bajrang Baan siddhi period
The speaker says that woman or man, married or unmarried, one must keep Brahmacharya properly for these 11 days — with special care that it is not broken even mentally. Do the practice in the morning, by 8 o'clock or before; at night one cannot keep the fast, so it is best done early morning. It may be done at night, but then one thing must be observed: no garlic or onion all day. If one eats fully sattvik food it is fine; if one has to eat out, do not do it. All this applies only while the siddhi period lasts; later, in the period of use, one may do the prayoga at any time without difficulty.
Method for attaining divya drishti on one's own: hold one path, in anushthan blocks
The speaker says the one best, easy and correct way to attain Divyadrishti is to keep going with whatever single mantra, stotra or path one has taken up, until one's deity grants what one wants. His example is the Hanuman Chalisa: if one does one path, do 11 daily, but continuously; take a 90-day or 108-day Anushthana, complete it, then gap a few days. A grihastha who cannot keep Brahmacharya should take small blocks — 11 days observing it, then two to four days or a week of normal household life, then 11 days again, or one block every month — and keep the morning-evening process going on the remaining days too. The energy this continuity builds, he says, gives what one wants.
The third and most special rule is protecting the tej, the last of the sapta dhatus
The third thing, which is the most special of all, is to protect one's tej — because among the sapta dhatus it is the last dhatu, and it is in that tej that one's whole ark, all one's mantra, japa and tapa, will be contained. If that is destroyed, he asks, what benefit will be obtained? So the observance of brahmacharya is utterly compulsory: at this time, observe brahmacharya with strictness.
The irreducible core is snan, sandhya, and forty-five days of discipline in food and brahmacharya
So do certainly do this, he says: what is the most basic thing you want? Snan, and sandhya, and the observance of niyam and discipline for the whole forty-five days. In discipline, attention is to be given to two things — food and brahmacharya. Do this much certainly, and then see the result. If you do it you will certainly get the result; if you do not do it and say such things do not happen, then so it will be — such things will not happen.
How should a sadhak conduct himself in society?
The speaker says dev kripa of that level requires grinding the body in service. If you are a sadhak, keep yourself at zero in the midst of society and do not fall into the state of dvesha. The more cut off you remain, the more you stay attached to the feet of your aradhya; the more attached you are to society, the more cut off you are from those feet.
What conduct is required while the anushthan runs?
Three things must be there — niyam, nishtha and samarpan. If you keep no samarpan and merely do it somehow, then there is no bhava and it will not happen here, because bhava-pradhanata weighs more here than kriya-pradhanata. Second, one's thought and conduct toward other beings, and toward the opposite sex and one's own sex, must be free of dvesha and kama — neither attached nor averse. Try to remain entirely ordinary and simple.
Should the Bhairav kanthi be taken from a guru?
Asked to discuss the Batuk Bhairav kanthi according to the shastras, he says you will find the subject at most among the Nathpanthis, and that the matter of observing brahmacharya then comes into it. If the kanthi is taken from a guru it is more proper: wearing it on one's own, as against walking within guru maryada and following whatever adesh and upadesh he gives, the latter is more proper.
What was Shiva's first response to the devas' request that he marry?
Brahma and Vishnu say that both of them have already had the panigrahan sanskar, and ask Shiva to complete his so that they become trideva with tridevis. But since Mahadev always remains in the avadhut state and in tapa, he says again and again that he cannot do it — one should understand marriage in the world as a very great bondage.
Why is Brahma called Rudra Shira?
An incident occurs here on account of which Bhagavan Brahma is called Rudra Shira. The speaker says a charitra was manifested through Brahma for the sake of any wicked man who keeps feelings of desire toward another woman or does wrong deeds. It was manifested for the sake of the fall that ordinary men are liable to. Merely by hearing it and understanding the matter, one is freed of that sin — and the sin in question is the sin arising from looking with kudrishti at any pativrata woman or the wedded wife of another.
What happened during the pradakshina of the fire?
While the pradakshina of the yajna, of the ekagni, was being done, Bhagavati Sati's feet came out beyond her garment — when a bride walks, her foot showed a little from outside, the rest being under the ghunghat. The speaker says the charitra is shown because here, before his eyes, she is about to become the left-side consort of another; and Brahma himself had a pratishodh in his mind against Rudra, wanting desire to arise in Rudra too and him to become a householder, because Rudra had rebuked him for what he had done on seeing a woman.
What rules must be observed by one who has an akhand jyot lit?
Asked for details about the akhand deep and what rules must be followed, he says one will have to do only as much as is written in it. At the ashram a nine-day anushthan of Bhagavati is going on where the akhand prajwalan has been prescribed, and the arrangement exists for anyone who wishes to have it done; for nine days the akhand jyoti will burn in whichever names are given, along with the whole family. For those having an akhand jyot lit: garlic and onion and the like are not to be eaten, heavy tamasik food is not to be eaten, and if possible take food containing sendha namak.
Must one keeping an akhand jyot avoid sea salt and observe brahmacharya?
Food of sea salt should not be taken. That much, he says, is the whole of the rule that has been told. Brahmacharya palan and the like is essential — that must certainly be done.
Without the capacity to balance, such trataka japa raises the kama, krodha and hunger vikaras
One thing also happens in this, the speaker warns: when japa of a mantra is done in this manner, performing trataka, and the capacity to balance is not there, then the person's vikaras connected with kama and krodha, or vikaras connected with hunger, increase very greatly. He calls this a side effect. For this reason it is mostly done only by those who already have yoga abhyas and the rest, or who know beforehand that this will happen and how it is to be controlled.
How should food and eating be regulated through the sadhana?
Rock salt may be used. Grain should be taken once a day at a fixed hour, with fruit afterwards and no grain after sunset if the body permits. Eating three meals a day is said to make the experience of siddhi impossible.
Why must a practitioner not eat or drink at another household?
Because grain and place both exert an effect. A practitioner carries their own water and food when travelling for work, washes their own vessels, and eats only what is prepared with purity at home — or lives on fruit.
Even the Hanuman Chalisa alone, kept daily for forty-one days
A practitioner who will do nothing else may keep the Hanuman Chalisa daily for forty-one days — best at night — and the speaker says they will feel Hanuman's grace themselves. The full rule still applies: Brahmacharya and the discipline over food.
What can be done by someone whose family will not permit any practice?
Memorise the twelve, sixteen or eighteen names of their chosen deity and repeat them while going about the day, from after the morning bath until sleep — with Brahmacharya observed and no meat eaten through the Kumbh.
What counts constitute accomplishment of the Hanuman Ashtottara Satanama?
Ten thousand for the basic accomplishment and forty thousand for complete accomplishment — performed while observing Brahmacharya and the rules governing food and drink.
What happens if Brahmacharya breaks during a sadhana?
Where the Sankalpa carried a desire, that desire is not fully fulfilled. Nocturnal emission is not counted an offence — but for fierce powers such as Bagalamukhi it causes difficulty regardless, which is why Ganapati sadhana is a prerequisite.
What is the first test facing someone who travels to the Kumbh?
Taste. The speaker warns those going to keep control over tongue and mind, saying the food on display is arranged so attractively that a visitor will decide to eat this time and perform sadhana at the next Kumbh.
Can japa be done after eating garlic and onion?
Ordinarily japa and the rest should not be done having eaten garlic and onion — that is the first point. Brother, eating garlic and onion will increase the heat in the body and difficulties will arise; for men especially, difficulties of a different kind begin. As far as the subject of japa goes, it will be more excellent if you do it without having eaten. As for the daily routine, that depends also on what work you do.
Why is it improper to have relations with a girlfriend before marriage?
That before marriage it is improper. When a marriage takes place, the speaker says, the kunwari kanya is at that time first offered to Bhagavan Shri Agni Dev, and thereafter she is obtained by the man, having become fully pure. So if you want that the girl's father should get no fruit of the kanyadaan, then do all this. It is not proper in any manner — and he adds that the question itself was not one that it was proper to ask publicly.
Does swapna dosha in the middle of a long anushthan break the sadhana?
The speaker says no. During the 41-day kavach anushthan the sadhak had the swapna dosha that men get, and asked whether the sadhana was now broken. Citing great saints and sadhaks of the Shankaracharya tradition, the speaker says that if such a state arises by itself in a dream, and the sadhana is not a Shakti or Mahashakti sadhana, it is to be taken as no dosha at all — you made no effort, so you have nothing to do about it; ignore it and do not sit clutching it. He adds the scope: in certain special Shakti sadhanas of Bhagavati this must be guarded against, and there it becomes compulsory.
Full brahmacharya throughout, and a mantra never spoken aloud — a doubt is passed to a fellow practitioner in writing, never by speech.
Full brahmacharya is to be observed properly. This mantra and this vidhi are never to be told to anybody — it should be utterly secret for you. The mantra is not to be pronounced aloud. If some other person is performing this vidhan along with you and has a doubt, then even so, tell it by writing it down; do not tell it by speaking. The guru mantra, the speaker says, is always kept secret.
What should not be eaten during Pitru Paksha?
Wholly sattvic food, with garlic and onion excluded. The speaker suggests going further — stopping now and resuming only after Kartik Purnima, and those intending Bhairava sadhana in Margashirsha continuing the abstention through that too.
Is Brahmacharya required during Pitru Paksha?
Yes — complete Brahmacharya holds in Pitru Paksha as it does in Navratri, and the speaker specifies it must be observed both mentally and physically while performing any of the observances.
Cleverness takes less than twenty-four hours to knock a person down — after which the blame is laid on the teaching, never on how it was done.
Cleverness, he says, will not take even twenty-four hours: you will be knocked down, and afterwards you will say that you did it because he told you to and this was your ruin. People say such things — my father came to such a state, my mother came to such a state — and, he retorts, who told you to do it that way? That part, he says, you will not tell.
Brahmacharya at the time of the dhuna means only this: the body must be pure when it is given.
Whether the listener uses it in the deep or in the dhoop: when he performs the abhimantran he will be pure, and when he gives the dhuna also he must observe full brahmacharya. The meaning of observing brahmacharya, he explains, is only this — that at the time of giving the dhuna the body should be pure. Not from just any sort of body.
Is sadhana from eleven at night to three all right for a householder?
The speaker says the time is for the sadhak, but he is a householder — now, if he can get free from household life, then let him do it, because this same time is also the time for grihastha sukh. If you are married and your wife is giving you permission, saying yes, go and do your sadhana, then it is fine; she should be satisfied in this matter and should be one who cooperates.
The culture needs saving, so learn them — on the condition of purity in uccharan
He says that those who are trying to learn the Rudrashtadhyayi and Rudri paath with correct pronunciation should learn — in the present time there is a need to save our culture, to learn it, and never mind who says what. But do the uccharan only if you observe yoga and purity; otherwise do not.
What care do the Hanuman beej mantras require?
He says that in the beej mantra of Hanuman ji there is the agni beej and many such fierce beejas as Hasphre and so on, so great purity in their pronunciation is necessary. No mistake should occur; observe brahmacharya well. Otherwise there will be a great deal of shool vedana in the body — that is, pain, the feeling that some thorn is being pricked in, as pricks in the knees during a viral fever.
Which dietary rules does the speaker insist on for the samputit Hanuman Chalisa path?
You will not be able to stay without eating garlic and onion, he says; you will not be able to stay without eating meat and fish; you will not eat Vaishnav food. And then you will argue over it — people of Mithilanchal will say that in our region nothing happens at all without curd and fish, so how then are the prets and pishachs to flee from our region? A rule, he answers, is a rule.
What if intense Hanuman practice brings wrong thoughts into the mind?
A listener says that when he does the puja-path of Hanuman ji intensely, or does the Janjira or Bajrang Baan, wrong things begin to come into the mind and brahmacharya is not maintained in the mind. Yes, the speaker says, that is a matter of difficulty.
Why do results not come to those who behave badly?
People say Hanuman ji did nobody's work, that we did puja in this way and nothing came of it. The speaker answers sharply that you look at the sisters and daughters of others with crooked eyes and then want your work to be done by Hanuman ji. And when it is not done you will go and join the adharmis, speak crookedly about Hanuman ji, and still think your work should get done — is that possible, he asks.
What does arghya to Surya remove for a sadhak?
Giving arghya to Surya is prescribed for the condition that arises for men during sadhana, and for women too — swapnadosh and the like, from whatever cause, whether a cause of thought or an ordinary natural cause. Bathing in the morning and then giving arghya to Surya removes that dosha, the speaker says; many doshas are averted by giving arghya to Surya.
What niyams apply to a Surya anushthan?
Mistakes of what kind? Brahmacharya observance first of all, the speaker answers — brahmacharya should be observed in both mental and physical form. Their puja should ordinarily be done for a minimum of twelve days, though you may do even one day if you wish. If you have brought it into your nitya niyam it is not necessary there, but if you have taken a sankalpa of an anushthan, then you must observe the niyams, along with sattvik food and the other ordinary rules.
What should I eat while doing the five-day anushthan?
There is no tension about it, he says. Eat sattvik food. Do not eat garlic and onion for the five days. Start observing brahmacharya — and in Kartik the more brahmacharya you keep the better. Apart from that, in the morning eat as sattvik or as little food as you can, and if you get a little time from your office or whatever work you have, sleep a little too, so that your sleep is completed, since japa is to be done at night.
What harm do garlic and onion do in sadhana?
They increase heat, he says: there will be pain in the waist, pain in the stomach, pain in the liver — he notes he said liver pain, not labour pain. So there is difficulty. And the greatest difficulty from garlic and onion is that tamasik vritti certainly increases. The state of swapna dosha increases much more in men. The more heat there is, that much more difficulty; the process of spandan above the Muladhara begins to happen in such a way that a man cannot understand it. So garlic and onion do harm; garlic and onion should be given up.
Does sutak attach when a sister has a baby?
No, Amit ji, he says: she has had kanyadan done, the panigrahan sanskar happened; she has become the Lakshmi of their house, she has departed from your house. So when her child is born, or when a death happens at their house, its sutak does not attach at your place. But one condition should certainly be accepted, and it does happen: if a young woman is the only child of her parents, her marriage has taken place and she is in her sasural, then her husband bears her whole responsibility, and of his own in-laws too — then that whole rule will have to be observed by all the in-laws' side as well; the entire rule applies here too. Apart from this, if she has brothers and all, then this rule does not apply here.
Rules of the Annapurna sadhana: brahmacharya, direction, colour and mala
For the Annapurna sadhana, the speaker says, Brahmacharya must first of all be observed by every sadhak. The direction is always east or north, never west or south; cloth and asana are yellow or red. For the japa the best mala is one of eight-mukhi Rudraksha; if that is not available a panchmukhi rudraksha mala will do, since every mantra can be japed on a panchmukhi.
Who may undertake the Hanumant Badavanal sadhana
The speaker names three basic conditions. One must be able to give up meat and alcohol — if not, do not take up this vidhan. Brahmacharya, mental and physical, is essential as in every Hanuman sadhana. And one must hold back anger, because this is an ugra sadhana in which anger will rise, and getting angry at anyone wastes the energy and punya being earned.
Stage one of Badavanal siddhi: Sitaram japa from Ekadashi to Ekadashi
The speaker says the vidhi begins on the Ekadashi of any month and runs to the Ekadashi of the next paksha. In that period one does 108 malas daily of the Sitaram nama on a genuine Tulsi mala of 108 beads plus a sumeru, to destroy one's paap and taap and to produce in the body the element that can hold the Badavanal vidya. It is done with Brahmacharya, sleeping on the ground if possible, after a morning bath and puja of Shri Ram's darbar, on a Kusha Asana laid with its head east, in yellow clothes, facing east only, with achaman and a Sankalpa naming the purpose and also all paap, shraap and kundali doshas; each day's japa is surrendered with water into Ram's right hand or Janaki's left. After the home puja one goes to a Shiva temple, lights five ghee lamps, does abhisheka with milk, curd and honey and then water, offers bilva and flowers and recites the Rudrashtakam eleven times; back home, one feeds the creatures around the house before eating. Kept up to the Ekadashi, this completes the first stage.
Closing the Badavanal anushthan: the final-day havan, laddu distribution and brahmachari bhojan
The speaker says that when the 21-day path is complete, on the last day a Havan of Hanuman is done in the temple itself, oneself or, better for a woman, by a pandit. The material is ghee and Guggul: ahutis first with Hanuman's sahasranama, then 108 each with the Gayatri of Ram, of Sita and of Hanuman, then Purnahuti. The daily rot-churma bhog is eaten and shared at home; on the last day one may arrange a sawa-mani of 40 kilos of Laddu or simply a sawa kilo, feed it to small children, provide for nearby monkeys and do gau seva. If five Brahmins who truly keep brahmacharya can be found, feed them food cooked by one's own hand; otherwise give dan-Dakshina to a pandit and do gau seva. Done so, he says, this is one vidhi by which the Badavanal vidya is attained.
What are the Brahmacharya rules during an Anushthan?
In a Sankalpit Anushthana — one undertaken for a stated end — Brahmacharya is compulsory and marital relations do not take place. In ordinary daily practice with no special Sankalp you live as usual, but relations are still avoided on Ashtami, Chaturdashi, Poornima, Amavasya, Ekadashi, festival periods and Sankranti.
How is Brahmacharya to be maintained during an Anushthan?
Both mind and body require practice — the mind so that no wrong subject enters it, the body so that no error occurs through it, whether of the eyes or the hands. Restraint of the body alone is insufficient: failing in the mind produces difficulty regardless.
What restrictions come with even an unconsecrated copper kada?
Four, the speaker says, will attach in any case. Do not drink liquor while wearing it. Do not let juice from something sweet land on it and then lick it off — it becomes like poison. Do not eat meat, fish or eggs. And remove it before the touch of a woman, even your own wedded wife.
What maintains Brahmacharya?
The practice of yogic action, Kapalbhati in particular; the giving up of heavy food; and the Upasana of Surya in the morning.
What sadhana gives physical strength?
Perform the Vir-bhava sadhana connected with Bhagavan Hanuman ji while observing Brahmacharya; perform the Panchmukhi Hanuman sadhana; perform the Markateshwar Bhairav sadhana. Done after taking Deeksha it is excellent, as is a Samput recitation of the Hanuman Chalisa with the complete sadhana.
What does a visit from a divya shakti pleased by an anushthan leave behind?
The speaker says to know that whenever a shakti of this kind comes upon a body, she goes having made that body exceedingly divine — and the body must then be kept in that same manner. If you do not keep your conduct, movement and behaviour accordingly, then she does not support you either.
Can one state in the sankalpa that onion and garlic cannot be given up during a sadhana?
Asked whether, when one does a sadhana but cannot stop onion and garlic in those days, one can say this plainly in the sankalpa, the speaker says Maiya has no difficulty with onion and garlic — the difficulty is in your body. Maiya is far away; what difficulty would she have? You are her son. But when you do mantra japa, its energy will not give its effect in your body in that manner; so according to him it is then of no use, and on top of that it will increase tamasikta, because all these things increase heat.
Why are onion and garlic forbidden during sadhana?
The speaker says garlic and onion have been forbidden for consumption because, first of all, they will increase heat in the body; the bad smell is a separate matter, set all that aside. They have been told to be taken only for medicine — you should take them only in the form of medicine, on account of medicine, and for any other reason should give them up.
Without conserved tej there is no urdhva gati, so brahmacharya cannot be held unnecessary.
The speaker says there is no benefit in saying it in the sankalpa — what will you say, that we shall eat everything including garlic and onion but shall do your puja? According to him that is not right. He says that nowadays on very many channels the so-called great people say all this, and that according to them even the observance of brahmacharya is not necessary — but when the tej is not conserved at all, where will urdhva gati come from, and then what is the need of mantra japa at all? Live like that, then, he says; why put a stain on it?
Is a wife or lover the Devi's direct form, as the Kaul marga claims?
He gives as an example the nautanki running among sadhaks of the Kaul marga who bring up repeatedly that whether in Navratri or at any other time, if you have a wife or a lover then she is the Devi's own direct form; so if she says she wants the pleasure of the bed at that time, you should give it, since the Devi is saying it. What lowness could be greater than this, he asks. A person committing such wrongdoing, doing sadhana in Navratri with such a base mentality, whether by night or by day — if he is not punished, what else will he get?
Food and brahmacharya during the Mahabhairav prayoga
The speaker says there is no rule or prohibition about eating and drinking in this Prayoga. Brahmacharya, if it can be kept, is most excellent; without it the likelihood of success drops. He argues that someone truly in calamity keeps brahmacharya automatically, because a disturbed mind cannot even think of touching one's wife; so if you are not keeping it, you have no genuine trouble and are cheating God, yourself and everyone else. Without it, he says, doubt keeps growing and you will not even have the strength to do five Malas of Japa at a time; your condition will deteriorate.
Why is the form in which Kamakhya is worshipped regarded as contemptible?
Your mentality and mine, the speaker answers. We call contemptible the very thing on account of which our birth on this whole earth took place, because we do not have the kind of self-control that would let the truth be spoken about ourselves — and control cannot be there when that kind of knowledge is simply not given in our society.
What changes after fifteen, and why were samskaras given then?
After fifteen years, at sixteen and seventeen, the speaker says, hormones develop, our bhav increases and attraction towards the opposite sex grows; at that time the body's energy is very much heightened, and if that energy is not given right direction there is a loss of it and we begin to misuse it. That is why, formerly, when samskaras were performed, people were engaged through pujan-path, samskaras and various kinds of deeksha — which was the period before the coming of the Mughals; after that, all these things for the stage past sixteen years were removed.
How is such a kshudra shakti actually made?
Suppose some young woman of sixteen or seventeen dies an untimely death, or is killed by some tantra kriya, the speaker says: the yoni she goes into is a very powerful yoni. As he had explained about devputras, boys of fourteen or fifteen years, and up to the age of forty or forty-five, or those of twenty-five or thirty who remain unmarried — their shakti is very great, the reason being that the shukra formed in the body has not been emitted anywhere and the capacity remains intact. The same happens with a woman.
Can sadhana succeed without remaining a brahmachari, as the new manmukhi panths claim?
One who does not properly know the chakra pujan can say anything at all, the speaker says. Nowadays a manmukhi vidhan is running, in which anything can go. Just as the Vaidik vidhan has its own importance, so the Kaul and the Shakta have their own; you may tamper with it and make up anything of your own. A new parampara is being formed nowadays — mukta panth, this panth, that panth — and in it people are even saying that you may do sadhana and puja without remaining a brahmachari and your gati will still occur. A person should never tamper with it, he says.
How should Hanuman ji's seva be done so that no fault attaches?
He says a video on Hanuman ji's seva is being provided. The one thing everybody fears is fault; everyone goes to brahmacharya — that a man or a woman should have no fault in the way they look at the opposite sex. Only by keeping self-restraint can any sadhana be done. It is not at all the case, he says, that if Hanuman ji is to be worshipped then a full brahmacharya vrat must be kept, while when Bhagavati Kamakhya is worshipped there is a complete open licence because it is the Kamakhya swaroop being worshipped and you may look at anyone in whatever way you like. That is a very great misconception. The rule is the same in all — brahmacharya has to be observed.
When the master takes on abhiman his servants take it on too, and the Sapta Rishis shared in the pride of Brahma.
Because the seven rishis and the others had helped Brahma; and when the master comes to have abhiman, the servants make abhiman too. All of them were having abhiman that we are capable of doing everything, and somewhere also on account of their brahmacharya, on account of their being brahmacharis, all of them were having abhiman. They were still thinking this when Sandhya appeared.
What is the tejas of those who keep brahmacharya?
Look at those who do tapasya, at tapasvis, at those who do a great deal of japa, at those who live keeping brahmacharya with full niyam and nishtha, he says: the tej of their body is quite different, whether woman or man. Seeing them people become unsettled; one feels at once that there is a different kind of tej. And this was Kamdev, called Manmath, appearing straight from the beautiful thought of Brahma's mind.
What is the body itself born from?
These were the two things, he sums up: how the pitrs arose, and that Kamdev had already received his curse at that same time, the whole leela having been inaugurated then. Next comes the marriage of Kamdev, in bodily form. And know, he says, that your body and mine is born of kaam itself. One is not to flee from it; one is to obtain victory over it. Obtaining victory is a subject of quite another kind.
What conduct is prescribed for householders?
For those who have gone into the grihastha state, he says, a conduct has been determined — how conduct is to be performed. For the purpose of the begetting of children alone you have a complete vidhi vidhan. But so much mockery has been made of it that today nobody carries the subject forward; it has become entirely a matter of jokes.
May the path of Sarveshwar Mahadev be done in a Shiva temple?
Yes, he says, it can be done in a temple; the ordinary path can be done, if the difficulty is very great and your bhav is in that form. But take care that in that Shiva temple there is not also a Narayan in the precinct. And secondly, brahmacharya and the rest will have to be kept very well, with niyam and nishtha. The path is not to be done in great quantity — do the path very little: three, five, or even one. Not more than that.
What does excessive sleepiness during jap indicate?
If sleep is coming a great deal, he says, there is a shortage of tej in the body, a shortage of shukra — that is why this is happening. Pay attention to the observance of brahmacharya, pay particular attention to food and drink, complete your sleep, and then it will be all right; otherwise it will not.
What care should be kept in performing daily bhog seva at a temple?
A listener says Shiva and Hanuman are seated in a temple near her house and she has received the seva of the daily bhog, and asks what care to keep while making and offering it. It is a great good fortune, he says, that the work of the daily bhog in a temple of Hanuman has been received; the burden of temple seva comes only from the punya of some birth. Keep full attention to sucheeta, and go and come with purity, observing brahmacharya well. And since her name is Monica, and if she is a woman, she should not go at the time of masik dharm — for that time she should have some other arrangement made.
Does the bathwater from a tattoo of God going into the drain incur dosha?
Asked whether, after a tattoo of God is made, the water of one's bath going into the drain will not incur a dosha, he asks in return: and God, who is seated within us — within the mind, the atma, the five senses — whom people keep dirty like a drain day and night, does no dosha attach to God there? With this same mind we contemplate a mantra; with this same mind we hear the kathas of the Puranas and the bhav of God forms in it. In that same mind we form the bhav that Bhagavati Jagadamba is eight-armed, three-eyed, has the moon on her forehead, is mounted on a lion — and in that same mind we think wrongly about some woman, and make that same mind a drain. Then it is not wrong; but the tattoo water going into the drain is a dosha.
Does the discipline start on the first day of the Anushthan?
No — take it as beginning one to two days earlier. If the Anushthan starts on Tuesday, then Sunday and Monday too require full Brahmacharya and correct conduct in food and drink; and for at least two days after the forty-one days end, the same rules are held.
Can the rules be relaxed a little in the middle of a long Anushthan?
No. Anyone who tells you that the Kali Yuga excuses mental lapses, or that you may keep contact with your wedded wife once or twice midway without incurring fault, is — in the speaker's words — becoming the cause of your complete ruin. It never works that way.
Why is it that certain teachers are followed and others are not?
Because they grant permission. The speaker asks why nobody follows Trailanga Swami, Devraha Baba or Tulsi Baba — because their hard Upasana, their Yoga practice, their hard Bhakti cannot be matched. What is followed instead is whoever says eat on Ekadashi, no Brahmacharya is needed, no mala is needed.
Why is distance from objects of enjoyment prescribed during sadhana?
It is for this reason, the speaker says, that it has been said that during the time of sadhana one should keep distance from the objects of upabhog and bhog. He gives the phone as the example: you may be listening to good things all day, and you may have been doing the Panchakshari sitting here, but a video on the mahima of mantras begins, some tantric baba appears and says that if you do the mantra of Tripur Bhairavi such a thing will happen, or if you do the mantra of Bhagavati Kali such a thing will happen.
Can one keep the danda of Bhagavan Dattatreya on one's own?
Asked about it, the speaker says the fully vidhivat tantric danda of Bhagavan Dattatreya can be borne and kept only if one walks with brahmacharya and by niti-niyam, and above all only if one has received diksha from a special sadhak of his. It is not something one simply picks up.
What is the alternative to the Mahamrityunjay Stotra?
Suppose you did not do the Mahamrityunjay Stotra and say you have practice of the Mala Mantra and will do the mala mantra — then you may do the mala mantra as well. The mala mantra is somewhat ugra. As for the nitya niyam, full Brahmacharya and the rest is to be observed and onion and garlic are not to be eaten — that applies in every sadhana connected with Mahamrityunjay. The vidhan will be the same, but the mala mantra is a little long.
What is the reason behind the age restriction?
Recall your own fourteenth or fifteenth year — how fiercely the hormones change, how you were drawn to the opposite sex, a state almost of unconsciousness. Consider then how far the energy of such a person will rise after going to that region, and that if he cannot bear the surge of Kama, mistakes and offences follow and the boy is ruined.
What undoes the conserved Tapo-bal?
If at that point you begin other things — take to meat and liquor, begin wrong acts — and then perform a prayoga, you will be left neither on this side nor on that. The speaker's own phrase for it: it has been cut.
Why does high-energy sadhana require strict Brahmacharya, and how is that balanced?
High-energy practices require strict mental celibacy and devotion, since rapid energy generation activates the Muladhara chakra and can temporarily heighten desire and anger — balanced by initial worship of Ganesha and Dattatreya alongside proper Guru guidance.
Why Kartikeya left Kailash for Krauncha mountain in the south
The speaker says that when Kartikeya returned from the earth parikrama, Narada — made the sutradhar before every great event, which is why he is called the mind of Bhagavan — told him by Shiva's inspiration that his parents had used the parikrama as a pretext to marry Ganesha, who now had two wives and two sons. Kartikeya bowed to his parents in anger, renounced Kailash despite their pleas, and went south to Krauncha mountain, where he remained Kumar for ever; the name Kumar destroys sins and grants Brahmacharya. The speaker calls the whole leela a matter of deep secrecy: it laid the foundation for the Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga, was tied to Shiva's tasks against the three sons of Tarakasura at the Tripura slaying, and was a device to send Kartikeya south, for otherwise the asuras rampant there would have kept harming Sanatan — which is why he is in the south even today.
Restriction on women of menstruating age at Kartikeya's Kumar shrine
The speaker says the direct vigraha of Kartikeya that went to Krauncha mountain remains in the form of Kumar even today, while his marriage and his beloved known from the Skanda Purana — Shrivalli and Bhagavati Devasena — belong to his other avatars, which did marry. Because Bhagavan is worshipped there in this Kumar form, it is stated that a girl above thirteen who has not yet reached menopause should not go to that place. He says this was the reason behind the big controversy at the South Indian temple over women's entry.
Skanda as Shiva's tejas: foremost in virility, strength and brahmacharya
The speaker says that in every matter related to virility, fierceness, strength, Brahmacharya and blood, the name of Kumar stands first. Kartikeya was born directly from Shiva's Tejas: just as Ganesha, formed from the ubtan of the pores of Bhagavati's whole body, is Bhagavati's own embodied form, so Kumar Skanda, born of Shiva's tejas, is Shiva himself. Each of the two, he says, has his own speciality.
What extra discipline is prescribed for a capable sadhak?
A capable sadhak — meaning one whose body is able — should eat one meal a day and do japa, at night or in the day. Those who cannot, because of the heat, office and work, should do as much as the body allows. But it will be good, the speaker says, if it is done while staying in sattvikta, because eating heavily makes long sitting difficult.
Is virachara diksha a licence to eat and drink freely?
No. The speaker says that if you are in this path and must eat, then choose that kind of deity form and take that kind of diksha — but you cannot proceed without knowing the vidhi vidhan and being controlled. Even virachari sadhaks, he says, inevitably fall after a time if they do not walk by niti and niyam. Virachara is not a certificate of licence, and where there is no restraint over the indriyas there is no sadhana at all.
How long should Brahmacharya be maintained after Navratri?
To Poornima at least. Ending it on Dashami is the single greatest mistake — spending in that way the energy and merit collected with so much effort. The speaker acknowledges this will offend some listeners and says so directly.
How is the Navratri fast to be kept?
This Navratri is of ten days; practitioners are to fast ten days, with the Paran on the eleventh. Keep the fast according to your own body's capacity — on fruit, or eating grain once a day, as the body supports you. But if you are of a strong body and are keeping it while eating full meals, that is not proper.
Public Kaal Bhairav worship coexists with an inability to keep brahmacharya
You may go into the Kaal Bhairav temple and do his worship face to face — people are doing it well in Varanasi, he says; the reality behind is something else. They speak beating their chest, but they are not, in his phrase, langot ke pakke. He says he is telling it with full proof: it is only for the saying that yes, I am of Kaal Bhairav, and that they are such great sadhaks with such and such a siddhi. Go behind the curtain and, when you are faced with reality, you will find that they cannot keep brahmacharya at all, that the capacity to keep it is not within them, that the mental state is simply not of that kind.
Are there separate rules for a daily twenty-one or forty-one day recitation?
Asked whether there are any separate rules for reciting daily for twenty-one days or forty-one days, he answers: if it is possible, do it while observing brahmacharya — that is the best of all.
Once the family's one sadhak is occupied elsewhere, the tantric gets his chance
And within that, he says, the sadhak's marriage takes place and the sadhak becomes engaged with his wife in a different sadhana. The story ends there. The tantric has got his chance and will perform his own sadhana. If you will not do it with your wife, he will do it with your family — and after that you may keep weeping.
Young sadhaks asked which path they want say they want the sadhana marg, because they know they would fall
When discussion takes place among sadhaks, the speaker says — among the young and some who have reached middle years, some whose marriage is about to happen, on the phone or by other means — they ask what will happen. He asks them which path they want to go on, and they say they want to go on the sadhana marg, because one has to enter the grihastha in any case, and in the grihastha we are not in a position to be such great detached sanyasis holding so hard a brahmacharya vrat. We know we will fall. This is not a matter of writing and reading. There is not that much capacity, nor is there such powerful vairagya. So we do want to be vairagi, but through this ashram, after entering it, so that no matter of falling may occur through us.
Warning others is good work, but making eight of ten subjects the woman's bodily form destroys the weight of that work
The speaker says there is a very learned person who has no guru, of whom he will not say much and nothing negative. But he observes that this person passes remarks about a woman's bodily form to an extreme degree — if ten subjects of his are written, eight of them are this, addressed especially to men: be alert, do this, do that, if you enjoy a woman's body then this will happen. His view is that if a person is a brahmachari, that is the very chintan that should not be there. Warning others is very good work; but if you are writing a thousand posts a day and 999 of them stay on this one subject, then it seems to him that you yourself are doing the most chintan of it, and forcing others into chintan too. He grants that the man does not write untruth — he writes the truth, but it becomes excess; and writing a thing over and over makes people give it no importance and ignore it. He himself also tells people not to do wrong, but says a precise strike should be made at the precise time with an example, so that our Sanatani sadhaks become strong — mentally, bodily, and by the langot too, they should have excellence and strength in every way.
What conduct should accompany the four-month recitation?
Even if nothing else happens, the speaker says, if over these four months you have proceeded correctly, observing brahmacharya and at the least not speaking untruth — he grants that speaking a hundred per cent truth is not possible, that life is like that and he knows it too — but at least make the effort not to have to speak untruth. Proceeding in this way even while in the householder state, observing brahmacharya properly to a degree, then by Narayan's grace after these four months there will be a difference of earth and sky in your life.
Does a person with much rajogun have difficulty succeeding in sadhana?
Asked whether a person in whom rajogun is greater has difficulty in the success of sadhana, the speaker asks what rajogun means and what difficulty there would be in success. Whenever you perform sadhana, you have to take up niyams at that time: complete observance of brahmacharya, sattvik conduct, thought, behaviour, food and so on. It is in this whole set of niyams, in walking while maintaining the whole discipline, that difficulty arises — that is why you say success will not come. But it is not that success will not come; the difficulty is that you will have some trouble in observing your niyams.
What are the rules of wearing rudraksha?
Asked what the rules are for wearing the janeu and rudraksha, and having been asked only about rudraksha, the speaker says the first rule for householders is that whenever you wear rudraksha, keep care about what is edible and inedible. If you are non-vegetarian and wear rudraksha, then at the time of eating meat — it is Kaliyug now, he says, and he knows the rules will not be fully kept at the beginning — still, if Shiva's grace has come, make the effort that meat-eating does not happen. And if the eating of meat and liquor still happens, then whenever you do it, do not do it while wearing them; after bathing you may wear them again.
What should be done for extreme kaam pida and a broken brahmacharya?
A listener says he has been trapped for nine years in bad company and unclean conduct, cannot maintain brahmacharya, and that everything has been ruined. When kaam jwar and kaam pida are very excessive, the speaker says, take the refuge of Bhagavan Sadashiva for the destruction of kaam. What should you do? You have to do a fifteen-minute puja. He adds that the listener's Shukra will certainly be in a fallen state, that Chandra will certainly be afflicted in the kundali, and that the panchamesh may be Rahu, on account of which this state has come about.
What is the fifteen-minute puja for the destruction of kaam?
If such distress is happening to you a great deal, the speaker says, then first of all, in the month of Shravan, beginning from Guru Purnima and continuing up to the Purnima of Shravan, offer daily at least seven lotas of water upon Bhagavan Sadashiva from a brass lota — do it from a brass lota, he says, since he does not know who the questioner is — while reciting the Dwadash Ling Stotra, and after that do the shringar of Sadashiva with bhasma.
What do dreams of a woman during a sadhana period mean?
Asked about dreams involving a woman during a period of sadhana, the speaker says this is a very ordinary thing, and that he has made a separate video on the subject. It is entirely a matter for investigation whether it is an ordinary thing, or some kind of tantra prayoga, or whether something is coming into the sadhana you are performing. This whole thing has to be looked at; it depends. It can be different for everyone, and can be ordinary and normal too. When the body becomes very tired, this thing also happens; and in it there are doshas of tantra and the like, dev dosha, dosha of the place, and dosha of food.
Brahmacharya during a Shatchandi and the "a Shakta's wife is Bhagavati" argument
The speaker says there are special rules and cautions for Brahmacharya and diet during such a parayan. The man had been told that since he is a Shakta, his wife too is a form of Bhagavati — if you cannot keep her pleased, how will you please Bhagavati? — the same point that once caused a whole controversy. Caught up in that, he did not keep brahmacharya at all: his sattvik food and drink was fine, but there was no special observance of brahmacharya, and his household relations continued about once a week. The speaker says this is entirely wrong and should not have happened.
What is the prayashchitta if brahmacharya is broken?
If brahmacharya is broken, he says, then for prayashchitta do five malas of japa separately and ask for kshama, speaking it out. If it was broken at night, then do the prayashchitta the next morning. Do not abandon the sadhana — if you used to do five malas of japa, then do five malas more. This is human, it is an offence, and you will forgive it. But do not leave the sadhana, do not let the mind become uchatit; keep the continuity. There is no difficulty. You are not doing the sadhana of yaksha and yakshini, he says, that they will come and take your life.
This reinforcing anushthan needs no akhand deep and no kalash sthapana, only the regular practice kept up.
In this anushthan, he says, you need neither light an akhand deep, nor perform kalash sthapana, nor do anything special. Whatever you were doing regularly, you will do just that; the only difference will be that during the period of the anushthan you keep your whole manner of living under full brahmacharya palan and so on, living a satvik life.
Can the Datta Mala mantra be repeated from Poornima to Amavasya?
A questioner wishes to do the Datta Mala mantra again and again from Poornima to Amavasya. Absolutely, do it from Poornima to Amavasya, he answers; observing brahmacharya in that period is exceedingly necessary.
What does he prescribe for debt and a stopped business?
If no path is visible and the difficulty is so great, then from the day of Tuesday take the sankalpa for this very thing — that there be guidance for the ending of the debt, that a path be made and my business begin again, that whatever kind of dosha there is, be it graha dosha, be it a dosha of the earth, be it a dosha of thought, all be destroyed and the grace of Bhagavati Lakshmi be obtained — and taking exactly this sankalpa, do havan with the Hanuman Chalisa from Tuesday to Tuesday, or if possible on every Tuesday. He would himself say: do a havan for forty-one continuous days, taking the sankalpa daily, doing havan early each morning, observing brahmacharya and keeping satvik food and conduct and thought.
What if brahmacharya is broken during a Datta Mala mantra sankalpa?
A questioner had taken the sankalpa of the Datta Mala mantra but brahmacharya was broken. If brahmacharya was broken, then all right, there is no difficulty, he answers; begin a new one again.
Who may take up the sadhana of Bedi Hanuman ji?
Why do you wish to do the sadhana of Bedi Hanuman ji, he asks the questioner. If you are initiated in tantra, then it is all right, you may do Bedi Hanuman ji; but do his sadhana only when you will have done the preliminary sadhanas. Do sadhana of this kind only if your brahmacharya does not break, if everything is right, and if you are strong in mind — otherwise, if you have made any error after doing all these sadhanas, then folding your hands there will be of no use. He cites Daksha Prajapati, who went on speaking the Panchakshari mantra of Bhagwan Shiva at the last moment, and whose head Virabhadra ji blew off; so do the Bedi Hanuman ji sadhana with thought and understanding.
What is the harm of doing Kamakhya sadhana without a guru?
The greatest harm, brother, he says, is that if you are doing sadhana even of the beej mantra of Kamakhya, or of the sabar of Kamakhya, of whichever you are doing — her yoginis will suck the blood of your body, brother. The condition will become such that you will not be able to stand before any woman. The reason behind it is that you will not know the full method — how the rodhan is to be done, what is to be done — and so difficulty will arise. Kamakhya sadhana without a guru is never to be done; Bhagavati Kamakhya is complete tantra. Her kavach paath and so on you can do, and you can sing her stuti, and by that alone her grace will be obtained — but if you go into sadhana, then it is a matter of difficulty.
No one can know your own wrongful deeds better than you yourself
Another matter comes, relating to charitra. When we examine our own life, the speaker says, we see how many wrongful deeds we have done — and no one can know more about you in this regard than you yourself.
Are relationships before marriage a charitra dosha?
The speaker says that up to the age of twenty-five, or twenty-five to twenty-eight, a person moves about a great deal and has relations with many people — men with women, women with men — and that these are normal things nowadays. The dosha of mantras that arises from that is what he then discusses.
Can a sadhak defeat prakriti by will alone?
If it is suppressed for that long, where will it go, the speaker asks — you cannot win against prakriti. Read, or know, or observe the state of the Naga sadhus, he says: in what manner they try to walk contrary to prakriti, how they practise, what their state is, in what manner they go into hatha yoga and do all those things — and it is then that they gain victory over it. If they leave off their practice, they will return to what they were before; the condition of their body will become as it was.
What are the conditions and starting tithi for the Devi Suktam prayoga?
How it is to be done: the Tantrokta Devi Suktam is to be samputed with the "शूलेन पाहि नो देवी" mantra. And, the speaker says, Brahmacharya must be observed thoroughly and completely; there should be no difficulty on your part; keep the eating and drinking wholly sattvik. It can be begun from the Ashtami tithi of the Krishna Paksha.
What helps with Brahmacharya during a sadhana?
Surya Namaskar first of all — begin it and you get great support in observing Brahmacharya. And second, Kapalbhati. These two, the speaker says, will give an effect very fast, from the very first day.
For Simha lagna, how would the sadhana of the Aditya Hridaya Stotra be?
Akash ji writes that his lagna is Simha and asks how the sadhana of the Aditya Hridaya Stotra would be for self-confidence and strength, and for another stotra suggestion. It will be very good indeed, he answers — the Aditya Hridaya Stotra. Those who do the Aditya Hridaya Stotra should observe full brahmacharya, should look upon women with full respect, and should remain in full brahmacharya mentally as well.
How can brahmacharya be protected as far as possible?
A listener says he tries very much to control the mind but it lasts only a few days. To control is truly difficult, he answers, but the attempt should be made to do it as much as possible, if you are in the field of sadhana and wish to do sadhana.
Water to Surya, Surya Namaskar and pranayam, with the diet corrected
The second thing is that giving water to Bhagavan Surya, doing Surya Namaskar and doing pranayam — if you bring these things down into your life, then this protection goes for as many days as possible. If you sleep at night after drinking milk and vata forms in your stomach — when there is gas in the stomach, the capacity for keeping brahmacharya is somewhere destroyed. So you will have to change your food and drink accordingly.
How can kama vasana be controlled by one on the path of sadhana?
He repeats this point: you are on the path of sadhana, you only do mantra japa, only do havan, only do the purashcharan of mantras — you will never gain control. Remember, Andhakasura ji, control will simply not be possible, because our very origin is from kama. To obtain control over that is not so easy. Is it possible over that by which our body has been made? Victory over it is attained by the grace of Mahadev.
Such bhav produces chemical changes in the brain that destroy the kama bhav
If it is seen as it really is, he says, then when bhav of this kind come into the body, then in our brain such chemical changes come about that the kama bhav is wholly destroyed.
One adhyaya of the purana of one's own ishta goes with the stuti
When you do that, and along with it, he says again and again — one adhyaya of the purana of your own ishta. Whoever your ishta is: if it is Bhagavati, bring the Shrimad Devi Bhagavat, bring the Skanda Purana, read one adhyaya each. Such things will come to you to read in it that your mind will simply not go in this direction.
Darshan comes even in sleep, and the mind is left no time to wander
Even at the time of sleeping such a condition will arise that even while sleeping you are to have darshan of Bhagavati; the experience of the divyata of their places will begin to be had by you. You will simply not get the time; a time will come when, on seeing women, you will yourself say that there was a time when it used to be so, and now it is like this. But if you only do mantra japa, you will not be able to control it. So bring these two things down into your life — stuti, and the paath of the puranas related to your aradhya; and if you cannot do it daily, then do it at least once or twice a week, but do it.
What does he say about swapna dosha and the guilt around it?
A listener says it is true that one feels guilt about swapna dosha and asks for a separate video. Listen once, Tarakasura ji, he says. The second thing is what he has said: it will not happen merely by thinking. And it is not necessary — when the body remains tired, trouble of this kind occurs, especially with sadhaks, when you do a great deal of mantra japa and the legs are kept in one posture for a long time, three hours, four hours. Fatigue simply comes into the body. The energy of the mantra is a separate thing. If you are not doing pranayam, if you are not doing Surya Namaskar and the like, then there will be trouble.
It is stopped physically first — bring pranayam into your life
To stop this, first physically — because this thing is happening physically. Somewhere, on account of the shreni, things of that kind are happening in the body, and on that account there is activity of that kind. He is saying, he adds, that you must certainly be thinking nothing at all, but it happens of itself. So for this thing you should do pranayam and the like in your life; bring it down. It will take fifteen minutes to do.
Those joining the organised anushthan observe complete brahmacharya, bodily and mental, from Amavasya to the Dashami
Those taking part in the anushthan organised by Grihastha Tantra should try to observe complete brahmacharya from tomorrow, which is Amavasya, up to the Dashami on the twelfth — bodily and mental both. It is the time of the Navratra, the speaker says, so commit no mistake or offence in it.
Why a sadhana is kept secret: ten opinions rule out every kavach
The speaker says this is exactly why one is told to keep a sadhana secret: people make noise and take decisions from ten places. He acts out the chain — some baba said the Hanuman Chalisa gives results; someone else says the Chalisa can do nothing, 'we did it ten years, nothing happened, nothing will happen for you either'; the bajrang-baan should not be done because Hanuman ji gets angry; durga-kavach and Chandi Kavach must not be done because Bhairav ji gets bound in it, though it is the Devi herself who speaks of binding Bhairav; Kamakhya Kavach — 'Kamakhya is not worshipped at home, which fool told you to do it'; Bairi Nashan or Kalika Kavach — 'no, no, far too ugra a shakti'; Panchmukhi Hanuman Kavach — 'you would have to keep Brahmacharya and stay completely pure, not possible, how can we live without thinking wrongly about girls' — and so no kavach can be done at all. He calls that condition pitiable, lower than an animal: a person who cannot keep his mental state pure, cannot hold himself steady in one place, has no control over himself, and then casts aspersions on the devi-devatas. His closing charge: where you are protected and where you are not is a churning to hold within yourself — how you will guard against tantrik attack, which Kavach you will accomplish, with what vidhi and which rules, and who makes you negative, outsiders, insiders or you yourself; decide by self-churning, look within before blaming others, walk the path, and neither make others negative nor become negative yourself.
How long should brahmacharya be observed around a sadhana?
It should be at least three days before and up to three days after, the speaker says. In Navratri, up to Poornima. Beginning from Amavasya — his own word would be from one day before Amavasya: begin the observance of brahmacharya from Chaturdashi, and remain in brahmacharya up to the Poornima tithi.
Why did Hanuman's worship become so widespread?
Because his seva-puja was the easiest of all, and the Hanuman Chalisa was memorised by everyone. And the first condition of Hanuman's sadhana is that keeping brahmacharya is extremely necessary — and when brahmacharya is kept, tej and bal in the body are bound to increase.
Who used to do Hanuman's sadhana in the older pattern?
All the people who formerly learned pahalwani used to do Hanuman's puja in particular — in the akhara, in kushti, and for going to the field of war, doing his puja and his sadhana especially, doing sadhana in the veer bhav. And there were also those who did the siddhi of Hanuman's veers, his chief ganas.
Twenty-one days of brahmacharya settles an ordinary sadhak — set that against crores of years of tapas
That you do an ordinary sadhana, keeping brahmacharya for twenty-one days, and after twenty-one days, on the twenty-second, no kaam bhavana arises within you. And he is Brahma himself, the father of this jagat, who made the creation, who has been foremost through five kalpas and in every kalpa gained samarthya by the aradhana of the five maharupas of Bhagwan Sadashiva for crores upon crores of years — and you say kaam bhavana came within him, that he could not be saved on seeing Saraswati, his manas putri.
Who is Markateshwar and what was required of his sadhak?
In the shamshaan too it is only some rare man who pleases Markat ji, who pleases Markateshwar, by the Dakshinachara or the Vamachara vidhi. In earlier times Markat Veer, Markateshwar, was pleased and made siddha; it is said that one who obtained Markateshwar's kripa gained the samarthya to kill a hundred men alone. But the greatest thing was that such a man had to keep complete brahmacharya and, with complete nishtha, do the seva-puja of Markateshwar and of Hanuman for his whole life.
Is onion and garlic in the household food allowed during a satvik anushthan?
It is not allowed, he says. But if the household people are not agreeing, then you can do one thing: for as many days as the sadhana runs, give up the vegetable. Eat milk and roti. The household will make roti in any case; bring milk, cow's milk, and take milk and roti with it.
What is Masani Ganapati, and may a householder worship him?
Masani Ganapati is the same as Heramba Ganapati, he says, and the need to worship Masani Ganapati does not ordinarily arise. What you are calling Masani Ganapati — Heramba Ganapati, Uchchhishta Ganapati — is their proper form; it is with Bhagavati Neel Tara that Uchchhishta Ganapati is worshipped, and Masani Ganapati is that same svarup. And it does not seem to him that a householder should ever do the seva-upasana of that svarup. If it is done in a household, then if the wife is doing it she will do it with the husband, and if the husband is doing it, with the wife — the puja can be done only as a couple. Such is this field of tantra: the sadhana of Heramba Ganapati and Uchchhishta Ganapati should never be done alone; or else you must be a complete brahmachari for your whole life.
Being asked to observe Brahmacharya and to mind the asana and Pavitri is what people call torment
The speaker names the complaint directly: that he torments people. What they mean by torment, he says, is that he asks them to go by the rules — observe Brahmacharya, mind your asana, mind your Pavitri. Had he simply said stay as you were, eat and drink and enjoy yourself, that would have suited.
Should the Panchadev Vigrahas be kept at home, and how is Kartikeya worshipped?
The Panchadev Vigrahas should certainly be kept at home. For Kartikeya, install either his Shri Vigraha alone or one joined with his Shakti, and then perform the whole Panchanga Seva by his prescription. But his worship, like Hanuman ji's, carries the strict obligation of full Brahmacharya.
Is brahmacharya obligatory during the Panchakshari japa?
The observance of brahmacharya in the Panchakshari japa is absolutely obligatory, he says. In Sawan, eating and drinking and the observance of brahmacharya are all obligatory. In Chaturmas it is obligatory.
For what purposes is Hanuman worshipped?
For the protection of brahmacharya, for shakti and samarthya, for the destruction of enemies, and for the swift attainment of divine siddhis — for these, he says, the pujan of Bhagavan Hanuman ji has importance.
What is the rule about bali inside a householder's threshold?
He speaks entirely in accordance with the Vaishnava position where that is the position, he says. Where the Vaishnava vidhi holds, where the vidhi of a grihastha holds — bhaiya, no such matter should exist inside the chaukhat. If bali is not offered there then it should not be offered, nothing of the kind should happen. Where you are to keep brahmacharya, there you are to keep it, and he will speak accordingly. And where the vidhi of bali holds, there he will speak for bali alone, and will not say there that you should go and offer a lemon and a nutmeg and come back.
How should brahmacharya be strengthened?
The most necessary thing, the speaker says, is that even if you become mentally ready, your body will not take long to go against prakriti. For that purpose you will have to take the help of yoga and of pranayama.
Is it necessary to give up onion and garlic?
If you ask him, the speaker says, giving them up is absolutely necessary, especially for sadhaks. To those who ask whether brahmacharya must be observed, he answers that onion and garlic raise the quantity of heat in the body so greatly — especially within men — that at a certain point you will not be able to do sadhana at all. If there is some physical trouble, some deficiency in the body, and the vaidya or doctor has told you to take onion and garlic, then you may take them exactly as medicine. If there is no need, then do not take them; if you are physically well, there is no need.
What should be done if a sadhana greatly increases the force of desire?
Asked with which mantras and substances Shankar ji should be given abhishek if the force of kaam increases greatly from some sadhana, the speaker answers that the force of kaam increases greatly if the Muladhara is going wrong. At that time, first of all, the pujan of Mahaganapati ji in particular; and along with it, while giving a stream of cool water upon Shiva ji, if you know the 108 names of Mahadev then their recitation, and with a little fierceness. The second thing is the stuti of one's own aradhya: when you do the stuti, or when you recite the charitra and the like connected with them, singing it, the force of kaam will be greatly quieted.
What should someone with back pain during japa do?
To a listener who keeps brahmacharya, does the regular japa of the 32 Namavali, does the daily paath of the Gita and a daily mala of Shiva ji's Panchakshari, and has pain in the waist, the speaker says: sit for as long as you have the capacity, and do not force it too much. If there is trouble in sitting upon the asana, then have a wooden seat made a little high and have the asana made upon that, and then sit, so that sitting is easy. The second thing is that the feet should simply not be upon the ground: keep your asana large so that you can sit comfortably. You may do this, he says; there is no dosha in it.
What should be done when a brahmacharya sankalp taken in a Shiv temple is broken?
He first asks why so difficult a sankalp was taken at all, and why the questioner had such confidence in himself as to take so great a sankalp in a Shiv temple; a sankalp should be taken only up to one weapon's length, according to one's own capacity. Then: do a path of the Rudrashtak before Shiv ji, make kshama yachana, and pray again to him that you may obtain the capacity to carry brahmacharya through unbroken.
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