Personal Greatest Hits

[Nuralshamal]

Dear Dao Bums,

In the spirit of sharing, what are your personal greatest hits?

My personal top 3 is:
1) Simplified Kundalini Yoga (Vethathiri Maharishi),
2) Talisman qigong (Zhongxian Wu),
3) Sri Vidya (Amritananda / Devipuram).

A little bit about each:

1) Simplified Kundalini Yoga (Vethathiri Maharishi)
In this system your chakras are opened and empowered by a master one by one, allowing you to tangibly feel the pulsating vibration of energy in each chakra. It takes all the guesswork away, you don't need to rely on outer feedback anymore, you can yourself feel how strong your chakras are.

Meditating on each chakra provides specific benefits.

It's a complete system for increasing and transmuting sexual energy (kaya kalpa), building health through physical exercises (asanas, pranayama, massage and acupressure), building energy through meditation allowing you to achieve peace of mind and enlightenment, introspection for improving your moral character and getting rid of negative karmic imprints (vasanas/samskaras) and finally philosophical explanations for God, the universe, evolution, astrology etc.

Beside the chakra meditations (7 inside the body, 2 outside, 9 in total), there are numerous other meditations which give unique benefits:

Panchendriya (5 senses): this strengthens your 5 senses even until old age, and further gives your mind control of the senses.

Panchabhuta Navagraha (5 elements and 9 planets): harmonize with universal forces and energies, cultivate energy, improve your destiny.

Nityananda (meditating on the energy pervading all over the body): gives ecstatic pleasure and strengthens energy all over your body.

Divine State Meditation: helps you to again and again understand and feel the oneness between you, the universe and all living beings.

Lamp Gazing: improving eyesight, purifying and energizing your soul, mind, brain and energy, and over time can give supernatural skills.

Mirror gazing: one of the most powerful meditations, increasing energy in your body manifold very quickly. Over time can also give supernatural skills.

Above is a general description of the system, let me share my personal journey and breakthroughs along the way.

1st breakthrough: when I got the first initiation, I felt a little something between my eyebrows, but not very noticeable. However, when I meditated that night, my God, it was insane. The vibration was so strong and powerful, my mind became completely still, and I just sat in complete peace.

2nd breakthrough: when I got the third initation, sahasrara chakra, I was blown away. When I meditated on the vibration in the crown chakra, I felt the same orgasmic pleasure as just before ejaculating. However, instead of being in the prostate area, and ending after a few seconds, the orgasmic ecstasy just stays in your crown chakra and brain during the whole meditation. At this point... I increased my meditation time a lot

3rd breakthrough: when I got my dwadasangham chakra (12 fingers above the head) opened, after about 1-2 weeks of meditation, one day I felt it REALLY open. Immediately, I was flooded with information. Questions and doubts about life, the universe, things that had happened to me, answers just flooded my consciousness. And whenever I thought of a question, the answer immediately came. I felt at one with God. This also made me meditate much longer, because it was just so interesting. After some weeks, I had no more questions, so I just sat in complete peace and oneness. Nowadays, whenever something is going on in my life, I sit and meditate, and I will understand what's going on and why.

4th breakthrough: lamp gazing. I got SO much more energy after starting lamp gazing. It probably increased my energy levels 5 times or so.

5th breakthrough: when all chakras were opened, I realized just how weak my navel chakra had been. I got so much more energy and much better digestion when I could finally meditate on my navel chakra.

6th breakthrough: mirror gazing. This exercise is insane. My energy must have increased by 10 fold or more when I started doing it. To this day, I can't understand why it is SO powerful, but it increases my energy so much. I rarely ever fall sick, and I am always full of energy now.

7th breakthrough: becoming a master and initiating others. You simply do mirror gazing and meditation on the morning you give initiations to boost your own energy. Just before giving initiation, you say a prayer to God and Vethathiri. Every single time, energy just floods into your system, empowering either your hands or eyes, depending on which initiation you're about to give. It's truly magnificent. I can only imagine how powerful Vethathiri had been while still alive in the body, seeing that such strong energy still comes, simply because of his sankalpa to help as many as possible through SKY.

2) Talisman qigong (Zhongxian Wu)
I was doing a 3 day workshop on his cosmic orbit qigong, which I really enjoyed. Due to a ticket sale, I would stay 3 more days after the workshop before flying home. Because Master Wu also stayed some days after the workshop, he decided to offer a one day workshop on "calligraphy healing qigong" for just 25 euros.

I was so sceptical and there was no way I believed "painting" could be used as a way of healing. However, I was there for 3 days with nothing to day, and 25 euros was nothing, so I decided to try out the workshop.

I came there just to pass time, expecting nothing. However, when we did the mantras, mudras and visualisation, I really felt energy come into my body.

Then he asked us to practice healing on each other, and I just didn't believe it to be possible. To my great surprise, it worked! The lady I worked on could really feel my energy and that of the talisman inside her body. I was so surprised. I thought it was probably because I had already been meditating daily for 4 years. But there was no way that this elderly lady with no spiritual background could perform healing on me, she had no training, nor any energy to give.

Even when she used the talisman to heal me, I really felt the energy from the talisman coming into my body! I was so surprised. It was not that powerful, but it still worked. I was blown away.

Master Wu told us to go back home and practice daily for 49 days, then we would have access to this talisman's healing energy. We could use it on ourselves and others, or even to paint a talisman on paper to use for improving fengshui in the home.

I went back home to practice, still not really believing it could be possible.

I saw everything through the lens of hinduism: healing I considered a kind of siddhi, and acquiring siddhi is extremely difficult. At that point, I had done years and years of daily mala japa (chanting with prayer beads) of a mantra, completing many purascharans, and it had been quite difficult. And that was just to purify myself, come closer to God and prepare myself for higher sadhana (spiritual practice), including other sadhanas that could produce siddhis or supernatural powers.

When I got back home and started practicing, I would do the talisman healing on myself, and I felt that it worked.

About 10 days into my 49 day practice, my parents heard about my 49 day project. From that day, they asked me to call them every day when I was practicing, and they asked me to help heal different issues. Also as remote healing (something I didn't even believe in at the time).

No matter what I did, it just worked! It worked every single time. They would call me after the healing and tell me everything they had experienced during the remote healing.

About 21 days into my 49 days, random friends of my parents would call me and ask for healing. So during my 49 days, I hadn't even finished the 49 days, still the talisman energy was helping me to heal myself, siblings, parents, friends of my parents, and also a few strangers.

This experience completely exploded my worldview at the time, and that's why I decided to keep training with Master Wu.

I've since then learnt the talismans for all 5 elements (White Tiger, Green Dragon, Red Bird, Mystical Warrior and Mother of the Big Dipper). Mystical Warrior is northern water energy, Mother of the Big Dipper is central, earth energy. I actually spent all my money, and even lend from my grandmother, to travel and learn these talismans (at the time I was still studying, so I had low funds). I spend as little as possible on food and hotel when I was there, so I could pay everything back to her when I got back  

I still use it for myself, and sometimes if others ask for healings. I also use it to bless what I eat and drink sometimes.

3) Sri Vidya (Amritananda / Devipuram)
This is a formerly secret system of Hindu Goddess Worship, which Amritananda has decided to share openly with the world.

All Goddess worship can provide great supernatural powers, and the energies also have a great effect on our wordly life, e.g. increasing money and succes, healing etc.

I never really cared for hindu ritual worship, I felt it to just be an empty show, and a way of extracting money from the poor. Priests and astrologers convincing poor people they had bad karma and needed to pay huge sums of money for them to do rituals on their behalf.

However, when I saw a picture of Bala Tripura Sundari, I felt strangely attracted towards it. These weird feelings prompted me to try and do the beginners module. In the end, if it didn't work, I could just stop after the first module.

I got diksha (initiation) for the mantras for the root, sexual and navel chakras. Furthermore, I learnt several rituals for each chakra: tarpana (water ritual), puja (prayer ceremony) and homa/havan (fire ritual).

I did it just to try it out.

First I did a 41 days tarpana for the root chakra God Ganesha/Ganapati (elephant God). I actually felt energy coming into my root chakra and circulating in the 4 nadis of the root chakra. This suprised me a lot!

Further, when I was about 38 days in, I got a call from someone, offering me a side hustle to earn more money. On the 44th day (I continued the ritual a few days extra, because there were a few days my wife didn't do it with me, so for her to also reach 41 days, we extendend it 3 days), I got another call, yet again with another side hustle opportunity.

I was really surprised!

Firstly, I actually felt the mantra opening and circulating energy in my root chakra and nadis. Secondly, I felt the ritual actually had an effect on my worldly life!

This I felt to be the magic from movies, books, series etc, where a wizard does certain rituals to change his life and acquire powers.

Therefore I continued with Sri Vidya, and it just keeps giving.

I have been given mantras and rituals for the root, sexual, navel, heart and 3rd eye chakra, and I am in the process of completing them all (tarpanas I have completed for all, pujas I have 2 to go, havan I am currently in the process of finishing for all). After this, I will get the final and ultimate mantra for the crown chakra, as well as the ultimate ritual performed directly on the Sri Meru / Sri Yantra / Sri Chakra.

This is supposed to be the ultimate, making it possible to acquire all worldly pleasures, all spiritual powers as well as complete enlightenment.

Conclusion:
My personal greatest hits are:
1) Simplified Kundalini Yoga (Vethathiri Maharishi), this taught me deep meditation.
2) Talisman qigong (Zhongxian Wu), this taught me healing.
3) Sri Vidya (Amritananda / Devipuram), this taught me rituals and mantras to assist my worldly and spiritual life.

Question:
What are your personal greatest hits on the spiritual path? You can include a small summary of the system, as well as your personal journey and breakthroughs

God bless you!

[EFreethought]

WRT SKY: I had a call w/a local SKY master, but my phone cut out after 30 minutes, and it had problems for a while. I could hear him, but he could not hear me. I could not even send texts. We will try again this weekend.

 

For SKY: Once you have been initiated for a level, do you ever go back and do meditations for previous levels? For example, could you say, "I am going to meditate on the root chakra for a month", and then go through all the other chakras and other meditations? Or do you only do them for a while?

 

And is meditating on the chakras in Sri Vidya different than chakra meditation in SKY?

 

 

[Nuralshamal]

12 hours ago, EFreethought said:

WRT SKY: I had a call w/a local SKY master, but my phone cut out after 30 minutes, and it had problems for a while. I could hear him, but he could not hear me. I could not even send texts. We will try again this weekend.

 

For SKY: Once you have been initiated for a level, do you ever go back and do meditations for previous levels? For example, could you say, "I am going to meditate on the root chakra for a month", and then go through all the other chakras and other meditations? Or do you only do them for a while?

 

And is meditating on the chakras in Sri Vidya different than chakra meditation in SKY?

 

 

Hey @EFreethought,

Sounds great with the SKY master. SKY changed my life it's my number one greatest hit. 

Yes, there's a system given for when to do which meditations.

1st initiation (3rd eye): you meditate on your 3rd eye chakra (agnya) 2 times a day for 3-7 days in a row, then you're ready for the next.

2nd initiation (root chakra): you meditate on your root chakra 2 times daily for 7 days in a row to strengthen the energy.

Between 2nd and 3rd initiation: now you go into a steady rhythm of agnya meditation 2 times daily every day, and root chakra 2 times a day on fridays.

3rd initiation (crown chakra): after getting your crown chakra opened, you meditate for 5 minutes on agnya, and 10 minutes on the crown daily for 7 days. If you wish to meditate longer, you can do 10 minutes on agnya and 20 minutes on the crown. Just do double the time on crown as you do on agnya.

Between 3rd and 4th initiation: now you go into a rhytm again of meditating on agnya and sahasrara twice a day each day (double the time on sahasrara, like I explained above). On fridays you meditate twice a day, solely on the root chakra.

4th initiation: now you get your dwadasangham chakra opened, as well as shakti kalam (universal energy field) and shiva kalam (absolute space). The new rhytm for meditating now is: 1 minute on agnya, 2 minutes on crown, 2 minutes on dwadasangham, 1 minute on moon, 1 minute on sun, 4 minutes on universal energy field (shakti kalam) and 5 minutes on absolute space (shiva kalam). Then you come back down the same way spending only 15-30 seconds on each (shiva kalam -> shakti kalam -> sun -> moon -> dwadasangham -> crown). You end on the crown.

Here you also learn panchendriya meditation (5 senses), panchabhuta navagraha (5 elements 9 planets) and lamp gazing.

After the 4th initiation you will do lamp gazing daily for 7 days each early morning. You will do shakti & shiva kalam as your meditation for those 7 days. Panchendriya you do when needed (to strengthen eyesight, hearing etc). Panchabhuta and navagraha you do on new moon and full moon days as your meditation.

Between 4th and 5th initiation: now you will do the above meditation (shiva & shakti kalam) twice a day daily, lamp gazing once per week on a morning, root chakra meditation twice daily on fridays, panchabhuta and navagraha you do on new moon and full moon days as your meditation.

6th initiation: now you will get all your chakras opened, as well as learn mirror gazing and nityananda meditation. The following week you will meditate daily on all chakras (9 centre meditation) and do mirror gazing in the mornings for those same 7 days. You will do nityananda meditation when/if needed.

Rhythm after full initiation: you will do 9 center meditation and/or panchabhuta navagraha on new moon and full moon days. You will do lamp gazing once per week on a morning. You will do mirror gazing another day during the week, also on a morning. You will do root chakra twice on fridays. Panchendriya you will do when/if needed. Nityananda you will do when/if needed. The remaining days it is suggested to do the the shakti & shiva kalam meditation (agnya, sahasrara, moon, sun, shakti kalam, shiva kalam, come back down).

The above is the suggested rhytm

Yes, chakra meditation in SKY and Sri Vidya is quite different.

In SKY, due to the direct transfer of energy to your chakras, allowing you to feel the energy pulsing and vibrating, the meditation is simply observing this vibration in the chakra. All senses shut down (hearing, sight, smell and taste) and only the feeling sense is active, because you're feeling the vibration. Here you sit down, do your breathing and prayers, sit and observe the vibration for 15-30 minutes, say you prayers and end.

In Sri Vidya, you meditate on the chakras using mantras. You're given a mantra, and the more you repeat it, the more you connect with the energy of the mantra. The energy in the mantra then goes into the related chakra, opens and activate it more and more over time, and finally circulate energy in the chakra and nadi (during the mantra recitation). Here you sit down, repeat the mantras for as long as desired (10-120 minutes), then end.

SKY is a pure energy meditation, where Sri Vidya is a mantra meditation.

It depends on the individual, and if you're good at meditating in general, SKY is much easier and faster to open your chakras and get their benefits.

Sri Vidya is much harder and takes longer, but it does something potentially different in the long run. I haven't experienced it myself yet, but Amritananda states in an interview, that if you complete a purascharana of a mantra, you will befriend that deity. Purascharan means worshipping the deity with each element in the following manner:

Energy/Space element: say the mantra 100.000 x the syllables in the mantra. E.g 5 syllables = 500.000 reps, 9 syllables 900.000. This will allow you to communicate with the deity, e.g. speak to it and listen to it, as sound waves travel like energy through space.

Air element: do puja (prayer ceremony) daily for the duration of the entire purascharana. This is related to touch, as you touch all the elements during worship (earth, water, fire, air and energy) when you make offerings to the deity. This will allow you to touch the deity, and the deity to touch you.

Fire element: you do 10% of the total mantra chants for that mantra (100.000x amount of syllables) as fire rituals. In the case of 900.000 mantras offered for the energy/space element, you would offer 90.000 thousand for the fire element, into the fire as a havan/homa/fire ritual. This will give the deity form, allowing you to see it.

Water element: you do 10% of the fire offerings as water offerings, called tarpana. E.g. if you did 90.000 offerings of the mantra into the fire, you will do 9000 mantras while offering water (tarpana). This will give the deity life. Just like water in our body is blood, giving us life, giving the deity water gives it life. Some of our blood is plasma and thick, some of it is water and thin. To give the thick blood, you will offer 10% of the water offerings as marjanam/abhishekam. In our example it would be 900 marjanams. This is simply water with added ghee (butter), milk, yoghurt and/or honey depending on which deity it is.

Earth: giving food to 10% of the no. of marjanams, in our example it would be feeding 90 people. Food is the earth element, when you offer food to others in order to please the deity, the thanks and gratitude experience by the 90 people gives the deity the life energy from the food.

When you have done all 5 elements, in our example 900.000 mantras for the energy/space element, daily puja through the purascharan for the air element, 90.000 mantras for the fire element, 9000 for the water element, 900 for thick water element, and fed 90 people, you will get siddhi on that mantra (through God's and Guru's grace).

This will allow you to talk with and listen to, feel and be touched by, see and be seen by the deity in a live form. They can then help you with many things in your life, as well as guide and counsel you about your life, karma and spirituality. Then they can help you spiritually and materially. E.g. if you wish to acquire a certain spiritual power, they can tell you the spiritual practice to accomplish that, and help and protect you while you're doing it. If you wish to earn more money, they can ask you to do some good deeds, and in return they will help you with your job or other money making situation. If you wish to learn healing, or to heal yourself or others, they can likewise state what spiritual practice or lifestyle/diet change you need to make.

I have yet to experience it, but it sounds pretty damn cool

In SKY they state that it's also possible to astral travel and communicate with souls through meditation, as well as acquire the power of spiritual sight, but it is not taught officially anymore. These powers are said to be latent in the genital and navel chakra (see and talk with souls, as well as astral travel), and can be awakened through meditation. This would also allow you to connect with spiritual beings, but it's an indirect manner, since this is not the point in SKY. Whereas Sri Vidya is direct, as it is the point to connect with the deity.

So indirectly, if you focus on lamp and mirror gazing, you could open up your spiritual sight. If you meditate deeply for prolonged periods of time on the genital chakra, you would be able to see, sense and communicate with souls. If you meditate deeply for prolonged periods of time on the navel chakra, you would be able to astral travel.

I'm personally still trying to befriend the old school SKY masters in order to be able to learn the above, especially astral travel sounds really cool to me. They used to teach it at the master level, but they stopped it in the mid 90s.

My teacher and his wife told me their experiences of astral travel during their own master's course, and it was super cool (to me). They themselves didn't think much of it; they simply went back to their native villages to see their families, and then returned to the Temple where the course was being held. They then called up their families and asked what they did that morning, and it was what they had seen when astral traveling (this was a way Vethathiri wanted them to see, that it was truly real what they experienced).

But of course it's easy to discount such an experience of astral travel as not that epic, when you've already tried it, and have the blessing and empowerment to do it at will

 

[EFreethought]

@Nuralshamal: Thanks for the response.

 

Could you provide some links to Sri Vidya? I googled it, but nothing jumped out at me as an "official" site.

 

 

[Nuralshamal]

@EFreethought

Yes of course.

You can go for a more western friendly teaching environment and culture, being very low cost and very free in the sense of "no strings attached" and more egalitarian in general, you can go to devipuram.org, forum.amritananda.org and/or http://amritananda-natha-saraswati.blogspot.com/. 

All 3 sites are based on the teachings of Guru Amritananda Natha. He's authored books, and there are also videos with him on youtube.