Found this article in a FB group.

This is actually a good article except for the last paragraphs where the author relates panchadashi and shodashi to thithi nithya and lunar movements. Thithi nityas are nothing but Lalitha Parameswari Herself – they are in the 8th avaranam, which is outside of time and space – so there is no amavasa and pournami at that point. Rest are good intro to educate us the importance of each mantra and why mantras are given in certain order. Srividya upasana is a pure brahma vidya upasana – completely in alignment with vedantic principles while some terminologies differ.

I normally don’t post these articles – however, I am posting this for two reasons (1) To avoid enthusiastic seekers to get mantras over internet/phone or join a 15-days crash course to shodashi (2) to caution by attempting to chanting any of these mantras without a proper guru. There is no shortcut to any success – same applies to Srividya upasana too.

Aum Sri Matrey Namaha!

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Some of us, have got a doubt about why so many mantras are there in Sri Vidya. Why can’t we get great mantras like pañcadaśī, mahāṣoḍaśī directly without having to do upāsanā in their opinion for the lower mantras? There is nothing called lower mantra and higher mantra, mantra is mantra, with just one mantra also you can attain the highest ecstasy, provided you do the Upasana properly. So let us see, why there are so many mantras as per paraśurāma kalpa sūtra , every mantra is acting on the jiva. The jiva in fact is the bramhasvarūpaṃ , but unfortunately, it is covered by the effect of maya in different layers and densities. Based on past karmas, environment, lifestyle etc. So all these mantras or energies, are designed in such a way to remove this maya at every stage in the proper fashion.

Let us take gaṇapati.The basic mantras in śrī vidyā are Gaṇapati, Bālā, Rāja śyāmalā, Vārāhī, Lalitā pañcadaśī and Rājarājeśvarī mahāṣoḍaśī, so six mantras are there normally. Other mantras are also there caṇḍī, kṛṣṇa, dattātreya, śiva and lakṣmī But these are given on the requirement of the sadhaka by the Guru. Basically, everyone will do upasana on these six mantras.

So regarding Ganapati, what does Ganapati do? we are in a world which is full of attraction and strangely this world is created by me, I mean by us “manave a karanam manushyanam bandha-mokshayoh”. So by the mind, I am creating a world and enjoying the misery and pain of the world which I have created. This is why it says aham bramhasmi. Because there is only one thing which is truth. If there is second one as God, that is called maya. The truth is always one.

So Ganapati will work on the mind, that’s why Ganapati is always supported by two female energies known as buddhi and siddhi. Sadbuddhi, proper thinking capacity that leads you to siddhi, achievement. That’s all, the controller of these two is Ganapati. So when you recite Ganapati Mantra, you are first controlling the mind to detract itself from the world created by you. Because from ages, janma after janma I am seeing I am not going anywhere. I am just circling without any progress. I mean in my view progress is happiness and prosperity, but I am not enjoying it as a jiva. So just circling there not able to find the way. So Ganapati will control this mind and will direct you towards your path with focus and stability. And also he removed the fear and doubt because the fear and doubt are coming from the world you have created. The child doesn’t have a fear he goes directly to the fire and tries to put his hand in it to enjoy it because he didn’t create a world in which fire has burned his finger. Once it starts to create its world then it develops a thing called fear and doubt. So it’s all created by us, so that is removed or lessened by Upasana of Ganapati. It says Ganapataye Vara Varada, Ganapati protect me I am caught in the world created by me please give me that stability of mind so that I can control my sense savajanam, all people here are senses. Senses inside, senses outside. So control is the first one which happens at Ganapati Upasana. This also you need to do for months which is decided by the Guru where you have to do Ganapati Tarpana, Ganapati homa, Yantra Puja, Purascharana and whatever that is suggested by the Guru, you need to do that.

Along with Ganapati, we also do Bala Upasana. I enjoy my life svātmānanda lavibhuta bramhadhyānanda saṃthathi. Like even a cockroach should feel my life is best. So being happy with what you are is called rasikata in sanskrit. That rasasvadana is developed by the energy called Bala which also helps you to respond properly to music, dance, poetry and drama. These are called fine arts, so responding properly towards fine arts is given by Bala. But when my mind is occupied by my business or something I’ll not be able to enjoy so many things in life. So Bala gives you that joy. At the same time Bala also controls, bhandaputra vadhodyuktabalavikrama nandita, thirty bhandasura sons are there. Six enemies (Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Mada, Matsarya) control the five senses which makes six times as five as thirty. And those thirty deficiencies are controlled by Bala.

So now the Sadhaka moves away a little bit from the mundane world, being in the world of course. It does not mean going physically away from the world, Being in the world he is not affected by the pain and pleasure which is often created. So he moves upwards and comes to Raja Syamala. Raja Syamala is another form of Saraswati, Syame sangeethanilaye so she creates a rain of the nectar of gnana/knowledge and also compassion. Sarvamukha ranjani, everybody would be happy at your sight presence. So that lifestyle Raja Syamala will provide. And also Sarva rajavasamkari, you will control your Brain much more effectively. So what happens with rajasyamala Upasana is, right now before any Upasana we are hard as a rock. Going janma after janma without knowing the purpose of birth. So this hardness or subtle precipitated ego is crushed into pieces, then it flows like Sarvasamkhobhini, sarvavidravini, sarvakarshini, you have the mantras in khadgamala.So when this is pulverized and wettened, then it is good for the cultivation of bhakti. So this preparation for bhakti is done by rajasyamala Upasana.

Then comes Varahi, Varahi is the male energy and rajasyamala is the female energy. Varahi comes as damdanatha puraskruta, so as damdanatha she controls. On one hand, she has the plough and on other hand, she has the damda, so she goes deep in your self and digs out all the underline inefficiencies or deficiencies. You don’t know that you have so much impurities, that will be taken out by Varahi Upasana and controlled in the proper direction.

Varahi also controls the external negative energies, so that you are protected from jealousy or other fears such as black magic, which works out on fear only. So all this is removed by Varahi Upasana. That’s why she is known as Sarva dushta pradushtanam, the greatest enemy gets removed. tadarigana vinashoshtu tasmin kshanevai, in the dhyana shloka we meditate on her by saying at this moment you remove all the negativity in me. So everything is purified at the agna centre by Varahi.

Then after completing Varahi Upasana, you will be given pañcadaśī mantra of Lalita Parmesvari which actually is connecting you with the fifteen nitya devataas.Nitya devataas are following the lunar cycle, the waxing and waning of the moon. So each day one deity is controlling and that deity is kindled by one letter as Ka for the first-day kameshvari, ae for bhagamaalini like that, with just recitation of fifteen letters you are connected to the time. Right now with the mind I am not even connected to my body, I am connected to the world. From there I am going inside with Upasana, through Ganapati, Bala, Syama and others and then you come out and merge with the cosmos awareness.Then you are connected to the nitya devataas with the pañcadaśī.Then you are physically here but mentally you have a different life. Not a life on the earth but above the earth, you think above the earth the actions are. You love everybody like you love yourself, not just your family. And you don’t do such things which you don’t like others to do to you, so much is the highest and you are not perturbed by anything. Nothing can distract your attention from what you are.

After that comes Mahāṣoḍaśī, that’s where the suspense is over. The secret is revealed, who you are, why you have come and what is the purpose? So non-duality merges with one. It’s not like you go and merge how they show in the movie. It’s just that you realise you are the bramhan and everything is bramhan. I am unique like others, it’s a strange statement. Unique can be only one in your view, but I am unique like others. She is lonely but not alone. These are the statements referring to parabramha. And that you bring into the experience by mahā ṣoḍaśī, the sixteen. The sixteen is again connected to the moon, with all the fifteen plus amavasya it’s sixteen. So it counts to the moon, moon is the mind. This mind is not in the physical body but another factor which is controlling the cosmos, which controls everything in the world. Charachara vastu prapancha, and that mahā ṣoḍaśī, is the greatest controller to whom you are connected and you feel that you are everything. Of course, there is no fun after that. In the lower chakras there is a lot of emotion and experiences, but all this comes to silence at mahā ṣoḍaśī in the sahasrara.That’s why to enjoy every step we need to go one after another, and not as directly for mahā ṣoḍaśī or pañcadaśī. Just by simply reciting pañcadaśī like this, you feel nothing is happening but when you understand and go through these different experiences trust me, you realise that śrī vidyā is best for everybody.
śrī mātre namaḥ

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