In the last post, I spoke of the mantra prayoga
(application) and that it should not be done, though how may ever it be
tempting. But, when I was going through a very old book on prayoga, which came
to me accidently, I was tempted. Don’t jump into any conclusion. This is not
any prayoga of ordinary kind. Any mantra can be applied for satvic
karma(peaceful, like attracting others etc), or rajasic karma (making others
fight, controlling tohers) or a tamasic karma (killing others). But this
prayoga which I saw is not of any of these types. The book promised that, if a
particular deity is worshiped through fire oblation (yagna) with a special type
of twig (the tip portion of the branch only) and from a specific tree, for 1008
times then he is sure to get the darshan of this godess.
It is not like, I have not had any experience with the
mantras, that I wanted to perform this karma. But, the means is very simple,
and in my grasp, which made me do this. During this period accidentally (maybe,
master oogway (kung fu panda) will dismiss this 4th time ‘there are
no accidents’ :) ), in a nearby place, which belongs to army, they had cut
branches of this very tree I wanted. Normally, though it is not a military
cantonment, they don’t allow anyone inside this premise. When I asked for the
permission to remove the twigs , they allowed me without any second thought.
So, I went to this place with two sacks (a big jute bag) and started to break
the tip portions of the branches. Since the wood was not totally dry, I had
difficulties in breaking, I even got swelling in the fingers because of the
friction-burn.
After collecting the necessary articles, I fixed an
auspicious date for the performance of the homa. After performing my daily
duties, of puja etc., I started the homa. The mantra was not a big mantra, did
not have too many bija aksharas (root or esoteric characters) and the deity too
is not a very famous one. But, as in other places, the solution to the problems
are always simple. So, hereto, the simple looking mantra did deliver its goods
as promised. During performing the homa,
I had a counter to have the ahutis (the fuel / the food that is thrown in the
fire) I perform counted and this I stopped after around 950 chants, I didn’t want
to loose the concentration in something silly as counting. Though the number of
ahutis is a part, I have now made sure that I will perform more and not less.
And there is a mimamsa (karma peoples) statement, ‘ adikasya adikam phalam’ –
greater will be the result for greater karma, or in other words the result is
directly proportional to the performance. So, after 950 chants, I was totally
focused in the mantra, and not the finishing. So, after some time I did have
the darshan as promised. I am not finishing this story simply, nor is it so
simple.
I have in a previous blog, said about the fear even to meet
the God. So, now this time, I was not having any fear, and not only that, I was
very prepared to have the darshan. But,
even that preparation didn’t take the surprise from me, when I had the vision.
On the other side of the kunda (one can see the place I did the havans in
virakth ashram in the collection of photos in our site), just opposite to me, I
saw a woman sitting with her back to me, she was wearing an off-white saree,
and had no blouse, so her right side of the shoulder was bare and had her hair
tied or bound like a ball loosely, this site was not the surprise though. When
she turned, instinctual fear shook me, but I was determined to have the darshan
completely. When she turned to her right and looked directly at me, what I saw
still stands in front of my eyes, She had a wheatish complex, her eyes were big
and red, and had a big vermillon (kunkum) on her forehead. And after a few
seconds, I lost this vision completely and she disappeared as she appeared. I
completed the homa with a poornahuthi (the completing oblation) in the fire.
From then, I had no doubts in any of prayoga shastra. And
though we may doubt the veracity, and whether the author had used the
application (applied) etc.. We should understand that these prayogas are gained
only from the guru by the disciple. So, there is no need to doubt. But, to
remind again, the application only makes the mantra enemy to the user :) or
should it be :(.
