Contents

1. Lord Dattatreya – One who provides frequencies of Divine consciousness!
2. Other Names of Lord Dattatreya
3. Function of Lord Dattatreya
4. Worship of Lord Datta (who has one head)
5. Benefit of chanting Lord Dattatreya’s Name

1. Lord Dattatreya – One who provides frequencies of Divine consciousness!

The principle that makes available to an embo-died soul both gross and subtle (i.e. manifest and unmanifest) frequencies of higher or lower Gods and Deities in a shorter time is called Datta or Lord Dattatreya). The very meaning of Datta is the ‘One who provides frequencies of Divine consciousness’. – A Scholar (Through the medium of Ms. Anjali Gadgil, 2.54 pm on 7.6.2005)

2. Other Names of Lord Dattatreya

2.1 Avadhut

The One who controls the eight faculties in the body of an embodied soul and shows it the path to the unmanifest dimension through the manifest dimension. Avadhut is a medium that connects both the manifest form of Lord Datta and His unmanifest form. He is a manifest form (the gross manifestation) of the three principles – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiv. He is also related to the unmanifest dimension (manifestation of these three principles in the form of light). ‘Avadhut’ comes alive with the radiance of Lord Dattatreya.

2.2 Digambar

Is the principle which gives company to an embodied soul till it gets Final Liberation in the radiance of the sky, i.e. beyond all the directions.

2.3 Sripad

‘Sri’ is the never-ending principle of God. The principle that takes an embodied soul to that principle of God or to the Holy Feet of ‘Sri’ principle is the Datta principle in Sripad.

2.4 Vallabh

The Datta princ-iple in the form of Vallabh protects the Universe from the circular-shaped distressing frequencies that create a fear psychosis, and thus protects the embodied souls. – A Scholar (Through the medium of Ms. Anjali Gadgil, 2.54 pm on 7.6.2005)

3. Function of Lord Dattatreya

Lord Dattatreya bestows His grace on man by giving speed to the journey of his ancestors to the next region and reducing his distress from ancestors. God gives man a chance to get liberated from the debt of ancestors through the ritual that gives speed to ancestors onward journey and through chanting the Name of Dattatreya.
One cannot get rid of the ancestors’ debt merely by remembering them off and on, displaying their photos in the house or publishing their photos in newspapers on their death anniversaries. It is only by chanting the Name of Dattatreya that the ancestors get speed to go on their onward journey in true sense. From this we can realise that it is imperative to worship the Deity to get liberated from the ancestors’ debt. This also reduces the debt of God on us. – A Devotee of Datta (Through the medium of Ms. Madhura Bhosale, 2.36 pm on 11.5.2005)

4. Worship of Lord Datta (who has one head)

Till the Satya Yuga, the spiritual level of all embodied souls was high and they acquired knowledge on the strength of their own spiritual practice. They possessed the state of ‘Soham’ (I am He). So Lord Dattatreya was required for the functions of dissolution and imparting knowledge to a very limited extent. Only the Vishnu principle in Him was active that time. As a symbol of this, the idol of Datta had only one head. Thereafter, during the Treta Yuga, the spiritual level of the embodied souls started to come down and they found it difficult to protect themselves and acquire knowledge on their own. To impart more knowledge to them through the subtle dimension, Lord Dattatreya had to bring out the dormant Brahma and Shiv principle in Him. To symbolise this, the three-headed idol of Dattatreya became prevalent.

4.1 The Japamala (rosary) in Lord Datta’s hand represents perennial spiritual practice

Brahma of the three-headed Datta has a rosary in His hand. Datta’s chanting goes on continuously, without a break. Perennial spiritual practice is the quality of Lord Shiv too. This feature of ‘perennial spiritual practice’ of both the Deities is found in Lord Dattatreya. Perennial spiritual practice in the present Era means functioning either in a saviour or a destroyer form, as is required.’ – A Devotee of Datta (Through the medium of Ms. Madhura Bhosale, 12 noon on 11.5.2005)

4.2 Kamandalu (water-pot with a specific shape carried by ascetics)

Contains water which has the potential to absorb the unmanifest waves emanating from the Lord and to draw a protective sheath in a moment around the three celestial regions for protecting them from the distress of negative energies in the Universe.’ – A Scholar (Through the medium of Ms. Anjali Gadgil, at 11.39 am on 8.5.2005)

5. Benefit of chanting Lord Dattatreya’s Name

A. The ancestors get speed in their journey to the next region and this makes the atmosphere in the house pleasant.

B. An embodied soul gets energy from Lord Shiv also.

- Lord Ganesh (Through the medium of Bharat Miraje, 8.30 pm on 2.11.2005)

Contents

• 1. Definition
• 2. Importance
• 3. How does ‘repeating (chanting) The Lord’s Name’ work?
• 4. Benefits
  • 4.1 According to psychology
  • 4.2 According to Spirituality
• 5. Which Name should one repeat (chant)?
  • 5.1 Repetition (chanting) of The Lord’s Name to eliminate distress due to distressing energies
  • 5.2 Name of one’s favourite deity [benevolent (ishtadevata)] or that recommended by the Guru?
  • 5.3 Which Name does one repeat (chant) if the Guru has not imparted a Name?
  • 5.4 Repetition (chanting) of The Lord’s Name essential for further spiritual progress
  • 5.5 Method of repeating (chanting) the deity’s Name
  • 5.6 One should not repeat (chant) the name of a saint
• 6. Where should one repeat (chant) The Lord’s Name?
• 7. Repeating (chanting) the Name with faith and righteous behaviour
• 8. Synchronising chanting with the breath
• 9. Other thoughts during chanting
• 10. Methods of chanting in some religious orders
• 11. Distress caused by repeating (chanting) The Lord’s Name

Repeating (chanting) The Lord’s Name

1. Definition

Chanting (japa) means repetition of some letter, word, mantra or sentence. Namajapa means repetition of The Lord’s Name and mantrajapa that of a mantra. The terms japa and the Name (Nama) are often used synonymously with chanting.

2. Importance

Continuity in spiritual practice is achieved only through chanting. The Name is both the tool and the target. The ultimate objective is to merge with the Name.

3. How does ‘repeating (chanting) The Lord’s Name’ work?

‘The subconscious mind carries millions of impressions, to erase even a single one of which would take a very long time. As such, a considerable period of time would be wasted in overcoming the tendencies of the subconscious mind by following restraints and regulations (yam-niyam). It is much more important to make continual efforts to blend with The Absolute Being (Purush), rather than to try and erase such impressions from the mind, which arise from Prakruti. This is precisely what can be achieved by repeating (chanting) The Lord’s Name. The mind, intellect, subconscious mind (chitta), among others, are all constituents of Prakruti and these function according to their own characteristics. Instead of wasting one’s spiritual practice (sadhana) in resisting them, one would achieve one’s goal faster, if that practice is utilized to progress towards the God principle (Purushtattva) by becoming one with the Name (of God) that one repeats (chants).’ - Saint Bhaktaraj Maharaj

4. Benefits

4.1 According to psychology

• A. At least when chanting is going on, no new impressions about other things are created on the subconscious mind. In order to prevent the development of new subconscious impressions, repeating (chanting) The Lord’s Name, is the best path to follow in the waking state.
• B. When chanting is going on, the conscious mind does not accept impulses coming from the centres like the desire and instinct centre, like and dislike centre, temperamental characteristic centre, etc. of the subconscious mind. If this continues for quite sometime then impressions in these centres start decreasing.
• C. The power of concentration increases.

4.2 According to Spirituality

• A. If the Name of a deity is repeated (chanted), it gets appeased.
• B. If one chants some bijakshar one can acquire control over a particular element like the tej (absolute fire) element and can acquire a supernatural power accordingly.
• C. A non-action (akarma karma): If one repeats (chants) The Lord’s Name when performing any action (karma) then that action becomes a non-action, i.e. no accumulated account (sanchit) is generated from it. Since no new accounts are created, after experiencing all that is destined, one can quickly get liberated from the cycle of births and deaths. If one considers the accumulated account of an individual to be 100 units at the time of birth, then on an average in one birth 6 units get depleted by undergoing destiny which means man should be able to attain Liberation within l6 to l7 births. But this does not happen because, whilst one is undergoing 6 units of destiny, new accounts are simultaneously being created by one’s wilful actions (kriyaman karma) and the account rises by 10 units. Hence, at the time of death the accumulated account has 104 units instead of 94. Consequently, an individual gets more and more entrapped in the cycle of births and deaths. To prevent such a thing from happening the action occurring should be a non-action (akarma karma) and this can happen only by repeating (chanting) The Lord’s Name.

5. Which Name should one repeat (chant)?

5.1 Repetition (chanting) of The Lord’s Name to eliminate distress due to distressing energies

Before commencing this spiritual practice, it is extremely essential to find out for oneself if one is afflicted by distressing energy or not and make efforts to overcome it, if present. The following explanation will illustrate its importance.

30% of people in society and 50% of true seekers are afflicted with distressing energies. Due to distressing energies, an individual experiences physical or psychological distress and / or constantly encounters some or the other obstacle in his life. Externally, though one may attribute this distress or obstacles to physical, psychological or worldly factors yet their true cause is affliction by distressing energies. No amount of gross treatment can relieve the physical or psychological distress caused by distressing energies completely. Just as fever contracted due to malaria can be cured completely only with anti-malarial drugs, so is this. Distressing energies also cause obstacles in the spiritual practice of seekers. Consequently, seekers do not reap the expected benefit of their spiritual practice as most of it is expended in alleviating the distress caused by distressing energies. For instance, if one’s vital energy (pranshakti) has decreased due to distressing energies then most of one’s spiritual practice is spent to restore it. So also, distressing energies take the benefit of the spiritual practice of seekers thus depriving them of the expected results despite undertaking a lot of spiritual practice. This shows how necessary it is to give priority to eliminate distress due to distressing energies.

Every deity is a specific principle. When we repeat (chant) the Name of a deity, its principle gets drawn towards us. Distressing energies too are of different types and possess their own inherent qualities. The seven commonly worshipped deities namely Ganapati, Shrikrushna, Datta, Maruti, Shrirama, Durga and Shiva have the ability to destroy almost all types of distressing energies. Depending on a seeker’s constitution, the spiritual practice in his previous birth and type of distressing energy, repetition (chanting) of one or more Names out of these seven prove to be more useful to the seeker to eliminate the distress due to distressing energy. First of all, one should know whether one is afflicted with distressing energy and if so, the Name of the deity which can eliminate it. The following experiment of repeating (chanting) the Names of the seven deities will assist in this. After performing the experiment of repeating (chanting) all the seven Names in a specific manner, one will know the Name with which one experiences some distress. One can conclude that the Name of that deity with which one experiences some distress is most useful to overcome one’s distress due to distressing energy. That Name should be repeated (chanted) for a maximum period of the day till the distress due to distressing energy is overcome completely. So also, one should use other remedies along with the repetition (chanting) of The Lord’s Name to overcome the distress. Refer to the holy text ‘Remedies to eliminate distressing energies’ for details on these remedies and the method of experimenting about repeating (chanting) The Lord’s Name. After the distress due to distressing energies is totally overcome, one can undertake repetition (chanting) of The Lord’s Name as given below.

5.2 Name of one’s favourite deity [benevolent (ishtadevata)] or that recommended by the Guru?

The deity which is responsible for spiritual progress such as the family deity or the deity whose Name is given by the Guru as Gurumantra for chanting, is known as the benevolent deity (ishtadevata). Despite this being so, most consider the deity bestowing worldly benefits or the deity of one’s liking as the benevolent deity. One should repeat (chant) the Name imparted by the Guru instead of chanting the Name of one’s favourite deity for the following reasons.

• A. One does not understand which Name is best suited for one’s own spiritual progress. Only the Guru is capable of providing this guidance.
• B. Repeating (chanting) the Name of one’s favourite deity helps only to enhance one’s sattvik (sattvapredominant) nature. The gurumantra however can take one upto the unmanifest state (nirgun), that is beyond the three components (trigunatit).
• C. The gurumantra does not contain mere letters but has spiritual knowledge (dnyan), divine consciousness (chaitanya) and the Guru’s blessings as well. Hence spiritual progress is faster. This Name containing divine consciousness is called a sabija or a divya (divine) mantra. However, one has to practise Spirituality to obtain the ultimate result by chanting the sabija mantra.
• D. Due to faith in the Guru, one repeats (chants) the gurumantra with greater faith than the mantra decided upon by oneself. Also when remembering the Guru one tends to repeat (chant) the Name given by Him and thus one’s chanting increases.
• E. When one repeats (chants) the Name of one’s favourite deity at least some amount of ego accompanies it. On the contrary, when repeating (chanting) the Name recommended by the Guru there is no ego.

5.3 Which Name does one repeat (chant) if the Guru has not imparted a Name?

In this case one should repeat (chant) the Name of the family deity (kuladevata), which refers to both the male or the female family deity.

• A. A family (kula) is made up of those people who are closely related to each other. Depending upon which family deity’s worship is conducive for his spiritual progress, an individual is born in that particular family.
• B. Kula also means the Muladhar chakra, energy or spiritual energy system (kundalini). The kuladevatameans that deity with the worship of which the dormant spiritual energy (kundalini) in the Muladhar chakra is activated, that is spiritual progress starts. If one has both a male and a female deity, then one should chant the Name of the female family deity because She is appeased faster due to Her closer link with the pruthvi(absolute earth) element than the male family deity.
• C. If one is not aware of the Name of the family deity, then one should repeat (chant) the Name of one’s favourite deity or “Shri Kuldevtayai namaha.” Once that is completed one comes across someone who tells one who the family deity is. Once the chanting of the family deity is completed the Guru Himself comes into a seeker’s life and blesses him with a gurumantra.
• D. Worship of the family deity began in the post-Vedic and pre-Puranic period.
• E. When all the principles in the universe are imbibed into the subtle body, the spiritual practice is said to be complete. Just as the cow is the only animal which has the ability to attract the frequencies of all the deities in the universe (that is why it is said that there are 33 crores of deities in the cow’s abdomen), so also only repeating (chanting) of the family deity’s Name has the potential to attract all the principles in the universe and increase them all upto 30%. Contrary to this, repeating (chanting) the Names of deities like Vishnu, Shankar, Ganapati, Lakshmi, etc. increases only that particular principle in which one is deficient. This is akin to taking vitamin A, B, etc. as a supplement to reduce the deficiency of that vitamin in the body.
• F. The Guru is the mother, the Guru is the father, the Guru is our family deity.
  

  When a prayer so intense is made unto the Guru,
  He always protects in every way.
  Let the body, speech and mind be offered at the Guru’s feet.
  Eknath surrenders to Lord Janardan and considers Lord Janardan as His Guru. - Saint Eknath

• G. An example of one who made both worldly and spiritual progress by worshipping his family deity is Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Saint Tukaram Maharaj who attained liberation along with the physical body (sadeha mukti) by intensely worshipping Lord Pandurang, was the family deity of Tukaram Maharaj.

Further details about the worship of the family deity are given in ‘Science of Spirituality : Chapter 9 – Path of Repeating (Chanting) The Lord’s Name (Namasankirtanyoga)’.

5.4 Repetition (chanting) of The Lord’s Name essential for further spiritual progress

A. For whom is it useful? : Importance of repetition (chanting) of the Name of the family deity is given in ‘5.3’. The point elucidates why repetition (chanting) of the Name of the family deity is essential for a seeker in the primary stage. The stage of repeating (chanting) the Name of the family deity may have been completed by those who have attained a spiritual level of at least 50% through spiritual practice. Generally, this stage can be completed in the present birth after undertaking the spiritual practice of merely repetition (chanting) of The Lord’s Name for some years (approximately 15 to 20 years) or if an individual is born in the same family then sometimes it may even have been completed in the previous birth. If one renders service and makes sacrifice in addition to repetition (chanting) of The Lord’s Name then this stage can be completed even in 5 to 6 years. For further spiritual progress, it is beneficial if seekers who have completed this stage, repeat (chant) the Name of some superior deity rather than that of the family deity. One can decide which Name of The Lord is essential for one from those of various deities by repeating (chanting) the Names of various deities according to the specific method of experimentation. Detailed information about this method of experimentation is given in ‘Science of Spirituality : Vol. 6 A – Path of Repeating (Chanting) The Lord’s Name (Namasankirtanyoga)’. The Lord’s Name found by this method of experimentation should be considered to be the gurumantra itself. However if one begins to experience distress due to distressing energies when repeating (chanting) it then one should stop it. Then the experiment of finding The Lord’s Name to overcome distressing energies as given in point ‘5.1’ should be performed and one should repeat (chant) The Lord’s Name found through it. After the distress due to distressing energies is totally overcome, one should carry out the experiment once again and start repeating (chanting) The Lord’s Name which is essential for one’s spiritual progress.

B. What should those who have been initiated with a gurumantra do? : Those who have been initiated with agurumantra should not decide which repetition (chanting) of The Lord’s Name they should undertake for further spiritual progress through the method of experimenting. Instead, they should repose faith in the Name imparted by the Guru and repeat (chant) it continuously.

5.5 Method of repeating (chanting) the deity’s Name

When addressing someone instead of simply using his name, one refers to him respectfully as Shri. (Mr.), Smt. (Mrs.), etc. Similarly, one should chant the Name of the family deity in a way which expresses respect for the same. Shri should prefix the Name of the family deity, the Name that follows should be in dative case (chaturthi pratyay) and should conclude with namaha. For instance if the family deity is Ganesh then ‘Shri Ganeshaya namaha’, if it is Bhavani, then ‘Shri Bhavanidevyai namaha’. Since it is difficult to pronounce ‘Shri Bhavanyai namaha’ one should use devyai.

When the family deity is in the form of two deities (For example Laxminarayana, Ishwarlaxmi) then 50 % of the deity principle of both, the male deity and the female deity is activated. When the family deity is as mentioned above then one should chant in the following way – The deity’s name should be chanted prefixing Shri to it, followed by the dative case (chaturthi pratyay), according to the second deity and concluding with namaha. For example, if the family deity is Ishwarlaxmi, one should chant ‘Shri Ishwarlaxmideyai namaha.’ If Laxminarayana is the family deity then one should chant ‘Shri Laxminarayanaya namaha.’

The following table shows how the dative case is to be applied. The dative case means ‘to’, i.e. ‘I pay obeisance to Lord Ganapati, to the female deity’).

A. Prefixing Shri or Om to the Name: Generally Shri or Om is prefixed to the Name. The importance of this prefix is given in ‘Science of Spirituality: Chapter 10 – Path of Mantra (Mantrayoga) point – Parts of a mantra’. The comparison of Shri and Om is given in the following table.

Note 1 – Beyond a level of 60% often one concentrates on Bliss (Anand) instead of the word.

Note 2 – For creation of the manifest (sagun, the Great Illusion) from the unmanifest (nirgun, Brahman) tremendous energy is required. Such energy is generated by the repeating (chanting) of Omkar (Om). Hence, repeating (chanting) of Omkar by one whose spiritual level is not adequate to do so can cause distress to him.

Generally women are more likely to be affected than men. This point will be clear from the following. The frequencies generated from Om generate a lot of energy (heat) in the body. This does not affect the male reproductive organs as they lie outside the body cavity. However, in case of women this heat can affect the reproductive organs as they lie within the abdominal cavity. Thus women may experience distress. They may suffer from excessive menstrual flow, amenorrhoea, dysmenorrhoea, infertility, etc. Hence, it is advisable for women not to prefix Omkar to the Name unless recommended by the Guru; for example they may chant namaha Shivaya instead of Om namaha Shivaya. Otherwise they should use Shri as a prefix. Women having a spiritual level of more than 50% can prefix The Lord’s Name with ‘Om’. When repetition (chanting) of The Lord’s Name is undertaken for a particular reason, eg. for overcoming distressing energy, it is necessary to prefix ‘Om’ to The Lord’s Name. At such times, one should not stretch the pronounciation of ‘Om’.

Note 3 – As ‘Om’ has a lot of energy, if for a specific purpose, eg. if it is necessary to repeat (chant) the Name of some other deity for overcoming distressing energies, one should prefix it with ‘Om’, eg. ‘Om Gang Ganapataye namaha’ is repeated (chanted) instead of ‘Shri Ganapataye namaha’.

5.6 One should not repeat (chant) the name of a saint

One should not repeat (chant) the name of a saint for the following reasons.

• A. No saint has recommended the chanting of His own Name or that of another. For instance, Tukaram Maharaj has not advised the chanting of Saint Dnyaneshvar’s Name.
• B. Our history of thousands of years records no instance where a temple of a saint or a sage has been constructed. Only temples of deities have been erected. Nowadays however, a wrong trend of constructing temples of saints has set in.
• C. Since the law of creation, sustenance and dissolution is applicable to saints as well, Their energy persists only for a limited period of a few hundred years. Thereafter They are unable to respond to one’s call. As against this, deities are eternally present from the time of creation of the universe till its dissolution.
• D. Saints at the spiritual level (70%) of Energy (Shakti) are born to carry out a particular mission and for that They possess manifest energy. So if Their Names are chanted then the manifest energy could possibly cause distress to some. Contrary to this, since a deity mostly has unmanifest energy, chanting its Name does not cause any distress. Besides a seeker does not want energy, he wants Bliss (Anand) and Serenity (Shanti). [Saints of spiritual levels of 80% and 90% can impart spiritual experiences of Bliss and Serenity respectively.]

6. Where should one repeat (chant) The Lord’s Name?

Since everything is created by God Himself one can chant His Name anytime, anywhere. Chanting when carrying out day-to-day activities is a superior form of practising Spirituality in comparison to chanting done seated in one place. This is so, firstly, because with the former, spiritual practice becomes continuous. Secondly performing worldly activities along with chanting of The Lord’s Name renders them as good as not being in the Great Illusion (Maya). Thus, it helps one to remain in communion with The Lord under all circumstances. This is called sahajasthitior sahajavastha.

7. Repeating (chanting) the Name with faith and righteous behaviour

The one who repeats (chants) the Name of Lord Viththal should observe restrictions. – Saint Tukaram

Implied meaning: If the one repeating (chanting) the Name of The Lord does not observe the restrictions of righteous behaviour then the entire spiritual practice is wasted in nullifying the resulting defects. Thus no spiritual progress occurs; for instance if one abuses then 30 rosaries (malas) of chanting (japa) are wasted; if one accepts a bribe then 500 rosaries of chanting are wasted.

8. Synchronising chanting with the breath

One remains alive due to respiration and not due to chanting. Hence, one should synchronise chanting with the breath by concentrating on the breath.

The benefits of chanting with the breath are as follows.

• A. Nowadays, due to pollution of the atmosphere with raja and tama components, polluted thoughts invade the mind along with the breath and cause mental disturbance. Similarly, other undesirable thoughts also enter the mind. When chanting with concentration on the breath, the frequency of undesirable thoughts decreases.
• B. Concentrating on the breath means capturing that moment of the present. On the contrary, entertaining any other thought means either contemplating on the past or the future. Since, it is essential for a seeker to continuously live in the present, it is necessary to concentrate on the breath.
• C. Whilst chanting even if one gets a vision of God due to spiritual emotion (bhav), duality persists. As against this, when chanting with the breath, due to devotion in the Name one does not get a vision of the unmanifest (nirgun) God but one marches towards non-duality (advait), that is merges with the Name.

Detailed information on how to synchronise repetition (chanting) of The Lord’s Name along with the breath is given in ‘Science of Spirituality: Vol. 6 A – Repeating (Chanting) The Lord’s Name (Namasankirtanyoga)’

Those whose repetition (chanting) of The Lord’s Name occurs spontaneously, need not synchronise it with the breath.

9. Other thoughts during chanting

Despite experiencing Bliss with the Name, why does the mind wander towards other thoughts? What should one do when one cannot concentrate on chanting? Initially, due to impressions in the subconscious mind (chitta) stray thoughts enter the mind while chanting. But with practice there is a gradual reduction in these thoughts. One should keep in mind that concentration is the target, not the tool.

10. Methods of chanting in some religious orders

We have already discussed that from the stage of mental worship (upasanakand) repeating (chanting) The Lord’s Name is a superior form of practising Spirituality. Followers of all religious orders should chant the Names of their respective deities. That itself results in their spiritual progress. There is no need to change one’s religion. God chooses one to be born in that particular religious order which is most conducive for one’s spiritual progress. At a lower level the Name is related to the religious order. Later, all have the same religion – the Sanatan Dharma(Religion).

Navakar means the nine openings in the body (navadvar). In the Ardhamagadhi language the word dvar (opening) was used synomymously with kar. This mantra means trespassing the nine doors, that is traversing the nine openings in the body. Information on these nine openings is given in ‘Science of Spirituality : Chapter 35 – Pranayam’.

11. Distress caused by repeating (chanting) The Lord’s Name

The reasons for it are given below.

• A. Repeating (chanting) the wrong Name: If a seeker of the level of the pruthvi (absolute earth) element orapa (absolute water) element suddenly starts chanting the Name associated with the tej (absolute fire) element, (the sun) then the radiance generated through it may cause him distress
• B. Problems caused by distressing energy: If one is affected by distressing energy like spirits, black magic (karni), etc. then initially one experiences discomfort even with appropriate chanting. However, it gradually subsides and finally stops. The cause for this initial distress is the tussle between the distressing energy troubling the individual and the pleasant energy generated by the chanting.

Contents

• 1. Limitations of sectarian spiritual practice
• 2. Spiritual practice according to the Paths of Yoga considering the spiritual level
  • 2.1 Going from many to one
  • 2.2 Going from the non-truth (asat) to the Absolute Truth (Sat)
• 3. Spiritual practice according to the class considering the spiritual level
  • 3.1 Shudra (labourer)
  • 3.2 Vaishya (businessman)
  • 3.3 Kshatriya (warrior)
  • 3.4 Brahman (priest)
  • 3.5 Comparison of spiritual practice according to the class
  • 3.6 Actual spiritual practice according to the class
• 4. Spiritual practice according to time (kal)

Fundamental principle of Spirituality

There are as many temperaments as there are people and corresponding number of paths of Spirituality. This is the fundamental principle of Spirituality. In accordance with this, what spiritual practice each one should undertake will be clear from the table below. From that table, one will also become aware of one’s spiritual level because the spiritual practice which one likes to follow corresponds to one’s spiritual level at that time. The seeker should start practising Spirituality of the stage following the one he is currently practising. Once one gets accustomed to and begins to like that spiritual practice, that is when one derives sattvikhappiness while practising it or feels that practising it is useless, one should commence spiritual practice of the next stage.

1. Limitations of sectarian spiritual practice

When Spirituality is practised in a sect the same practice is recommended to all. Just as it would be wrong for a physician to prescribe the same drug to patients suffering from different ailments so also it is wrong to recommend the same spiritual practice to all. This is specially so when the three components (trigun), five elements, accumulated account (sanchit), destiny and wilful actions (kriyaman karma) are different in every individual. This goes against the fundamental principle of Spirituality that there are as many temperaments as there are people and corresponding number of paths of Spirituality. Hence, it is best not to get entrapped in sectarian spiritual practice. Besides, with sectarian spiritual practice one does not develop a feeling of closeness towards other sects. As a result the seeker is not able to get very close to his target that ‘the entire universe is my home’. Sectarian spiritual practice occurs only in the psychological plane and not through the embodied soul (jiva). Although this is true it is certainly better to follow some sectarian spiritual practice rather than not following any.

2. Spiritual practice according to the Paths of Yoga considering the spiritual level

Spiritual practice is based on two principles, namely going from many to one and from the non-truth (asat) to the Absolute Truth (Sat).

Now let us see how the various spiritual practices undertaken according to the major paths of Yoga vary for different spiritual levels based on these two principles. This will also be clear from the table provided below.

Note:

• 1. The spiritual level of an average person is 20% and on attainment of the Final Liberation (Moksha) is 100% in our frame of reference.
• 2. Benefit: The ‘I’ness decreases.
  Losses: a. One remains at the level of emotions,
  b. One is not able to observe with the stance of a spectator,
  c. The belief that the illusory world is true goes on increasing.
• 3. Today the Path of Knowledge means an effort to understand through the medium of words, that which is beyond words. The table may be viewed in this context.
• 4. Money, respect, food and drink, music, television, picnics, etc.
• 5. Money, respect, devotional music, religious movies, pilgrimages, etc.
• 6. Losses: a. Generation of a ‘give and take account’ for completion of which one needs to take birth again.
  b. There is a risk of inflation of ego due to the feeling that ‘I’ do something but The Omniscient and Omnipotent Supreme God does not do anything.
• 7. Loss: One acquires merits by doing social service. To experience these an individual goes to heaven and having experienced them takes birth on the earth again.
• 8. Being blessed by a Guru (guruprapti): Commencement of the Guru’s grace.

2.1 Going from many to one

• A. Path of Action (Karmayoga): In the initial stage a seeker gives alms to several beggars. In the next stage he gives a donation to a school or a hospital.
• B. Path of Knowledge (Dnyanyoga): After studying several spiritual texts a seeker finally turns to a single one such as the Vedas, Upanishads, Shrimadbhagvadgita, Yogavasishtha, Bhagvat, Shri Bhavarthadipika (Dnyaneshvari), Dasbodh, etc.
• C. Path of Devotion (Bhaktiyoga): A seeker progresses from worship of several deities to that of one, goes to one place of pilgrimage, rather than to many, reads one book of holy verses rather than many.
• D. Path of Repeating (Chanting) The Lord’s Name (Namasankirtanyoga): Here the seeker repeats (chants) the Name of only one deity instead of many.
• E. Path of Guru’s Grace (Gurukrupayoga): After visiting several saints a seeker finally visits only one Guru. Irrespective of the path of Spirituality spiritual progress does not really occur beyond a certain level without the grace of a Guru. How to become worthy of the grace of a Guru is given in the table above.

2.2 Going from the non-truth (asat) to the Absolute Truth (Sat)

• A. From the Path of Action to the Path of Devotion: In comparison with a self-centred person, the one doing social service is a sort of a seeker. But a seeker should not get confined to social commitments, since social service and such other things fall in the domain of the Great Illusion (Maya) and one feels like doing these out of emotion. Differences between social commitment felt out of emotion and that due to spiritual practice is given in point ‘Social commitments’. Firstly, in Spirituality, emotion (bhavana) has no value. It is the spiritual emotion (bhav) that is important. Secondly, society constantly keeps changing unlike God who is stable and eternal. Hence, one should confine one’s relationship only to Him. Once the seeker understands this, he turns towards the Path of Devotion in order to develop spiritual emotion.
• B. From the Path of Knowledge to the Path of Devotion: The seeker turns from the grossness of words to the subtlety of devotion. Words imparting knowledge on Spirituality also arise from duality. Since they arise from the Great Illusion (Maya) they are gross in comparison to devotion (bhakti) which arises from non-duality (advait) and which gives the experience of subtle Bliss.

3. Spiritual practice according to the class considering the spiritual level

Lord Krushna has said, ‘चातुर्वण्‍यं मया सृष्‍ट्‌यं गुणकर्मविभागश: ।’ This means, ‘I have created the four classes based on qualities (gun) and actions (karma) (Shrimadbhagvadgita 4 : l3).’ Each one is born in a particular class depending on one’s potential to practise Spirituality or according to one’s need for that particular spiritual practice. Finally one has to surrender not only one’s body, mind and wealth but also one’s life unto God. One can make spiritual progress by offering whatever one has to God, that is by practising Spirituality according to the class mentioned in the table below. Greater details about the classes are given in ‘Science of Spirituality : Vol. 1 C – System of Classes and Stages of Life’.

Note 1 – Refer point ‘Progeny of interclass marriage’.
Note 2 – The percentage given here is in accordance with the twenty-first century.

3.1 Shudra (labourer)

If one has neither sharp intellect nor wealth then he can serve God with his body. This is sacrifice of the body and the mode of practising Spirituality in a Shudra.

3.2 Vaishya (businessman)

One who has the capacity to amass wealth or one who is wealthy should earn money through righteous means and offer it for a spiritual cause. Saint Tukaram too, has conveyed the same message in one of His hymns (abhangs),

‘The one who earns wealth through proper pursuit of business, Lives in detachment, In the next birth will be born spiritually evolved, And will traverse towards Liberation.’

A Vaishya practises Spirituality by offering wealth. However, to the one who brags about helping others Swami Vivekanand has said, ‘If you feel proud that you have done a favour on a beggar by giving him money then please do not do so, because The Lord is capable of protecting and nurturing His devotees living even nine kilometres deep in the bed of the Pacific Ocean. If one helps a beggar, one is not doing him a favour, instead one is benefitting from him, rather he is doing a favour on oneself.’

‘The Lord says in Shri Eknathi Bhagvat, “I uplift that wealthy one, who takes care of the needs of My weak devotee before my devotee”.

Commentary on the implied meaning: When fulfilling the worldly needs of that weak devotee the spiritual emotion should be, ‘Who am I to take care of the needs of the devotee of The Lord when it is The Lord Himself who takes care of my needs beyond my expectations? This being so, will The Lord Himself not take care of the needs of His devotee? But the interesting part is that The Lord Himself is sustaining him by using me as an instrument. Moreover, like the proverbial ‘killing of two birds with one stone’ along with the devotee’s upliftment He is also giving me an opportunity for self upliftment’. – H.H.Kane Maharaj, Narayangaon, Pune district, Maharashtra

3.3 Kshatriya (warrior)

Offering one’s life for the Absolute Truth is the mode of practising Spirituality in a Kshatriya.

In the Bhagvadgita (2:37), Lord Shri Krushna too has told Arjun,

हतो वा प्राप्‍स्‍यसि स्‍वर्गं जित्‍वा वा भोक्ष्‍यसे महीम्‌ ।
तस्‍मादुत्‍तिष्‍ठ कौन्‍तेय युद्धाय कृतनिश्‍चय: ।।

This means, ‘If you die when fighting for the Absolute Truth you will gain heaven (Liberation) and if you win, then you will get the kingdom. Hence O Arjun (seeker), arise and resolve to fight’.

Thus fighting for the Absolute Truth is the duty (dharma) of a Kshatriya. In reality, when undertaking the spiritual practice of protecting seekers and destroying evildoers, the Kshatriya attitude is more within the mind than outside it. In the Mahabharat war, Arjun had to prepare himself mentally to be able to fight his teachers and relatives. Thus remaining unaffected by external factors, even a war, not feeling emotional about anything and not claiming doership for one’s actions are indicators of spiritual progress. Only when the external battle is to be fought do most people realise just how prepared they are in these aspects. The spiritual practice of a warrior is also important from this aspect.

Comparison of fighting against injustice under the influence of emotion and as spiritual practice is shown in the following table.

A good physique facilitates spiritual practice as a Kshatriya. For that, it is essential to do physical exercise. One should also keep in mind that according to the rule ‘संघे शक्‍ति: कलौ युगे ।’ in the Kaliyug, unity is strength, so it is easier to practise Spirituality as a Kshatriya remaining united in an organisation.

3.4 Brahman (priest)

Studying Spirituality (adhyayan) and imparting spiritual knowledge to others (adhyapan) is the spiritual practice of aBrahman.

• A. Study of Spirituality (adhyayan): The importance of study in this context is expressed in the 18^thchapter of the Shrimadbhagvadgita in the form of a verse (shloka) as follows,
  

  अधेष्‍यते च य इमं धर्म्‍यं संवादमावयो: ।
  ज्ञानयज्ञेन तेनाहमिष्‍ट: स्‍यामिति मे मति: ।। ७० ।।

  श्रद्धावाननसूयश्‍च शृणुयादपि यो नर: ।
  सोऽपि मुक्‍त: शुभाँल्‍लोकान्‍प्राप्‍नुयात्‍पुण्‍यकर्मणाम्‌ ।। ७१ ।।

  Meaning: I will consider that the one who studies this conversation regarding Righteousness (Dharma) from the Gita has offered oblations unto Me through the sacrificial fire of spiritual knowledge. – 70

  Even the one, who listens to it with faith and without envy, will be liberated (from all his sins) and will attain the sacred regions (loks) attained by the ones performing meritorious actions. – 71

• B. Imparting spiritual knowledge to others (adhyapan): With regard to this in the 18^th chapter of the Shrimadbhagvadgita Lord Shrikrushna says,
  

  य इदं परमं गुह्यं मद्‌ भक्‍तेष्‍वभिदास्‍यति ।
  भक्‍तिं मयि परां कृत्‍वा मामेवैष्‍यत्‍यसंशय: ।। ६८ ।।

  न च तस्‍मान्‌ मनुष्‍येषु कश्‍चिन्‌ मे प्रियकृत्तम: ।
  भविता न च मे तस्‍मादन्‍य: प्रियतरो भुवि ।। ६९ ।।

  Meaning: The one who imparts this ultimate secret (knowledge) to My devotees with intense love for Me, will undoubtedly come to Me. – 68

  And no man in the world is or will ever be dearer to Me than him. – 69

  Importance of imparting spiritual knowledge (dnyandan)

  Type of offering	For how long it is useful to the recipient?	Importance %
  1. Food	One day	5
  2. Blankets, clothes	A few months	5
  3. A caravenserai (dharmashala)	A few years	5
  4. Spiritual knowledge (dnyan)	Lifelong	100

3.5 Comparison of spiritual practice according to the class

If the spiritual practice as a Shudra (labourer) is completed in this birth, then in the next birth he is born as a Vaishya(businessman). Later he is born step by step in the Kshatriya (warrior) and Brahman (priest) classes respectively and may attain the Final Liberation (Moksha).

3.6 Actual spiritual practice according to the class

• A. An individual is born in the class which is conducive for his spiritual progress. Hence, if a Shudra becomes rich as result of his merits from previous births, his thinking that, ‘I will practise Spirituality by offering my wealth like a Vaishya’ is wrong. He must certainly offer his wealth, but according to his class he should also do physical service. As a result of performing service of both classes, instead of being born as a Vaishya he may directly be born in a Kshatriya or Brahman class, in the next birth. To summarise, a Vaishya should sacrifice his body and wealth, a Kshatriya his body, wealth and life and a Brahman his body, wealth, life and intellect for the Absolute Truth.
• B. Every individual is a Brahman, when he studies, a Kshatriya when he fights according to the situation, aVaishya, when he earns a livelihood and a Shudra when he does some physical work like cleaning the body during a bath, for sometime of the day. Hence, each one needs to undertake the spiritual practice of all the four classes for some time of the day. However, one should do a little more spiritual practice of the class in which one is born and which one professes than of the other.
• C. Progeny of interclass marriage: The four classes originated thousands of years ago. Since then till the present period nearly 70% of the population has been born of interclass marriages. For this reason too, each one needs to practise Spirituality of all the four classes for atleast some time.
• D. Castes are man-made while classes have been created by God. The class is determined by the proportions of components (sattva, raja and tama) in an individual and his actions. (Shrimadbhagvadgita4:13), e.g. the one who possesses the sattva component in a greater proportion belongs to the Brahmanclass and the one who performs the actions of trading belongs to the Vaishya class.

4. Spiritual practice according to time (kal)

Spiritual practice for every era (yug) is predetermined. Hence, one can derive maximum benefit by undertaking spiritual practice appropriate for the era. In the Satyayug, the spiritual emotion that ‘He’ is ‘I’ (So’ham) prevailed. During that period the Path of Knowledge was practised as seekers had the potential to understand the implied meaning of the Vedas. In the Tretayug, strenuous penances such as attaining the superconscious (samadhi) state were performed. As there was a decline in the ability of both, the mind and the body, which are required to practise all this in the Dvaparyug, spiritual practice became ritualistic worship performed by the body (karmakand). Its main constituent was sacrificial fires (yadnya, yag). Later, in the Kaliyug, even this was difficult to practise because day by day it became cumbersome to acquire all the essentials for a sacrificial fire such as wealth, articles, priests of asattvik nature, etc. In the present Kaliyug, cumulative sin is on the rise and the sattvik nature of an average person is on an average only 20%. However, even in such circumstances, The Lord has provided us with an excellent arrangement. In the Kaliyug one can make maximum spiritual progress by practising Spirituality for a minimum period. Repeating (chanting) The Lord’s Name is the most ideal spiritual practice for the Kaliyug. (The holy text, theShrimadbhagvat describes the four types of spiritual practices according to the Path of Devotion followed in the four eras.)